Concentration and Breathing

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CONCENTRATION AND BREATHING

 

(Swami Vivekananda)

 

The main difference between men and the animals is the difference in

their power of concentration. All success in any line of work is the

result of this. Everybody knows something about concentration. We see

its results every day. High achievements in art, music, etc. are the

results of concentration. An animal has very little power of

concentration. Those who have trained animals find much difficulty in

the fact that the animal is constantly forgetting what is told him.

He cannot concentrate his mind long upon anything at a time. Herein

is the difference between man and the animals--man has the greater

power of concentration. The difference in their power of

concentration also constitutes the difference between man and man.

Compare the lowest with the highest man. The difference is in the

degree of concentration. This is the only difference.

 

Everybody's mind becomes concentrated at times. We all concentrate

upon those things we love, and we love those things upon which we

concentrate our minds. What mother is there that does not love the

face of her homeliest child? That face is to her the most beautiful

in the world. She loves it because she concentrates her mind upon it;

and if every one could concentrate his mind on that same face,

everyone would love it. It would be to all the most beautiful face.

We all concentrate our minds upon those things we love. When we hear

beautiful music, our minds become fastened upon it, and we cannot

take them away. Those who concentrate their minds upon what you call

classical music do not like common music, and vice versa. Music in

which the notes follow each other in rapid succession holds the mind

readily. A child loves lively music, because the rapidity of the

notes gives the mind no chance to wander. A man who likes common

music dislikes classical music, because it is more complicated and

requires a greater degree of concentration to follow it.

 

The great trouble with such concentrations is that we do not control

the mind; it controls us. Something outside of ourselves, as it were,

draws the mind into it and holds it as long as it chooses. We hear

melodious tones or see a beautiful painting, and the mind is held

fast; we cannot take it away.

 

If I speak to you well upon a subject you like, your mind becomes

concentrated upon what I am saying. I draw your mind away from

yourself and hold it upon the subject in spite of yourself. Thus our

attention is held, our minds are concentrated upon various things, in

spite of ourselves. We cannot help it.

 

Now the question is: Can this concentration be developed, and can we

become masters of it? The Yogis say, yes. The Yogis say that we can

get perfect control of the mind. On the ethical side there is danger

in the development of the power of concentration--the danger of

concentrating the mind upon an object and then being unable to detach

at will. This state causes great suffering. Almost all of our

suffering is caused by our not having the power of detachment. So

along with the development of concentration we must develop the power

of detachment. We must learn not only to attach the mind to one thing

exclusively, but also to detach it at a moment's notice and place it

on something else. These two should be developed together to make it

safe.

 

This is the systematic development of the mind. To me the very

essence of education is concentration of mind, not the collecting of

facts. If I had to do my education over again, and had any voice in

the matter, I would not study facts at all. I would develop the power

of concentration and detachment, and then with a perfect instrument I

could collect facts at will. Side by side, in the child, should be

developed the power of concentration and detachment.

 

My development has been one-sided all along. I developed

concentration without the power of detaching my mind at will; and the

most intense suffering of my life has been due to this. Now I have

the power of detachment, but I had to learn it in later life.

 

We should put our minds on things; they should not draw our minds to

them. We are usually forced to concentrate. Our minds are forced to

become fixed upon different things by an attraction in them which we

cannot resist. To control the mind, to place it just where we want

it, requires special training. It cannot be done in any other way. In

the study of religion the control of the mind is absolutely

necessary. We have to turn the mind back upon itself in this study.

 

In training the mind the first step is to begin with breathing.

Regular breathing puts the body in a harmonious condition; and it is

then easier to reach the mind. In practicing breathing, the first

thing to consider is Asana or posture. Any posture in which a person

can sit easily is his proper position. The spine should be kept free,

and the weight of the body should be supported by the ribs. Do not

try by contrivances to control the mind; simple breathing is all that

is necessary in that line. All austerities to gain concentration of

the mind are a mistake. Do not practise them.

 

The mind acts on the body, and the body in its turn acts upon the

mind. They act and react upon each other. Every mental state creates

a corresponding state in the body, and every action in the body has

its corresponding effect on the mind. It makes no difference whether

you think the body and mind are two different entities, or whether

you think they are both but one body--the physical body being the

gross part and the mind the fine part. They act and react upon each

other. The mind is constantly becoming the body. In the training of

the mind, it is easier to reach it through the body. The body is

easier to grapple with than the mind.

 

The finer the instrument, the greater the power. The mind is much

finer and more powerful than the body. For this reason it is easier

to begin with the body.

 

The science of breathing is the working through the body to reach the

mind. In this way we get control of the body, and then we begin to

feel the finer working of the body, the finer and more interior, and

so on till we reach the mind. As we feel the finer workings of the

body, they come under our control. After a while you will be able to

feel the operation of the mind on the body. You will also feel the

working of one half of the mind upon the other half, and also feel

the mind recruiting the nerve centres; for the mind controls and

governs the nervous system. You will feel the mind operating along

the different nerve currents.

 

Thus the mind is brought under control--by regular systematic

breathing, by governing the gross body first and then the fine body.

 

The first breathing exercise is perfectly safe and very healthful. It

will give you good health, and better your condition generally at

least. The other practices should be taken up slowly and carefully.