Concentration & Meditation by Swami Sivananda - part 1

[Guest guest]

This has been so helpful to me. I hope some of you will find it so,

too. It is sort of long, so I am submitting it in 4 parts. If you

like it, you could do as I do with many of our posts - cut and paste

into my wordprocessing program so it is easily available.

enjoy,

jayadeva

 

CONCENTRATION & MEDITATION

by Sri Swami Sivananda

 

There is no limit to the power of the human mind. The mire

concentrated it is, the more power is brought to bear on one point.

We see this principal throughout Nature. The leisurely waters of a

rive, when damned and accumulated, rush out with great force through

a sluice. The normally warm rays of the sun become so hot that they

can burn objects, when centralized and brought into focus through a

lens. Power is generated when force is concentrated.

 

You are born to concentrate the mind on God, after collecting the

mental rays that are dissipated on various objects. That is your

most important duty. When the rays of the mind are scattered on

diverse objects, you experience pain. When the mind becomes

concentrated, you experience bliss. When you see a friend after six

years, the joy and happiness you get is not from that person, but

from within yourself. The mind becomes concentrated for that moment

and you experience bliss from within yourself.

 

You must be intensely interested in the practice of concentration.

Then only will your whole attention be directed towards the object

upon which you wish to concentrate. There cannot be any

concentration without interest and attention.

 

Concentration is a very important qualification for a beginner on

the spiritual path. It means fixing the mind on something external

or internal. It is essential not only on the spiritual path, but in

every walk of life. A person without concentration is a failure in

life.

 

Fix your mind on the work at hand. Give your whole heart and soul to

it - even to the peeling of an orange or the squeezing of a lemon.

Never do anything haphazardly or in haste. Never eat your meals in

haste. Be calm and patient in all that you do. Never arrive at hasty

conclusions. Work cannot be done successfully without calmness and

concentration. Always remember the maxim: "One thing at a time and

that done well is a very good rule as many can tell." Concentration

is the master-key to unlock the gates of victory. What another can

do in six hours, you will achieve within half an hour, smoothly and

methodically. Those who were able to achieve greatness and success

possessed this indispensable virtue.

 

You will never meet with failure if you can do your work with

perfect attention and concentration. You will be successful in every

attempt. When you sit for prayer and meditation, do not think of

your office friends. When you work in the office, do not think of

your home. When you take a bath, do not think of meals. When you

take meals, do not think of the work pending in your office. Train

yourself with perfect one-pointedness to attend to the work on hand.

In this way you will easily develop your will-power and memory.

 

Meditation begins with concentration. If you concentrate your mind

on a point for twelve seconds continuously, it is dharana,

concentration. Twelve such dharanas will be a dhyana, meditation.

Twelve such dhyanas will be samadhi, the super-conscious state. The

jivamukti (liberated) state follows the attainment of nirvikalpa

samadhi, the highest level of samadhi. Concentration is therefore

the first and foremost quality that the aspirant should possess on

the spiritual path.

 

It is easy to concentrate the mind on a worldly object because the

mind has a natural interest in it through force of habit. The

grooves are already cut in the brain. Train the mind to concentrate

on God or on the Self within through the daily practice of

meditation. Then it will no longer move to external objects, as it

will experience immense joy from the practice.

 

When a thought runs continuously in one definite groove and on one

subject alone, like the flow of oil from one vessel to another, it

is meditation. An aspirant should withdraw the mind when it runs

outside and direct it in the same groove , on the same subject.

 

Meditation is the royal road to the attainment of salvation. It is a

mysterious ladder which reachers from earth to heaven, from error to

truth, from darkness to light, from pain to bliss, from restlessness

to abiding peace, from ignorance to knowledge, from mortality to

immortality. Meditate. Meditate. Do not lose even a single minute.

Meditation will remove all the miseries of life.

[Guest guest]

Omjayadeva,

 

This is great material, thank you for posting.

 

Can you help, a search for Swami Sivananda brings up a few persons, I

am wondering if you could clarify who Swami Sivananda is, perhaps a

definitive link.

 

Thanks for everything,

 

your Dharma friend,

 

Steve

 

 

, "Jayadeva" <omjayadeva>

wrote:

>

>

> This has been so helpful to me. I hope some of you will find it so,

> too. It is sort of long, so I am submitting it in 4 parts. If you

> like it, you could do as I do with many of our posts - cut and

paste

> into my wordprocessing program so it is easily available.

> enjoy,

> jayadeva

>

> CONCENTRATION & MEDITATION

> by Sri Swami Sivananda

>

> There is no limit to the power of the human mind. The mire

> concentrated it is, the more power is brought to bear on one point.

> We see this principal throughout Nature. The leisurely waters of a

> rive, when damned and accumulated, rush out with great force

through

> a sluice. The normally warm rays of the sun become so hot that they

> can burn objects, when centralized and brought into focus through a

> lens. Power is generated when force is concentrated.

>

> You are born to concentrate the mind on God, after collecting the

> mental rays that are dissipated on various objects. That is your

> most important duty. When the rays of the mind are scattered on

> diverse objects, you experience pain. When the mind becomes

> concentrated, you experience bliss. When you see a friend after six

> years, the joy and happiness you get is not from that person, but

> from within yourself. The mind becomes concentrated for that moment

> and you experience bliss from within yourself.

>

> You must be intensely interested in the practice of concentration.

> Then only will your whole attention be directed towards the object

> upon which you wish to concentrate. There cannot be any

> concentration without interest and attention.

>

> Concentration is a very important qualification for a beginner on

> the spiritual path. It means fixing the mind on something external

> or internal. It is essential not only on the spiritual path, but in

> every walk of life. A person without concentration is a failure in

> life.

>

> Fix your mind on the work at hand. Give your whole heart and soul

to

> it - even to the peeling of an orange or the squeezing of a lemon.

> Never do anything haphazardly or in haste. Never eat your meals in

> haste. Be calm and patient in all that you do. Never arrive at

hasty

> conclusions. Work cannot be done successfully without calmness and

> concentration. Always remember the maxim: "One thing at a time and

> that done well is a very good rule as many can tell." Concentration

> is the master-key to unlock the gates of victory. What another can

> do in six hours, you will achieve within half an hour, smoothly and

> methodically. Those who were able to achieve greatness and success

> possessed this indispensable virtue.

>

> You will never meet with failure if you can do your work with

> perfect attention and concentration. You will be successful in

every

> attempt. When you sit for prayer and meditation, do not think of

> your office friends. When you work in the office, do not think of

> your home. When you take a bath, do not think of meals. When you

> take meals, do not think of the work pending in your office. Train

> yourself with perfect one-pointedness to attend to the work on

hand.

> In this way you will easily develop your will-power and memory.

>

> Meditation begins with concentration. If you concentrate your mind

> on a point for twelve seconds continuously, it is dharana,

> concentration. Twelve such dharanas will be a dhyana, meditation.

> Twelve such dhyanas will be samadhi, the super-conscious state. The

> jivamukti (liberated) state follows the attainment of nirvikalpa

> samadhi, the highest level of samadhi. Concentration is therefore

> the first and foremost quality that the aspirant should possess on

> the spiritual path.

>

> It is easy to concentrate the mind on a worldly object because the

> mind has a natural interest in it through force of habit. The

> grooves are already cut in the brain. Train the mind to concentrate

> on God or on the Self within through the daily practice of

> meditation. Then it will no longer move to external objects, as it

> will experience immense joy from the practice.

>

> When a thought runs continuously in one definite groove and on one

> subject alone, like the flow of oil from one vessel to another, it

> is meditation. An aspirant should withdraw the mind when it runs

> outside and direct it in the same groove , on the same subject.

>

> Meditation is the royal road to the attainment of salvation. It is

a

> mysterious ladder which reachers from earth to heaven, from error

to

> truth, from darkness to light, from pain to bliss, from

restlessness

> to abiding peace, from ignorance to knowledge, from mortality to

> immortality. Meditate. Meditate. Do not lose even a single minute.

> Meditation will remove all the miseries of life.

[Guest guest]

This is Swami Sivananda Saraswati of Rishikesh. He left his body in

the 60s. He called his work "The Divine Life Society." Many of his

disciples became pillars of yoga throughout the world... Swami

Satchidananda of Integral Yoga here in America, Swami Satyananda of

the Bihar School of Yoga in India, Swami Vishnudevananda of the

Sivananda Vedanta School initially in Cananda, and others in South

America, the Orient and elswhere.

There is a wonderful website: www.thedivinelifesociety.org. Swami

Chidananda is the principal who continued the work there in

Rishikesh.

thanks for your joyful presence here, Steve.

blessings,

jayadeva

 

, "Steve Connor" <sconnor@a...>

wrote:

>

>

> Omjayadeva,

>

> This is great material, thank you for posting.

>

> Can you help, a search for Swami Sivananda brings up a few

persons, I

> am wondering if you could clarify who Swami Sivananda is, perhaps a

> definitive link.

>

> Thanks for everything,

>

> your Dharma friend,

>

> Steve

>

>

> , "Jayadeva" <omjayadeva>

> wrote:

> >

> >

> > This has been so helpful to me. I hope some of you will find it

so,

> > too. It is sort of long, so I am submitting it in 4 parts. If

you

> > like it, you could do as I do with many of our posts - cut and

> paste

> > into my wordprocessing program so it is easily available.

> > enjoy,

> > jayadeva

> >

> > CONCENTRATION & MEDITATION

> > by Sri Swami Sivananda

> >

> > There is no limit to the power of the human mind. The mire

> > concentrated it is, the more power is brought to bear on one

point.

> > We see this principal throughout Nature. The leisurely waters of

a

> > rive, when damned and accumulated, rush out with great force

> through

> > a sluice. The normally warm rays of the sun become so hot that

they

> > can burn objects, when centralized and brought into focus

through a

> > lens. Power is generated when force is concentrated.

> >

> > You are born to concentrate the mind on God, after collecting

the

> > mental rays that are dissipated on various objects. That is your

> > most important duty. When the rays of the mind are scattered on

> > diverse objects, you experience pain. When the mind becomes

> > concentrated, you experience bliss. When you see a friend after

six

> > years, the joy and happiness you get is not from that person,

but

> > from within yourself. The mind becomes concentrated for that

moment

> > and you experience bliss from within yourself.

> >

> > You must be intensely interested in the practice of

concentration.

> > Then only will your whole attention be directed towards the

object

> > upon which you wish to concentrate. There cannot be any

> > concentration without interest and attention.

> >

> > Concentration is a very important qualification for a beginner

on

> > the spiritual path. It means fixing the mind on something

external

> > or internal. It is essential not only on the spiritual path, but

in

> > every walk of life. A person without concentration is a failure

in

> > life.

> >

> > Fix your mind on the work at hand. Give your whole heart and soul

> to

> > it - even to the peeling of an orange or the squeezing of a

lemon.

> > Never do anything haphazardly or in haste. Never eat your meals

in

> > haste. Be calm and patient in all that you do. Never arrive at

> hasty

> > conclusions. Work cannot be done successfully without calmness

and

> > concentration. Always remember the maxim: "One thing at a time

and

> > that done well is a very good rule as many can tell."

Concentration

> > is the master-key to unlock the gates of victory. What another

can

> > do in six hours, you will achieve within half an hour, smoothly

and

> > methodically. Those who were able to achieve greatness and

success

> > possessed this indispensable virtue.

> >

> > You will never meet with failure if you can do your work with

> > perfect attention and concentration. You will be successful in

> every

> > attempt. When you sit for prayer and meditation, do not think of

> > your office friends. When you work in the office, do not think

of

> > your home. When you take a bath, do not think of meals. When you

> > take meals, do not think of the work pending in your office.

Train

> > yourself with perfect one-pointedness to attend to the work on

> hand.

> > In this way you will easily develop your will-power and memory.

> >

> > Meditation begins with concentration. If you concentrate your

mind

> > on a point for twelve seconds continuously, it is dharana,

> > concentration. Twelve such dharanas will be a dhyana,

meditation.

> > Twelve such dhyanas will be samadhi, the super-conscious state.

The

> > jivamukti (liberated) state follows the attainment of nirvikalpa

> > samadhi, the highest level of samadhi. Concentration is

therefore

> > the first and foremost quality that the aspirant should possess

on

> > the spiritual path.

> >

> > It is easy to concentrate the mind on a worldly object because

the

> > mind has a natural interest in it through force of habit. The

> > grooves are already cut in the brain. Train the mind to

concentrate

> > on God or on the Self within through the daily practice of

> > meditation. Then it will no longer move to external objects, as

it

> > will experience immense joy from the practice.

> >

> > When a thought runs continuously in one definite groove and on

one

> > subject alone, like the flow of oil from one vessel to another,

it

> > is meditation. An aspirant should withdraw the mind when it runs

> > outside and direct it in the same groove , on the same subject.

> >

> > Meditation is the royal road to the attainment of salvation. It

is

> a

> > mysterious ladder which reachers from earth to heaven, from error

> to

> > truth, from darkness to light, from pain to bliss, from

> restlessness

> > to abiding peace, from ignorance to knowledge, from mortality to

> > immortality. Meditate. Meditate. Do not lose even a single

minute.

> > Meditation will remove all the miseries of life.

[Guest guest]

thank you jayadeva i will check out that site

 

peace and god bless

 

steve

 

, "Jayadeva" <omjayadeva>

wrote:

>

>

> This is Swami Sivananda Saraswati of Rishikesh. He left his body in

> the 60s. He called his work "The Divine Life Society." Many of his

> disciples became pillars of yoga throughout the world... Swami

> Satchidananda of Integral Yoga here in America, Swami Satyananda of

> the Bihar School of Yoga in India, Swami Vishnudevananda of the

> Sivananda Vedanta School initially in Cananda, and others in South

> America, the Orient and elswhere.

> There is a wonderful website: www.thedivinelifesociety.org. Swami

> Chidananda is the principal who continued the work there in

> Rishikesh.

> thanks for your joyful presence here, Steve.

> blessings,

> jayadeva

>

> , "Steve Connor" <sconnor@a...>

> wrote:

> >

> >

> > Omjayadeva,

> >

 

> > This is great material, thank you for posting.

> >

> > Can you help, a search for Swami Sivananda brings up a few

> persons, I

> > am wondering if you could clarify who Swami Sivananda is, perhaps

a

> > definitive link.

> >

> > Thanks for everything,

> >

> > your Dharma friend,

> >

> > Steve

> >

> >

> > , "Jayadeva" <omjayadeva>

> > wrote:

> > >

> > >

> > > This has been so helpful to me. I hope some of you will find it

> so,

> > > too. It is sort of long, so I am submitting it in 4 parts. If

> you

> > > like it, you could do as I do with many of our posts - cut and

> > paste

> > > into my wordprocessing program so it is easily available.

> > > enjoy,

> > > jayadeva

> > >

> > > CONCENTRATION & MEDITATION

> > > by Sri Swami Sivananda

> > >

> > > There is no limit to the power of the human mind. The mire

> > > concentrated it is, the more power is brought to bear on one

> point.

> > > We see this principal throughout Nature. The leisurely waters

of

> a

> > > rive, when damned and accumulated, rush out with great force

> > through

> > > a sluice. The normally warm rays of the sun become so hot that

> they

> > > can burn objects, when centralized and brought into focus

> through a

> > > lens. Power is generated when force is concentrated.

> > >

> > > You are born to concentrate the mind on God, after collecting

> the

> > > mental rays that are dissipated on various objects. That is

your

> > > most important duty. When the rays of the mind are scattered on

> > > diverse objects, you experience pain. When the mind becomes

> > > concentrated, you experience bliss. When you see a friend after

> six

> > > years, the joy and happiness you get is not from that person,

> but

> > > from within yourself. The mind becomes concentrated for that

> moment

> > > and you experience bliss from within yourself.

> > >

> > > You must be intensely interested in the practice of

> concentration.

> > > Then only will your whole attention be directed towards the

> object

> > > upon which you wish to concentrate. There cannot be any

> > > concentration without interest and attention.

> > >

> > > Concentration is a very important qualification for a beginner

> on

> > > the spiritual path. It means fixing the mind on something

> external

> > > or internal. It is essential not only on the spiritual path,

but

> in

> > > every walk of life. A person without concentration is a failure

> in

> > > life.

> > >

> > > Fix your mind on the work at hand. Give your whole heart and

soul

> > to

> > > it - even to the peeling of an orange or the squeezing of a

> lemon.

> > > Never do anything haphazardly or in haste. Never eat your meals

> in

> > > haste. Be calm and patient in all that you do. Never arrive at

> > hasty

> > > conclusions. Work cannot be done successfully without calmness

> and

> > > concentration. Always remember the maxim: "One thing at a time

> and

> > > that done well is a very good rule as many can tell."

> Concentration

> > > is the master-key to unlock the gates of victory. What another

> can

> > > do in six hours, you will achieve within half an hour, smoothly

> and

> > > methodically. Those who were able to achieve greatness and

> success

> > > possessed this indispensable virtue.

> > >

> > > You will never meet with failure if you can do your work with

> > > perfect attention and concentration. You will be successful in

> > every

> > > attempt. When you sit for prayer and meditation, do not think

of

> > > your office friends. When you work in the office, do not think

> of

> > > your home. When you take a bath, do not think of meals. When

you

> > > take meals, do not think of the work pending in your office.

> Train

> > > yourself with perfect one-pointedness to attend to the work on

> > hand.

> > > In this way you will easily develop your will-power and memory.

> > >

> > > Meditation begins with concentration. If you concentrate your

> mind

> > > on a point for twelve seconds continuously, it is dharana,

> > > concentration. Twelve such dharanas will be a dhyana,

> meditation.

> > > Twelve such dhyanas will be samadhi, the super-conscious state.

> The

> > > jivamukti (liberated) state follows the attainment of

nirvikalpa

> > > samadhi, the highest level of samadhi. Concentration is

> therefore

> > > the first and foremost quality that the aspirant should possess

> on

> > > the spiritual path.

> > >

> > > It is easy to concentrate the mind on a worldly object because

> the

> > > mind has a natural interest in it through force of habit. The

> > > grooves are already cut in the brain. Train the mind to

> concentrate

> > > on God or on the Self within through the daily practice of

> > > meditation. Then it will no longer move to external objects, as

> it

> > > will experience immense joy from the practice.

> > >

> > > When a thought runs continuously in one definite groove and on

> one

> > > subject alone, like the flow of oil from one vessel to another,

> it

> > > is meditation. An aspirant should withdraw the mind when it

runs

> > > outside and direct it in the same groove , on the same subject.

> > >

> > > Meditation is the royal road to the attainment of salvation. It

> is

> > a

> > > mysterious ladder which reachers from earth to heaven, from

error

> > to

> > > truth, from darkness to light, from pain to bliss, from

> > restlessness

> > > to abiding peace, from ignorance to knowledge, from mortality

to

> > > immortality. Meditate. Meditate. Do not lose even a single

> minute.

> > > Meditation will remove all the miseries of life.

[Guest guest]

Jayadeva,

 

Thanks for this.

 

I really enjoy Swamiji Shivananda's writings. He was very great.

Reading a good piece on meditation is always enjoyable. It not only

helps re-inspire, but reminds me I have been letting my meditation

practice slip a bit.

 

Chris

 

 

, "Jayadeva" <omjayadeva> wrote:

>

>

> This has been so helpful to me. I hope some of you will find it so,

> too. It is sort of long, so I am submitting it in 4 parts. If you

> like it, you could do as I do with many of our posts - cut and paste

> into my wordprocessing program so it is easily available.

> enjoy,

> jayadeva

>

> CONCENTRATION & MEDITATION

> by Sri Swami Sivananda

>

> There is no limit to the power of the human mind. The mire

> concentrated it is, the more power is brought to bear on one point.

> We see this principal throughout Nature. The leisurely waters of a

> rive, when damned and accumulated, rush out with great force through

> a sluice. The normally warm rays of the sun become so hot that they

> can burn objects, when centralized and brought into focus through a

> lens. Power is generated when force is concentrated.

>

> You are born to concentrate the mind on God, after collecting the

> mental rays that are dissipated on various objects. That is your

> most important duty. When the rays of the mind are scattered on

> diverse objects, you experience pain. When the mind becomes

> concentrated, you experience bliss. When you see a friend after six

> years, the joy and happiness you get is not from that person, but

> from within yourself. The mind becomes concentrated for that moment

> and you experience bliss from within yourself.

>

> You must be intensely interested in the practice of concentration.

> Then only will your whole attention be directed towards the object

> upon which you wish to concentrate. There cannot be any

> concentration without interest and attention.

>

> Concentration is a very important qualification for a beginner on

> the spiritual path. It means fixing the mind on something external

> or internal. It is essential not only on the spiritual path, but in

> every walk of life. A person without concentration is a failure in

> life.

>

> Fix your mind on the work at hand. Give your whole heart and soul to

> it - even to the peeling of an orange or the squeezing of a lemon.

> Never do anything haphazardly or in haste. Never eat your meals in

> haste. Be calm and patient in all that you do. Never arrive at hasty

> conclusions. Work cannot be done successfully without calmness and

> concentration. Always remember the maxim: "One thing at a time and

> that done well is a very good rule as many can tell." Concentration

> is the master-key to unlock the gates of victory. What another can

> do in six hours, you will achieve within half an hour, smoothly and

> methodically. Those who were able to achieve greatness and success

> possessed this indispensable virtue.

>

> You will never meet with failure if you can do your work with

> perfect attention and concentration. You will be successful in every

> attempt. When you sit for prayer and meditation, do not think of

> your office friends. When you work in the office, do not think of

> your home. When you take a bath, do not think of meals. When you

> take meals, do not think of the work pending in your office. Train

> yourself with perfect one-pointedness to attend to the work on hand.

> In this way you will easily develop your will-power and memory.

>

> Meditation begins with concentration. If you concentrate your mind

> on a point for twelve seconds continuously, it is dharana,

> concentration. Twelve such dharanas will be a dhyana, meditation.

> Twelve such dhyanas will be samadhi, the super-conscious state. The

> jivamukti (liberated) state follows the attainment of nirvikalpa

> samadhi, the highest level of samadhi. Concentration is therefore

> the first and foremost quality that the aspirant should possess on

> the spiritual path.

>

> It is easy to concentrate the mind on a worldly object because the

> mind has a natural interest in it through force of habit. The

> grooves are already cut in the brain. Train the mind to concentrate

> on God or on the Self within through the daily practice of

> meditation. Then it will no longer move to external objects, as it

> will experience immense joy from the practice.

>

> When a thought runs continuously in one definite groove and on one

> subject alone, like the flow of oil from one vessel to another, it

> is meditation. An aspirant should withdraw the mind when it runs

> outside and direct it in the same groove , on the same subject.

>

> Meditation is the royal road to the attainment of salvation. It is a

> mysterious ladder which reachers from earth to heaven, from error to

> truth, from darkness to light, from pain to bliss, from restlessness

> to abiding peace, from ignorance to knowledge, from mortality to

> immortality. Meditate. Meditate. Do not lose even a single minute.

> Meditation will remove all the miseries of life.