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'''Related pages{|class="wikitable" style= "background-color: #efefff; width:100%;"|Read more about ''' [[Yogic Concentration]] Compilation| [[MeditationConcentration]] ''' from the works of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo. | [[Difference between }__NOTOC__== What is Concentration and Meditation]] | [[Knowledge by idenitity]]==

=What is concentration?=Concentration means fixing gathering of all the scattered movements of consciousness in one into a single point, place , object, thought, idea, condition, state or on one object movement. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/03/appendix-to-questions-and -answers-1929#p9</ref> <ref>http://incarnateword.in a single condition. /cwm/04/23-december-1950#p7</ref> <ref>Sri Aurobindohttp://incarnateword. in/cwsa/29/concentration-and-meditation#p3 </ref>

It Concentration is an active state. One may concentrate mentally, one may concentrate vitally, psychically, physically, and one may concentrate integrally. Concentration or the capacity to bring back all gather oneself at one point is more difficult than meditation. One may gather together one portion of one's being or consciousness or one may gather together the scattered threads whole of one's consciousness to a single pointor even fragments of it, that is, the concentration may be partial, total or integral, a single ideaand in each case the result will be different. <ref>The Motherhttp://incarnateword. (1972). Questions and answers, in/cwm/04/25-december-1950-1951. In Collected Works of the Mother Volume 4 (p. 5).#p12</ref>

Concentration is a state one must not only an intellectual thing, it may be found in continuallyall the activities of the being, whatever the outer activityincluding bodily activities.<ref>The Mothercontrol over the nerves should be such as would allow one a complete concentration on what one is doing and, through the very intensity of one's concentration, one acquires an immediate response to external touches. (1979). Letters to To attain this concentration one needs a Young Sadhak VI (1933-1949). In Collected works conscious control of the Mother Volume 16energies. Retrieved from <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/1604/letters-to-a-young23-sadhakdecember-vi1950#p1 </ref>

==Why should one learn to concentrateConcentration is Important?==

Without concentration one cannot achieve anything.<ref>http://incarnateword..whatever you may want to do in life, one thing is absolutely indispensable and at the basis of everything, the capacity of concentrating the attention. If you are able to gather together the rays of attention and consciousness on one point and can maintain this concentration with a persistent will, nothing can resist it —whatever it may be, from the most material physical development to the highest spiritual one./cwm/12/study#p71</ref>

There is no spiritual obstacle nothing in the human or even in the superhuman field, to which can resist a penetrating the power of concentrationis not the key. For instanceOne can be the best athlete, one can be the discovery of the psychic beingbest student, union with the inner Divineone can be an artistic, opening to the higher spheresliterary or scientific genius, all one can be obtained by an intense and obstinate power the greatest saint with that faculty. And everyone has in himself a tiny little beginning of concentration —but one must learn how it—it is given to everybody, but people do not cultivate it.<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/09/23-july-1958#p18 </ref>

There The ability of concentration is nothing in one of the greatest powers of the human or even mentality. <ref>http://incarnateword.in /cwsa/21/the-divine-and-the superhuman field-undivine#p16</ref> Whatever one may want to do in life, one thing is absolutely indispensable and at the basis of everything, the capacity of concentrating the attention. If one is able to which gather together the power rays of attention and consciousness on one point and can maintain this concentration is not with a persistent will, nothing can resist it—whatever it may be, from the most material physical development to the keyhighest spiritual one. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/09/23-july-1958#p15</ref>

You can be Concentration is necessary to gather the whole will and mind from the best athletenatural distractions. Left to themselves, you can be they follow the normal dispersive movement of thoughts running after many-branching desires led away by outward sensory contacts. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/23/the-higher-and-the best student-lower-knowledge#p7</ref>The mind is a thing that dwells in diffusion, you in succession; it can be an artisticonly concentrate on one thing at a time and when not concentrated runs from one thing to another very much at random. Therefore it has to concentrate on a single idea, a single subject of meditation, literary or scientific geniusa single object of contemplation, you can be the greatest saint with that faculty. And everyone has in himself a tiny little beginning single object of will in order to possess or master it —it is given to everybody, but people and this it must do not cultivate itto at least the temporary exclusion of all others.<ref>The Mother. (1998). Questions and Answers 1957-1958, Vol. 9 (pp. 360-361)http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/23/concentration#p7</ref>

It is well known that the value The faculty of concentrated attention can be developed scientifically by a man is in proportion to methodical training the same way as an athlete develops methodically his capacity muscles. The power of concentrated attention; the greater the concentration the more exceptional can be developed in such a way that concentration is the result, to the extent that a perfect obtained at will and unfailing concentrated attention sets the stamp of genius on what whatever subject or activity is producedchosen. <ref>The Mother. (1949). Concentration and Dispersion. In On Education (Collected Works of the Mother Volume 12). Retrieved from http://incarnateword.in/cwm/12/concentration-and-dispersion#p5 </ref>

=How When one has a problem and one is looking for a solution, if it does not come, it is because of a kind of haziness in the brain, something cloudy, like a fog somewhere. Concentration consists precisely in removing the cloud. One can gather together all the elements of one's intelligence and fix them on one point, and then do not even try actively to develop concentration=find the thing. All that one should do is to concentrate in such a way as to see only the problem—but seeing not only its surface, seeing it in its depth, what it conceals. If one is able to gather together one's all mental energies, bringing them to a point which is fixed on the enunciation of the problem, and stay there, fixed, as though, to drill a hole in the wall, all of a sudden it will come. And this is the only way. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/05/24-june-1953#p51 </ref>

And this kind of concentration can be developed exactly like the musclesWhile engaging in work, one must become what one is doing and not remain a small person looking at himself doing it; for if one may follow different systemslooks at oneself acting, different methods of trainingone is still in complicity with the ego. Today we know It is through concentrated attention that the most pitiful weakling, for example, one can with discipline become as strong as anyone elsedo things quickly and one does them much better. One should not have a will which flickers out like a candle<ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/04/26-april-1951#p33 </ref>

The willWhen one wants to realise something, concentration must one makes quite spontaneously the necessary effort; this concentrates one's energies on the thing to be cultivated; it is realised and that gives a meaning to one's life. This compels one to a question sort of methodorganisation of oneself, a sort of regular exerciseconcentration of one's energies because it is this that one wishes to do and not fifty other things which contradict it. If you And it is in this concentration, this intensity of the will, you canthat lies the origin of joy. This gives the power to receive energies in exchange for those spent.<ref>The Motherhttp://incarnateword. (1972). Questions and answers, 1950in/cwm/04/13-january-1951. In Collected Works of the Mother Volume 4 (p. 5).#p15</ref>

==Practicing mediation or Concentration does not mean meditation; on the contrary, concentration using is a sentence==state one must be in continuously, whatever the outer activity. It means that all the energy, all the will, all the aspiration must be turned only towards the Divine and His integral realisation in our consciousness. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/16/letters-to-a-young-sadhak-vi#p2 </ref>

''QYogic concentration is an extension and intensification of the normal power of concentration to realise the object of yoga which is the integral union with the Divine. <ref>http: Mother//incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/concentration-and-meditation#p45</ref> Concentration is indeed the first condition of any Yoga, in but it is an all-receiving concentration that is the very nature of the Friday Classesintegral Yoga. A wide massive opening, you often read a sentence to us harmonised concentration of the whole being in all its parts and ask us to meditate on through all its powers upon the Divine is the larger action of this Yoga without which itcannot achieve its purpose. But how should we meditate on a sentence? That This wide and concentrated totality is, should we think, meditate on the idea oressential character of the Sadhana.<ref>http://incarnateword.. what should we do?''in/cwsa/23/self-consecration#p15</ref>

The sentence An all-receiving concentration which is already a mental formationopen to all that exists; the mental formation it is madea concentration which does not oppose anything. The sentence It is the expression of the mental formationa concentration which is open. So when you meditate It means that one must not reject certain things from himself and practise an exclusive concentration on a sentence, there are two methods. There is an active, ordinary external method of reflecting and trying to understand what these words mean, understand intellectually what particular point while neglecting all the sentence means exactly —that is active meditationothers. You concentrate on these few words and take All the thought they express possibilities should be admitted and try, through reasoning, deduction, analysis, to understand what it meanspursued. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwm/07/28-december-1955#p1 </ref>

There Concentration in the heart is another one method, more direct concentration in the head (or above) is another; both are included in this Yoga and deep; it one has to do whichever one finds easiest and most natural. The object of the concentration in the heart is to take this mental formationopen the centre there (heart-lotus), this combination to feel the presence of words with the thought they represent, Divine Mother in the heart and to gather all your energy become aware of one's soul or psychic being which is a portion of attention on it, compelling yourself to concentrate all your strength on that formationthe Divine. For instance, instead The object of concentrating all your energies on something you see physically, you take that thought the concentration in the head is to rise to the Divine Consciousness and concentrate bring down the Light of the Mother or her Force or Ananda into all your energies on that thought —in the mind, of coursecentres. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/29/mantra-and-japa#p17 </ref>

And thenThere must be a large, if you are able to concentrate many-sided yet single concentration of the thought sufficiently and stop it from vacillatingon the idea, you pass quite naturally from the thought expressed by perception, the words to vision, the idea which is behind and which could be expressed in other wordsawakening touch, other formsthe soul's realisation of the one Divine. The characteristic There must be a flaming concentration of the idea is heart on the seeking of the power to clothe itself in many different thoughts. And All and Eternal and, when you once we have achieved thisfound him, you have already gone much deeper than by merely understanding a deep plunging and immersion in the possession and ecstasy of the wordsAll-Beautiful. Naturally, if you continue to concentrate There must be a strong and know how to do it, you can pass from immovable concentration of the idea to will on the luminous force attainment and fulfillment of all that the Divine is behind. Then you enter and a much vaster free and deeper domain. But plastic opening of it to all that asks for some traininghe intends to manifest in us. But still, that This is the very principle triple way of meditationthe Yoga. <ref>http://incarnateword.in/cwsa/23/self-consecration#p18</ref>

If you are able to go deep enough, you find the Principle '''Content curated by Manoj Pavitran and the Force behind the idea, and that gives you the power of realisation. This is how those who take meditation as a means of spiritual development are able to unite with the Principle which is behind things and obtain the power to act on these things from above.Divyanshi Chugh'''

But even without going so far —that implies a rather hard discipline, doesn’t it, a long{|class="wikitable" style= "background-standing habit —you can pass quite easily color: #efefff; width: 100%;"|Read more about '''[[Concentration Compilation|Concentration]]''' from the thought to the idea, and that gives you a light and an understanding in the mind which enables you, in your turn, to express the idea in any form. An idea can be expressed in many different forms, in many different thoughts, just as when you come down to a more material level, a thought can be expressed through many different words. Going downwards, towards expression, that is, spoken or written expression, there are many different words and different formulas which may serve to express a thought, but this thought is only one of the forms works of thought which can express the idea, the idea behind, and this idea itself, if it is followed deeply, has behind it a principle of spiritual knowledge and power which can then spread Mother and act on the manifestationSri Aurobindo.|}

When you have a thought you look for words, don’t you, and then you try to arrange these words to express your thought; you can use many words to express a thought, you tell yourself, “No, look, if I put this word instead of that, it would express what I am thinking much better.” That is what you learn when you are taught style, how to write. But when I give you a written sentence which has the power to express a thought and tell you to concentrate on it, then, through this thought-form you can go back to the idea behind, which can be expressed in many different thoughts. It is like a great hierarchy: there is a Principle right at the top, which itself is not the only one, for you can go still higher up; but this Principle can be expressed in ideas, and these ideas can be expressed in a great number of thoughts and this great number of thoughts can make use of many languages and an even greater number ofwords. When I give you a thought it is simply to help you to concentrate....  All this is to learn concentration, that’s all. Sometimes one of these sentences expresses a very deep truth. It is one of those happy sentences which are very expressive. So that helps you to find the truth that is behind.<Ref>The Mother. (1972). Questions and Answers 1957-1958. In Collected works of the Mother(pp. 381-383). Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram.</ref> ==Practicing concentration using objects==There are schools which put an object in front of you, a flower or a stone, or any object, and then you sit around it and concentrate on it and your eyes go like this (Mother squints) until you become the object. That too is a method of concentration. By gazing steadily like that, without moving, you finally pass into the thing you are gazing at. But you must not begin to gaze at all kinds of things: only gaze steadily at that. That gives you a look... it makes you squint.<Ref>The Mother. (1972). Questions and Answers 1957-1958. In Collected works of the Mother(pp. 381-383). Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram.</ref>    =Obstacles to develop concentrationReferences= But the thought “What’s the use?” must not come in to weaken the will. The idea that one is born with a certain character and can do nothing about it is a stupidity.<ref>The Mother. (1972). Questions and answers, 1950-1951. In Collected Works of the Mother Volume 4 (p. 5).</ref>  =References=