Today a spiritual aspirant asked me regarding the process of mental concentration. His question was, how to concentrate on that Supreme Tangential Point? The reply should be known to all intuitional aspirants.

According to the standard of intellect, microcosms come within three broad categories. They are brute mind, human mind, and divine mind. Intuitional practice is a practice of transmutation of brute mind into human mind and human mind into divine mind.

In our human society we find microcosms of all these three varieties; that is, in our society there are brute microcosms in human structure – animals in human structure, animals in human framework; there is man in human framework; and there is God in human framework. And in our social life, all the problems are created by brutes in human structure; and those problems are experienced by men in human structure; and those problems are solved by gods in human structure. So a spiritual aspirant is to solve the problems of the society, he is not to create fresh problems.

Now, sádhaná is for all, intuitional practice is for all. You know, there are brutes in human structure, and there are brutes in animal structure; but the fundamental difference between these two brutes is that a brute in animal structure does not know that it is a brute in animal structure, but a brute in human structure does know that he or she is a brute in human structure. He or she should do something noble.

And the process of concentration is in the first phase physico-psychic, and in the second phase psycho-spiritual. A person has a physical body, a mind, and a spirit; so in the first phase the intuitional practice should be physico-psychic, starting from the arena of physicality and culminating in the common point of physicality and mentality. That is, the approach is physico-psychic. And in the next phase the approach will be psycho-spiritual, starting from the psychic realm and ending in the realm of spirituality.

The human mind is moving towards so many propensities; there are so many propensities in the human mind; and according to the complexity in the mind, the physical body also becomes more and more complex. The physical structure of an animal is less complex than that of a human being, because the human mind is also more complex than that of the animal. The number of glands in a human body is more than that in an animal structure, in an animal body. Now the first phase of the process is physico-psychic – that is, withdrawing the mind from different physical objects and bringing it to a particular point, and directing that point towards the realm of mind. And next is a phase of withdrawing the mind from different mental objects, from different mental pabula, and directing it towards the Supreme Subjectivity. Now this process of movement is the process of concentration.

Concentration is a major sádhaná, is a major intuitional sádhaná. But there are certain helping sádhanás. Ásana and práńáyáma, for example, are helping items. They are not sádhaná, they are called sádhanáuṋga. Now if, during this process of movement, this phase of movement, the mind becomes heavy, it will not be able to move forward. Suppose you are crossing a river. If the boat becomes heavy due to water percolation, what will happen? You will not be able to cross the river. You will have to arrange to pump the water out.

So what is this process of pumping out the water in the case of the human mind? It means freeing the mind from mundane impurities. And how to free the mind from mundane impurities? By rendering selfless service to society without any restriction of caste, creed, nationality, or sex. Similarly on the mental level, the pure mental level, we have to free the mind from propensive ideas. That is, in the first phase there should be physico-psychic karma, and in the second phase there should be psycho-spiritual karma. One will have to render social service if one wants salvation.

Now, to establish oneself in this realm of karma, what are the essential factors for success? Lord Shiva, when asked by Párvatii, said, “You know, Devii, there are seven essential factors for success in physico-psychic karma or in psycho-spiritual karma, whatever it may be. But there are seven essential factors, you must remember those seven factors.” What are those factors?

Phaliśyatiiti vishvásah siddherprathama lakśańam;
Dvitiiyaḿ shraddhayá yuktaḿ trtiiyaḿ gurupújanam. Caturtho
samatábhávo paiṋcamendriyanigrahah; Śaśt́haiṋca
pramitáháro saptamaḿ naeva vidyate.

–Shiva Saḿhitá

The first essential factor is, “I must be successful in my mission.” This firm determination is the first essential factor.

Secondly, dvitiiyaḿ shraddhayá yuktaḿ – “the sádhaka, the spiritual aspirant, the intuitional aspirant, must develop shraddhá for his goal.” And what is shraddhá? You know, there is no corresponding word for shraddhá in English or Latin. Shraddhá means Shrat Satyaḿ tasmin dhiiyate iti shraddhá – “My objective – ” What is the objective? The Supreme Subjectivity here becomes the objective.

The Supreme Self, the Transcendental Entity, is the subjectivity of all subjectivities, hence it is the Supreme Subjectivity; but here, in the case of psycho-spiritual practice, that Supreme Subjectivity becomes the object. So one should develop shraddhá for this Supreme Subjectivity, that is, for one object. And what is shraddhá? Shrat Satyaḿ – accepting that goal as Absolute Truth. (Shrat means Satyaḿ.) Tasmin dhiiyate – that is, “Withdrawing the mind from all other objects, and guiding that mind unto that object which has been accepted as the Absolute Truth, is shraddhá.” It has no corresponding term in English or Latin, or in any other language. The Sanskrit is the term. Dvitiiyaḿ shraddhayá yuktaḿ – “one must develop shraddhá for the object.”

Thirdly, trtiiyaḿ gurupújanam – “one must develop shraddhá for one’s preceptor, one’s teacher.”

Next, Caturtho samatábhávo – “One should develop mental equipoise.” “He is a Brahman – he should be respected. He is an Ezhava – he is inferior to me.” This idea is dangerous. If one encourages this idea, one will not be able to attain that supreme beatitude. So, caturtho samatábhávo – “one must develop psychic equipoise.”

And fifth, paiṋcamendriyanigrahah – “one must have restraint over one’s sensory and motor organs.” “I must not see that object, that may pollute my mind. I must not hear that sound, that may pollute my mind.” These are all restraints over sensory and motor organs. Lord Buddha said, Cakkhuná saḿvaro sádhu – “O sádhu, O spiritual aspirant, you should have proper restraint over your eyes.”

Cakkhuná saḿvaro sádhu, sádhu sotena saḿvaro;
Ghánena saḿvaro sádhu, sádhu jihbáya saḿvaro;
Káyena saḿvaro sádhu, sádhu vácáya saḿvaro;
Manasá saḿvaro sádhu, sádhu sabbattha saḿvaro.

[Control your eyes, O sádhu; sádhu, control your ears; control the sense of smell, O sádhu; sádhu, control the sense of taste; control your body, O sádhu; sádhu, control your speech; control your mind, O sádhu; sádhu, have overall control.]

(It is in the Pali language.) “There must be all-round restraint over your motor and sensory organs.” Paiṋcamendriyanigrahah.

Sixth, śaśt́haiṋca pramitáháro – “You should have proper restraint over your food.” That is, your food should be nutritious, but you must not be voracious. “Voracious” means “eating too much”. Śaśt́haiṋca pramitáháro.

Seventh, saptamaḿ naeva vidyate – that is, “O Devii, I said there are seven factors, but now I say the seventh factor is nil. That is, there are six fundamental factors helping a sádhaka to establish himself or herself in the realm of karma in order to attain the Cosmic beatitude.”

I think you have followed this, and you should remember it.