What is Tratak Sadhana? Part 2: The Benefits
Tratak is an advanced technique. Seek the help of a Guru before starting its practise.
This post continues from the prior article on Tratak – click here to read.
The benefits are many
The point of tratak is to ultimately still the mind and use the resulting concentration to access soul power within.
Aside from improved focus, mental acuity and memory, other notable benefits are:
- Precognition. One may experience such heightened levels of perception that your observation skills border on precognition. IE – you can almost read someone’s thoughts or know what they are about to say before they say it. This occurs because the mind is usually attempting to process more information from your 5 senses continuously than is usually possible. Most of the time it must ‘delete’ the majority of this information flowing in and just focus on the relevant details. With the practice of tratak, one starts to delete less and absorb more.
- Influence. Your powers of influence improve as you can no only ‘read’ people better, your added awareness and mental acuity give rise to greater levels of confidence. In combination these two factors allow you to improve your oration abilities, stick to the strength of your convictions and therefore much more easily influence others.
- Siddhis. The advanced practitioner of tratak can reach the stage where their cognitive abilities can access the subtle realms of existence and channel divine power to manifest siddhis (when used in conjunction with mantras); the easiest being clairvoyance, remote vision, psychic communication, etc.
Thoughts on Mantra: Write your way to Success!
Write mantra to align mind body and soul during prayer!
Mantra writing is one of my favourite methods of sadhana. It is a powerful technology for aligning one’s mind body and soul with one goal.
It is also extremely flexible – one can take up sadhana to write any mantra (unless of course expressly instructed not to for reasons of secrecy by one’s Guru).
Mantra writing…how many, how quickly?
I am frequently asked how many times one should write a mantra to attain a goal. The answer is identical to how many times they would chant it. Ideally, one should strive to complete a puruscharan over time. Of course it takes longer to write than chant, so aspirants often cut the number down to an anusthan.
The scriptures say that anyone writing a mantra 10 million times (1 crore) will attain anything they are looking for.
Start slow and build up
My personal advice is to begin slowly – write a page or 108x of a short mantra – preferably a bija. Rama is the absolute ideal as it has immense power to overcome all negativity, obstacles, karma and problems in your life.
Then once a routine is set, increase this by a page a day. If enthusiasm takes you, there is no harm in writing more! But try to keep a steady minimum for daily writing.
Motivation is key
Rama is preferred as the mantra is a perfect compromise between the abstract (like Om or Soham, Aham Brahmasmi etc) and the conceivable (picture Lord Rama and all his perfect qualities).
However, if this still plots a path which is beyond your near term requirements, then by all means focus your needs on mantras like Kleem or Shreem for material benefits.
In any case, divinising one’s goals or placing the fruit of your labour at the feet of the Guru will undoubtedly pull you quickly to your destination.
Follow me on Twitter: @MantraYogi
Thoughts on Mantra: Alternative Bija Mantras
Bijas are powerful seeds
Bijas are primordial sounds which channel the creative power of the Gods. They are in themselves siddhi and attraction mantras. Chanting them instantly starts a chain of events that result in the aspirant attracting what he/she wants.
The most two popular mantras within this group are Shreem (to create material abundance) and Kleem (gain the power of attraction – especially of female companionship). Click on each bija mantra to read prior articles on the subjects.
Not just Kleem and Shreem
Many people do not realise that other mantras are actually bijas hidden in plain sight! The most prominent examples are the Panchakshari mantra: Nama Shivaya, the Ashtakshari: Om Namo Narayanaya, and Rama.
These can also be chanted as bijas to gain immediate benefits. All of these particular mantras are powerful purifiers.
What does this mean? It means the clarification of:
- Mind (clarity without confusion, concentration, focus);
- Intellect (positivity, kind and auspicious thoughts);
- Body (a spiritual level cleanliness above physical cleanliness);
- Soul (removes bad karma).
Note that the mind and intellect are considered as two independent processes within the brain in both Freudian and Vedantic methodologies.
Follow me on Twitter: @MantraYogi
Get Ahead: Mantras for Investment Banking Professionals
A difficult time
Bankers face a difficult time at the moment. The global economy is under pressure and world is against them!
Banking, in the public’s eyes, has grown into a culture of distrustful, deceitful behaviour based around a never-ending thirst for greed and power. Yet it has also been the backbone of global trade and attracted the best and brightest individuals to strive to better themselves and test their limits. In short we need bankers! But not the negative associations.
This post is not intended to be party to playing the blame game, but will attempt to be part of the solution: to encourage the simultaneous development of character along with ability.
So how can we derive the positive benefits without the negatives?
The solution is surprisingly simple! Pray to Maha Lakshmi!
But isnt Lakshmi the Goddess of Wealth? Surely, bankers are all already rich!
The downturn has undoubtedly highlighted that a culture of excess is prevalent in banking. But wealth should not be equated to just money and greed. The abundance one attracts through the Divine is much greater than just the material kind: Lakshmi is also the Goddess of Virtue and wealth of Character!
More than Money
There are 16 kinds of wealth one can attract through praising the Divine. They are enumerated in a prior post (click here to see it), but they include: Courage and Strength, Morality and Ethics and Higher thinking.
The mantras
The wisdom locked in ancient mantras is relevant even in today’s complex world. Here are a set of mantras that may prove helpful to banking professionals at a time of great uncertainty and difficulty:
- Ganesha Gayatri – click here. For foresight to aid us in understanding the longer term repercussions of our actions than the short term effects.
- Lakshmi Gayatri – click here, or simply Shreem. Invoke Lakshmi to grant you the character required to acquire and sustain wealth.
- Narayana Gayatri, or simply: Rama. Why praise Vishnu as Narayana or Rama too? In the opening verses of the Vishnu Sahasranama, Vishnu is extolled as the King of Dharma (righteous conduct and behaviour). Such valour and knowledge of what’s right and wrong is a natural complement and pre-requisite to wealth accumulation. In his incarnation as Rama, he established a powerful precedent of how the ideal King (or any person of significant responsibility) should behave – in virtually every test. Understanding this by meditating on the name of Rama is therefore also an excellent method of character development.
What is Tratak Sadhana? Part 1: The Method
Tratak is an advanced technique. Seek the help of a Guru before starting its practise.
The Yoga of practicality
Tratak is one of the 6 methods of Hatha Yoga.
The practice of tratak is key to improving one’s concentration during meditation on certain abstract mantras.
In particular, one would practice tratak for bija mantra japa – such as Kleem and Shreem.
Tratak is generally considered an advanced technique and the help of a Guru should be sought by the serious practitioner.
Concetration is vital to manifestation
It is well known that benefits from mantra japa accrue in proportion to effort. Concentration is the underlying measure of effort; the greater the concentration whilst chanting, the more powerful the results.
Tratak helps to focus the mind and dramatically improve concentration. In this way, it is not dissimilar to pranayama.
What is tratak?
Tratak is the concentrated effort of maintaining one’s vision on one particular object or area within.
There are three forms:
- Inner – one focuses on the point between the eyes while they are closed. This is the area where the pituitary gland is located within the brain.
- Middle – focus on an object at an intermediary distance; for example an oil lamp at arm’s length.
- Outer – in this method the aspirant focuses on a distant object such as the moon or stars.
The method
- Freshly shower, wear freshly washed, loose clothes and find a quiet room to practice alone.
- Sit in your usual yogic asana (posture) – such as cross legged with the spine, neck and head straight.
- One calms the mind using pranayama before starting.
- Actively avoid and repel any intense emotional thoughts. Clear the mind.
- Start the tratak method that you find most comfortable (inner, middle, outer etc).
- Keep absolutely still and quiet during practice.
- Start with 15 mins of practice and work up to 1-2hrs.
- Always practice for the same or more time than in your prior practice.
- Try to be regular in practice – at the same time every day or week, depending on frequency.
- It will take at least 3 months of continuous practice to see significant improvement in your mental state.
The Original Mantra: the Pranava - OM
Swami Mantra Yogi 