Mystical Concentration and Its Development.

Teachings of H.I.K.

The definition of concentration is to be single-mindedly focused on something.
Will-power is also the result of a developed concentration.
Man can be successful in life when he brings his will-power into harmony with his wisdom. Wise people without will are as helpless as people with will-power but no wisdom. One can harmonise them by becoming conscious of the action of both in all one does. One way is of depriving oneself of that which one likes, for constant gratification of desires leads to a weakening of the will. Deprivation provides a stimulus to the will. The will becomes conscious of itself. For instance, a person wants to have peaches, but at the same time admires the flower of the peach. Then the idea comes that he should let the peach remain on the plant and not pick it. In this case first desire wanted to take hold, then sense worked. This friction produced the light which is enlightened will.
The enemy of wisdom is the mind without tranquility. A tranquil mind produces right thought and wisdom arises naturally.
The Sufis have therefore taught different exercises , physical and meditative, to still the mind so that wisdom can spring forth naturally.
Remember that it is not in disturbed water that one sees one’s image reflected, but in still water only.

Mystical concentration is about getting in touch with the silent life. The life of sensation is the world of the five senses and we are always interacting with it. The silent life is that which is beyond the five senses and is abstract in nature, but at the same time is limitless in contrast to the limitations of the world of physical perception. The divine life is the silent life. The Real is that which is beyond description and so the knowledge of the Real comes from the silent speech.

There are two kinds of Concentration: Automatic and Intentional.
Automatic concentration is found in many people who may not even be aware of it. This concentration may be to one’s advantage or disadvantage. It can be advantageous if one is fully concentrated upon one’s business, art or occupation because of one’s passionate involvement with it. Such a person is bound to be successful in his enterprise.
However, there may be some people who are constantly focused on negative thoughts, such as their bad luck, the idea of being disliked by others, or of being incapable, useless, doing self-pity and having thoughts of disease, sickness and suffering. In this way those who are not ill would create illness for themselves. It is said that once a person becomes a patient through concentration, he is difficult to cure.

In contrast to this there is intentional concentration which is taught by thinkers, philosophers and mystics. Mysticism is based upon the idea of concentration.
Mystical concentration is divided into 4 stages. The first is concentration. The second is contemplation, the third is meditation and the fourth is realization.
Concentration: To fix one’s thought upon an object. It is important what one concentrates upon because the object of concentration has an immediate effect upon one’s consciousness. Concentration on life and beauty is preferable to concentration on that which is dead and ugly in negative form. Therefore the highest concentration would be on the Divine. As it is not easy to bring the Abstract into one’s direct vision or scope of concentration therefore it is advisable to concentrate on the beautiful aspects of the Divine in manifestation.
Concentration may be developed through 3 ways: By action, By words, and By memory.
In the first form, one makes a certain movement or performs a certain action which helps one concentrate on a certain object. To willfully observe something with one’s gaze fixed on it. The act of cutting vegetables, weaving cloth….etc.
In the second form, one may repeat certain words that keep one’s concentration on the desired object.
In the third form, one learns to use one’s memory bank as a builder’s yard, and takes tiles, bricks, pillars, whatever one wants and builds the picture of the object of one’s concentration.

Contemplation: One arrives at contemplation only after advancing through concentration. Contemplation is a higher concentration for here one holds not an object but an idea before oneself. It is much harder to concentrate on an abstract form rather than a physical one. The mind is often unruly and when one wants to hold it , it immediately tries to slip out of one’s grasp. The body is also the same for if one tries to keep it still, it becomes increasingly restless. The Mystics use a rope to tie the mind in a certain place by their will and that is the breath. The breath is what creates light, magnetism and the atmosphere around us.
The mind is in a way like the gramophone. It replays whatever is recorded on it. But in addition to that it also has the power to create what is impressed upon it. If ugliness is recorded then it will produce disagreement and disharmony. The learning of concentration helps us to clear the record and make it produce positive effects that we want instead of the negative ones that are forced upon us. In the sensorial world we are constantly exposed to impressions. It is necessary for us to be mindful of the impressions that we receive and accept. It is for this reason that mystics have preferred solitude to the crowded life.

Meditation: In this stage one is able communicate with the silent life. As a result there is a mutual opening up of a communication between the silent and the outer life. The inner and the outer life begin to fall into harmony. In meditation one learns what no books could ever teach. The silent life is the greatest teacher for divine knowledge does not follow illumination but precedes it. One cannot claim to be meditative for it is a reality communicated through one’s atmosphere.
A spiritual teacher, on being asked the sign of knowing God, said: Not those who call out the Name of God, but those whose silence says it.

Realisation: It is the culmination of the first three degrees. In the third stage man pursued meditation, but in this stage meditation pursues man. The singer does not sing the song anymore but the song sings him. It is an expansion of consciousness, unfoldment of the soul, a communication with each atom of life. In short it is the realization of the Real "I" which is the fulfillment of life’s purpose.


Meditation on Purification by Breath.

Just as a hoover sweeps the dust off carpets by sucking it up, the proper way of breathing sucks up the dust from the mind and ejects it.

Posture helps the stilling of the mind and breathing helps the cleansing of mind.

The perceptible breath, which the nostrils experience as inhalation and exhalation, is only an effect of breathing, it is not breath. For the mystic, breath is that current which carries the air out and brings it in. The air is perceptible and the current is imperceptible. It is a kind of ethereal magnetism, a finer kind of electricity that puts the air into action. This is what is called the nafs. Breath is the very self of man. Atman means the soul of man and in German the same word is used for soul and for breath. If there is any trace of the soul it can be found in the breath alone.

The current of breath runs through the physical plane to the innermost plane. It runs through the body, mind and soul, touching the innermost part of life and coming back. It perpetually moves in and out. The most important part of being is the breath. It forms a bridge between the inner being and the outer existence.

There are three significant points to remember with regard to breath.
Firstly, one does not breathe in and out in a straight line as one imagines. The real action of the breath is that of a wheel, a circle.
Secondly, just like an electric wire, the breath also possesses a glow , a combination of heat and light, which is not just confined to it but remains around it as well. This radiance of the circle of breath touches every part of the body, and also exists in the auric field.
Thirdly, every direction in which the current of breath goes, causes a different action and reaction. Contracting, stretching, blinking, coughing, yawning, sighing , are all effects of the breath.
The significance of breath is such that it is claimed that diseases of the lungs, pain of childbirth, and other diseases may be avoided if the science of breath is understood properly.

The action of breath in our body is limited, but in reality this current, this breath, connects the body with the Divine Spirit, connecting God and man in one current.

Reimagining the Body. [Risala—Pir Zia]

Think of your body as a world in itself. The head, limbs, torso and abdomen are the continents. Your skin is the earths’ crust. Microbes are the beasts that roam it. Hairs are trees. Bones are mountain ranges. Arteries and veins are rivers and streams. Your shaking is an earthquake, your laughing: lightning, your crying;rainfall.

You may also think of your body as a gossamer choreography of stardust, a constellation in motion.

Elemental Purification Breath Exercises.

1. Earth Breath: Inhale and exhale through the nose, 5 times. Breathing in absorb telluric magnetism. Breathing out, release psychosomatic detritus through the base of the spine, to be composted in the earth. Fresh energy is again sucked up into the body by the ingoing breath. The colour to be imagined is Yellow. The quality associated with it is Patience.

2. Water Breath: Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth, 5 times. Breathing in, imagine brisk crystalline water cascades flowing from the fontanel and washing over you. Breathing out, imagine all the debris of your being, flushed out into the ocean, being neutralized in it. The colour is Green. The quality is Hope.

3. Fire: Inhale through the mouth and exhale through the nose, 5 times. Breathing in, fire flares up in the solar plexus, flickering upward. Breathing out, toxins are combusted, producing a radiant aura. The colour is Red. The quality is Ardour.

4. Air: Inhale and exhale through the mouth, 5 times. Breathing in, sense the vast spaces between the particles of the body. Exhaling, a gentle breeze voids the pollutants from the air. The colour is Blue. The quality is Inspiration.

5. Ether: Return to normal nasal respiration. For a moment intuit ether:formless, spaceless, traceless. The colour is Crystal Translucence. The quality is Peace.

All the elements of the body have been gathered in a renewed balance and purified form.

The exercise should be ended by reciting the prayer Nayaz:

Beloved Lord, AlMighty God!
Through the rays of the sun,
Through the waves of the air,
Through the All-pervading Life in space,
Purify and revivify me!
And I pray, heal my body, heart and soul.
Amen.