Mind is the controller of your whole life. But do you know what is mind and how does it function? These are some fundamental questions, answers to which can make you understand the mechanism of mind and come out of it. Mind cannot be fought and defeated, it can only be understood. Yogis understand the mind as one of the four attributes of consciousness: manas, buddhi, ahamkara, and chitta. Manas is mind; buddhi is intellect; ahamkara is ego; chitta is the sub-conscious mind.

The sense organs are the windows of the mind. Each message from the phenomenal world passes through these windows for presentation by the mind to buddhi, the intellect. Whatever happens transpires within a continuum of action and interactions. Intellect is the adviser that stores all past experiences and all possibilities that future holds. It is conscious of the positive and negative aspects of everything that mind presents, and always perceives through a three-dimensional framework of past, present, and future. Like an honest friend, it guides the human organism while remaining unattached to anything.

While intellect judges, ego acts on these judgments, envying that which is unacceptable and acting out that which is acceptable. Ego is the self-concept, which creates a sense of separation from other beings. It is the faculty for extending being into the phenomenal world.

Chitta is the core of being. All the actions of the ego register in the chitta. Acts that are in accord with the inner nature, produce feelings of bliss, whereas the contrary actions create feelings of pain and displeasure. Chitta is beyond the senses, and beyond evaluation and identification.

Energy in the form of light, sound, smell, taste, or touch reaches the eyes, ears, and nose, taste buds, or touch receptors. This incoming energy excites the sense organs, starting a process that culminates in the brain. These incoming currents cause detectable changes in the function of the organism.

Sense perceptions energize the mind, and a duplicate of the original stimulus is presented to the intellect and ego within the skull, within the tissues of the brain itself. Energy from outside the organism penetrates the brain (the gross manifestation of mind) through the sense organs and nervous system, to be manifested as changes in consciousness. Perceptions of the outside world are actually events within the mind/brain, triggered by an external source of energy. For example, what one hears is not the external sound, but electromagnetic pulses of the nervous system vibrating in resonance with the external sound. One does not hear the external stimulus itself.

One is continually surrounded by objects of sensory stimulation, and the act of centering attention on any one source can often be accomplished only with great difficulty. Other sources compete with the object of concentration, causing lapses in the attention span. And it is through the mind that all distractions come into consciousness.

Let’s take an example that you are concentrating on writing a letter and at that time you see a motion out of the corner of one eye. Now, the mind has presented a sense perception to the intellect. Intellect now registers the motion as of indeterminate origin and of unknown possible consequences to the organism. Ego, concerned with the presence of the unknown and seeking to make a positive identification, directs the head and eyes to turn toward the source of motion. And you discover that it is merely the wind blowing a curtain. Pleased and relaxed, you return to the task of writing.

In this mundane sequence, all the four elements are clearly visible. Mind presented the blur of motion to intellect. Intellect gave an “unknown” signal to ego. Ego, not content with uncertainty, strove to make the identification by commanding the body to act. The feeling self, once the identification was made, registered relief.

From the original task you were distracted into a long and involved process, which shattered the original sequence of thought. To return to the letter now necessitates a moment of reflection and recollecting of “gathering your wits.”

Sense perceptions are presented to the intellect for evaluation, and then passed on to ego for action. Intellect is the function of consciousness that scans the raw content of sense perceptions, looking for aspects that correlate with past experiences. Each of these aspects is then integrated into a single judgment, and on the basis of this judgment the ego acts. The ego attaches to sense objects, desiring to attain for itself those that have been deemed necessary for maintaining or extending the identity.

The very act of evaluation, coupled with action that follows, is a process of projecting conscious energy outward in the form of attachment to sense objects. This phenomenon of desire accounts for the daily depletion of energy.

One receives energy from the material world in the form of sense perceptions. This energy is then projected back onto the material world in the form of desires and attachments. Normally this flow of energy back and forth through the gates of mind reaches an equilibrium - as much as one receives, one gives back.

But to attain the state of meditation, to work consciously to raise the level of being, one must raise the level of energy present within the mind. One must begin to perceive the world without attachment, without value judgments, without desires. And to reach this state, the energies in the organism must first become single-point focused. This state of concentration is the necessary precursor to meditation itself.

There are many methods which can be done to induce the primary levels of concentration. Tratak is one of the methods. Tratak induces the state of single-mindedness by first stilling and harmonizing the breath, and then by providing a fixed source of sensory input at which one gazes, both eyes sharply focused, until the mind frees itself of all external distractions.

A flame or black circle is customarily used, for either of these objects may be easily perceived without attaching valuations. This enables the meditator to still the flow of thoughts that often begins with the perception of a sense objects. The lens of the eyes, in turn, focuses the image on the retinal surface where it is passed through the optic nerves to the occipital lobes of the brain. All energy is thus focused on one point, incoming and outgoing. A closed loop is formed.

During the course of gazing continuously, as tears start flowing, the meditator closes the eyes and visualizes the spot or flame internally, where it appears as an afterimage on the retina-the surface of the brain’s optic nerve. The eyes are brought to one internal point, just slightly above the center of the bowlines. The eyes are now directed to the plexus (network) of the three nerves considered most important in yoga physiology. The plexus is activated by the pineal gland. The pineal, located in the center of the brain between the two hemispheres, is the only gland in the human body that is receptive to light. For this reason, it has been called the third eye in traditional spiritual literature. It is this gland that converts the energy of light into the electromagnetic frequencies used to govern the operation of the entire glandular system. The pineal literally feeds on light, and denied proper input normally atrophies by the age of sixteen. It is for this reason that even today the traditional Indian families keep an oil lamp burning in an infant’s nursery at all times during the first crucial forty days of life. And while most forms of meditation are expressly prohibited for children, tratak is prescribed at a very early age.

Yoga has long recognized the significance of the pineal, and of the necessity of disciplines to prevent the atrophy of the “master gland” of the body. Fortunately, the pineal never completely withers. It remains always sensitive to light, and with proper stimulation can redevelop. By concentrating all frequencies of the visual light spectrum into one compact but not-too- intense source-as with the flame of a lamp fueled by clarified butter-light and heat can be conveyed to the pineal through the optic nerves. Regular practice of tratak on a flame initiates the gradual process of redevelopment. When proper pineal function is restored-virtually impossible without some form of regular concentration on light-light is converted into electrical energy and sent from the pineal under conscious direction to the other glands of the endocrine system through the nerve junction in the region of the forehead where the eyes are upturned both in meditation and unconsciousness. When one is conscious and experiencing the flow of energy through this plexus, one experiences intense bliss. This moment, when the energy is first brought under conscious control, has been called the opening of the third eye.

When the function of the pineal is restored, the body gains a new balance. Nerve energy flows evenly through both halves of the organism. Neither electrical nor magnetic currents predominate. In this state, the central passage of the spinal cord opens and energy flows upward through the spine into the brain. It is this upward rush of energy that is experienced as bliss, the state which the meditator knew long before-and which drove one to seek the disciplines of self-evolution. The opening of the pineal takes time. What took years to wither does not miraculously regenerate overnight. Tratak is a discipline of yoga requiring regular and persistent practice. But there are immediate effects as well enhanced ability to concentrate, greater awareness of the visual realm, a more centered and relaxed state of mind and the positive feelings that flow from the knowledge that one has at last discovered a means of elevating consciousness.

Concentration on the flame opens the door to single-mindedness, and all potentials are but the extensions of a single point. Scriptures says that one who practices tratak regularly develops the faculties of intuition and imagination. Past, present, and future appear with equal clarity in a state of pure rapture, beyond all limitations and attachments. Tratak works beautifully for children. Although meditation is not for children until he/she is of thirteen years of age, but I understand that children can be safely introduced to Tratak, as this will slow down the atrophy of pineal gland and the child will also learn the art of enhancing his abilities to think, learn, retention.

Mind is a tool which can be used both in a negative and positive way. It tends to hold each and every memory stored safely. There are both good and bad memories. If good memories bring smiles then the painful ones bring sadness. These memories can create havoc in person’s life, when one keeps on holding it so tight that it begins to suffocate. How can one break this noose of bad memories? Is it easy to forget ugliness, animosity, dejections, and rejections? Doesn’t seem easy. Well, nothing comes easy. Cheap things come for cheap prices. And the ability to not to be dependant on others is something which is the most precious thing. It is not difficult to have it. To make it easy, you just need to do bring a small change; and this change is not to be dependant on others! As long as we live in dependency, we will create such situations for ourselves where we become prone to pain and hurt.

We are tied with rope of expectations, which is why we are always looking towards others - they should do this and that for me, then I will be happy, and if they don’t, then we are sulking. If we want to rule the lives of others, dictate and direct them, we can never be peaceful. But this is what is happening in every relationship. Parents in the name of parenting do this to their children; husband to wife and wife to husband. We are so much focused on actions, language, motives of others that we have forgotten to live our own life. Everyone is trying to rule life of the other person and the other person is busy planning for yet another person; what a chain. Those who don’t know how to live with thyself are the people who will always be dependant on others for their moments of happiness. Somehow, as you know that others are dependant on you, others too know this, so we tend to exploit one another emotionally and psychologically. Wife knows that her husband will come to her for his fulfillment, so she will not leave a single opportunity to lay down her demands. Husband knows the same and thus tries to rule the roost. Aren’t we tormenting each other in name of love? Mind is looking for appreciation and appraisals all the time. This hunger is so great that we tend to put ourselves in such odd circumstances that we experience a great turmoil at all times.

One needs to correct this. Learn to love yourself, accept yourself as you are, and meditate. Learning to be in the moment, accepting it with full gratitude gives us fresh new zeal to live with awareness. People are busy in collecting more and more money, good houses, better cars, smart husband or boyfriend, beautiful wife or girlfriend; mind is hungry for flashy designer clothes, thicker wallets, and heavier jewellery. You work so hard to get this and yet all this will not make you happy or contented. Why? Simple: you will still be dependant on someone to say, “Wow, you look beautiful” and if there is no one to praise you, you think that all the make up, accessories, etc, which you have madly collected have gone wasted because no body noticed and praised you for all sthis. Learn to be with yourself, devoid of any kind of dependencies-what a relief! No one can give this to you. It is something for which you yourself have to work. When it is your responsibility to make your life happy, why leave this for tomorrow. Do it now! Breathe deep, look outside the window at the tree or sky, and close your eyes with a deep resolve that you will take this responsibility of your life. Create beauty around you, love life, and let love flow to others. Be a giver not a beggar. Let mind be free of all pretensions and assumptions. Just be natural, be in the moment-the moment called life.