Category:Concentrating on God
Theme Analysis
The process of concentrating on God is the core practice of yoga and devotional service. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that this process involves withdrawing the senses from external activities and fixing the turbulent mind on the form of the Lord (viṣṇu-mūrti) within the heart. The quotes delineate a systematic progression of concentration: the meditator should not look at the Lord's face immediately but should begin at the lotus feet and gradually rise to the calves, thighs, and finally the smiling face. This specific focus on the personal form (sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha) is superior to and easier than concentrating on the impersonal effulgence. The perfection of this concentration is called samādhi (trance), where the devotee attains immortal knowledge, freedom from sinful reactions, and complete absorption in the Supreme.
- The Object of Concentration: The mind must be fixed on the Superoul (Paramātmā) or the Deity (arcā-vigraha), specifically the four-handed form of Viṣṇu, not on a void or impersonal light.
- The Systematic Method: Meditation is a gradual process starting from the lotus feet and moving upward to the smiling face. This ensures the devotee does not fall down or commit offenses.
- Controlling the Turbulent Mind: The primary challenge is the flickering nature of the mind. By practicing sitting postures (āsana) and breathing exercises (prāṇāyāma), or by simple chanting, one controls the senses to facilitate concentration.
- The Result: Successful concentration leads to samādhi, where one forgets external matter and enjoys unlimited spiritual happiness. It is the means to cross the ocean of nescience and conquer the demoniac challenge of godlessness.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Process of Concentrating on God.
Subcategories
This category has the following 4 subcategories, out of 4 total.
C
Pages in category "Concentrating on God"
The following 63 pages are in this category, out of 63 total.
A
- All the senses have to be stopped in their external activities and concentrated on the form of visnu-murti, the form of God. The mind is very turbulent, but it has to be fixed on the Lord in the heart
- All the senses have to be stopped in their external activities, and the mind must be concentrated on visnu-murti, the form of Lord Visnu. That is the perfection of yoga. The mind is very turbulent, so it has to be fixed upon the heart
- Another devotee very anxiously expressed himself thusly, "My mind is very flickering, so I cannot concentrate it upon Your lotus feet"
- As a part of Him (God), one should concentrate on Him only, without deviation; otherwise one is sure to be overcome by the potencies of the material creation, one after another
- Atri Muni, by his breathing exercise, concentrated on the Supersoul, or the Lord of the universe. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita, the Lord of the universe is Vasudeva and, by the direction of Vasudeva, Lord Brahma and Lord Siva work
- Attachment, greed and lust are three formidable forces that prevent one from concentrating upon the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These forces act because the Supreme Lord does not like to be realized by nondevotees and atheists
B
- Bowing down with folded hands and concentrating his attention, he began to offer prayers to the child (Narayana), who illuminated His birthplace by His natural influence - SB 10.3.12
- By this simple process (of concentrating one's meditation on Visnu's lotus feet), one can cross the ocean of nescience as easily as one steps over the hoofprint of a calf - SB 10.2.30
G
- Generally, those who are trying to realize the Absolute Truth first of all realize the brahma-jyotir. Those who concentrate on the Supersoul, the localized form of the Lord in the heart, called Paramatma, are known as paramatmavadis
- Great sages have therefore concluded that the process of meditation is designed so that the individual living entity may concentrate his attention on the lotus feet of the Supersoul form
H
- He (Dhruva Maharaja) concentrated his mind on the arca-vigraha form of the Lord, which is the exact replica of the Lord and, thus meditating upon Him, entered into complete trance
- He (Narottama dasa Thakura) has recommended that instead of taking the trouble to travel to such places, one should concentrate his mind on Govinda, and that will help him
- He (the yogi) can then (after concentrating the vital force between the eyebrows) decide whether he wants to go to the abode of Krsna in the transcendental Vaikunthas from which he'll not be required to descend into the material world
- He (the yogi) can then (after concentrating the vital force between the eyebrows) decide whether he wants to go to the abode of Krsna in the transcendental Vaikunthas, or to travel to higher planets in the material universe
- Here (in SB 2.1.19) it is indicated that the Visnu form is the ultimate goal of meditation, and as such it is better to concentrate upon the forms of Visnu than on impersonal omkara. The latter process is also more difficult than the former
I
- I (Sukadeva) have thus explained to you (Pariksit) the gross material gigantic conception of the P of Godhead. One who seriously desires liberation concentrates his mind on this form of God, because there is nothing more than this in the material world
- In his prayers, Lord Siva concentrated upon the personal features of Parabrahman, described in personal terms as snigdha-pravrd-ghana-syamam - SB 4.24.45
- In such a devotional state (being concentrated only upon the eternal loving service of the Lord), a perfect yogi can attain the status of immortal knowledge and bliss
- In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he concentrates on the Supreme. BG 5.21 - 1972
- It is remarked by the Lord Himself that those who are attached to this impersonal feature of the Lord suffer a very troublesome task because no one can concentrate on the impersonal feature
- It is through the processes of devotional service, chanting and hearing of the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that one can achieve this concentration - on God
M
- Maharaja Dhrtarastra was to attain success in those preliminary actions because he was seated in a sanctified place and was concentrating upon one objective, namely the Supreme Personality of Godhead (Hari)
- Meditation means concentrating the mind to find out God, where He is within my heart. That is real perfection of yoga. So people do not know this science
O
- O lotus-eyed Lord, by concentrating one's meditation on Your lotus feet, which are the reservoir of all existence & by accepting those lotus feet as the boat by which to cross the ocean of nescience, one follows in the footsteps of mahajanas - SB 10.2.30
- O my Lord, although You manifest Yourself in varieties of forms, You are one without a second. Therefore pure devotees concentrate upon You and worship only You - SB 10.40.7
- One can practice concentration upon the Lord until one is so fixed that he remains in trance, thinking always of the form of the Lord
- One has to concentrate on the form of the Lord, which is described here (in SB 4.8.45) in connection with Dhruva Maharaja's meditation. Dhruva Maharaja perfected this kind of meditation, and his yoga was successful
- One should concentrate his mind upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who alone distributes Himself in so many manifestations just as ordinary persons create thousands of manifestations in dreams
- One simply has to concentrate on one's worship in good faith, as instructed by the bona fide spiritual master, and one's efforts will come out successfully
- One who cannot believe that the Lord can be worshiped with equal success in the Deity, or arca form, or who cannot concentrate on this form is advised to worship the universal form of the Lord
- Our senses are very restless, and by practicing the different asanas, or sitting postures, one must control the mind and senses so that one can concentrate upon the form of Visnu within the heart
S
- Somehow or other, Ajamila consciously or unconsciously chanted the name of Narayana at the time of death (ante narayana-smrtih), and therefore he became all-perfect simply by concentrating his mind on the name of Narayana
- Struck with great wonder, Vasudeva now concentrated his attention on the Supreme Personality of Godhead
T
- That is called yoga, to control the mind from all other subject matters and concentrate it on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is called yoga. Yoga means linking
- The chanter has to concentrate on hearing the vibration, and without extra endeavor on his part, the Lord will automatically appear
- The devotee should first concentrate his mind on the Lord's lotus feet, which are adorned with the marks of a thunderbolt, a goad, a banner and a lotus
- The kinds of remembering God are: (c) concentrating upon a particular form of the Lord (this is called meditation), (d) concentrating one's mind continuously on the form of the Lord - this is called dhruvanusmrti, or perfect meditation
- The Lord is one and that He is expanded in everything. This is understood by the Vedic version: sarvam khalv idam brahma. One who knows this concentrates all his energy in worshiping Lord Visnu
- The Lord's magnanimous pastimes & the glowing glancing of His smiling face are all indications of His extensive benedictions. One must therefore concentrate on this transcendental form of the Lord, as long as the mind can be fixed on Him by meditation
- The meditation should concentrate on the person of the Supreme Godhead, either in His virat-rupa, the gigantic universal form, or in His sac-cid-ananda-vigraha (BS 5.1), as described in the scriptures
- The mystic (yogi) tries to concentrate upon the Supersoul by controlling the senses from all other engagements, and thus he ultimately attains samadhi
- The personified Vedas continued, "All these different persons, although concentrating their minds in different ways, achieve spiritual perfection according to their different perspectives because You, O Lord, are equal to all Your devotees"
- The personified Vedas continued, "Concentrating the mind upon the form of Visnu and controlling the senses very rigidly, they (mystic yogis) practice the yoga system"
- The personified Vedas continued, "Your (the Lord's) enemies also concentrate upon You, thinking always of how to kill You, and yogis undertake great penances and austerities just to attain Your impersonal effulgence"
- The process of meditation should begin from the lotus feet of the Lord and progress to His smiling face. The meditation should be concentrated upon the lotus feet, then the calves, then the thighs, and in this way higher and higher
- The Supreme Lord, by His plenary portion, is sitting in everyone's heart, and by meditation and concentration one can perceive this form. Not only is He within everyone's heart, but He is situated also within every atom of the creation
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Freed from all sinful reactions are those who rise from bed at the end of night, early in the morning, and fully concentrate their minds with great attention upon My very pleasing abode (the ocean of milk)
- The truly advanced devotee sees that he is not a devotee but that everyone else is a devotee. The kanistha-adhikari, the neophyte, simply concentrates on the Deity, and that is required in the beginning
- The word used here (in SB 4.8.51) is eka-bhutena, which means with great attention and concentration. If one concentrates on the descriptions of the bodily features of the Lord, one will never fall down
- They (highly qualified brahmanas) concentrate only on the forms of Visnu because they are serious about liberation from the material conditions
- They concentrated their minds always upon the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the resting place of the totality of living entities and who is therefore celebrated as Vasudeva
- This ninefold process (sravanam, kirtanam, etc.) is described in this verse (SB 4.21.34) as visuddha-vijnana-ghanah, or satisfying the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly by transcendental knowledge concentrated on the form of the Supreme Lord, Visnu
- This process of concentrating on the different bodily parts of the Lord will gradually diminish the demoniac challenge of godlessness and bring about gradual development of devotional service to the Lord
- This same concentration (on God) can be achieved by other recommended processes (other than the yoga process), and therefore anyais ca, other methods, also can be applied
- This yoga system (going to secluded place, control the senses and mind to concentrate everything on Visnu form) is very, very difficult. It may be possible for some solitary man, but for the general mass of people it is not recommended in the scriptures
- To cease from personal sense endeavors and to concentrate on the supreme cause is a sign of self-surrender, and when self-surrender is present, that is a sure sign of devotional service
- To concentrate one's mind on Govinda in any place is a path meant for those who are the most spiritually advanced; it is not for ordinary persons
Y
- Yoga means to get into touch with the SL. The process, however, includes several bodily features such as asana, dhyana, pranayama and meditation, and all of them are meant for concentrating upon the localized aspect of Vasudeva represented as Paramatma
- Yogis go to a secluded place, and by controlling all the senses and the mind and concentrating everything on the form of Visnu, they reach samadhi. That is called perfection of yoga