Trataka

Posted by Naval at Tuesday, February 23, 2010

I have written a lot of articles on the various aspects and fields of Spiritualism and now I am
going to start a newer label 'Trataka' on my blog. In this Article, I am going to tell about
Introduction, Tratak Dhyan, Practice of Tratak etc.

What is Trataka?

Trataka is steady gazing. Write the word Om in black on the wall. Concentrate on it with open
eyes till tears come in the eyes. Then close the eyes; visualise the picture of Om. Then open the
eyes and again gaze till lachrymation manifests. Gradually increase the period. There are
students who can gaze for one hour. Trataka is one of the sad kriyas (six exercises) in hatha
yoga. Trataka steadies the wandering mind and removes viksepa (tossing of the mind). Instead of
gazing at Om you may gaze at a big black dot on the wall. The walls will present a golden colour
during trataka.


You can do trataka on any picture of the Lord, either of Krishna, Rama, or Siva or on saligrama.
You can sit on the chair also. Fix the picture on the wall in front of your eyes. Trataka is the
alpha-beta of concentration. It is the first exercise for yogic students in concentration.


Trataka with open eyes is followed by visualisation. Visualisation is calling up of a clear mental
image of anything.


Practise trataka for one minute on the first day. Then gradually increase the period every week.
Do it gently with ease and comfort, as long as you can. Repeat your mantra, during trataka. In
some people who have weak capillaries, the eyes may become red. They need not be alarmed
unnecessarily. The redness of the eyes will pass quickly.


Practise trataka for six months then you can take up advanced lessons in concentration and
meditation. Be regular and systematic in your sadhana (practice). If there is a break make up the
deficiency or loss on the next day. Trataka removes many eye diseases and ultimately brings in
siddhis (psychic powers).


Place a picture of Lord Jesus in front of you. Sit in your favourite meditative pose. Concentrate
gently with open eyes on the picture till tears trickle down the cheeks. Rotate the mind on the
cross, on the chest, long hair, beautiful beard, round eyes, and the various other limbs of his
body, and fine spiritual aura emanating from his head, and so on. Think of his divine attributes,
various phases of his interesting life and the 'miracles' he performed and the various
extraordinary powers he possessed. Then close the eyes and try to visualise the picture. Repeat
the same process again and again.

Trataka Practice


Trataka is steady gazing. Write the word Om in black on the wall. Concentrate on it with open
eyes till tears come in the eyes. Then close the eyes; visualise the picture of Om. Then open the
eyes and again gaze till lachrymation manifests. Gradually increase the period. There are
students who can gaze for one hour. Trataka is one of the sad kriyas (six exercises) in hatha
yoga. Trataka steadies the wandering mind and removes viksepa (tossing of the mind). Instead of
gazing at Om you may gaze at a big black dot on the wall. The walls will present a golden colour
during trataka.


You can do trataka on any picture of the Lord, either of Krishna, Rama, or Siva or on Saligrama.
You can sit on the chair also. Fix the picture on the wall in front of your eyes. Trataka is the
alpha-beta of concentration. It is the first exercise for yogic students in concentration.


Trataka with open eyes is followed by visualisation. Visualisation is calling up of a clear mental
image of anything.
Practise trataka for one minute on the first day. Then gradually increase the period every week.
Do it gently with ease and comfort, as long as you can. Repeat your mantra, during trataka. In
some people who have weak capillaries, the eyes may become red. They need not be alarmed
unnecessarily. The redness of the eyes will pass quickly.
Practise trataka for six months then you can take up advanced lessons in concentration and
meditation. Be regular and systematic in your sadhana (practice). If there is a break make up the
deficiency or loss on the next day. Trataka removes many eye diseases and ultimately brings in
siddhis (psychic powers).


Place a picture of Lord Jesus in front of you. Sit in your favourite meditative pose. Concentrate
gently with open eyes on the picture till tears trickle down the cheeks. Rotate the mind on the
cross, on the chest, long hair, beautiful beard, round eyes, and the various other limbs of his
body, and fine spiritual aura emanating from his head, and so on. Think of his divine attributes,
various phases of his interesting life and the `miracles' he performed and the various
extraordinary powers he possessed. Then close the eyes and try to visualise the picture. Repeat
the same process again and again.

Tratak Dhyan
This dhyan is a very powerful method of clearing out mind clogs. Again it utilizes breath; a
change in the pattern of breathing. Simultaneously focusing is done by bringing all of your
attention at one particular point. The object can be a idol, masters picture, waterfall, river flow,
tree, it can be anything of nature. But if it is a masters picture or if possible the presence of the
guru is more then perfect.
Four steps involved in this particular Meditation


Step 1:
Begin with prayer ; get your mind and body ready for it. Be honest and sincere in doing the
whole process. Seek blessings of god who is not a person but existence.


Step 2:
Now start with fast breathing. Go for rapid inhaling and exhaling. Do it faster and faster as if it
is your last breath; or last moment to live the urgency to breathe. Put more stress on exhaling.
Push it out with all your strength. If you feel like taking a pause o.k. but do not stop for a
longer time. Best is to do it continuously.


Now on command which will be after 20 minutes come back to normal breathing. Open your
eyes and keep eyes focused on one point. Go for very deep inhalation and exhale it out.
Constantly keep your eyes focused on one place. This goes on for 15 minutes.


Step 3:
Now close your eyes, relax and listen to the music. Feel freeto express in any way you like to
do.


Step 4:
Here we end the Dhyan by bowing our head in the Lotus Feet of Dear Lord.


Secrets of Tratak Sadhna


Acharya Shree Dhruv writes:


According to Hathayog Pradipika, there are six types of hathayoga: dhauti, vasti, neti, nauli,
tratak and kapalbhati. These are all yogic processes (shat karma) which apart from imparting
physical and mental peace also provide spiritual power. The first four, i.e., dhauti, vasti, neti and
nauli are related to purification of the body, while the last two, tratak and kapalbhati, are related
to spiritual achievements.


How does tratak sadhana affect us
The flow of thoughts in our brain is an on-going process. Due to this, 80 per cent of our energy is
wasted and our central nerve system loses its balance. But when we attain tratak sadhana,
gradually we start experiencing peace of mind, and thereafter we start getting rid of unwanted
thoughts. With this process we start gaining more and more energy. And a time comes when we
are able to perform an unusual feat.


But what is tratak sadhana? It is defined as focusing your attention with concentration on a point
or on the flame of a lamp continuously, without blinking.


Three types of tratak sadhana


(a) Inner tratak Sadhana
(b) Middle tratak sadhana
(c) Outer tratak sadhana

Inner tratak sadhana is closing the eyes and focusing your attention on the middle of your forehead, where Lord Shivas third eye
is located. In the beginning you may feel some pain or heat in your head but do not worry, as it will normalise gradually. Try to
keep your entire attention on this point.


Benefits:
With this yogic action you can hypnotise any person who is very far from you. It will also help in
building your confidence, intelligence and patience. It will even take away negative thoughts and
desires from your mind and will give you peace.


In Middle tratak sadhana, focus your eyes and attention on either the flame of a lamp (which is
lit by the oil of black sesame) or on a crystal shivlinga. If you get a burning sensation in your
eyes, close your eyes for some time and then again repeat this kriya (process). For this kriya,
keep the lamp or shivlinga at a distance of 20 inches at eye level so that there is no strain or
pressure on your neck.


Benefits:
Improves concentration, memory and mental power. Besides, you get foresight, hypnotic and
spiritual power. It also increases your working efficiency and the ability to read others' mind.


Outer tartak sadhna can be performed at anytime of the day or night, by focusing your eyes and
attention on any object like the sun, moon, stars. Those who have a weak eyesight cannot
perform this.


Benefits:
Helps in getting rid of mental disorders and improves motivational power and foresight.


Do suksham pranayam before practising tratak because this sadhana requires mental peace. If
your mind is not peaceful or comfortable, you cannot be successful. With suksham pranayama
you can control your mind.


Rules of suksham pranayama:
Sit in sukhasan without any body movement and take in and release long deep breaths slowly.
This has to be done for 21 days regularly for 15 minutes a day. It will be better to start trarak
sadhana after this.


For tratak sadhana:


Sit on a blanket in sukhasna or sidhasna and keep back, neck and spine straight.
Keep negative thoughts and lust away from your mind.
Do tratak with dedication, patience and concentration.
Always practise in a closed room and be by yourself.
It is effective if practised at a fixed place and time.
Out of the three ways of practising tratak, choose the one with which you feel
comfortable.
Try to spend more or equal time in this sadhana as you spend on the first day.
Leave all addictions.
Those suffering from tuberculosis, heart diseases, leprosy and eye diseases should not
practise tratak.
While practising, do not move your body. Sit like a statue.
Practice after taking bath and wear loose clothes, preferably white.
Choose any one of three kriyas and practice it continuously for three months.