Shree Shwetambar Murtipujak Jain Boarding, (Ahmedabad) series. 13
CONCENTRATION
A Series of Twelve Lectures
By:
Late Virchand Raghavji Gandhi, B. A., M.R.A.C.
Jain Delegate to Chicago, Religious Parliament 1893.
Available at:
Shardaben Chimanbhai Educational Research Centre,
Shahibaug, Ahmedabad-380 00 (India)
Jain Institute of North America
812, Charles James Circle
Timber Point, MD-21043 (USA)
Editors:
Jitendra Shah
Chandrakant Kadia.
2nd Edition, copies 750, February, 1997
Price Rs. 30-00
Shree Shwetambar Murtipujak Jain Boarding, (Ahmedabad) series. 13......
CONCENTRATION......
A Series of Twelve Lectures......
Foreword......
Chandrakant Kadia......
1.Introduction......
Undesirable kinds:......
Desirable kinds:......
2. Definition......
3. Methods of Concentration......
4. Object of Concentration......
5. Breathing......
Breathing......
Food......
6. Practical Hints......
First practical lecture......
Second Gateway......
7. Necessary Conditions......
8. Right Way of getting Knowledge......
9. Avadhi......
10. Concentration for Improving the Conduct......
11. Concentration Proper......
The Process......
Beginning......
12. Meditation or Spiritual Beings......
Nervousness......
Foreword
When the conference of the world religions was held in 1893 in Chicago, the late Shri Virchand Raghavji Gandhi attended it as the representative of the Jain religion. At the conference Shri Gandhi gave a lecture on the central principles of the Jain Religion. The lecture made a deep impression at the conference and as a result, Mr. Gandhi received an invitation to lecture in a number of cities in America. Virchand Raghavji Gandhi’s fame as an exponent of the Jaina Religion spread fast, first in America and later in Europe as well. Mr. Gandhi, later, traveled to different centres in Europe and lectures on Jaina religion.
Mr. Gandhi also visited England. He gave a number of lectures on the practice of meditation as expounded in the Jaina tradition. It is of great interest to find that Mr. Warren, who was he a distinguished scholar attended the lectures. The contents of the lectures were published in a book based on the notes taken by Mr. Herbert Warren.
In this small book of 12 lectures by Virchand Gandhi, published in 1916, the main concept of meditation according to the Jaina tradition is most effectively stated. Mr. Gandhi here first speaks of the need for meditation to attain mental peace and to rise above feelings of worry and anxiety. Mr. Gandhi next states the basic rules and lucid terms. The small book of 12 lectures contains only a summary of the original lectures. Yet it is sufficient to give us the idea of the richness and profundity of the original lectures, which are unfortunately lost. Virchand Gandhi passed away in his 26th year and so the career of a great soul committed to the exposition of religion pre-maturely came to an end. It was a great loss to the Jaina religion to the world at large.
We came across a copy of this book while seeing through a collection of the old books. We were extremely delighted to come across this book; it was indeed a rare find, surprisingly, there is no reference made to this publication in the records of the writing of Virchand Raghavji Gandhi. The wellknown donor and philanthropist Shri Jagabhai Dalpatbhai of Ahmedabad supported the original publication.
We are extremely happy to bring out a reprint of the book now and we hope that it will be well received by the wide circle of renders of Virchand Gandhi’s writings and those interested in the basic principles of meditation according to the Jaina religion.
Ahmedabad, 1997Jitendra Shah
Chandrakant Kadia
CONCENTRATION[*]
1.Introduction
Concentration was defined as “the steady activity of the mind”. Therefore activity of the body or of speech is not concentration. Unsteady activity of the mind is not concentration, nor is inactivity or passivity of the mind concentration as here meant.
Unsteady activity of the mind is the state that precedes concentration; it was called a liquid state. That is to become as it were crystallized into a solid state; the liquid state is the progenitor as it were of the concentrated state.
An unsteady state of the mind is where the mind hops about from one subject to another not under the control of the individual. Of liquid states two are useful (1) the liquid state preliminary to, and (2) the liquid state subsequent to (or reversionary of) concentration.
(1)The preliminary liquid state would be such a state of mind when it is asked. “When shall I concentrate, where, how long, on what subject, and for what purpose”? Which is a state of mind not concentrated but going from point to point.
(2)After concentration, when an examination of results is made, and when tired, a passive state is to come.
All other unsteady or liquid states are undesirable.
There are many thin upon that the mind can be steadily active; therefore arises he question: “what is desirable and what is undesirable concentration? Desirable and undesirable are relative terms; therefore their meaning must be fixed. Whatever concentration forwards the life-object, that is desirable; the life object should be the development of character. There are two methods of developing the character (1) the natural method and (2) the scientific method.
(1)The natural method is to let things alone and then in the course of millions of years the character will be developed by natural means.
(2)The scientific method requires knowledge; and can do in a short time what is naturally a very long process.
The use of concentration, its place in the universe, is this scientific development of character; the burning or leaving out of bad character and the building in of good.
So that “desirable” and “undesirable” applies according to as the object in view is helped or not helped.
There are four classes of things upon which the mind can be steadily active, and of them two are desirable and two undesirables for the development of character.
Undesirable kinds:
(1)When the steady activity of the mind is in the direction of selection the pleasurable to the senses and avoiding the unpleasant to the senses. The search of pleasurable sensational and the avoidance of unpleasant sensations are not a desirable form of concentration. Nor is a concentration upon any physical pain; the constant thinking, “I have a pain”.
(2)Concentration that is injurious not only to the person himself, as is the case in (1), but when it is injurious to others; such as all criminal concentration, which injures the life or property of others.
Desirable kinds:
(1)Philosophical concentration, where the universe and man’s nature are learnt about external.
(2)Concentration upon the “self”, that is the most desirable kind – inner things.
2. Definition
The definition of concentration was ‘steady activity of the mind’, but there is another factor; the steady activity must be instigated by the free will of the person concentration; so that reverie, dream, trance, vacancy, abstraction, or the hypnotic state, though perhaps they might be activity alone one line of thought, still they are not done by the free will of the person; the line of thought and purpose of the mental activity must be determined by the person concentrating.
In order to be able to keep the mind steadily active along a given line of thought for a given purpose the inflow of foreign thought must be prevented. Mind wandering must be overcome. One cause of mind-wandering is the not taking up of for definite pursuits as definite times to that when you sit down to concentrate there comes into the mind a host of ideas about other things that are waiting to be done. Therefore one thing to do towards the cure of mind-wandering is to make a timetable for your activities as far as possible and it will then be found that at times other than the appointed one ideas of other matters awaiting attention will not enter the mind.
As an exercise to help the cure of mind-wandering a system of thought can be used. For instance, you can take the character of some person and think upon it for ten or fifteen minutes, not letting the mind wander of, or if it does wander off, bringing it back again. It is better to take the character of some holy person. Examining the character you will find five qualities. These five qualities or characteristics can each be taken separately and each one in turn be thought about for a short time, with illustrations from the person’s life in support of the quality ‘he did so-and-so at such a time and place towards so-and-so, etc. While thinking about any one of the qualities, thoughts about the remaining four should be refrained from. To prevent the action from becoming automatic after several times of using the exercise, the qualities can be numbered and the order in which they are thought about can be varied. If the action of the mind is allowed to become automatic then the mind will be free to wander, and this must be prevented.
The first day the order can be 1,2,3,4,5; the second day 2,1,3,4,5; the third day 3,1,2,4,5; and so on. Paper can be used as a memorandum at first, but it is better to do without the use of a paper note, and to help this the following method may be used; take circles, five circles, one for each quality and in the mind arrange them thus: Middle one, top one, bottom one, right-hand side one, and left-hand side one. The mind can as it were rest upon each circle (mental circle of course) while the quality is being thought about.
In this way the character of the person can be thought about for some fifteen minutes one quality at a time, to the exclusion of other thought, and in the course of a few weeks it will be found to have had a beneficial effect towards keeping the mind from wandering.
Capital is needed for getting concentration; that which constitutes the capital for spiritual concentration is - (1) Right belief, (2) Right Knowledge, (3) Right action, (4) Self-control.
We should learn to recognize the difference between belief and knowledge; between what is believed to be true and what is known to be true. It does not mean merely right religious belief; it means right beliefs about people in general everyday life.
Self-control. To be free from habits; to be able to taste and take the sweet from the lump of sugar, and being satisfied, so fly away and leave it, as distinguished from a fly that gets into a sticky substance mistaken for sweet, or into a sweet sticky substance from which it cannot get away when it has had enough. Do not get into a habit that demands gratifying.
Right belief. The moral nature must be improved before right belief is a permanent possibility. There are four chief states of mind that prevent right belief; they are (1) Anger, (2) Pride, (3) Deceitfulness, (4) Greed.
The first two grow out of aversion, the second two out of false attachment. Or to use mechanical terms, Anger may be of four degrees: that intense aversion to a person that makes one feel that they could not be amiable ever towards the person and the other three degrees have already been described in the series of karma, they being less and less intense degrees of anger. The state should be acquired where anger when felt is at once checked by the mind. A state of anger will prevent right belief, It blinds one to the true facts; so also pride will cause wrong belief about a person, it causes you to overlook their good points, it prevents you from seeing the good qualities of another person. And deceitfulness and also greed prevent us from having a right belief about people.
With regard to pleasurable sensations the reason they are injurious is because the working of the mind stops at a pleasant sensation, when the pursuit of pleasant sensations is the object of concentration or of life; and it stops at getting away from an unpleasant sensation – this should not be; the mind should go a little further and not be satisfied the moment the pleasant sensation is obtained or the unpleasant one removed; when a pleasant or unpleasant sensation strikes the mind the thinking should be followed up about it.
Prejudice is also a state of mind that prevents right belief; any sort of prejudice will prevent a right belief, and should not therefore be encouraged.
Right Knowledge. Study, mere study, is not knowledge. Mere book learning is not knowledge. Hearsay is not knowledge.
The differentia of knowledge is that it is consciousness; a relationship, a conscious relationship between a knower and the thing known. In order that there may be knowledge there must be a thing known and a knower. A lump of sugar has no knowledge. Vibrations of matter are not knowledge. Consciousness is not the vibrations of matter. Consciousness is not necessarily caused by nor does it necessarily imply vibrations of matter. It is neither the effect nor the cause of dead matter.
Knowledge is the essence of a man. It is the real man; immortal, existing before vibrations of matter, and after them as well as during them.
New knowledge causes a change in the man’s life. Anything learned or experienced is not new knowledge unless it produces a change in the man’s moral life.
Cause and effect. Causes are of two kings (1) the substantial cause and (2) the instrumental, determining, occasional cause. In every effect there are these two causes.
Knowledge is the substantial cause. Knowledge must be deep down in the man, it must have length, depth and breadth.
Knowledge is only right knowledge in so far as it improves social or moral nature. A man in a jungle needs no morality.
Right Action. The test of a right action is “will it do the person good whom it is done”? And it must be done with the least possible injury anywhere.
In getting knowledge of a thing that we do not already know, the ordinary methods should be used-ask a friend, read a trust-worthy author, or go and see thing itself. You cannot concentrate upon a thing if you have not knowledge of it.
So much then for the definition of concentration, what it is and what it is not; and we have next what prevents concentration, namely mind-wandering, and two methods of overcoming it; and then we have had the capital which is necessary for concentration. Now we come to some side issues or helps to be used as crutches while we are weak, namely as regards the time when to concentrate, the place, the clothing best suited, the posture and the direction of facing.
Early morning is the best time, about or a little before sunrise, before the activities of the world begins.
Do not take a place where the vibrations are antagonistic to high thought, such as the place where a murder has been committed or where drinking goes on. It should be chosen where the noise of the house or street will not interrupt and the place should be used for no other purpose. (If a whole room cannot be had, then one corner may be taken).
The color of the clothing most favorable for spiritual concentration is white, the next best is yellow. Black or dark blue should, if possible, be avoided. The best stuff is cotton, next flannel, and lastly silk, which is a non-conductor of unfavorable electricity, but its use, involves wise therefore to use it.
A comfortable posture should be taken, any comfortable position of the body, so that there is no consciousness of the position in which you are sitting.
Face north or east, as these are positive directions and concentration is a positive activity.
3. Methods of Concentration
In concentration there are two methods, or two kinds of mental processes: (1) analytical and (2) synthetical.
The Analytical process is for explaining a thing, for explaining knowledge of the parts, uses and source.
Synthesis is the process for finding out new knowledge about the thing and is the searching out of the relations that the thing has to other things in the universe.
In pursuing the analytical method, be careful to avoid running into errors from abstraction. To analyse water, to find it consists of two parts of hydrogen and one part of oxygen, and then to say that water is two parts of hydrogen and one part of oxygen is wrong. H2O leaves out is not water, because the formula H2O leaves out the dynamical conditions of the two gases which are necessary in order that water may be and not merely two gases. Two gases are not water. And so with a piece of flesh the chemical constituents of it are not flesh, they are chemical elements only – in order to be flesh they must be dynamically related in a certain peculiar way. And so with psychological matters; analyse anger into an excited state of the mind; the language of a certain person caused it; the state of mind before the anger, etc., these things are not anger itself. The political economist arrives by analysis at untrue conclusions through falling into the error of abstraction. He takes one factor in the make up of man, ‘money-making’, and from it constructs his theories. He concludes perhaps that with such and such labor conditions and such and such conditions of capital, price will rise or fall; and that therefore if you want prices to rise or fall you must bring about these labor conditions. These conditions being brought about, however the prices are not affected as was calculated or intended. As a theoretical abstraction his political economy was right, but not true as a face. And the reason is because he has taken only one factor in the make up of man, leaving out all consideration of the moral nature, the emotions, passions, etc., and because in such a thing as altering prices there are other factors than the one he has taken into consideration, viz., the emotional and passional nature of man, etc.