There are certain locations for concentration. These locations match with certain places in the body.

There is the heart space, the location in the heart, in the middle of the chest region. The seat of Divinity, the kingdom of God as Christ termed it. The Upanishads call it the secret cave – hridaya guhyam. To dwell in this cave in a moment of complete surrender and contemplation is to open yourself to the secrets that abide therein. Another place for concentration is the navel region – the hara, which is mentioned in the Tantras. Then the region between the eyebrows. In the Gita it is called the bhru madhye, the centre between the eyebrows, centre of vision. And of course the top of the head, centre of transcendence. These are four locations, and there are others, of course, matching with the centres, wherein we can apply our concentration.

So for concentration there is the heart centre, there is the centre between the eyebrows, there is the centre on top of the head, and even above. When you sit you can direct your attention, your concentration to these centres, even so to the hara, the navel. Of course all seven centres can be the object of your concentration. You can have your eyes open, and yet you can have your concentration, your attention, turned towards the centres. Then there is a way of meditation where you lightly keep your attention on the tip of your nose, looking out and at the same time looking in. These are all procedures for your concentration when you sit. When you look at the tip of the nose very lightly you are very close to yourself. So in a way you are looking out and looking in at the same time.

Then you have the breathing techniques to centre yourself. Breathe deeply, breathe long – the longer the better; this is a very good technique to centre yourself and turn you inwards. And it can be strong enough, vigorous enough to energize, to take away the inertia. Even without having your attention on the tip of the nose you can be with the eyes open, seemingly looking out, but your attention turned in. In that way you can poise yourself.

The heart is the seat of love and devotion, and the centre between the eyebrows is the centre of vision. The one on top of the head is one of transcendence. And you can take turns moving from one centre to the other – you can work with all seven centres. You can alternate with the breathing technique, deep breathing – rhythmic breathing, to relax, to centre and to reach to an inwardness. So do not hesitate to take recourse to the breathing technique, to reach to an inwardness, to relax, to centre and then concentrate. Through the breathing, through your sitting, you can arrive at a total stillness of your being; if you manage to reach to this stillness, stay with it, it is a very special moment.

You can arrive at an emptiness within, a quiet emptiness within, to bring about the awakening of the force that now lies asleep at the base of the spine. Throughout all these procedures, the appropriate attitude would be one of worship, would be one of a self-offering.

The heart is the seat of prayer so when one is concentrated in the heart, one is in prayer. It is a very natural and spontaneous feeling of the heart, the one of prayer. There may be no words, maybe a silent prayer, just a mood, an attitude, a deeper feeling, an abandoning of oneself to something more sublime than oneself.

Arya Vihar

29 March 1997