Tratak Kriya

Tratak Kriya – Tratak plays an important role in making the practice of concentration mature. Tratak means to gaze at a certain object while sitting on a certain seat. There are many types of Tratakas. Among them

1. Bindu Tratak
2. Murti Tratak
3. Deepjyoti Tratak  

Apart from these, the description of Pratimbh Tratak, Surya Tratak, Tara Tratak, Chandra Tratak etc. also comes in the scriptures.

Table of Contents

1. Complete Method of Tratak Kriya :
   1. 1. Tratak Kriya Method :
2. Benefits of Tratak Kriya / Miracles of Tratak :
3. Disadvantages of Tratak Kriya :
4. Benefits of Surya Tratak :
5.  

Complete Method of Tratak Kriya :

One who has the treasure of penance of concentration, that yogi can attain both Riddhi-Siddhi and Self-realization. Those who have become famous in the society by their great deeds, in their lives also, there has been a spiritual practice of concentration knowingly or unknowingly. The great inventions of science are also the result of the austerity of this concentration.

Tratak Kriya plays an important role in making the practice of concentration mature. Tratak means to gaze at a certain object while sitting on a certain seat. There are many types of tratakas. Among them Bindu Tratak, Murti Tratak Kriya and Deepjyoti Tratak Kriya are prominent. Apart from these, the description of Pratimbh Tratak, Surya Tratak Kriya, Tara Tratak Kriya, Chandra Tratak Kriya etc. also comes in the scriptures. 

Tratak Kriya Method :

Sit in front of a candle in a meditative posture. Keep the candle at about an arm’s distance from you with the wick of the candle at your chest height. If the candle is placed too high, it can create tension in the center of your eyebrows or irritate the eyes. The flame should be constant and it should never be too low. Close your eyes. Repeat your mantra in the mind as you do in the meditation posture.

Open your eyes and look at the flame without blinking. There are three degrees of color in the flame. The wick is reddish on the underside, bright white in the middle and slightly hazy at the top. Concentrate the sight on the upper part of the flame where it is brightest.

Close the eyes again. If the image of flame is visible within, then concentrate on that image without any tension. Do not make any attempt to go after the statue or to get hold of it. Otherwise it will start to blur and disappear.

Repeat this exercise three times.

Gradually increase the practice time. In the initial stages, look at the flame only for 10-15 seconds. Gradually increase this period, so that after about 1 year you can look at the flame for one minute and then with closed eyes you can concentrate on the inner image for about 4 minutes. It is recommended that this time limit should not be extended under any circumstances.

One can also practice Tratak by looking at a white dot on a black paper or looking at a black dot on a white paper. When one focuses his eyes on a white dot, he sees it as a black image when his eyes are closed and it is reversed when there is a black dot.

Benefits of Tratak Kriya / Miracles of Tratak :

• The eyesight gets brighter.
• Get rid of negative thoughts.
• Concentration increases.
• Help reduce anger.
• bring back the lost light
• The complaint of insomnia ends.
• There is an increase in the functionality of the brain.
• Gets peace of mind.
• Gets relief from headache, migraine etc.

Caution :

• The observance of celibacy is very important in Tratak sadhna. The accumulation of power is the practice.
• Take a good bath. Because it is necessary to purify the body properly.
• Special care has to be taken of the eyes.
• Keep cleaning the eyes regularly in the morning, afternoon and evening with lukewarm water.
• Thoughts should be pure.
• Never have negative thoughts.
• There should be control in the diet.
• Spicy things should not be eaten spicy.
• Tratak should be done every day at the fixed time only.
• Pranayama should be done before starting the practice of Tratak.
• Do not force your eyes while practicing Tratak.
• Be it any tratak, if you have started it then definitely do it for at least 1 month.
• There should neither be too much light nor too much darkness in the room.
• The atmosphere at the time of tratak practice should be calm.
• To make the atmosphere of the room fragrant, you can apply a habitual incense stick.
• There should not be much uniformity in the room.
• The room should be very clean.
• You can practice Tratak sitting on a mat.

Disadvantages of Tratak Kriya :

Disadvantages of Tratak Kriya In the practice of Tratak, your mind will wander many times. You will get lost in many kinds of thoughts. You have to engage your mind in Tratak sadhna by any means. Nothing happens with eyes alone.

Benefits of Surya Tratak :

According to Indian Yoga Shastra, it is considered appropriate to use shining light for this. There is a law to use the natural light bodies like sun, moon, Tratak Kriya etc.   The light of the sun is very intense. There is a loss in seeing it with open eyes, so Surya Tratak Kriya can be done only by meditation. Not with open eyes. Almost the same thing is with respect to the Moon as well. Its light is not as sharp as the sun, yet according to ophthalmology, it is harmful to keep looking at any light continuously.

This fundamental difference has come to the fore between ancient beliefs and modern research. Physicists do not accept the fact of constantly looking at tears with open eyes and say that it is harmful. There are many difficulties in doing Tratak sadhna by making stars as medium of light. The stars come out only at night.

They are not visible even at night when there is cloud, fog, mist, smoke. Only those who have open sky can take advantage of seeing the stars. They can be seen lying down or diagonally, whereas in sadhanas there is a law to keep the spine straight.

If the time of convenience for the seeker is during the day, then where will the stars be found? Then how many stars are there? For tratak, only one point of light is needed, when there are many points, the vision wanders. In view of all these reasons, even if it is possible to talk about the Sun: Moon stars.

In practice, all three of them are inappropriate. If these are to be used, then after seeing them for a second, one should immediately close the eyes and then practice concentration on the light through meditation.  

The use of lamp is more appropriate in the practice of Tratak Kriya. The use of Dhrit Deep has been considered more appropriate in many respects. But it must be pure, pure oil is better than adulterated or fake ghee. Candles can also be used. Low power colored bulbs can also serve this purpose.   Whichever of these devices is to be used, it should be kept at a distance of four to ten feet from the chest.

There should be a black, blue or green curtain behind or the wall should be painted with these colors. There should be minimum objects around the light, otherwise attention will be scattered towards them.   Early morning is the best time for Tratak Kriya. Thus it can be done at night also. Due to the spread of sunlight during the day, this sadhna is not done properly. If it is to be done during the day, then dark room has to be arranged.  

For meditation, the waist should be straight, hands should be seated in the dock, keeping the pedestal properly. There should not be any obstacles in the environment that create disturbance in the mind like suffocating deodorant, flies, mosquitoes. Starting this exercise in ten minutes, increasing it one minute at a time, can be extended to a maximum of half an hour in a couple of months.

No more than this should be done.  One should look at the light with the open eye for two to five seconds and the eyes should be closed.

At the place where the lamp is burning, at the same place, one should try to see that light with the eyes. After a minute, the eyes should be opened again and after seeing the light with the previously opened eyes for a few seconds, the eyes should be closed again.

In this way, opening the eyes with an interval of one minute and seeing for a few seconds, then closing the eyes and meditation should be done again and again at the same place.  

Minutes and seconds cannot be accurately determined in that situation. There is no such condition to be able to use the watch. One has to rely only on guesswork. The correctness of the conjecture at different times can be practiced with the help of a clock.

The rough premise is that when the vision of the light starts to fade after closing the eyes, then an effort should be made to open the eyes and see the light in order to revive the memory. Usually, after opening the eyes, when the eyelids are closed, then the light in meditation is more clear. Slowly it becomes hazy. It is necessary to see the light with an open eye only to be able to sate it again. The brain structure of every human being is different.

A one-time direct vision of someone keeps a glimpse of light in meditation for a long time. One’s memory quickly fades. One should observe the situation himself and determine the sequence of opening and closing the eyes as soon as possible or after a while. The aim is that during the sadhana period of Tratak, the meditative role should be continuously illuminated by the light of light.

The process of opening and closing the eyes should be adopted for the purpose of removing the blur.   The purpose of tratak is not to worship the lamp, but to create intensity in the meditative role, so that on the basis of contemplation, it is possible to have a clear view of the light point of the deity.

No meditative image emerges clearly in the slow and blurred thinking process. Images are not clear. Then an important way of concentration gets blocked. In such a condition, Shabdyoga done with Nadayoga etc. and Bindu Yoga done on the basis of Dhyana Dharana, none of them is successful. Then, by looking at the visible images, coarse measures are used to stop the stampede of the mind in the gross measures like singing kirtan and listening satsang.

The tongue process of chanting and recitation continues to be completed, but due to the absence of meditation, the rasa does not arise in them. The more success is achieved by Tratak Kriya in making the system of thinking intensified, the more the spiritual practices done for spiritual progress become easy and successful. Ask Tratak Kriya – Dhyana Yoga is considered to be the first process.