A closer look at candle-gazing meditation

[Tryingtodobetter]

I have a question regarding candle-gazing meditation, specifically that of Tratak.

 

I have practiced this meditation in the past, at times with diligence and at others inconsistently, overall the discipline yielded very tangible results. The times of inconsistency and general faltering in the required self-conduct are what caused me to distance myself from the practice, yet in all the time that I have left it alone I've felt a strange compulsion to begin again anew.

 

While I do not recommend this form of meditation, it has been deemed to be easy, direct and powerful by many internet users and I personally agree with the sentiment. This meditation is seen by a number of people as a sort of straight-shot to self-actualization, a path with "less fluff" if you will. 

 

My question is, is the end of this particular path indeed self-realization, "enlightenment", or something maybe more nebulous and ineffable?

 

There isn't much writing on the internet to be found in regards to this particular form of meditation, and the information available tends to be copy-and-pasted from site-to-site ad infinitum, with little in the ways of variance beyond the occasional vague, brief and largely positive testimonials of experience. However, this particular passage kept coming up and really caught my eye:

 

"The human body is made of five elements: ether, earth, air, water and fire. The Fire Tratak removes from it two constituent elements. Viz. earth and water. By virtue of the Fire Tratak the practitioner brings about a blending of the remaining elements and enters the universe of the three elements. All gods are made of only three elements. One has to leave behind the to elements named above. It is only then can one reach supreme godhead.

The principal use of the Fire Tratak is that one gets endowed with power to enter such realms which are generally obscure and forbidden. The human being who is made of five elements will not be able to reach the universe made of only three elements. He may be the greatest yogi belonging to the highest order.

Dropping two elements is central to the job of acquiring power to enter all realms of the universe. Until the process of elimination is consummated, one has to remain confined to the mundane framework. One can achieve this only through the Fire Tratak."

 

If someone has had any prior experience with tratak or is able to translate the above into more accessible terms it would be greatly appreciated, because as of now what I've interpreted from the above passage has instilled fear in me much more than curiosity.

 

Anyways.

 

I also recently happened into Zoroastrianism where fire is largely revered as a symbol of god and purity. While there are other things/ideals I find to be of interest in that particular religion, the whole fire worship thing is very synchronistic.

 

 

For me personally, it just raises a question of what space is it that tratak will eventually grant me access to? Also, what exactly is the force or entity that I'm aligning myself with by continuing to entertain and engage with the practice of tratak?

 

 

After all, if one truly does dedicate themselves to this discipline for the long run they would essentially spend a number of days, months, possibly even years, staring into the depths of a flame.

[rideforever]

I have been taught Tratak at the Haa centre (Satyananda style yoga), where it is done with a mirror behind the candle.   Hmm.

 

During about 1.5 years I sat in meditation in front of a mirror, it's about 50cm square, from Ikea and just sat on the floor reflecting me.  And I had no particular practice, but being very relaxed, looked into my own eyes, and eventually entered a deep state of absorption.   This is a very good practice. 

 

Staring at a candle ... can do several things.   

One is it simply occupies your mind, so that your real self can awaken and experience itself.   

Another way is if you become self-aware in the flow of perception.

These are different practices.

 

The way it is taught at Haa with a mirror and candle is actually two meditaitons combined.  Because, in order to feel the real self and do inner work, one must first have some concentration stability ... and so staring at the candle gives one concentration stability, then you can look into the mirror and feel / question who you are.

 

What is the entity you are aligning with ?   You are waking up, one of the parts of the soul is meant to awaken.

What is the space you will have access to ?  Well, you (the ego) will hopefully be unseated, and instead your real self will awaken in its own space, in its own world.

 

Edited June 16, 2019 by rideforever

[Tryingtodobetter]

7 hours ago, rideforever said:

I have been taught Tratak at the Haa centre (Satyananda style yoga), where it is done with a mirror behind the candle.   Hmm.

 

During about 1.5 years I sat in meditation in front of a mirror, it's about 50cm square, from Ikea and just sat on the floor reflecting me.  And I had no particular practice, but being very relaxed, looked into my own eyes, and eventually entered a deep state of absorption.   This is a very good practice. 

 

Staring at a candle ... can do several things.   

One is it simply occupies your mind, so that your real self can awaken and experience itself.   

Another way is if you become self-aware in the flow of perception.

These are different practices.

 

The way it is taught at Haa with a mirror and candle is actually two meditaitons combined.  Because, in order to feel the real self and do inner work, one must first have some concentration stability ... and so staring at the candle gives one concentration stability, then you can look into the mirror and feel / question who you are.

 

What is the entity you are aligning with ?   You are waking up, one of the parts of the soul is meant to awaken.

What is the space you will have access to ?  Well, you (the ego) will hopefully be unseated, and instead your real self will awaken in its own space, in its own world.

 

 

I found the bold and italicized especially interesting, as a few sites with information about Tratak also encourage performing it on a mirror as well as a flame.

 

When you were combining the practices, did you simply switch off between the two deviating your attention/focus, or did you pursue the flame then the mirror or vice versa?

 

 

I ask the question about which entity because of the talk of dimensions usually occult to the average person. Also, when I originally began this meditation there were a few websites with information on tratak that have since vanished from popular search engines. One of the things I remember from the aforementioned was the talk of the practitioner eventually being assigned/engaging with a deva, I'm sure it was another term, that was either light or dark depending on their character. I have also read hindu lore of yogis with high attainments being accompanied by or interacting with certain spirits, which is something I've found similar instances of across the popular eastern energy cultivation practices. All of that aside, if by dimensions that author was referring to the subtle layers of reality that are for the most part imperceptible to the average person then that makes sense and is far less intimidating than some nebulous ineffable realm of the gods 

 

 

I have a slight fear of the terms ego and real/true-self, because from what I've gathered many who shed the former become "incapacitated" in a sense that leaves them unable to truly integrate into and work "constructively" with the social whims of the material world at large. I haven't experienced that to the same degree as I've perceived other seekers to have, though I have had a period of extreme instability where my sense of self simply vanished and I had to create a caricature of one of my previous selves just to be able to "carry on" with things in a "normal" fashion. I've witnessed a number of practitioners have to revamp their approach to their interpersonal relations, to life itself, etc and many of them became hermits. I don't have the luxury of being able to adopt a hermetic lifestyle or spend most of my time unanchored abroad in various retreats or mingling with and being put up by like minded individuals and communities 

 

Basically, I wonder if my real-self will have any easier of a time navigating this world and finding/maintaining a general sense of purpose than the false-self I currently reside in

[rideforever]

You would do well to get some proper instruction.   

The Haa centre is excellent, and the Satyananda / Bihar School of Yoga is the best general yoga school around that I have seen

There is a book also called "Yoga Tantra and Meditation in Daily Life" by Swami Janakananada.

 

Following such a school you will not have an big problems of the type you describe above.

As for the esoteric and devas, there are many things in the esoteric dimension, and whilst you play with that you are slowly dying and losing your opportunity of finding your true self. 

You can waste many years with the flying purple energies, and probably many people have lost their souls doing it.

Whether you have a normal false self, or an esoteric purple false self, .... well it's all false.

I would not spend much time on that stuff, although a small investigation here and there might be interesting..

 

Indian spirituality is not very concerned with the esoteric, mostly it is either bhakti or direct guru transmission of states of consciousness.   You sit with a teacher, and after some years your light is on.

 

Zen soto is another reliable tradition.  You can spend one day a month at a centre, then return home.

 

If you need to remain inside worldly life then you should not fk around.

Just get yourself properly trained and then practice morning and night, go to work and kiss the wife.

Then you'll get there.

 

[Tryingtodobetter]

1 hour ago, rideforever said:

You would do well to get some proper instruction.   

The Haa centre is excellent, and the Satyananda / Bihar School of Yoga is the best general yoga school around that I have seen

There is a book also called "Yoga Tantra and Meditation in Daily Life" by Swami Janakananada.

 

Following such a school you will not have an big problems of the type you describe above.

As for the esoteric and devas, there are many things in the esoteric dimension, and whilst you play with that you are slowly dying and losing your opportunity of finding your true self. 

You can waste many years with the flying purple energies, and probably many people have lost their souls doing it.

Whether you have a normal false self, or an esoteric purple false self, .... well it's all false.

I would not spend much time on that stuff, although a small investigation here and there might be interesting..

 

Indian spirituality is not very concerned with the esoteric, mostly it is either bhakti or direct guru transmission of states of consciousness.   You sit with a teacher, and after some years your light is on.

 

Zen soto is another reliable tradition.  You can spend one day a month at a centre, then return home.

 

If you need to remain inside worldly life then you should not fk around.

Just get yourself properly trained and then practice morning and night, go to work and kiss the wife.

Then you'll get there.

 

 

I will look into that text, because none of the other options you presented are available to me at this time.

 

I haven't ever been that interested in the spiritual reality of other entities beyond my experience/encounter with greys. Is it really that easy to lose one's soul on what is certainly a rather isolated "self"-contained path? Or are you communicating in a manner less literal than I'm interpreting it to be?

[rideforever]

What are your circumstances that seem constricting for you ?

[Tryingtodobetter]

47 minutes ago, rideforever said:

What are your circumstances that seem constricting for you ?

 

Time and transportation 

[EmeraldHead]

Yh, you will know when you got there   

[shazlor]

Interesting information, I had not heard it rationalized as such before. Makes sense. Anyway here is a personal answer; I began daily candle gazing as advised by an old teacher straight off after gaining the ability to somewhat stabilize the post-mind and coalesce the pre-mind via the standard pinpoint&emptiness&pinpointedemptiness meditations.

 

I worked up to one hour straight sessions unblinking the entire time. I thought it was simply to build an iron will and purge emotion. That's when the faces in the glow-point of the flame appeared and access to the, hmmm, shall we say, 'djinn paradise', nay, I prefer 'Tír na nÓg' in my conscious sleep began. I did not dream before this. In my waking life I gained the ability to perceive invisible entities, as in glimpsing into their wavelength of 'smokeless fire' eyes open; eyes closed, and somewhat physically interact and psychically in meditation.

 

As a side note I also have that internal blindness I have seen a forum member post his wife having - that it was not the norm was news to me lol - and I have forgotten the name of, sorry, instead of seeing form and colour it is more of a 'placeholder' and I feel its dimension and weight when 'visualizing' is the only way to describe it. This is relevant as I cannot construct visual images, and since the trataka I will have various spontaneous form and colour visions and communication intrude whilst meditating, sceneries, people, 'people', birds eye my surrounding room, whats directly in front of my eyes with them closed, etc, so it may seem a handicap but alas it serves as a filter, keeping one from being deluded by his own visualization efforts. And by following Lu's advice in the Golden Flower, one will not become attached to these true visualizations neither and will instead focus on coaxing out the shining mind and coagulating that sweet, sweet gold elixir. These experiences of mine seem to be in-line with the three element theory information you have posted. Cheers. It's been a long time, I think I shall go buy some candles. 

 

Spoiler

 

 

Good times. Go for it. Good luck.

[silent thunder]

12 minutes ago, shazlor said:

As a side note I also have that internal blindness I have seen a forum member post his wife having - that it was not the norm was news to me lol - and I have forgotten the name of

Hey shazlor.  It's called Aphantasia:  when a person does not create visual images while contemplating or imagining.

 

 

 

[EmeraldHead]

6 hours ago, shazlor said:

 I thought it was simply to build an iron will

You are a shen. That is how gods are made.

[EmeraldHead]

5 hours ago, silent thunder said:

Hey shazlor.  It's called Aphantasia:  when a person does not create visual images while contemplating or imagining.

I translated his condition as a cannot because some piece is weakened, as opposed to will internally focus elsehow, as if that is possible??

[silent thunder]

Seems it first was talked about in the 1800's.  But it has not really been studied as of yet.  The term wasn't even coined until 2005 when a gentleman brought it to the attention of a doctor after realizing he lost the ability to visualize after minor surgery.  There is no known cause as of yet.

 

A brief article about it here for those interested.

[mrpasserby]

On 6/15/2019 at 9:43 PM, Tryingtodobetter said:

I have a question regarding candle-gazing meditation, specifically that of Tratak.

 

I have practiced this meditation in the past, at times with diligence and at others inconsistently, overall the discipline yielded very tangible results. The times of inconsistency and general faltering in the required self-conduct are what caused me to distance myself from the practice, yet in all the time that I have left it alone I've felt a strange compulsion to begin again anew.

 

While I do not recommend this form of meditation, it has been deemed to be easy, direct and powerful by many internet users and I personally agree with the sentiment. This meditation is seen by a number of people as a sort of straight-shot to self-actualization, a path with "less fluff" if you will. 

 

My question is, is the end of this particular path indeed self-realization, "enlightenment", or something maybe more nebulous and ineffable?

 

There isn't much writing on the internet to be found in regards to this particular form of meditation, and the information available tends to be copy-and-pasted from site-to-site ad infinitum, with little in the ways of variance beyond the occasional vague, brief and largely positive testimonials of experience. However, this particular passage kept coming up and really caught my eye:

 

"The human body is made of five elements: ether, earth, air, water and fire. The Fire Tratak removes from it two constituent elements. Viz. earth and water. By virtue of the Fire Tratak the practitioner brings about a blending of the remaining elements and enters the universe of the three elements. All gods are made of only three elements. One has to leave behind the to elements named above. It is only then can one reach supreme godhead.

The principal use of the Fire Tratak is that one gets endowed with power to enter such realms which are generally obscure and forbidden. The human being who is made of five elements will not be able to reach the universe made of only three elements. He may be the greatest yogi belonging to the highest order.

Dropping two elements is central to the job of acquiring power to enter all realms of the universe. Until the process of elimination is consummated, one has to remain confined to the mundane framework. One can achieve this only through the Fire Tratak."

 

If someone has had any prior experience with tratak or is able to translate the above into more accessible terms it would be greatly appreciated, because as of now what I've interpreted from the above passage has instilled fear in me much more than curiosity.

 

Anyways.

 

I also recently happened into Zoroastrianism where fire is largely revered as a symbol of god and purity. While there are other things/ideals I find to be of interest in that particular religion, the whole fire worship thing is very synchronistic.

 

 

For me personally, it just raises a question of what space is it that tratak will eventually grant me access to? Also, what exactly is the force or entity that I'm aligning myself with by continuing to entertain and engage with the practice of tratak?

 

 

After all, if one truly does dedicate themselves to this discipline for the long run they would essentially spend a number of days, months, possibly even years, staring into the depths of a flame.

'For me personally, it just raises a question of what space is it that tratak will eventually grant me access to? 

In my experience: one of the types of spaces that you could possibly enter into would be:

Spoiler

https://www.thedaobums.com/topic/49261-earth-chakras/

 

 

Also, what exactly is the force or entity that I'm aligning myself with by continuing to entertain and engage with the practice of tratak?

You are aligning with your true or higher Self. Your own fire of life (life energy) can be increased and controlled with various types of practices.

 

In my experience: unseen world energies sometimes have the appearance of fire. The easiest type of external energy that can be handled is sometimes called smokeless fire or fairy fire.

 

several decades ago I experimented with tv as a form of meditation and energy transmission. Not much luck went back to candle. Then plasma tv came out and Huzzah! no more need for candles.

 

 

Edited June 29, 2019 by mrpasserby

[EmeraldHead]

1 hour ago, mrpasserby said:

'For me personally, it just raises a question of what space is it that tratak will eventually grant me access to? 

It can be done in all spaces hahaha

[Everything]

All tools and techniques, are but a permission slip, we use, to allow ourselves to be more true to all that we truely already are. 

 

Meditation, the most universal tool and technique to release resistance to our own greater nature of all that we truely are. 

 

The true indicator of our energetic relativity, between our physical and non-being physical being, is emotion. Energy in motion. So if it feels better, what you are doing, is being more true to all that you truely are. If you feel worse, you are contradicting your own energy. 

 

That's it. The mantra or object of focus does not hold any power over you. You create your own reality. But you do it, from your greater non-physical being. Your soul. So to align with that, is to fullfil your reason for being here. Which is unconditional love and joy.

 

And to feel better, is the path of lesser resistance, indicated by a feeling of relief. And the path of lesser resistance and the path of least resistance are pretty much indistinguishable. 

[silent thunder]

I found wall gazing to be particularly intense and vivid.  It arose for me, unsought for and spontaneously and was a bit unwelcome.  Full blown cinema quality living flowing visions in blue filtered light playing out in front of my open eyes on a blank wall in the hour of dusk, over a period of months.  At that time my practice occured during the hour of sunset and dusk and usually while holding the ball... after my eyes settled on the blank wall, visions would arise, unbidden and in intimate detail.

 

I've spent some time in the candle's flame as well.  I especially appreciate eye locking in a mirror by candlelight and watching the play of alternate faces arise and dissolve.  So many not human.

 

Reminds me of the saying..." our ancestors weren't perfect ladies and gentlemen... in fact, the vast majority weren't even human." ~Robert Anton Wilson