Concentration a Guide to Mental Mastery

"This is the second book that I've read on concentration(first being Theron Q. Dumont's Power of concentration, that I actually recommend to read before starting with this book). Actually, it might be the third - if I considered the first self help book I've ever read (a long while ago).
This book is written with the spiritual seeker in mind, the person who is aware that focusing the mind is the basic practice for everything that lies forward, but it can actually be studied by anyone since it has nice gradual exercises. I think that the name of the author means "silent yogi" in an Indian language (could actually be Sanskrit).
Concentration book is structured in four parts, touching the purpose and usefulness of studying concentration and other preliminary explanations (part 1), achievements of some masters (saints, yogis/rishis) of both East and West and outlines their training methods (part 2). The third part is about the exercises themselves, and they are graded - each of them assumes you mastered the previous ones (he emphasizes you need to actually master them, not just do them a few times then move to next series). Finally, in the ending chapters the author touches the issue of using the new skills to meditate and deepen understanding of the purpose of life.
There is something interesting about this book.... He says you shouldn't even read the next chapters until you have mastered the exercises in the current chapter. Well, I tried to do that, started the exercises, then, well, dropped. Started again later, dropped again. In short, it took me basically one year to read it fully (no, I didn't master anything, but after a while I decided to read it anyway). Now I do the exercises here daily (well, almost, this is a crazy and busy world).
I would suggest reading first Power of concentration by Theron Q. Dumont. That book has some shortcomings in the exercises part, but is excellent in building the motivation (it focuses on mundane objectives like following through, succeeding in business, overcoming bad habits, etc.). Actually, this book also builds motivation, but on a deeper, spiritual level, hence some people would be better off by following my suggestion.
I personally liked all the spiritual teachings and warnings, and one could ignore them and just stick to the exercises. Power of concentration (Theron Q. Dumont) probably took things too lightly. This book takes them too seriously, but then again, training the mind is something serious. If you think about it, you cannot take your belongings with you after death. Heck, you cannot even take the body, even if you are a world champion bodybuilder. But, you could take the mind with you - or at least this is what Eastern masters tell us. So, mind training is something not to be taken lightly. I do believe however that he exaggerated a bit - people who want to go far probably already know about potential perils, and the rest will probably never need to understand why he said that anyway. Actually, he didn't exaggerate, but my take is that the book would be better by emphasizing it less.
To end this, a book is as good as the changes it determines you to undergo. A book is a book. Results and changes are something else, and they require efforts and dedication. There is no such thing as a short path to mastery - be it medicine, computers, sports, and of course concentration and meditation. This book does determine you to take action - is actually quite good at that - but, as I said, is just a help, a supplement, a guide, a reinforcement... it is definitely not a replacement for the mental work that needs to happen on a daily basis in order to truly succeed.
Good luck!
"
~ Written on 2007-11-09

"Any time you spend reading from this book and doing the exercises, no matter how minimal your discipline, will be time well spent. "
~ Written on 2006-07-19

"I know of a man who practised the exercises outlined in this book and subsequently,he developed this so-called ability to concentrate,to quite an astonishing degree.I didn't meet this person for a few months before I ran into him again,and he seemed quite distressed.I asked him what had happened and he told me that his endeavours at attaining control over has mind had brought about an unforeseen predicament. Apparently,his effort and his subsequent fractional success at mastering his mind had resulted in an increase of his spiritual strength wherein he was less prone to giving in to temptations. This in turn had `caught the attention of certain hostile entities' and without getting into too much of the alarming details of his experience,he was told to halt his progress or else he would make himself eligible to harsh and unpleasant tests,tests which every desiring aspirant had to undergo. Being the curious person that I am,I pressed on the matter and asked him to elaborate on these `hostile entities' and he went on to tell me that he had recurring dreams in which he was repeatedly threatened by a fierce ethereal being which revealed itself as being a `raakshas'.A rakshasa or raakshas as he pronounced it ,is a Sanskrit term whose most accurate English equivalent would be `demon'."
~ Written on 2006-02-14

"I have been an off and on again student on Yoga in its many forms for four decades. This book gives a practical, step-by-step guide to the application of the principals at the heart of Yoga. The instructions allow the student to cut through the dogma and get to the essence of mastering the mind."
~ Written on 2005-08-17

"since ancient times,people have climbed into caves in desolate mountains ,spent their entire lives in monasteries trying to tame their minds.This was when the world wasn't in such turmoil as it it is in,these days.Can a little book promise you and deliver the greatest accomplisment of all when for centuries the efforts of our forefathers too have been found wanting? This book is freakish in the sense that it's author believes that modern man can master his mind.We are supposed to tame our minds while living in a troubled society where we have to somehow adjust our lives in such a manner that among the chaos of the world today,a few ten to fifteen minutes of practicing concentration exercises is supposed to make us masters of our minds.Absolutely ridiculous! Was the author smoking ganja while writing this book? no,mouni sadhu or m sudouski (his real name) has spent a major proportion of his life in isolation.Years will pass by as you slowly progress from one exercise to another and then,say by chance,you are unable to perform your stipulated exercise for a month or two,you will find yourself moving down the ladder,your progress would have been lost,and you may not have to start from scratch but you will find yourself making up for lost ground.In that case it would take you several lifetimes to accomplish any of the results that the author promises you.Live in a desolate monastery or in a jungle (which may i add,the author did himself,for a brief period of time),renounce everything of the world and then try to tame your mind.Are you capable of that? This book is a joke.Ramana Maharshi once said 'that which is not permanent is not worth striving after'.Are the results of practising concentration exercises permanent?As long as you keep to the schedule,you'll move ahead at a frustrating slow pace.And speaking of the schedule,the author recommends 10 - 15 minutes of practise everyday,nothing more is required he says.By the time you sit down to practise your exercises and by the time your thoughts have calmed down even slightly,you'll find that your time for the day has elapsed and you'll be left with the feeling that your day's efforts have been inadequate.Also the author gives 'helpful instructions' before the actual exercises commence,such as speak less,control your temptations forcefully etc,all of which are directed at strengthening your will-power,he says.These things only caused me distress,I felt suffocated.Life is short.do you want to spend it struggling with impractical and inadequate exercises,satisfied with fragile results? Surely there must be a more 'healthy' way.I could go on with practical advice and instructions but this is a book review and i'll keep it at that."
~ Written on 2005-07-28