Tratak does not necessarily helps in self-realisation, at least not directly. Its main help is to train the mind in concentration. Self realisation comes by turning the consciousness within for which one generally needs a subject or an inner object to concentrate upon. That does not come easily as the mind has to hold on to an object without any other aid except imagination or an idea.
In the practice of Tratak the help of the eye is taken to concentrate the mind on an external object. Generally the object is a flame. The eyes guide the mind to focus on the flame until a time comes when one passes behind the outer image or form to the truth within it. Obviously this practice comes with certain limitations as sometimes it can lead to eye strain and headache.
It can be used for spiritual progress if one concentrates on the representation of one’s Ishta Devata or, as in this yoga, on the photographs of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.
There is another kind of Tratak where one does not concentrate on an object but gazes across vacant space with open eyes without thinking of anything necessarily. This practice can sometimes open the capacity for subtle seeing and vision.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
