Tratak or Trataka? The correct name for candle flame meditation

Tratak czy trataka?

The correct name is Tratak (not Trataka). Tratak meditation is a form of meditation that focuses on a candle flame or another focal point, such as a drop of water or an image. The name "Tratak" comes from Sanskrit and means "looking" or "gazing." The word consists of two parts: "tra," which means "affecting" or "learning," and "tak," which means "eyes."

In Tratak meditation, the practitioner focuses their attention on the chosen flame or another focal point, concentrating their thoughts and mind. The goal of this practice is to achieve a state of focus, calm the mind, and increase concentration. Tratak meditation has its roots in Hinduism and yoga, but it is also practiced in other cultures and religions.

Tratak or Trataka?

On the internet, you can find different forms of spelling for the word that in Sanskrit is त्राटक and refers to meditation with a torch. Some sources write trataka, while others use tratak. Although Wikipedia currently lists the form "trataka," according to the correct transliteration of Sanskrit into the Latin alphabet, the correct spelling is tratak. Even though in some cases the letter "k" in Sanskrit is pronounced, in the case of the word "tratak," it is a final letter and thus should not be pronounced.

The word "tratak" ends with the sound "ka," represented by the Devanagari character "क."

However, when the word is transliterated into the Latin alphabet, there are different systems for representing the sounds of Sanskrit letters. Some systems use the letter "a" at the end of the word to indicate that the final consonant sound is not pronounced, while others do not use the letter "a" at the end.

It's somewhat like writing the English word "King" as "Kingie" in Polish because the last letter is pronounced as "gie."

In the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST), which is commonly used in academic and scholarly contexts, the word is transliterated as "trātaka" with a long vowel sound and a diacritical mark over the letter "a" to indicate its length. However, in other transliteration systems, the word may be written as "tratak" without the diacritical mark or the final "a" sound.

Sanskrit

The word "Tratak" - त्राटक - has three characters. To be more precise, it consists of three Devanagari characters:

  • त्रा consists of the syllables: त्र (tra) and आ (ā).
  • त represents the consonant "t".
  • आ represents the vowel "a" with a long pronunciation.
  • The second letter, ट, is the consonant "ṭa".
  • The third letter, क, is the consonant "ka".

In summary, the correct spelling and pronunciation are "Tratak," with a strong "K" sound at the end, but without the "a" sound at the end.

Workshops and Meetings with Tratak Meditation

From time to time, we conduct Tratak meditation workshops and tantra massage retreats. Most often, we hold Women's Circles with Tratak meditation.

If you are interested in participating in a ceremony with Tratak meditation, sign up for our newsletter (the form is in the footer of this page), and we will inform you as soon as the next meeting is scheduled.

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