SURE WAYS FOR SUCCESS IN LIFE & GOD-REALISATION
by H.H. Sri Swami Sivananda Maharaj
(Copies 10,000)
World Wide Web (WWW) Edition : 2001
Print copy Published By
THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY
P.O. Shivanandanagar—249 192
Distt. Tehri-Garhwal, Uttar Pradesh,
Himalayas, India.
Chapter
One
CULTURE
OF WILL AND MEMORY
Spiritual
Culture
Eastern
and Western Modes of Culture
How
to Develop Perception and Hearing
Exercise
for Developing Hearing
Exercises
for Developing Sight
God
is Satchidananda (Existence-Absolute, Knowledge-Absolute and Bliss-Absolute).
God is Truth. God is Love. God is Light of lights. God is all-pervading
Intelligence or Consciousness. God is all-pervading Power who governs this
universe and keeps it in perfect order. He is the Inner Ruler of this body and
mind (Antaryami). He is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. He is the silent
Sakshi of your mind. He is the Sutradhara or the holder of the string of your
Prana. He is the womb for this world and the Vedas. He is the prompter of Sankalpas
(Preraka). He has six attributes, viz., Jnana (intelligence), Vairagya
(dispassion), Saundarya or Madhurya (beauty and grace), Aishwarya (Siddhis or
powers), Sri (wealth), and Kirti (fame). Hence He is called Bhagavan.
He
exists in the past, present and future. He is unchanging amidst the changing
phenomena. He is permanent amidst the impermanent things of this world. He is
imperishable amidst the perishable things of this world. He is Nitya, Sasvata,
Avinasi, Avyaya and Akshara. He has created this world through the three Gunas,
viz., Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, for His own Leela. He has Maya under His control.
He is Svatantra (independent). He has
Satkama and Sat-sankalpa. He dispenses the fruits for the actions of the Jivas.
He is all-merciful. He quenches the thirst of the Jivas in the form of ice and
succulent fruits. It is through His power that you see, hear and walk. Whatever
you see is God. Whatever you hear is God. God works through your hands and eats through your mouths. On
account of ignorance and Abhimana you have forgotten Him
Nitya Sukha and Parama Shanti can be had
only in God. That is the reason why sensible, intelligent aspirants attempt to
have Darshan of God or Godrealisation God-realisation can bring an end to the
Samsaric wheel of birth and death with its concomitant evils. This world is a
long dream. It is a jugglery of Maya. The five senses delude you at every
moment. Open your eyes. Learn to discriminate. Understand His mysteries. Feel
His presence everywhere. Feel His nearness. He dwells in the chambers of your
heart.
SPIRITUAL
CULTURE
Spiritual culture is the king, of all
cultures. So I have given prominence to this Culture is refinement or education.
Spiritual means that which relates to the inner Self or Atman or Brahman, whose
nature is Existence-Absolute, Knowledge-Absolute and Bliss-Absolute I do not
mean here spiritualism which deals with ghosts, planchette, table-turning
and possession of spirits in medium, etc. Thinking on Atma (Atma-Chintana),
meditating on Atma, Conversing on Atma, hearing of Vedanta or Upanishads,
remembering of Atma, will constitute spiritual culture. The student should try,
to possess the qualifications for realisation of Atma These qualification; are
four in number, viz., (1) Viveka (discrimination between the real and the
unreal); (2) Vairagya (indifference to sensual enjoyments herein and
hereafter), (3) Shadsampat (sixfold virtue) - such as Shama (tranquillity of
mind) which results in the eradication of Vasanas, Dama (restraint of the
Indriyas, Uparati satiety or Sannyasa or renunciation of works), Titiksha
(endurance), Sraddha (faith in the Vedas, words of the Guru and ones own Self),
Samadhana (one-pointed mind) and (4) Mumukshutva (intense longing for liberation
from births and deaths) Study of Atma Bodha, Tattva Bodha, Pancheekarana, Laghu
Vasudeva Manana, Sankaras Select Works, Pancha Dasi, Upanishads and Vichara
Sagara, is of great help in spiritual culture in the beginning.
The Mantras for meditation are silent
repetition of Om or Soham or Aham Brahma Asmi or Sivoham.
One can select any of these four according to his taste. He should feel,
“I am the Immortal Self in all. I am the living Truth. I am All-pervading
Light, Intelligence or Pure Consciousness”, when he meditates on these
Mantras. This will eventually result in Atma-Sakshatkara
The other
ways for spiritual culture are Bhakti Yoga and Raja Yoga. A man of devotional
temperament should develop the nine modes of devotion, viz., Sravana, Kirtana,
Smarana, Padasevana, Archana, Vandana, Dasya, Sakhya and Atmanivedana. He
should select his Ishta Devata - either Lord Krishna or Lord Rama, or Devi or
Gayatri or Lord Siva - and repeat the particular Mantra, i.e., Om Namo
Bhagavate Vasudevaya of Lord Krishna, Om Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram of
Lord Rama, Om Sri Kalikayai Namah of Devi or Om Namah Sivaya of
Lord Siva, daily, for one or two hours in the morning between 4 and 6. He should
study the Ramayana and the Bhagavata. He should be in the company of Bhagavatas
for sometime. He should do Kirtana and sing His Name. He should meditate on His
form in his heart. He should think of His attributes such as all-merciful
nature, omnipotence, omniscience, etc. He should try to eradicate the vicious
qualities such as lust, anger, greed, dishonesty, cruelty, etc. He should
practise Ahimsa, Satya, Brahmacharya, which constitute right conduct. He will
slowly cultivate Bhakti and have Darshan of his Ishta Devata. This is the path
of devotion or Bhakti which is suitable for the vast majority of persons.
There
is another way for spiritual culture. This is the practice of thoughtlessness or
making the mind blank. There are eight limbs in this Yoga. Hence it is called
Ashtanga Yoga. The book of Yoga Darshana of Patanjali Maharshi is the standard
work on this subject. The eight limbs are Yama (restraint), Niyama
(observances), Asana (pose), Pranayama (restraint of breath), Pratyahara
(abstraction or withdrawal of Indriyas from objects), Dharana (concentration),
Dhyana) and Samadhi (superconscious state) should be well established in Yama
and Niyama. Then alone he can hope to get success in this branch of Yoga. Yama
consists of Ahimsa (non-injuring in word and deed), Satya (truthfulness in
thought, word and deed), Asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (celibacy or purity
in thought, word and deed), and Aparigraha (non-covetousness). Niyama consists
of Saucha (internal and external purity) Santosha (contentment), Tapas
(austerity), Svadhyaya (study of religious literature) and Ishvara Pranidhana
(devotion to God). Raja Yoga is an exact science. All the methods are very scientific,
Take
up physical culture in the beginning. Take to any exercise that suits you best
and put it in daily practice. Keep a daily record. This is very important. Mere
skipping over the pages will not do. You will not be benefited. If you really
want rapid improvement, if you want to become a real man, put the lessons in
practice and take down notes. You can watch your progress and correct your
mistakes. I want to make you a practical man quickly. Keep special notebooks.
Send me a copy of the notes of exercises that you have done in month. I will
make corrections and give you very valuable suggestions. I will put you in the
right path. If you are very earnest and sincere, you can finish, up the memory
exercises in three months. For a mediocre, I allow six months. For a third class
type, I allow one year.
After you are well up in
memory-culture, you can take up will-culture. You have gained now some success
and power through memory-culture. This will give you a great impetus in the
will-cu1ture. You will be rejoicing now. You will be training your every nerve
in the practice of will-culture. You have already started the current.
It will keep up your zeal and enthusiasm. Practise the assertions boldly
and calmly. Fully understand the meaning of every assertion and try to feel it.
The feeling will slowly manifest. Do not be discouraged. You will have to fight
against your old enemies, the old Samskaras. Wait coolly. Try to develop
patience, attention, power of endurance, balance of mind, presence of mind.
These qualities are very necessary to develop your will. Develop attention
also. Practise will-culture for three months. You will feel your inner strength.
The thing that appeared difficult sometime ago can be done with ease now. You
will feel that you now have an unruffled mind. Things that easily upset your
mind cannot do so now. You can turn out immense work quite smoothly. Your walk
is graceful. Your speech is powerful. You are completely a changed man. There is
a glow in your cheeks and a peculiar charm in your smile. You are now able to
influence many. Your friends notice a magnetic aura in your face.
The practice of
concentration should go hand in hand with the memory and will cultures.
Concentration is an auxiliary in all cultures. No culture is possible without
concentration. Have regular concentration daily in the morning, for half an
hour or 1 hour. Have a spiritual basis in your concentration.
You
practise concentration not only for developing your memory and will, but mainly
for Self-realisation. That is the chief aim. Never, never forget this point.
This is the fundamental difference between my system and the various other
systems. Brahmacharya and Self-realisation are the key-notes of my system. I
harp on these two points in various ways.
I want you to
develop your memory and will for success in life and achievement of Brahmic
bliss eventually. Concentrate on the picture of Lord Krishna or Lord Rama or
Lord Siva or Lord Jesus or Lord Buddha or Lord Mohammad, according to your
inclination. The practice of concentration will immensely help your memory and
will culture also. Keep a record of your experiences in concentration in your
diary and send a copy to me every month.
The fourth point is the development of
virtues. Through the articles “Character Building” and “Subconscious
Mind” you will understand the method of developing various virtues. Develop
that virtue which you are hopelessly lacking in. Courage, mercy, universal love,
nobility, forbearance, contentment, frankness and honesty, must be developed
one by one. Take up one virtue every month and meditate on that virtue
regularly. You will manifest that virtue in your character. If you develop one
important virtue, all other virtues will cling to you. If you have humility and
courage, all other virtues will come of their own accord. You should spend daily
sometime, say half an hour, for development of virtues.
If you are established in Brahmacharya or
truthfulness, all other virtues will cling to you by themselves.
Take up one of these four virtues - humility, courage, Brahmacharya and
truthfulness - for development.
The fifth point is eradication of evil
qualities. The development of virtuous qualities will itself remove the
negative qualities. But, it is better to make a positive attempt also in the
eradication of these evil qualities. Then the progress will be rapid. It is a
double attack on the enemy. Then success becomes easy and sure. If you could
remove lust or anger or egoism, all other evil qualities will disappear by
themselves. All evil qualities are the attendants of egoism. If egoism is
destroyed, if the commander is slain, all the soldiers and retinues will take to
their heels, out of fright, because they have lost their head. All vices
originate from anger. If anger is destroyed, all sorts of vices will vanish.
Therefore, concentrate your attention in killing egoism or anger. Then the
whole work is done, and done perfectly, too.
The sixth point is the discipline of the
Indriyas. This is very important. If the Indriyas are turbulent, you cannot
have concentration. Watch every Indriya carefully and curb it by suitable
methods, such as fasting, Mouna, Trataka, celibacy, renunciation of articles,
Dama and Pratyahara (vide the article on “Discipline of Indriyas”).
Indriyas draw you out and make your mind outgoing. Curbing of, the Indriyas
really means the curbing of the mind. The Indriyas cannot do any independent
work without the direct help of the mind.
The seventh point is physical culture. I
again rewind you that no culture is possible if you do not possess a sound and
healthy body. Keep your body fit and healthy, vigorous and active, by regular
exercises. You must have a beautiful, symmetrical body.
The
eighth point is the keeping up of a daily diary. If you want quick and rapid
progress, if you want substantial growth, keep this diary daily. Let s be a true
diary with a clean conscience. Having armed yourself with the above Sadhana, you
can become a mighty emperor of this world. You can enjoy health, wealth,
spiritual bliss and longevity. I have shown graduated exercises according to the
capacity of the students. Now it is left to you to expand and grow. You will
have to apply yourself diligently. A hungry man will have to eat for himself.
A thirsty man will have to drink for himself. Now drink the nectar of
Immortality and become a spiritual darling and hero. Get success in every
department of your life. These practices will now become part and parcel of your
nature after one year. You can go on developing them till you attain perfection.
Now
comes another important culture. The student should pay great attention in
this direction, because he will derive immense benefits. Will is Atmabal.
Will is dynamic soul-force. Will, if it is rendered pure and irresistible, can
work wonders. There is nothing impossible for a man of strong will to achieve in
the three worlds. The vast majority of persons have no consciousness of will or
mind or intellect, though they talk much on will and mind.
The will has
become impure and weak through Vasanas (desires). When a desire is controlled,
it be- comes changed into will. The sexual energy, the muscular energy, anger,
etc., are all transmuted into will-force when they are controlled. The fewer the
desires, the stronger the will.
Napoleon had a strong will and so he won
sanguine success in wars. Visvamitra had a strong will and therefore he
created a third world for King Trishanku. Dattatreya had a strong will and so
he created a woman by mere willing. Shams Tabreiz had a strong will and so he
caused the sun to come down to roast his piece of mutton. Jnanadeva had a strong
will and therefore he made the Masjid to move. All Jnanins and Yogins have very
strong will.
The force of Brahmacharya is at the back
of the will. No will-culture is possible without Brahma charya. Will is another
name for the force of celibacy. Every drop of semen is a magnetic force. Satsankalpa
is the pure willing of Jnanins. They can do anything by Sat-sankalpa. The Yogi
or Jnani creates through pure will. Chudalai wanted to test her husband
Shikhidhvaja. She willed and created an imaginary husband for her. She willed
and stood up in the air to convince him of her powers. Immediately
Shikhidhvaja accepted her as his Guru.
Get up at 4 a.m.
and sit on Veerasana or Padmasana and meditate on these formulae. Repeat them
mentally with feeling.
.
. My will is pure,
strong and irresistible.
Om Om Om.
. I can do
anything through my will now.
Om Om Om.
. I have an
invincible will.
Om Om Om.
Meditation on the
immortal Atman develops the will. It is the best method. Do not use the will in
directions. You will have a hopeless fall. Do not test the strength of your will
in the beginning. Wait till it becomes strong and pure. Will is the king of
mental powers. Will is Ichha-Sakti; Prana is Kriya-Sakti; intellect is Jnana-Sakti.
When the will operates, all the mental powers, such as power of judgment, power
of memory, power of grasping, Dharana Sakti (power of holding), reasoning power,
discriminating power, power of inference, power of reflection—all these come
into play within the twinkling of an eye. They come to aid the willpower,
their master.
Be not troubled and anxious if there is delay in the development of the will. The will is bound to carry out all your behests in the long run. You can treat any ailment of other People by mere willing.
Will:
“Let the patient be free from this disease”. This will really come to
pass immediately. You will be really astonished. You can treat any disease in
your body by mere willing. Will strongly: “I must see Mr. John at 5 a.m.”.
The man will be at your door at the exact time. Will alone is your obedient and
willing servant. It will fetch anything you want. Will strongly: I must get that
appointment”. You will surely succeed. I there is delay, apply the will over
and over again. In the beginning you will find it a bit difficult to apply the
will, because it is a new practice for you. Gradually you will know how to
apply the will. You will understand the knack and technique, and the will can
be applied in the twinkling of an eye, and the object also will be realised in
the twinkling of an eye. The stronger the will, the quicker the realisation.
Will strongly “I want to eat mangoes”. The mangoes are at your door. They
will come anyhow. Practice will make you perfect. Experiences will teach you.
You will have to be very careful in the use of the will. It is always advisable to reserve the will-force for the achievement of higher spiritual success. Worldly success is nothing. This life is a mere bubble. This world is a long dream. Worldly success will not give you everlasting peace and happiness. Try your will in one or two instances in worldly matters. You will understand and realise its power. Then apply the will in the realisation of the Self. Ignore mundane affairs. They are worthless, like straw or dung. Become an Atma-Jnani or Raja Yogi. This alone will give you absolute satisfaction. You are an emperor of the three worlds now. All petty desires will vanish now. Thou art an “AptaKama” now—a Jnani in whom all desires are gratified. Is this not really an exalted state?
Attention, power
of endurance, overcoming aversion, dislikes and irritations, fortitude in
suffering, 1apas (austerities such as standing on one foot, sitting in the hot
sun) or Panchagni Tapas before five fires, standing in cold water in piercing
winter, raising the hands above and keeping in the same position for an hour,
fasting, patience, command of temper, forbearance, clemency, mental power of
endurance, firmness in meeting danger, power of resistance or attack,
Satyagraha, keeping up daily diary—all pave a long way in developing the will.
One should patiently hear the words of others even though they are not
interesting and charming. He should not fret and fume. Patient hearing develops
will and wins the hearts of others. One should do actions or tasks that are
uninteresting. This also develops the willpower. The actions that are not
interesting will become interesting after sometime.
Never
complain against bad environments. Create your own mental world wherever you
remain and wherever you go. There are some difficulties and disadvantages
wherever you go. If the mind deludes you, at every moment and at every step,
try to overcome the obstacles and difficulties by suitable means. Do not try to
run away from bad, unfavourable environments. God has placed you there to make
you grow quickly.
If
you get all sorts of comforts in a place, you will not grow strong. Your mind
will be puzzled in a new place when you cannot get these comforts. Therefore,
make the best use of all places. Never complain against surroundings and
environments. Live in your own mental world. Nothing can upset your mind.
You will find Raga-Dvesha even in the eternal snowy regions of the Himalayas, near Gangotri. You cannot get an ideal place and ideal surroundings in any part of the world. Kashmir is very cool; the scenery is very, enchanting; but Pissus (small insects like fleas) trouble you at night; you cannot sleep. Varanasi is a centre of Sanskrit learning, but it is notorious for hot winds in summer. Uttarakasi in the Himalayas is beautiful, but you cannot get vegetables, or fruits there; the cold is so very biting in winter. This world is a relative plane of good and evil. Remember this point at all times. Try to live happily in any place, under any condition. You will become a strong and dynamic personality. This is a great secret. Keep this in your pocket and unlock the Elysian regions, the spiritual realms and the immortal abode. You can get sanguine success in any undertaking. You can conquer any difficulty.
The, practice of concentration is of great
help to strengthen the will. You must have an intelligent understanding, of the
habits of the mind - how it wanders and how it operates. You must know easy and
effective methods to control the wandering of the mind. The practice of
thought-culture, the practice of concentration, the practice of memory-culture,
are all allied subjects. All these
are of immense help in the practice of will-culture. You cannot draw a line of
demarcation to denote where the practice of concentration or memory-culture ends
and the practice of will-culture begins. There is no hard an1 fast rule. For
further particulars on the practice of concentration, please see the article
“Control of Mind wandering.”
Mr. Gladstone and
Mr. Balfour could go to deep sleep the, moment they went to bed through mere
willing. They had
such a strong will. Even Mahatma Gandhi had this practice. They could get up in
the morning at any time they wanted, to the very minute. They had so trained
their subconscious mind. The subconscious mind was their obedient servant.. It
would wake them up at the very second. Every one of you should develop this
habit through will and become a Gandhi, a Gladstone or a Balfour.
Generally, the
vast majority of persons simply roll in their beds for hours together and do not
get sound sleep even for half an hour. It is the quality of sleep, and not the
quantity, that gives refreshment. Sound sleep for even an hour is quite
sufficient to refresh the body and revitalise the mind. The moment you go to
bed, simply relax the mind and give the suggestion, “I will have good sleep
now.” Do not think of anything. Napoleon had this habit. Even when the bugle
was blowing and the drums were beating on the battle-field, he would be snoring.
His subconscious mind would wake him up at the very second he wanted to get up.
With a cool mind, Napoleon would appear like a lion on the battle-field. One
should train himself to sleep in running cars, trains, and when moving in the
aeroplanes, even in a sitting posture. This practice is of immense help for busy
medical practitioners, advocates and businessmen, who have to do immense work
daily and a good deal of travelling. Life has become so very complex now-a-days
that busy people do not find time to get, enough sleep. Whenever they find some
leisure, even for five minutes, they should close their eyes in any place and go
to sleep for a short time. This would give great rest. They can continue their
further activities. This kind of practice is a blessing to busy people. Their
nerves are under great tension and pressure. By relaxing them every now and
then, they could refresh themselves and keep quite fit for further activities.
One should be able to sleep on the platforms of Howrah or Bombay railway
stations when trains are moving at all times. This is a wonderful practice
that gives immense strength.
Dr. Annie Besant used to write editorial
columns when moving in the cars. There are some busy doctors who read
newspapers even when they are in the water closets. They keep their minds fully
occupied. The practice of keeping the mind fully occupied is the best of all
practices for keeping up physical and mental Brahmacharya. Those who want to
become magnetic and dynamic personalities or prodigies should utilise every
second to the best possible advantage and should try to grow mentally, morally
and spiritually, every second. Idle gossiping should be given up entirely. Every
one of us should realise the value of time. Will is bound to become dynamic if
one utilises his time very profitably. Application and tenacity, interest and
attention, patience and perseverance, faith and self-reliance, can make a man a
wonderful world-figure
You will have to apply your will according to your capacity. Otherwise, your will deteriorates. You will be discouraged. This is one important point. Make a programme of work or daily routine, according to your capacity, and see that it is carried out daily. Keep only a few items. If you keep several items which cannot be executed in a day, which are beyond your capacity, your interest will slowly wane and your enthusiasm will gradually decline. Your energy will be dissipated and scattered. You will get brain-fag. Whatever you wish to do daily must be carried out to the very letter. Nimbarka Acharya willed that the sun should not pass beyond the Nim tree that was in front of his house; it came to pass exactly. Narayani willed that there would be no daybreak; it came to pass accordingly. These people had strong will-power. If you also will like this in the beginning, when you are a neophyte, when you have developed your will to a very small extent, you cannot succeed.
Thinking too much is a hindrance in the
execution by the will. It brings confusion, diffidence and procrastination.
There is slackening of the force of the will. The opportunity will slip away.
You may hesitate to put the thing in action. Think for sometime correctly and
then decide. As soon as you have resolved, you must will immediately. There must
not be any unnecessary delay. Sometimes you will and do not succeed. This is due
to lack of right thinking and right feeling. You must think rightly and, at the
same time, feel rightly. Then the will is bound to succeed. Right feeling should
invariably accompany right thinking.
Divine will is all-powerful. God wills, and everything comes into being the very second. Man wills, but it takes a long time for attaining a thing or materialisation of the desired object as his will is weak. Man thinks, wills, and slowly gets the desired objects after some time. Man also creates. If his will is pure and strong, man also gets the objects in the twinkling of an eye. Mere wish will not suffice for the attainment of the desired thing. You will have -to add to it definite purpose. Wish or desire is a small ripple in the mind-lake, but will. is that power which executes the desires. Will is volition. It is the power of choosing or determining.
Desire and will are different things
altogether. Desire is a longing for certain possessions, while will is the power
of determination (Sankalpa) without any motive whatsoever to enjoy anything.
Desire is Vasana which pertains to the mind; will is ichcha, which is
identical with the Law and is characteristic of the Self - the universal
consciousness. God’s will and Gods law are one and the same.
When the Self determines the activity,
uninfluenced by attractions or repulsions towards surrounding objects, the will
is manifested When outer attractions or repulsions determine the activity and
the man is drawn hither and thither by these, deaf to the voice of the Self,
unconscious of the Inner Ruler, then the desire is seen
The man must learn
to separate himself from the vehicles in which he, desires, thinks and acts, -to
know them as part of the not-self, as material external to the life. Thus, the
energy that went out to the objects in the lower desires becomes the higher
desire, guided by the mind, and is prepared to be transmuted into will.
As
the lower mind emerges into the higher, and the higher into that which is
wisdom, the aspect of pure will emerges as the power of the spirit, self
determined, self-ruled, in perfect harmony with the supreme will, and therefore
free. Then only all bonds are broken and the spirit is unconstrained by anything
outside itself. Then and then alone can the will be said to be free.
He who is attempting to develop the will should always try to keep a cool head. He should keep a balanced mind under all conditions. He will have to train or discipline the mind. It is worth practising. Balance of mind is one of the vital characteristics of a developed Jnani or Yogi. That Yogi who can keep a balanced mind at all times is really a strong and happy man. He will get sanguine success in all his undertakings. You may fail to maintain the balance in fifty attempts, but, from the fifty-first endeavour, you will gain strength of will. You will slowly manifest balance of mind. You should not be discouraged in the beginning. Remember the story of Bruce and the Spider. Bruce learnt from the spider. He failed seven times, but succeeded in the war in his eighth attempt.
If a serious calamity occurs, your mind should not be upset. Just keep the mind cool and calm. Have presence of mind. Do not cry over spilt milk. Anyhow, it has come to pass. You will have, to face it with a cheerful countenance. Try to make, the best of things. Remember the maxim: “What cannot be cured must be endured”. Find out methods to tide over the difficulty. Keep always an unruffled mind. Do not be carried away by undue sentiments and bubbling emotions. Control them. Reflect how the calamity or trouble or catastrophe has come. There is always scope for suitable, effective, easy methods to tide over the crisis or trying situation. Allow the turban to pass off when your head is on the point of being knocked down. This is sagacity. This is prudence. This is wisdom. Develop discrimination and foresightedness. Many obstacles and calamities can be obviated quite easily. Do not brood over failures, defects and mistakes. This will weaken your will. Let the defects remain there. They will be removed quickly when the will grows and when the will becomes purer and purer, stronger and stronger.
Just reflect for a
while why, you have failed in the attempt and try to be careful in the second attempt.
Try to remove those factors that led to your failure in the previous attempt.
Fortify yourself now. Be careful and vigilant. Be on the alert. Be active and
nimble as the squirrel. You must be quick and, at the same time, efficient and
capable. You should not commit mistakes.
Whenever you are in a dilemma or trying practical difficulty, never get discouraged. Never lose your heart. Use your skill nicely. Devise intelligent plans or schemes. Call forth all your latent energies or dormant faculties. When the house is on fire, how alert you are! How skillfully and promptly you act at that particular moment! You do not know wherefrom the energy and power are flowing at that time. You are fully concentrated. You contrive skilful methods then and there to save your property, as much as possible, and to save the lives of your kinsmen dwelling in the house. Marvellous actions you do. Then you say at your leisure, when the difficulty is over, that some mysterious power of God had worked through you.
Always cut the
Gordian knot at once. Do not be wasting time. When once you have resolved a definite
line of action, carry it out dexterously and with cool and calculating
deliberation and consideration. Procrastination is the thief of time. A
Deerghasutri (one who procrastinates) can never succeed in this life or in any
of his undertakings.
“Procrastination is the thief of time” is a wise maxim.
Unruffled state of
the mind, poise, cheerfulness, inner strength, capacity to turn out difficult
works, success in all undertakings, power to influence people, a magnetic and
dynamic personality, magnetic aura on the face, sparkling eyes, steady gaze,
powerful voice, a magnanimous gait, unyielding nature, fearlessness, etc., are
some of the signs or symptoms that indicate that ones will is growing.
You must become a
Daksha (an expert) (Refer Chapter XII, 16, Gita) in deciding a line of action
when you are in a dilemma in the twinkling of an eye that can bring sure and
positive success. You must keep the instrument (Buddhi) very, very subtle and
sharp. See how smart and adept the Kshatriya kings were in olden days during
warfares! A commander-in-chief is expected to have this faculty to a remarkable
degree. Sivaji and Napoleon had this virtue.
Unwavering
firmness and patience are needed to tide over critical situations and gain
success. Dhriti and Dhairya (presence of mind), and Samata (balance of mind)
develop the will to a remarkable degree.
The vast majority of persons, even the so-called educated people, have no definite aim in life. Hence they are drifted here and there like a log of wood on a restless ocean. . They do not know what to do. Some students finish their Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts courses, but they do not know how to proceed further. They do not have the power of judgment to select any good avocation that is suitable to their temperament, that can bring them prosperity and success in life. They become lazy. They are unfit for adventurous enterprises or any speculative business, or any kind of activity that demands knack, pluck and skill.
They waste their time and finish their life’s career in. gloom, despair and sorrow. The energy is there. The intellect is there but they have no definite aim or purpose. They have no ideal. They have no clear-cut programme of life. Hence their life becomes a failure. Every one of you should clearly understand the aim of your life. Then you should chalk out the line of work that is congenial to your aim. You should work hard to realise the aim. You should have your ideal and you should try every second to live up to that ideal. You can realise the ideal right now in this very second, even after ten years by walking with faltering steps. It does not matter much. The ideal and the aim must be there. Then you can develop your will.
When one, has
successfully finished his duties of a household, then his sorts are all fixed up
in life, when the daughters are given in marriage, he should devote the
remaining years of his life in spiritual pursuits, study of religious literature
and divine contemplation. Many people have no definite idea as to what they are
going to do. After retirement from active service, they take to some other
avocation.. They are still greedy. Till the end of life, they count money, and
entertain thoughts of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Pitiable is the lot
of these men indeed. Blessed is he who spends the whole time in study and
meditation in a solitary place after retirement from service.
EASTERN
AND WESTERN MODES OF CULTURE
There is a gulf of difference between the Eastern culture of the Hindu sages and rishis, and the method of culture of the Western occultists. The fundamental difference is that in the West, people train their will and memory for attaining material progress and worldly prosperity only. They have totally ignored the life beyond. This is their serious blunder indeed. Whereas the Yogins of India do develop their will and memory for spiritual ends. Their goal is always Self-realisation. They exhibit psychic Siddhis to make their students clearly understand that there is a higher supersensual life in the Atma which alone can be real Bliss and Immortality. They clearly impress on their students in unmistakable terms: “Na Karmana Na Prajaya. Dhanena Tyagenaike Amritatwamanashuh. Not by actions, nor by progeny, nor by riches, but by renunciation alone one can attain Immortality”. The real bliss is in the Bhuma or the Infinite or the Unconditioned. There is no happiness in the perishable objects. Real, lasting peace is in the Absolute alone. The Absolute must be sought and understood. This one ringing note is blown in their ears daily.
Therefore the
Western occultists should not neglect the spiritual culture and should not
forget the spiritual basis of all other cultures. One can have material
prosperity to a certain extent. He should also develop the spiritual side. There
should be a spiritual basis for all cultures and undertakings. This is
important. If this side is ignored completely, then that culture is no culture
at all. There should also be the practice of a little Tapas (austerity) along
with the will-culture. Saunaka, a
wise householder, approached the sage Angirasa and said: “O venerable
sir, what is that supreme culture or culture of cultures by knowing which all
other cultures are known?” Angirasa replied: “It is Brahma Vidya or Para
Vidya or the spiritual culture or the Science of the Self”. All cultures are
founded on the culture of the Self. I therefore draw the attention of Western
culturists to this striking feature of Eastern culture. Then alone they will
have roaring success and immeasurable joy. Some Hindu teachers completely
ignore the material side and practise Tamasic Tapas. This is also inadvisable.
This is condemned by Lord Krishna in the Gita. Extremes are always bad. A
healthy combination is highly desirable. Chudalai and Janaka had this happy
combination. Tantrikas have Mukti and Bhukti.
Dear readers, I want to place before you
another important point. I have not such words as cannot, difficult, impossible,
weakness, etc., in my dictionary. Those who are attempting to develop their
will-force should remove these words from heir dictionary also. These are the
expressions of a weakling or an effeminate person. These are the expressions of
a timid woman. Become a lion. Become a spiritual hero. Become a champion in the
atmic field. By mere willing or chanting of Om mountains can be crushed to
powder. By mere willing mountains should move. By mere willing, oceans should
recede. By mere willing, all the waves of the ocean should subside. Lord Jesus
did this and you also can do. Whatever one has achieved can also be attained by
all if only they will. This is the grand law of Nature. Mother Prakriti is
unbiased. She looks up at all her children with equal vision. Speak with dignity
and force. Talk with emphasis in a noble manner.
Therefore never entertain in your mind
these negative terms. Understand the glory, splendour and power of the Self
which is at the back of your mind, thought, will and memory. Understand the
magnanimity and immortal nature of that hidden, inter-penetrating, indwelling
Essence. Know that this Self is the storehouse for all knowledge, bliss, power,
beauty, peace and joy. Feel that the sun, the moon and the stars, and fire do
their respective functions at your command. Feel that the air moves, rain
showers, fire burns, rivers flow, sun shines, stars glitter, Indra, Agni and
Yama do their respective functions, at your bidding.
Thou art the Glory of glories, Sun of suns, Light of lights, Holy of
holies, Divinity of divinities, Devata of Devatas, Emperor of emperors, God of
gods. Thou art Truth; Thou art Brahman; Thou art the imperishable, undecaying,
undying Atman that pervades this whole universe. Assert your divine majesty.
Recognise the Brahmic glory. Realise our freedom and Satchidananda nature, your
centre, ideal, goal and heritage. Rest in that ocean of light, knowledge, Prema,
peace, joy and bliss. Realise the significance of the great sentence Tat Tvam
Asi (Thou art That) of the glorious Upanishads. OM! OM! OM!
Do you know the
reason why I have chosen this subject as the third
item? Atma is the basis of everything. So I have placed spiritual culture
in the beginning. There is intimate relation between Mind and will.
Will is only Atma or God in motion or manifestation. - So I have dealt
with will, culture after spiritual culture. No spiritual or will culture is
possible without ethical culture, so I Have placed this subject as the third
important item. Ethical culture will result in ethical perfection. An ethical
man is more powerful than an intellectual.
Ethical culture brings in various sorts of Siddhis or occult powers. If
you study Yoga Sutras, you will find a clear description of the powers that
manifest by observance of the practices of, Ahimsa; Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya
and Aparigraha. The nine Riddhis roll under the feet of an ethically developed
man. They are ready to serve him.
The philosopher need not necessarily be a moral or ethical man; but, a spiritual man must of necessity be moral. Morality goes hand in hand with spiriua1ity. Morality coexists with spirituality. . The three kinds of Tapas, viz., physical, verbal, and mental that are prescribed in the seventeenth chapter of the Gita, the practice of Yama in Raja Yoga philosophy, and the Noble Eightfold Path of the Buddhists, viz., right thinking, right endeavour, right action, right living, etc. are all best calculated to develop the moral side of man. Sadachara or right conduct aims to making a man moral, so that he may be fit - for the reception of Atma-Jnana or the realisation of the Supreme Tattva.
You
should always try your level best to speak, the truth at all costs. You may
lose, your income in the beginning. But, in the long run, you are bound to be
victorious. You will realise the truth of the Upanishads: “Satyameva Jayate
Nanritam. Truth alone triumphs, but not falsehood”. Even a lawyer who
speaks the truth in law courts, who does not coach up false witnesses, may lose
his practice in the beginning; but later on, he will be honoured by the judge as
well as the client. Thousands of clients will flock to him only. He will have to
make some sacrifice at the outset. Lawyers generally complain, “What can we
do? Our profession is such. We must tell lies, otherwise we lose our case”.
These are false excuses. There was an advocate, a mental Sannyasi, who was
practising in the Uttar Pradesh, who was a friend and benefactor of Sannyasins,
who never coached false witnesses, who never took up criminal cases, and yet, he
was the leader of the bar amid was revered by the judges, clients and
colleagues. 0, my friends, barristers and advocates, who are killing
their conscience and who are slayers of Atman! Will you all follow this noble
example and ideal? Be truthful. You will have a peaceful death. Do not kill your
conscience in order to have comfortable living, and in order to please your
wife. Life here is evanescent and
like a bubble. Aspire to become divine.
The various formulae
- Ahimsa Paramo Dharmah (Non-injuring is the highest of all virtues); Satjam
Vada, Dharmam Chara (speak the truth and do virtuous actions); Do unto
others in the same way as you wish others to do unto you; Do as you would be
done by; Love thy neighbour as thyself - are all best calculated to develop the
moral aspect of a human being. Morality is the basis for the realisation of
atmic unity or oneness of life or Advaitic feeling of sameness everywhere.
Ethical culture prepares you for the Vedantic, realisation of Sarvam
Khalvidam Brahma (All, indeed, is Brahman; there no such thing as
diversity).
All aspirants commit mistakes in jumping to Sanadhi and Dhyana all at once, as soon as they leave their houses, without caring a bit for ethical purification. The mind remains in the same condition” although they have practised meditation for fifteen years. They have the same jealousy, hatred, idea of superiority, pride, egoism, etc. No meditation or Samadhi is possible without ethical culture. Meditation and Samadhi come by themselves when man has ethical perfection.
Bhava is a Sanskrit term: there is no
proper equivalent in English. It means mental attitude or mental disposition.
Bhava is internal feeling. There are three kinds of Bhavas, viz., Sattvic Bhava,
Rajasic Bhava, and Tamasic Bhava according to the nature of the quality that
predominates in man. Sattvic Bhava is divine Bhava. It is Suddha Bhava. Just as
thought or memory or will can be cultivated or developed by practice, so also,
Bhava can be developed. An evil. Bhava can be transmuted into a good Bhava. The
Bhava of friendliness or enmity is a mental creation. The enemy or friend is not
outside. It is the feeling or imagination from within. An intimate friend of
long standing becomes. a deadly enemy within a second. One hot or harsh word
changes the situation completely within the twinkling of an eye. When there is
friendly Bhava, Mr. Smith expects
and imagines that his friend Mr. Nicholas will serve him when he is sick, that
he will have a good loving company in Mr. Nicholas, that his friend Mr. Nicholas
will speak loving words, that he can get a loan of money from Mr. Nicholas when
he is in distress, and that Mr. Nicholas will show a loving face and receive him
with hospitality when he visits his house. These are the feelings of men when
friendly Bhava reigns in their minds. When they lose their friendship, Mr. Smith
entertains different kinds of feelings towards Mr. Nicholas. He has no
confidence in his old friend and colleague. He is afraid of him. He turns his
face when he meets his friend. He speaks ill of him. He thinks that Mr. Nicholas
will injure him. The whole position is so radically changed. The Bhava has so
completely changed now.
Vedanta
says: “Man is identical with Brahman
(Existence-Absolute) when he gets rid of his ignorance.” A human being
erroneously identifies himself with his body and wrongly imagines that he is a
little Jiva with little power and little knowledge. This is his present Bhava.
This is human Bhava. This should be changed into Brahma Bhava by changing the
angle of vision and mode of thinking. Think you are Brahman. Think you are pure
all-pervading intelligence, light and consciousness. Think you are immortal.
Think you are omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. Think you are Sakshi.
Entertain Sakshi Bhava and Akarta Bhava: “I am the witness. I am not the doer.
I am not the enjoyer”. By this practice you can destroy the idea of agency and of
enjoyer, and free - yourself from the bondage of Karmas, and attain the state of
Brahman or the highest bliss,
knowledge and immortality. Vedanta also adds: “See and feel Brahman everywhere
and ignore the names and forms”. It teaches you to develop Atma Bhava or
Brahma Bhava by Vichara and right thinking and meditation.
When
an idea exclusively occupies the mind, a mental state or Bhava corresponding to
the nature of the idea comes in. Think of your enemy for some time and inimical
Bhava will manifest. Think of mercy or universal love; Prema Bhava or Karuna
Bhava will manifest. Think of universal service; Seva Bhava will come in. Think
of Lord Krishna and His Lilas at Brindavan; Krishna-Prema Bhava will manifest.
Feeling always accompanies thinking. You cannot separate thinking from
feeling. They are like fire and heat.
You
should be ever watching the mental states through careful and vigilant
introspection, and should not allow any negative and undesirable Bhava to
manifest. You must immediately change the evil Bhava by thinking of the
opposite Bhava. Positive overpowers the negative. A Sattvic Bhava is a
valuable spiritual asset for you. You must always try to get established in
Brahma Bhava through Sattvic Bhava. The
struggle will be keen in the beginning. There will be internal warfare between
the Asurika and the divine Bhavas. The former will try its level best to
re-enter the mental factory. In the long run, through constant practice, Sattvic
Bhava will carry the day. Food has a direct bearing upon Bhava. Sattvic food
easily brings in Sattvic Bhava. Put yourself on an exclusive diet of milk and
fruits only for a fortnight and study the nature of your mind and Bhava. You
will have a wonderful calm mind with Sattvic Bhava. When there is this Sattvic
Bhava, the mind naturally moves towards God, and meditation comes by itself
without the least possible effort on your part.
When the devotee thinks that be is a
servant of the Lord, he entertains Dasya Bhava. When be thinks that the Lord is
his friend like the immortal Arjuna, he entertains Sakhya Bhava. When be thinks
that the Lord is his son, he develops Vatsalya Bhava. When he thinks that the
Lord is his husband like the Sufis or Rup-kalaji of Ayodhya, he develops
Madhurya Bhava or Kanta Bhava. He feels that the Lord is present everywhere -
Sarvam Vasudevamiti - and develops Tanmaya Bhava.
A devotee always thinks that God does everything and that he is an instrument in the hands of God. He thinks that he is only Nimitta; this is his Bhava. By entertaining this Bhava, he gives up the idea of agency and enjoyment and thus frees himself from the bonds of Karma. He rests in perfect, unalloyed peace by developing this Bhava. He says when anything happens, whether desirable or undesirable, “God is everything. God does everything for my own good. God is just. Thy will be done. All is Thine. I am Thine, my Lord”. By the practice of this Bhava, he is always happy, under all circumstances and conditions of life.
The
Bhavas of a Bhakta and a Vedanti differ. A
Vedanti entertains Sakshi and Akarta Bhavas.
Bhakta entertains Nimitta Bhava. The Vedanti develops Brahma Bhava. The
Bhakta develops Dasya Bhava. The Vedanti identifies himself with Brahman. The
Bhakta entertains the Bhava of duality. He worships and adores. Eventually,
through Para Bhakti, the Bhakta also gets Jnana and attains the state which a
Jnani attains. The modes of Sadhana and the Bhavas differ in them in the beginning.
They meet on the same platform ultimately.
A rich man and a
Pandit have the Bhava of arrogance and superiority. A real Sannyasi has the
Bhava of equality and oneness, and the Bhava of love. Bhava differs in different
persons, according to nature and quality. In
worldly parlance, the relationship of father and son, husband and wife, master
and servant, friend and friend, brother and sister, etc., is meant to develop
the various degrees of Prema and to extend this Prema to God by purifying the
lower emotion into higher sublime divine emotion. That is the aim and object.
The lower human Bhava is transmuted into higher divine Bhava.
Worldly relationship and Bhava is preliminary training for the
development of divine Bhava. Do not forget this point.
The
Method of Pratipaksha Bhavana
Watch all your feelings very carefully.
Suppose you get a gloomy feeling. Take a small cup of milk or tea. Sit calmly.
Close your eyes. Find out the cause for the depression and try to remove the
cause. The best method to overcome this feeling is thinking of the opposite.
Positive overcomes the negative. This is a grand, effective law of nature. Now,
think strongly of the opposite of gloom. Think of cheerfulness. Imagine the
advantages of cheerfulness. Feel that you are in the actual possession of: this
quality. Again and again repeat the formula OM CHEERFULNESS mentally. Feel: “I
am very cheerful”. Begin to smile and laugh several times. - Sing! some
tunes that can elevate you quickly. Singing is very beneficial to drive off
gloom. Chant OM loudly several times. Run in the open air. The depression will
vanish soon. This is the Pratipaksha-Bhavana method of Raja Yogins. This is
the easiest method. The method of driving gloom by force, by willing, by
assertions, by command - ”Get out O gloom” - taxes the ‘will’ very much,
although it is the most efficient method. It demands great strength of will.
Ordinarily, people will not succeed. The method of displacing or dislocating the
negative feeling by substituting the opposite positive feeling, is very easy.
Within a very short time, the undesirable feeling vanishes. Practise this and
feel. Even if you fail several times, continue the practice. You will be successful
after some sittings and some practice.
You
can treat in the same manner other negative feelings as well. If there is the
feeling of anger, think of love. If there is harshness of heart, think of mercy.
If there is lust, think - of the advantages of celibacy. If there is dishonesty;
think of honesty, integrity. If there is miserliness, think of generosity and
generous persons. If there is Moha (infatuation), think of discrimination and
Atmic Vichara. If there is pride, think of humility. If there is hypocrisy,
think of frankness and its invaluable advantages. If there is jealousy, think
of nobility and magnanimity. If there is timidity, think of courage, and so
on. You will drive off the negative feelings, and will be established in the
positive state. Practice of a continued type is essential. Be careful in the selection
of your companions. Talk very little, and that too, on useful matters.
This
is also another vital subject. Very few people know this art or science. Even
the so-called educated people are unaware of this fundamental education. All
have random thinking. All sorts of loose thoughts of diverse kinds come and go
in the mental factory. There is neither order nor harmony. There is neither
rhythm nor reasoning. There is neither concord nor organised working. There is
neither system nor discipline. All is in utter chaos and confusion. There is no
clarification of ideas. You cannot think of one subject even for
two minutes in an- orderly and systematic manner. You have no understanding of
the laws of thought and the laws of the mental plane. There is a perfect
menagerie inside. All sorts of sensual thoughts fight amongst themselves to
enter the mind of a. sensualist and gain the upper hand.
The eye Indriya struggles to bring its own thoughts. It wants to have
sight-seeing. The ear Indriya
wants to hear radio music, and so on. In the vast majority of persons,
only base thoughts, lustful thoughts, thoughts of hatred, jealousy and fear,
exist. They cannot entertain a single sublime divine thought even for a second.
Their minds are so framed that the mental energy runs into sensual grooves.
Every man has got his own mental world,
his own mode of thinking, his own ways of understanding things, and his own ways
of acting. Just as the face and voice of every man differ from those of another
man, the mode of thinking and understanding also differs. That is the reason why
misunderstanding easily occurs between friends. One is not able to understand
rightly the views of another. Hence friction, rupture and quarrel occur within a
minute even amongst fast friends. The friendship does not last long. One should
be in tune with the mental vibrations or thought vibrations of another man. Then
only one can easily understand another. Lustful thoughts, thoughts of hatred,
jealousy and selfishness, produce distorted images in the mind and cause
clouding of understanding, perversion of intellect, loss of memory, and
confusion in the mind.
Every thought has got image, form, dimension weight, shape, colour, etc. Thought is as much matter as a piece of stone. Thought moves, and passes from one man to another. Thought influences people. A man of powerful thought can influence readily, people of weak thoughts. Telepathy is a branch of occult science, wherein the Yogi can transmit messages to any man in any part of the world. Telepathy is the first telegraphic or telephonic system in this world, known to Yogins and occultists of ancient days.
A thought of anger or hatred sends arrows
from the mental factory towards the person aimed at, harms the individual, sets
up discord and disharmony in the thought-world, and comes back again to the
sender and harms the sender also. If
one can understand the effect and power of thought, he will be very careful in
the manufacture of his thoughts in his mental laboratory. One should develop the
faculty of producing only pure Sattvic thoughts by protracted mental discipline,
dietetic adjustments, repetition of good Slokas with meaning, good company,
study of divine books, Japa, meditation, Pranayama, prayer, etc.
A good man can help his friend, even though he lives at a long distance,
by good thoughts. You must not allow any evil thought to enter your mental
factory. Watch always your thoughts. Avoid useless and base thinking, and reserve-
or conserve your mental energy. Energy is wasted: in idle thinking.
Keep yourself always occupied in doing
virtuous actions and the study of religious books. You can thereby cultivate
good and sublime thoughts. Destroy random thinking. Take a subject, and think on
its different aspects and bearings. When you think so on one subject, never
allow any other thought to enter the conscious mind. Again withdraw the mind
to the subject on hand Take for instance: you begin to think on the life and
teachings of Jagadguru Adi Sankaracharya Think of his birthplace, his early
life, his character, his personality, his virtues, his preachings, his writings,
his philosophy, some of the important utterings in his works or Slokas, the
Siddhis that he exhibited from time to time, his Digvijaya, his four disciples,
his four Maths, his commentary on the Gita, Upanishads and Brahma Sutras. Think
of these items one by one, in order. Exhaust them. Again and again bring the
mind to the point. Then take up another subject. By this practice, you will
develop organised thinking. The mental images will gain intense strength and
force. They will become clear-cut and well-defined. In ordinary persons, the
mental images are destroyed and undefined. Every thought has got an image. A
table is a mental image plus some external something. Whatever you see outside
has got its counterpart in the mind. The pupil is a small round thing in the
eye. Retina is a small structure. How is it that the image of a big mountain
seen through a small aperture or structure is cast on the mind? How does the big
form of a mountain enter a tiny hole in the eye? This is a marvel of marvels.
The image of a mountain already exists in the mind. The mind is like a big, vast
sheet of canvas cloth that contains all the pictures of the objects seen outside.
You must have a knowledge of the mental
laws, viz., the law of association, the law of relativity, and the law of
contiguity. Then you can develop thought culture very easily. You can remember
things through the ‘law of association’. Bramacharya, and pure Sattvic diet,
are essential, for thought culture. Get up at 4 a.m. Sit on Virasana or
Padmasana or Siddhasana. Repeat your Mantra - Om or, Ram or Hari
Om - for ten minutes, and then practise thought-Culture. Have another
sitting at night. When you think on one subject, do not allow other thoughts to
enter. When you think of rose, think of the different kinds of roses only. Do
not allow other thoughts to enter. When you think of mercy, think of mercy and
mercy only. Do not think of forgiveness and tolerance. When you study the
Gita, do not think of tea or a cricket match. Be wholly occupied on the
subject on hand.
Napoleon controlled his thoughts in this
manner: “When I want to think of things more pleasant, I close up the
cupboards of my mind revealing the more unpleasant things of life, and open up
the cupboards containing the more pleasant thoughts. If I want to sleep, I close
up all the cupboards of my mind!”
Thought is both force and motion. Thought is dynamic. Thoughts move. There are various kinds of thoughts. There are instinctive thoughts. There are visual thoughts. There are auditory thoughts (thinking in terms of hearing). There are symbolic thoughts (thinking in terms of symbols). Some thoughts are habitual. There are kinaesthetic thoughts (thinking in terms of movement, as in playing a game). There are emotional thoughts. If there is mental fatigue, the processes of thought change from visual to auditory, and from auditory to kinaesthetic. There is intimate connection between thinking and respiration, as there is close relation between mind and Prana. Where the mind is concentrated, breathing becomes slow. If one thinks fast, the respiration also becomes fast. There is a thought reading machine, known as psychograph, which registers correctly the type of thoughts.
The subconcious mind is termed “Chitta”,
in Vedanta. Much of your subconsciousness consists of submerged experiences,
memories thrown into the background, but recoverable.
When you show symptoms of losing your
memory, as you grow old, the first symptom is that you find it difficult to
remember the names of persons. The reason is not far to seek All the names are
arbitrary. They are like labels. There are no associations along with the
names The mind generally remembers through associations, as the impressions
become deep thereby You can remember well in old age some passages that you had
read in schools and colleges; but you find it difficult to remember in the
evening a passage you read in the morning. The reason is that the mind has lost
its Dharana-Sakti (power of grasping ideas). The brain-cells have degenerated.
Those who overwork mentally, who do not observe the rules of Brahmacharya and
who are afflicted with much cares and anxieties, worries, etc, lose their
power of memory soon. Even in old age you can remember old events, as there are
associations with events.
The mental processes are not limited to
the field of, consciousness alone. The field of subconscious mentation is of
much greater extent than that of conscious mentation. Messages, when ready, come
out like a flash from the subconscious mind to the surface of the conscious mind
through the trap-door of the, subconscious mind or Chitta of the Vedantins. Only
ten percent of the mental activities come into the field of consciousness. At
least ninety per cent of our mental life is subconscious. We sit and try to
solve a problem, and fail. We look around, try again and again, but fail.
Suddenly an idea dawns that leads to the solution of the problem. The subconscious
processes were at work. Sometimes, you go to sleep at night with the thought:
“I must get up very early in the morning to catch a train”. This message is
taken up by the subconscious mind and it is this subconscious mind that wakes
you up unfailingly at the exact hour. The subconscious mind is your constant
companion and sincere friend. You repeatedly fail at night to get a solution for
a problem in arithmetic or geometry. In the morning, when you awake, you get a
clear answer. This answer comes like a flash from the subconscious mind. Even in
sleep it works without any rest incessantly. It arranges, classifies, compares,
sorts all facts and figures, and works out a proper satisfactory solution. This
is all due to the subconscious mind. With the help of the subconscious mind you
can change your vicious nature, by cultivating healthy virtuous qualities that
are opposed to the undesirable ones. If you want to overcome fear, mentally deny
that you have fear, and concentrate your attention upon the opposite quality,
the ideal of courage. When courage is developed, fear vanishes away by itself.
The positive always overpowers the negative. This is an infallible law of
nature. This is Pratipaksha Bhavana of the Raja Yogins. You can acquire a liking
for distasteful tasks and duties by cultivating a desire and taste for them. You
can establish new habits, new ideas, new, ideals, new tastes and new character
in the subconscious mind by changing, the old ones.
All actions, enjoyments, and experiences leave an imprint in the subconscious mind in the form of subtle impressions or residual potencies. The Samskaras are the root of causing again Jati (life) and experiences of pleasure and pain. Revival of Samskaras induces memory. The Yogi dives deep inside and comes in direct contact with these Samskaras. He directly perceives them through the inner Yogic vision. By Samyama (concentration, meditation and Samadhi) on these Samskaras, be acquires knowledge of the previous lives. By doing Samyama on the Samskaras .of others, the Yogi gets knowledge of their past lives also.
When you desire
to remember a thing, you will have to make a psychic exertion. You will have to
go up and down into the depths of the different levels of subconsciousness and
then pick up the right thing from a curious mixture of multifarious irrelevent
matter. Just as the mail-sorter in the railway mail service takes up the right
letter by moving the hand up and down along the different pigeon-holes, so also,
the sorter (the subconscious mind), goes up and down along the pigeonholes in
the subconscious mind and brings the right thing to the level of normal
consciousness. The subconscious mind, can pick up the right thing from a heap of
various matters.
A Samskara of an experience is formed or
developed in the Chitta at the very moment when the mind is experiencing
something. There is no gap between the present experience and the formation of a
Samskara in the subconscious mind. Smriti
or memory is a function of the chitta (subconscious mind). It is a separate
faculty or category in Vedanta. Sometimes it is Antarangata, that comes under
the mind. In the Sankhya philosophy it is included in Buddhi or
Mahat Tattva. The Chitta of Patanjali Maharshi’s philosophy of Raja Yoga (Yogah
Chitta Vritti Nirodhah) corresponds to the Antahkarana of Vedanta.
He who dwells in the subconscious mind or
Chitta, and in memory, and who is within this memory, whom the Chitta and memory
do not know, whose body is the memory (and subconscious mind) who rules the
memory and Chitta from within, is thy Self, Inner Ruler (Immortal Atma,
Antaryami Amritam). My silent adorations and prostrations to this Inner Ruler!
Memory-culture is very, very important. It
brings success in God-realisation as well. A forgetful man always fails in his
endeavours. The manager gets displeased with a forgetful clerk. A forgetful man
commits serious mistakes again and again. A man with strong and retentive memory
gets sanguine success in all his ventures and undertakings. He who has memory
can, conduct his business-affairs very successfully, remember credits and
debits, and keep accounts in a satisfactory manner. A student who has a
retentive memory will get success in all his examinations. Intelligence is
only one-tenth of memory.
The Sanskrit term for memory is Smriti.
Smarana is remembering. This is the function of the subconscious mind
or Chitta. The Samskaras of thinking and acting are deeply impressed in the
Chitta. The Chitta is like the sensitive plate of a camera. It is like the
sensitive plate of a gramophone. All the impressions are indelibly recorded
there. Whenever you make an attempt to remember the past events or things, they
come back to the surface of the conscious mind through the trap-door. Just as
the man enters the stage from the side-curtains, just as the prisoner comes
out of the jail through a small door in the big main gate, so also the
impressions come out through the trap-door in the form of big waves of thought
or mental image. If you have a clairvoyant vision or astral eye, you can clearly
watch all subterranean movements of these images in the subterranean
workshop of the mind or the underground mental factory. The term memory is used
in two senses. We say, “Mr. John has got a good memory!” Here it
means that Mr. John’s capacity of the mind to store up its past
experiences is very good. Sometimes you say, “I have no memory, of that
incident”. Here it means you cannot bring out to the surface of the
conscious mind, in its original form, the incident that occurred some years ago.
It is an act of remembering
If the experience is fresh, you can have a
complete recall of your past experience through memory. You cannot get any new
knowledge through memory. It is only a repetition.
In ordinary recollection, there is a temporal coefficient. In personal memory, there is a specific coefficient. That which acts together with another is a coefficient. In mathematics, the numerical or literal factor prefixed to an unknown quantity in an algebraic term is coefficient.
Suppose you have received a nice fan as a
present from your friend. When you use the fan, it sometimes reminds you of
your friend. You think of him for a short time. This fan serves as cause for
memory (Udbodhaka or Smriti-hetu).
The following are the four good
characteristics of good memory: (i) If you read once a passage and if you can
reproduce the same nicely, it is a sign to indicate that you have a good memory.
This is termed Sugamata. (ii) If you can reproduce the same thing without
increase or decrease (addition or subtraction), it is called Avaikalya. (iii)
If you can preserve a fact or passage, or anything for a very considerable
period, it is called retentive memory, Dharana. (iv) If you can reproduce a
passage at once without any difficulty when it is needed, it is called Upaharana.
If your brother is a coward, the sight of
a similar man in another place will bring to your mind the memory of your
brother. This memory is due to similarity of objects (Sadrishata).
Suppose you have seen a dwarf at Madras.
When you see a very tail man or Patagonian, this will remind you of the dwarf
whom you saw at Madras. The sight
of a big palace will remind you of a peasants hut or a Sannyasins grass Kutir on
the banks of the Ganges. This memory is due to dissimilarity in objects, (Vipareetata).
When you walk along the road on a stormy
day and happen to see a fallen tree, you conclude that the tree has fallen owing
to the storm. In this case, the memory is due to the relation between cause and
effect (Karya-Karana-Sambandha).
A knowledge of the working of the
subconscious mind is very necessary for those who want to develop their
memory. Most of the mental operations take place in the subconscious mind. The
conscious mind takes some rest, but the subconscious mind works throughout the
twenty-four hours. It is the subconscious mind that brings the answer like a
flash of lightning in the early morning, when you fail to get a solution at
night even though you rake your brain for hours and hours together. It is again
the subconscious mind that wakes you up in the morning when you go to sleep with
a firm resolve: “I should catch the train at 3 a.m.”. It is a most faithful,
servant, provided you know the technique of manipulating it in a masterly
manner. You can extract tremendous
work from it. All the prodigies, or intellectual giants of the world, know the
act of handling and tapping this portion of the mind. The Chitta analyses,
sorts, arranges facts and figures, takes out all old records from the various
pigeon-holes of the mind, and produces in the early morning or at any time, a
clear balance-sheet of facts for your perusal and review. Before you retire to
bed, give orders to the Chitta to do any kind of work. It will keep the answer
ready in the early morning. When you are in a dilemma, when you are at your wits
end and con fused, when you do not know how to solve a serious problem, give
orders to the Chitta - a definite command - placing before it the nature of
your difficulty in the morning at 4 a.m., you will have an unambiguous answer.
Do this. Practise this. Then only you will have wonderful conviction and
strength. You will find a very reliable friend in the subconscious mind.
A man of strong and retentive memory can
turn out tremendous work in the twinkling of an eye. He can master any subject
or art in a short time. Dr. Samuel Johnson used to repeat passages after passages
in a few minutes, by committing them to memory. His mother was quite
astonished. She used to ask him: “Johnson, my dear child, get this passage by
heart”. Before she would ascend the staircase, he would follow her-and say,
“Mamma, mamma, I know this by heart”. He would then repeat them then and
there. What a wonderful memory Johnson had! What one man has achieved can also
be achieved by another: this is an immutable law of nature.
If you read the introduction of “Pranava
Vada” written by Sri Babu Bhagawan Das of Varanasi, you will find that he
collected all the materials for his big book in three volumes by hearing the
recitations from a Pandit who was blind from his very birth and who knew the
contents of many books by heart. He
knew the numbers of the pages also. You go to Bakshi Sur who lives in a
village in Lakhimpur-Kheri in Uttar Pradesh.
He has a wonderful memory. He
is a blind man from his birth. He can quote all the verses from Surdas and
Tulsidas. He can quote the page
numbers, too. How he learnt this,
how he committed this to memory, is a wonder of wonders today!
In olden days, Sanskrit scholars got by heart all the Vedas. The Gurukula system of education has its own advantages. It develops memory to a very marvellous extent. Even now there is a Sanskrit Pandit in Varanasi who has committed to memory the whole of the Upanishads, the Gita, the Brahma Sutras, Khandana Khadyam, Chit Sukhi and Advaita Siddhi, the greatest monumental work on Vedanta. There are small boys in the Darshan Maha Vidyalaya of Sri Raghavachari in Rishikesh who have committed to memory the eighteen chapters of the Gita. The Gurukula system of education is wonderful. The students of modern universities cannot compete with the students of the Gurukula system.
Brahmacharya,
dietetic adjustment, and discipline of Indriyas are very essential for
developing memory. The seminal energy has a direct, intimate connection with the
cells of the Chitta and brain. You should try your extreme level best to
preserve every drop of your vital fluid. Bad memory is due largely to heavy
losses of this life-giving energy Young school and college students do not
realise the vital importance of Brahmacharya They grope in utter darkness. Their
minds are filled with passion by daily looking at the nude pictures and embraces
in the film-shows. They indulge in novel-reading that excites passion. They
always seek bad company. They are conceited; arrogant and self-willed. They
never care to approach the sages who can give them inspiring lessons on the
science of the Self, memory culture, and conquest of passion. They eat whenever
they like. They have no idea of Sattvic diet and the effects of unwholesome food
on the different compartments of the brain. They have no knowledge of discipline
of Indriyas and the science of dietetics. Hence they fail in their lives and
lead a cheerless, gloomy life in darkness and despair. This is their only
mistake. Those who are careful in Brahmacharya and food, those who have
Satsanga with Sadhus and Sannyasins, are always quite safe. They become
quite successful in their lives. Even if they commit mistakes, they are then and
there corrected by wise men.
There are Udbodhakas or Smriti-hetus that
bring things to memory. The sight of a wrist-watch brings the recollection of
your friend who presented a wrist watch to you. The law of association is of
immense help in developing your memory. The remembrance of a word that ends in
ity, such as “cupidity”, “avidity”, etc., will bring to memory other
words such as “stupidity”, “superiority”, “inferiority”, etc. The remembrance
of a word that ends in “tic, such as “romantic”, will bring to memory
other words as “fantastic”. In this way, you can remember things. You will
have to group things like this in the various pigeon-holes of your brain.
Connect one thing or event with another of a like nature. Then all these things
will come back to your memory quite readily and willingly.
Here are some easy exercises for memory culture. Sit on Virasana or Padmasana. Close your eyes. Imagine there is a big garden. In one corner there are jessamine flowers, in another roses, in another Champak, in another lily of the valley. First, think of the jessamine, then rotate the mind to roses, then to Champak, and then to lily. Again bring back the mind to jessamine. Revolve the mind like this for two or three minutes. Look at the map of the heavens at night and count. the stars in a small localised area. On Thursday morning, try to remember the dietetic preparations, vegetables, kinds of Dhal, etc., that were prepared on Wednesday. This is another kind of exercise.
II
Study one important Sloka from the Gita.
Find out parallel lines in the Ramayana, the Bhagavata, the Upanishads, the Yoga
Vasishtha and the Bible, and connect all these passages and keep them in your
mental disposition or pigeon-holes of the brain.
III
- Bring
back the word V-I-B-G-Y-O-R to memory. Try to remember the various colours
such as violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. Coin your code
words to help you for remembering. Every one of you can have your own code
words.
IV
Coin your catch-words, some that start with “A, some with B, some others with R, some that end with -tion, some with -ness. Here are some sentences:
“An Austrian army at Aurangabad”. “Be bold, but be
benevolent.” “Cunning., camels carried caravans.”
“Doctor Dadabhai died during Deepavali.” “Examination is a great
botheration to the Hindu nation whose sole occupation is cultivation.” “If
you do not want to study, hang that matriculation and take to meditation. This
is a sure way for Salvation.” “If you combine Satsanga and Kirtan with
meditation, this will form a good spiritual emulsion”. “This is my firm
conviction after mature deliberation and careful consideration.” Here, you
find all words ending in -tion. This is a specimen for you. You can do in your
own way. Every one of you has creative power of your own.
V
Japa, meditation, prayer, devotion,
Sirshasana and Pranayama develop memory wonderfully. Here is a short
description of Sirshasana. (For detailed particulars, vide the book
“YOGA ASANAS”.) Sirshasana is the king of all Asanas. Spread a fourfold
blanket. Rest the head over locked fingers, and slowly raise the legs up. Then
slowly bring down the legs without jerks. Take the help of a, wall or any of
your friends in the beginning. Do it for a minute; and gradually increase the
time to ten minutes. It removes diseases of the eyes, ears, nerves, blood,
stomach, intestines, gonorrhoea, spermatorrhoea, dyspepsia, constipation,
etc. It augments the digestive fire and improves appetite. It is a blood and
nervine tonic. Intellectual faculties develop.
It helps Brahmacharya and makes you an Oordhvareto-Yogi.
VI
Here are some assertions and affirmations for developing memory. Meditate and assert on them: -
3.
My memory has very much improved
Om Om
Om.
4.
I have a wonderful retentive memory
Om Om
Om.
VII
Repeat the
above formula several times daily. Meditate on this in the morning also for five
minutes. You will have wonderful improvement. “Day by day, in every way, I
am becoming better and better through the grace of my Lord.” Meditate on the
meaning and feel also.
I shall speak a word on keeping a memorandum
notebook. Daily jot down in the notebook, as soon, as you rise from bed in the
morning, the various kinds of work that you have to do in the course of the day;
and see if all have been carried out to the very letter. Tick each item as soon
as it is finished.
VIII
Take a
packet of playing cards and have six cards from out of it and see them very
carefully Then place them in front of you with face down words Through memory,
jot down in order on a piece of paper, their exact description You can slowly
increase the number to ten or twelve This exercise will also develop memory.
IX
Lie
down in an easy chair quite comfortably. Recollect the picture of your father.
Close your eyes. Just try to bring out a clear description of some of his
distinct physical characteristics and marks on the body, such as the kind of -
nose, hair, the condition of his eyes, forehead, lips, ears, chest,
whether broad or pigeon chest, whether sinewy or thin arms, whether there is
symmetry in his limbs, the condition of his teeth, his gait, way of talking,
special distinctive features and physiognomy, special traits that attract
people, the nature of his voice, special marks or moles on the different parts
of his body, etc. After seeing once any great man, try to bring out the special
qualities and features that have arrested your attention.
X
Try to remember synonymous terms. This will increase your vocabulary of words and you will be able to write beautiful essays and deliver excellent lectures. You will become a great journalist. You can write thrilling books. Take, for instance, the word “compassion” or “generosity”. Try to bring out the synonymous terms such as “pity”, “mercy”, “liberality”, “munificence”, etc. Through the law of association, connect one idea with several other ideas. This will develop your memory. The thought of coffee will bring the idea of Nilgiri Hills where it is grown, and the idea of Stane’s Company who sell coffee seeds, and the idea of the founder of this company. Through the law of Sadrishya or similarity, you may remember other places in the world where coffee is cultivated. You can remember the advantages of coffee. The idea of coffee will bring in the idea of similar beverages, like tea, and the name of Lipton and his native place, how he started his business and how he became a millionaire in the end, and the nectar of, immortality which the Yogins drink. All these ideas will come in your mind and flash out in the twinkling of an eye. Keep a small notebook in your pocket. Whenever good ideas flash in your mind, then and there jot them down. Take hints. Later on, you can develop them. Jot down, in your diary, the lessons you have received from great Mahatmas.
XI
Just walk briskly along the Mall in Lahore
or the Chowringhee in Calcutta. Have a keen acute perception. See what is
going on in this shopping centre. As soon as you reach home, jot down on a piece
of paper the names of shops, and the important articles that are exhibited in
the show-rooms outside. Next day, walk along the same road and verify your jottings.
XII
Try to remember the different makes of motor cars, such as Ford, Studebaker, Chevrolet, Standard, Morris, Austin, etc., and their prices. Recollect the names of different philosophers of the world in the East and in the West, such as Ankara, Romania, Kant, Plato, etc., and their important works and teachings. Compare the Eastern with the Western philosophy. Do this closing your eyes. This will develop your memory in subtle things. The memory of gross things is easier than the m