Reduce Mind-Wandering (med 8)
Swami Sivananda
A
scientist concentrates his mind and invents many things. Through
concentration he open the layers of the gross mind and penetrates deeply
into higher regions of the mind and gets knowledge. He concentrates all
the energies of his mind into one focus and throws them out upon the
materials he is analysing and so finds out their secrets.
He who has learnt to manipulate the mind will get the whole of Nature under control.
When you see your dear friend after six years, the Ananda (happiness) that you get is not from the person but from within yourself. The mind becomes concentrated for the time being and you get Ananda from within your own self.
When the rays of the mind are scattered over diverse objects you get pain. When the rays are gathered and collected by practice the mind becomes concentrated and you get Ananda from within.
As mind evolves, you come into conscious relation with mental currents with the minds of others, near and distant, living and dead.
When there is faith, the mind can be easily concentrated on the subject to be understood and then the understanding quickly follows.
If you find it difficult to concentrate on your heart or the space between the two eyebrows (Trikuti) or top of the head, you can concentrate on any external object. You can concentrate on the blue sky, light of the sun, the all-pervading air or ether or sun, moon or stars.
If you experience headache or pain in the skull, shift your centre of concentration to any object outside the body.
If you get headache or pain by concentrating on the Trikuti (the space between the two eyebrows) by turning the eyes upwards, give up the practice at once. Concentrate on the heart.
The mind thinks of words and their meanings. While at other times it thinks of objects. When you attempt to have one-pointedness of mind, you must make the mind not to think of objects and the words and their meanings.
Some medical students leave the medical college soon after joining it as they find it disgusting to wash the pus in ulcers and dissect the dead bodies. They make a serious blunder. In the beginning, it is loathing. After studying pathology, medicine, operative surgery, morbid anatomy, bacteriology, the course will be interesting in the final year. Many spiritual aspirants leave off the practice of concentration of mind after some time as they find it difficult to practise. They also make a grave mistake like the medical students. In the beginning of the practice when you struggle to get over the body-consciousness, it will be disgusting and troublesome. It will be a physical wrestling. The emotions and Sankalpas will be abundant. In the third year of practice the mind will be cool, pure and strong. You will derive immense joy (Ananda). The sum total of pleasures of the whole world is nothing when compared to the Ananda derived from meditation. Do not give up the practice at any cost. Plod on. Persevere. Have patience (Dhriti), Utsaha (cheerfulness), and Sahasa (tenacity, application). You will succeed eventually. Never despair. Find out by serious introspection the various impediments that act as stumbling blocks in your concentration and remove them with patience and effort one by one. Do not allow new Sankalpas and new Vasanas to crop up. Nip them in the bud through Viveka, Vichara and Dhyana.
A man's duty consists in the control of the senses and concentration of the mind.
There was a workman who used to manufacture arrows. Once he was very busy at his work. He was so much absorbed in his work that he did not notice even a big party of the Raja with his retinue passing in front of his shop. Such must be the nature of your concentration when you fix your mind on God. You must have the one idea of God and God alone. No doubt it takes some time to have complete Ekagrata of mind. You will have to struggle very hard to have single-minded concentration. Sri Dattatreya made the above arrow-maker as one of his Gurus.
Even if the mind runs outside during your practice in meditation, do not bother. Allow it to run. Slowly try to bring it to your Lakshya (centre). By repeated practice the mind will be finally focussed in your heart, in the Atman, the Indweller of your heart, the final goal of life. In the beginning the mind may run out 80 times. Within six months it may run 70 times, within a year it may run 50 times, within 2 years it may run 30 times, within 5 years it will be completely fixed in the Divine Consciousness. Then it will not run out at all even if you try your level best to bring it out, like the wandering bull, which was in the habit of running to gardens of different landlords for eating grass but which now eats fresh gram and cotton seeds in its own resting place.
Collect the Rays of Mind. Just as you will have to take back with care your cloth that is fallen on a thorny plant by removing the thorns one by one slowly, so also you will have to collect back with care and exertion the dissipated rays of the mind, that are thrown over the sensual objects for very many years.
If there is any inflammatory swelling on your back with throbbing pain, you do not experience any pain at night when you are asleep. Only when the mind is connected with the diseased part through nerves and thinking, you begin to experience pain. If you can consciously withdraw the mind from the diseased part by concentrating it on God or any other attractive object, you will not experience any pain even when you are wide awake. If you have a powerful will and strong Titiksha (power of endurance), then also you will not experience any pain. By constant thinking of any trouble or disease you only augment your pain and suffering.
He who has learnt to manipulate the mind will get the whole of Nature under control.
When you see your dear friend after six years, the Ananda (happiness) that you get is not from the person but from within yourself. The mind becomes concentrated for the time being and you get Ananda from within your own self.
When the rays of the mind are scattered over diverse objects you get pain. When the rays are gathered and collected by practice the mind becomes concentrated and you get Ananda from within.
As mind evolves, you come into conscious relation with mental currents with the minds of others, near and distant, living and dead.
When there is faith, the mind can be easily concentrated on the subject to be understood and then the understanding quickly follows.
If you find it difficult to concentrate on your heart or the space between the two eyebrows (Trikuti) or top of the head, you can concentrate on any external object. You can concentrate on the blue sky, light of the sun, the all-pervading air or ether or sun, moon or stars.
If you experience headache or pain in the skull, shift your centre of concentration to any object outside the body.
If you get headache or pain by concentrating on the Trikuti (the space between the two eyebrows) by turning the eyes upwards, give up the practice at once. Concentrate on the heart.
The mind thinks of words and their meanings. While at other times it thinks of objects. When you attempt to have one-pointedness of mind, you must make the mind not to think of objects and the words and their meanings.
Some medical students leave the medical college soon after joining it as they find it disgusting to wash the pus in ulcers and dissect the dead bodies. They make a serious blunder. In the beginning, it is loathing. After studying pathology, medicine, operative surgery, morbid anatomy, bacteriology, the course will be interesting in the final year. Many spiritual aspirants leave off the practice of concentration of mind after some time as they find it difficult to practise. They also make a grave mistake like the medical students. In the beginning of the practice when you struggle to get over the body-consciousness, it will be disgusting and troublesome. It will be a physical wrestling. The emotions and Sankalpas will be abundant. In the third year of practice the mind will be cool, pure and strong. You will derive immense joy (Ananda). The sum total of pleasures of the whole world is nothing when compared to the Ananda derived from meditation. Do not give up the practice at any cost. Plod on. Persevere. Have patience (Dhriti), Utsaha (cheerfulness), and Sahasa (tenacity, application). You will succeed eventually. Never despair. Find out by serious introspection the various impediments that act as stumbling blocks in your concentration and remove them with patience and effort one by one. Do not allow new Sankalpas and new Vasanas to crop up. Nip them in the bud through Viveka, Vichara and Dhyana.
A man's duty consists in the control of the senses and concentration of the mind.
There was a workman who used to manufacture arrows. Once he was very busy at his work. He was so much absorbed in his work that he did not notice even a big party of the Raja with his retinue passing in front of his shop. Such must be the nature of your concentration when you fix your mind on God. You must have the one idea of God and God alone. No doubt it takes some time to have complete Ekagrata of mind. You will have to struggle very hard to have single-minded concentration. Sri Dattatreya made the above arrow-maker as one of his Gurus.
Even if the mind runs outside during your practice in meditation, do not bother. Allow it to run. Slowly try to bring it to your Lakshya (centre). By repeated practice the mind will be finally focussed in your heart, in the Atman, the Indweller of your heart, the final goal of life. In the beginning the mind may run out 80 times. Within six months it may run 70 times, within a year it may run 50 times, within 2 years it may run 30 times, within 5 years it will be completely fixed in the Divine Consciousness. Then it will not run out at all even if you try your level best to bring it out, like the wandering bull, which was in the habit of running to gardens of different landlords for eating grass but which now eats fresh gram and cotton seeds in its own resting place.
Collect the Rays of Mind. Just as you will have to take back with care your cloth that is fallen on a thorny plant by removing the thorns one by one slowly, so also you will have to collect back with care and exertion the dissipated rays of the mind, that are thrown over the sensual objects for very many years.
If there is any inflammatory swelling on your back with throbbing pain, you do not experience any pain at night when you are asleep. Only when the mind is connected with the diseased part through nerves and thinking, you begin to experience pain. If you can consciously withdraw the mind from the diseased part by concentrating it on God or any other attractive object, you will not experience any pain even when you are wide awake. If you have a powerful will and strong Titiksha (power of endurance), then also you will not experience any pain. By constant thinking of any trouble or disease you only augment your pain and suffering.
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