(adapted from Swami Sarvapriyananda’s leture)
One of the three great powers of mind is the power of concentration or
the power of focus. According to Swami Vivekananda the difference between an
ordinary person and a great person is the degree of concentration one can bring
to the job on hand. The great person has
greater focus on the work at hand and this focus when it is total is called ‘Flow’
by positive psychologists. Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced as ‘mehigh
cheeksendmehigh’) describes the mental state of flow as “being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego
falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably
from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and
you're using your skills to the utmost."
It is the mental state of operation in which a
person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized
focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. This
focused absorption is what is achieved in Dhyana and when prolonged leads to
the Samadhi state, as we can see now.
In Ashtanga
Yoga Dhyana, the uninterrupted focus is achieved through a process of steps
starting from mental and moral disciplines outlined in Yama and Niyama. These help to keep one on the path of Dharma,
and staying on the path of dharma there are less distractions for the mind as
compared to otherwise. It is all the
more important today where we are in the midst of an epidemic of distractions
sparked by the latest smart phones and where it has become a habit to look into
the phone for messages or latest updates in various fields all day long even in
the midst of other activities, not to mention waking up in its face and going
to bed with it. Yama and Niyama are followed
by Asana which brings physical discipline.
Staying quiet in a place also limits the field of distractions for the
mind. Next step is Pranayama and control of breadth is a shorter way to control
mind as Maharishi Ramana states in verse no. 11 of Upadesa saar “Through
breath-control, the movement of the mind is contained, just as a bird is
restrained when caught in a net.”
Pratyahara, withdrawl of the wandering senses, the next step leads to
Dharana, focussing on a single object or chant.
This focus maintained continually for some time is called Dhyana.
Dhyana, effortlessly achieved with ease and at will, helps one to achieve
Samadhi.
Scientifically it is stated
that our mind is capable of processing at the same time 150 bytes of
information. In Samadhi state all the 150 bytes are concentrated on the object
of meditation. But ordinarily only a fewer bytes are focussed on the object at
hand. The greater the number of bytes
one is able to focus on the work on hand the greater degree of concentration
one achieves in the work on hand. But
the effect this power has on an individual depends on the object of focus. If the object of focus is on the positive
values of life then greater the focus, the better the quality of life one
enjoys. The greater is one’s misery when the object of focus is on the negative
values of lie. So to use this power to
one’s advancement and happiness in life:
1) Be
focussed on whatever you do, cutting off the distractions from other sources.
2) Hold
to that focus to that point of absorption in the object of concentration.
3) Hold
on that way for extended stretches of time.
4) Focus
only on positive values of life.
This brings us to the second important power of mind, the
power of making decision
Second great power of mind is the power of making decision on what to
do, what to speak and what to think.
They include the opposites as well i.e. what not to do, what not to
speak and what not to think. This power
one has all the time and one exercises it all the time when he does not act out
of instinct of habit but engages in self-conscious activity. As Swami Vivekananda has pointed out all that
is great and excellent including power and glory will come to one rising to
self-conscious activity all the time.
The conscious action should be not only in respect of others but even in
respect of oneself. Another important
point to note is the conscious action in respect of thought, word and action
should embrace Dharma to uplift a person.
In Mahabharata Duryodhana once told Lord Krishna, “ Jaanami dharmam, na
cha me pravrittihi: Janaami adharmam, na cha me nivrittihi” i.e. “ I know what is Dharma, but I cannot
follow it; I know what is adharma, but I
cannot stay away from it” When one acts self-consciously in an
unrighteous way, he is driving himself
towards his downfall. On the other hand we have the example of Arjuna, who
surrenders to Lord Krishna seeking advice and says at the end of advice in Gita
“karishye vachanam thava” i.e. “I will act as per your advice” Arjuna was here willing to be guided by the
Lord. Even psycho-analysis and medicine can help only if one is willing to be
changed. So one should remember for making the best use of the power:
!) Words are subtler than action; thoughts are more subtler than
words. So take care of your thoughts
and be self-conscious to entertain positive thoughts only
2) Deciding consciously what not to do is as important as deciding
consciously what to do
Swami Vivekananda said that all that is great and excellent in human
life will come if one knows what to speak, what words to employ and what action
to perform and acts accordingly. So not
only our actions be self-conscious, the guiding motive must also be
righteousness and positive thoughts.
That brings us to the third great power of mind, Power of selflessness. Thinking unselfish thoughts, speaking
unselfish words and doing unselfish action makes one a good person. Further unselfishness and spirituality go
together. Swami Ranganathananda says that
when he closes his eyes in
meditation, he feels peace flowing in him and when he opens his eyes, his
attitude is one of ‘what can I do for others meaning community’. We should not feel other way i.e. with eyes closed in meditation, letting all
agitations and problems surface and when eyes are open to have the
attitude of ‘what I can get from the world’.
Get should change to give; it can be in money, time or service. In a school a teacher once told the students
“No class today. Let us all go to the theatre to watch a movie”. The boys gladly followed the teacher. After
returning to class, the teacher gave them each a sheet of paper and asked the
students to evaluate their happiness on watching the movie in the scale of 1 to
10. Next week also this exercise was repeated but this time the visit was to a
children’s home where they distributed, books, toys, clothes and sweets to the
poor children housed there. After
returning to the class now also they evaluated their happiness of being with
the children and helping them. Six weeks
later the teacher asked the students to recollect their experience and evaluate
the happiness felt then separately for the two visits. It was found that while the scores were now lower
for the visit to movies, the scores for the visit to the children’s home was
almost the same or even higher. Then the teacher used the comparison of scores
to show them how the happiness derived in giving and helping others i.e. from
selfless activity lasts much much longer than the happiness derived from personal
entertainment i.e selfish activity.. No
doubt one feels happy when entertaining oneself or enjoying a pleasure but the
happiness is all more when one helps others and instills happiness in their
lives. Swami Vivekananda gave as the ideal to the monks the motto “Athmanasthu
mokshartham, Jagat hitaya cha.” i.e. “For the liberation of oneself, For the
welfare of the world” and laid as much emphasis on “Love thy neighbor” as on
“Love thy God”. Advaita Vedanta does not
subscribe to individual soul being separate and unique. Soul is only one for
all and is in essence Brahman, the
Supreme. So Vivekananda says to be
selfish is immoral and he emphasized that each individual should work not only for
their individual liberation but also at the same time for the uplift of the
less privileged fellow men as well. The
interest and care one takes in working for the welfare of under-privileged and
downtrodden in the community must be no less than the interest and care he
takes in working for his liberation. In
practice one effort helps the other.
The above three great powers of the mind can be harnessed to promote the
feeling of personal happiness and well-being in an individual all the time; if
one thinks, speaks and acts self-consciously, engaging oneself in all
activities one hundred percent, eschewing selfishness and entertaining positive
emotions only.
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