Mind Control - Key to Success in Life
>> Saturday, June 13, 2009 –
Meditation,
tips
BKS Iyengar has written that mind is the king of senses. When mind is conquered the senses are also conquered. It is the mind that drives us to either success of failure. If I want to rephrase it, control over the mind ensures success in any field we choose and lack of control will almost guarantee that we will always struggle with work.
Our mind does not rest for a moment and it keeps on going from one thought to another. In the Indian epic Mahabharata, Yudhishtir the eldest of the Pandava brothers is asked a question. Which is the fastest thing in the world? His response was "Mind is the fastest thing in the universe. In a fraction of a second the mind can travel to other corner of the world." Since the ancient times the sages and philosophers have realized this fact and invented and discovered various techniques to calm it down.
The mind does not wants to calm down. It likes to fluctuate between past and the future. Between the good experiences which please us and the bad experiences which hurt us. If you want to experience this, just try to observe your breathing for 5 minutes. If you get distracted, bring back the attention to the breathing again. You will see how difficult it is to even perform the seemingly simple task of observing the breathing for 5 minutes.
In Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, the undisciplined mind acts as our enemy, whereas a trained mind acts as our friend. Again Krishna says in response to how to control the mind "Undoubtedly, O mighty-armed, the mind is difficult to control and is restless; but, by practice, O Son of Kunti, and by dispassion it is restrained." Indeed it is the untamed mind that creates the cravings, which can lead to bad habits, loss of focus and discontentment. Craving for any habit leads to addiction. On the other hand when the mind is controlled it leads to focus in all the work we do. We can accomplish more work in less time and do it well. It also leads to peace and less discord.
How to control the mind?
Ultimately the control of mind comes only from practice and not from any study. Each of us need to practice it. Nobody can do it for us. Calming the mind will lead to more success and peace not only for us for all the people who are associated with us.
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How to meditate easily
Our mind does not rest for a moment and it keeps on going from one thought to another. In the Indian epic Mahabharata, Yudhishtir the eldest of the Pandava brothers is asked a question. Which is the fastest thing in the world? His response was "Mind is the fastest thing in the universe. In a fraction of a second the mind can travel to other corner of the world." Since the ancient times the sages and philosophers have realized this fact and invented and discovered various techniques to calm it down.
The mind does not wants to calm down. It likes to fluctuate between past and the future. Between the good experiences which please us and the bad experiences which hurt us. If you want to experience this, just try to observe your breathing for 5 minutes. If you get distracted, bring back the attention to the breathing again. You will see how difficult it is to even perform the seemingly simple task of observing the breathing for 5 minutes.
In Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, the undisciplined mind acts as our enemy, whereas a trained mind acts as our friend. Again Krishna says in response to how to control the mind "Undoubtedly, O mighty-armed, the mind is difficult to control and is restless; but, by practice, O Son of Kunti, and by dispassion it is restrained." Indeed it is the untamed mind that creates the cravings, which can lead to bad habits, loss of focus and discontentment. Craving for any habit leads to addiction. On the other hand when the mind is controlled it leads to focus in all the work we do. We can accomplish more work in less time and do it well. It also leads to peace and less discord.
How to control the mind?
- Observe the Breath - Meditate
The next question is how to tame the mind. There are various techniques to calm the mind. One of the techniques is observation of mind, which tends to calm it down over a period of time. Just observing the mind as an observer, see where it goes, and trying to detach self from the wanderings calms us down.
Another way to calm it down is to observe the breath. Breath is the reflection of the state of the mind. More agitated the mind is faster we breathe. This is one of the easiest technique as this does not need any visualization which is difficult in the initial stages. I have written an article earlier about how observing the breath tells us about the current state of mind. Observing the breath for a long period leads to meditation. All the masters have recommend meditation for calming the mind. We need to practice this everyday with determined efforts. Over the period of time meditation will become. - Studying
We also need to study the great masters like Buddha who have written about the mind and how to control it. This will provide better perspective. I feel Vipassana meditation technique is an excellent way to control the mind. Similarly there are hundreds of techniques. We can choose the way that suits our lifestyle the best and the judgment will come when we are aware of the choices. - Simple Food
Eating right kind of food which consists of vegetarian non spicy food keeps the mind less agitated. Food is one of the important part of our life and keeping it simple helps the mind to be calmer. Eating light food is important when we want to practice meditation as it keeps the mind alert. - Avoiding wrong inputs
We are bombarded with all the information from newspapers, TV media and most of the information is negative in nature. When we feed these information to our mind it becomes agitated, stores these information in the brain. The information which is stored in the brain feeds the mind in turn and makes it more agitated. Cutting down on these helps us to calm the mind own.
Although I am writing this article about mind control let me assure you that I am also not a champion in mind control. I constantly struggle with mind control and need to keep on working on this. I try to practice as much as possible. I try to observe my self as much as possible and it is a very difficult job. At the same time it is very important for self development also.
Ultimately the control of mind comes only from practice and not from any study. Each of us need to practice it. Nobody can do it for us. Calming the mind will lead to more success and peace not only for us for all the people who are associated with us.
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How to meditate easily
