Mind Management Techniques

Mind Management Techniques   

    Our Mind is our world. Each one of us think and act as per the dictates of our Mind and get into problems due to the dualities and complexities of the world.  We get confused and perplexed when we face problems that we cannot understand. We often forget that Man is made of not only matter (body, mind and intellect), but also spirit (Soul, atman), and, more often, it is spirituality that shows the way in times of confusion and doubt. Bhagavad-Gita is a compendium of guidelines to sensible way of living and gives the techniques of Mind control- Manoniyantran. It helps to see things ' as they are'. It gives us a clear picture of this objective world and realise our role in it. Deluded as we are, we do not understand the 'Reality' behind this' existence'. 

         A simple guide to life would greatly help in times of problems, confusion, or distress and, it is true that not all can take to the ancient scriptures like theVeda, the Upanishads, the Brahma sutra, and the Bhagavad Gita. Hence, the much-awaited book is here. This is a small book, but makes a slow reading. Sometimes, it may seem difficult to understand the’ mantras’, the Sanskrit verses, and their meaning; it requires much patience and concentration. The English equivalents are also difficult to understand.  Hence a glossary of Sanskrit terms is given for a quick reference. However, it should be remembered that the English language has no appropriate words to convey the strong and powerful meaning of the words of Samskruta language.

       It is all about the ‘endless quest’. Not only it is about the problems of life but it is also about 'death and after'. It is about emancipation, liberation from bondage or 'Mukti'. It is about freedom, liberation, and eternal bliss and happiness. It is about the goal of life. It is about the meaning of life. It is about the proper understanding of the problems of life as also to equip oneself to face life as it comes. It is about experience of life in its full. It is about salvation, or ‘mukti’, i.e., the purification of the mind. ‘Moksha’ is burning of all desires of impure mind and to ‘dwell in Him’, attaining the Supreme Bliss. This does not mean abandoning the great opportunity given to man to live and enjoy on this earth, of which, it is said,' even the Devas are jealous'. In a way, it is the Vedantic way of life, not of abandonment, but of fulfillment!

          Spirituality is not divorced to worldly life and is not opposed to materialistic prosperity. But, there is the golden mean when Man should take to the ‘sat-nyas’ (the true path), the sensible way of living and leave the path of ‘illusion’ (Maya) and delusion. Here,' sat-nyas' is not the one that leads to ascetic way of life; it is an austere way of the householders' life.  There is no doubt that this life is for enjoyment. Enjoy life and enjoy it so well that you will not hanker after it any more, taking repeated births. Enjoy your life so well that you feel happy and contented. Enjoy your life so well that it leaves no desires for further fulfillment in the next birth. There is a Vedic prayer for the Grace of the Lord to enjoy good health and good life. But, the most important thing is to realize ones’ own Self by a deeper understanding of the Self, the Soul, and the Spirit within.  A number of techniques of Mind control (Manoniyantran) derived from our ancient scriptures are given in this book that will help to understand the meaning of life and this helps us to lead a happy and successful life. Mind is the key to sensible living.

          There is need for a clear understanding of the Hindu way of life, the Vedantic way, the spiritual way. It is several millennia-old, unlike the western civilization that is purely materialistic and devoid of soul. All the ancient sages have experienced the trauma of life and have found out the way of getting out of the misery of this life, i.e., emancipation. This book explains the meaning of dhyana, contemplation, meditation and the mantras that help us to realize the Self in us. A number of seminal thoughts are given at the end for purpose of contemplation. This will be very useful in controlling the mind through ‘awareness’. Index is given at the end so that one can pick and choose the subject of his interest for a quick look.

        Some persons think that renunciation, i.e., taking to Sanyas, would solve all the problems of life. They feel that only ‘sanyas’ will help to attain spiritual salvation. It is true that anybody with a determination can take to sanyas and realize his Self. But that is not the only way! There are sixty thousand ways to salvation and each can find his own way by intuition, divine will, and Grace of the Lord. Some take to Bhakti marg and some to Karma marg; some persons take to Jnyana marg and others to Kriya marg. It is easy for one to take to ascetic life under the initiation of a ‘guru’. But, it is very difficult to get a true ‘guru’; under these circumstances, there is a fear that one may take to spiritual practices reading books, and it is very dangerous.

        There are warnings not to plunge into the unknown ‘Spiritual’ world without a proper preparation. May be it is marriage leading to householder’s life, or ‘sanyas’, leading to spiritual life, both are full of dangers. None can assure instant happiness and success in life. It is the proper understanding of the meaning and purpose of life alone that can help. ‘Jnyana’ and ‘bhakti’ are essential requirements to cross the ocean of life. What is the golden mean? One must learn the art, science and technique of living.

        The question often asked is ‘whether any body is happy in this world? If the answer is in the negative, why is this world created? The answer to these two questions seems like a riddle of the Spinx. Everyone wants to be happy, and the world has been created for him to be happy. If any person is not happy with this world, it is because he does not know what is happiness and how to live happily in this world; and, may be, he is seeking his illusory happiness where it is not available. After all, happiness comes from within, from contentment, one’s own satisfaction; it is a state of mind and the feeling of happiness come from within oneself. Try to remember an occasion on which you felt immensely happy and joyful.

         A child is very happy and its needs are very few and simple. As the child grows it absorbs everything that is seen and heard and develops an insatiable hunger and thirst for all sorts of things, needed or not needed, and finally gets them only to discard them; not only that, it cries for more! A grown-up man is like a grown-up child, and he goes on struggling throughout life to acquire things, whether these things really give him happiness or not, and finally he feels disappointed. He goes on blaming this world for his mistakes and for his inability to understand the meaning of life. Some are over-confident and try to bulldoze everything that comes their way; and some are afraid of facing life and take recourse to cut it short. Fear is one of the inherent weaknesses of man. 

       Our life is governed by two important factors. One is Desire and the other Fear. Both these are playing significant role in controlling our Mind and the senses. At the base of these two governing factors is the 'Avidya', or Ignorance. Desire is the 'germ cell' that causes our cycle of birth and death.  Desire is caused by Ignorance. Ignorance brings fear and knowledge gives power. When one knows the reality of nature, he becomes one with it and there is no fear of ‘the other’. When one knows the realities of life there is no expectations from the' other', and hence, not any disappointment.  A number of Mantras are given here for contemplation and ‘dhyan’. Repetition of these Mantras will give immense strength and power. Concentration will produce extra-ordinary success in life. It is important here to note that each and every word of the Mantra is potent and pregnant with meaning and, contemplation on that serves as an unfailing support to life. Since mind always wants some support it clings even to fear or some obsession of some imaginary memory. Hence, it is absolutely essential to give some support to this mind. People take to games that ultimately end up in gambling; some take to drugs for fun that turns him into an intractable addict. Some indulge in sex promiscuously, in a state of inebriation. Some fall in love with every girl he meets and some commit the folly of indulging in all sorts of undesirable means to acquire power, wealth, social status and even resort to crime. Some revel in a state of ego and look down with contempt everybody including the Lord Almighty. They have no respect or value for anybody or anything. Ultimately, for a wise man this world appears like a lunatic asylum where all are busy searching for something that does not exist there. It is like ‘searching for a black cat in a dark room, that (the cat) is not there’.                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

        The meaning of life has to be carefully understood. Life needs guidance and preparation in early stages of boyhood and youth. Lack of guidance leads to way-wardness and spoils the opportunities of developing our full potentialities and happiness and success. Life is a journey to be accomplished with single-minded devotion, dedication, steadfastness, and un-wavering mind; it is, as if, an offering to the Lord Almighty who created us with a purpose. Finally, it is a total merger with ‘That’. It is all contemplation, mind tuned towards sublime bliss; the mind turned away from the gross, mundane, sensate world. There is no more hankering after the sensual desires once the ‘Reality’ is felt ‘within’. The mind is under the supervision of the consciousness, ‘Sakshi’ the inner eye that perceives the fickle and irrational behavior. ‘Buddhi’ keeps the mind under control; the mind that puts the senses under its command to irrational errands will thus be checked.

         Swami Shivananda of Rishikesh says that, “a knowledge of the ways and habits of the mind, and its operations, the laws of the mind and the method of mental control and mental discipline, is very necessary if you want to enjoy real happiness and peace of an unruffled and abiding nature. You cannot expect everlasting happiness and perennial joy in the world of sense around us. The mischievous monkey- mind plays havoc in a variety of ways and causes and cares, worries and anxieties. Money, property, women and children do not give permanent satisfaction.  This is the experience of all people”.                   

        The sooner one gets a glimpse of the truth behind the human mind’s mischievous play offering false notions of happiness, promising escape routes to drudgery of life and thus getting trapped, better it is. Realize the nature of mind; watch its behavior in a sense of ‘choice-less awareness’.  Rest-less mind stops to rest for a while; continue to remain in that state as long as possible; by continuous practice one can continue to be in this state of blessedness. This is the true path from wretchedness of the mundane sensate world to blessedness of the heavenly world.                                            

         This book 'Manoniyantran' (or Mind Management) is a much-needed reference manual for all age groups, particularly the youngsters who are eager to climb the ladder of fame and success. Interestingly, it also guides those who feel inadequate in them-selves and suffer inferiority complex and do not show much progress. Even those who achieve something very early in life fall prey to their ego and soon stagnate. These complexes and self-consciousness are the root cause for success or failure.  These things are analyzed in great detail with reference to the ‘suktas’ and ‘mantras’ obtained from the Vedas and the Upanishads, Shrutis, the Puranas, Bhagavatam, the Bhagavad Gita, and other sacred works. Our ancient Sages and Seers, Saints and Sadhus, Scholars and Pundits paid rich tribute to our ancient scriptures, which constituted a store house of knowledge and wisdom. It is our misfortune that these source materials were not available to us till recently; and, suddenly now the awareness has made everyone search for these source materials.

       Efforts are being made here to collect essential material that is useful to our young friends who want to know about the ‘mysterious’ ways of functioning of our mind. For this purpose, we go deep into the origin of the Universe and evolution of Man so that we can understand in-depth the whole intricacies of the mind. This book is of immense value to all those who want to correct themselves for, methods are given here to know how to achieve success and happiness in life. 

       After all, it is in the ‘mind’. If one is fully aware of his mind and moods, one can easily cross the hurdles of life. Life is what one makes out of it. It is wisely said, that it is in the ‘becoming’ that is more important from what is ‘being’. So, go through this work carefully and take full advantage of the wisdom of our ancient Sages and make your life happy, joyful, and peaceful; enjoy the bliss. Not only the ancient wisdom but modern science too is explored here in order to understand the mysteries of modern man. In spite all the progress made in science, the life of man still remains vain, unfulfilled, wanting, and keeps one in constant search of the real meaning and purpose of life. Thus, a number of questions are raised and answered in this book. 

        Modern life is full of stress. At every step, man is not sure of himself and anxiety kills him. Mind management is, in fact, very useful in combating illness and diseases emanating from stress. Now it is found that the much- dreaded cancer and heart attack are due to stress and these can be prevented by the technique of mind control. Unknowingly tension and stress accumulates leading to illness. One has to be cautious of his pursuits in life if he wants to enjoy it in peace. It is observed that psychosomatic problems are better solved by ‘placebo effect’ through mind management than psychiatric treatment!

        Manoniyantrana Tantras are the ‘magic’ formulae. It is in the ‘Bhagavad-Gita’ that the word ‘Maya’ is used in the sense almost of ‘magical’ power; and 'God, the Great Magician', is declared to cause the spirit host to resolve as by the power of His divine magic’. (Bhagavad Gita Ch. XVIII: Verse 61).‘The living beings in the world are declared to be resorting to the demoniacal sort of life when God robs them of their wisdom by His power’ (Ch.VII.Verse 15). Upanishads also refer to this world as ‘illusion’ or dream; and as such, the problems of such a world should have magical solutions. And, each ‘Mantra’ in the Vedas and Upanishads is a formula. Hence, the techniques are called the ‘magic formulae’ here. 

         The mind is an amazing thing!  Mind works always with the past as memories, or the future as hope.  With this powerful tool we can change the memories of the past or create the future. Positive thinking, creative visualization, neuro-linguistic programming, and emotional intelligence all use some form of mental programming and restructuring to achieve amazing results. This will help us to release ourselves from the shackles of fatalistic and self-defeating concepts of fate and luck. We can control our destinies by programming our mind to achieve our goals. The power of the human mind is enormous and limitless. We can overcome defeatist tendencies and remove the stumbling blocks that are coming in the way of realizing our dreams. Although we cannot change our past, at least, we can re-program our mind and thereby change our experiences, and our memories of the past. By this way, we can erase all our painful traumatic experiences, sad memories, disappointments and negative feelings that are stored in our subconscious mind. 

        It is amazing that our subconscious mind is literal and trusting. It believes whatever the conscious mind tells it. It cannot differentiate the real and imagined situations. This is the secret of the mind and we can use it to change our lives and need not curse our destiny and fate anymore. Even under extreme situations that drives one to commit suicide such as failure in love, or inability to cope with a situation, the state of mind or the attitude can be changed to one’s advantage and life can be made more lively. ‘Failure is the stepping stone of success’, they say. This is the Mind management technique.

        Vedanta shows the way as to how to understand the mind. It provides the technique of gaining not only spiritual wealth but also material wealth that the ‘Vasundhara’ or ‘Dharitri’–the Earth offers. This technique of gaining material prosperity through Vedanta is by practising particular methods of action. It explains scientifically how we could exercise our optimum capacity for efficient and productive action. Personality development experts are suggesting the use of both sides of the brain in order to harness the full potential of the human brain. But it is certain that, due to lack of mental concentration we are not able to use our capacity to optimum, let alone harness our potentialities. Our ramblings into the past and dabbling anxiously about our future kill our present.  Brooding over memories of past actions and expectations of fruits of work swing back and forth not allowing the mind to dwell on the present. This is a fundamental quality of the mind.

        ‘Vedanta’ provides ways and means of controlling the mind. It helps us to live in the present and concentrate on the work on hand. It helps us to channelise all our energy, ‘chitta-ekagrata’ (concentration of mind) into present activity. It helps us to save the dissipating energy thereby making us more efficient, our efforts more fruitful and productive. Vedanta provides many more avenues to peace and prosperity. Vedanta provides a blue print for efficiency, productivity and prosperity. Vedanta expounds various methods of successful and practical living. It provides a very positive approach to life and presents the highest knowledge of life and practical living. If we get this knowledge, we will have power- both spiritual and material. We will gain peace and dynamism in one stretch. We will not have worry or anxiety, stress or strain, and life becomes an experience without which we are lost in wilderness.

      This work, ‘Manoniyantran’ blends the modern with the ancient, scientific and the spiritual, old and the new, and the oriental and the occidental methods and thus, paves way for a happy, successful, and contented life. This book is the product of a long-sustained effort to understand this world, the meaning of life, the goal and purpose of life, the secret behind the success and failure, joy and sorrow, the future of mankind and such other problems. At first it may seem very difficult for laymen to evince keen interest in this work; also, it may be difficult to understand this work bordering science, philosophy, religion, morals and ethics; gradually he will find it very interesting touching his personal life and create a hunger for the Divine.

       This book speaks a lot about Mind that governs our life and its experiences. Mantras are repeatedly quoted from the Vedas, the Upanisads, the Bhagavad- Gita and Puranas. It is a gospel of truth like the Bible, or Quran, or the Bhagavad Gita. There are mention of Hindu Gods in a metaphorical way as far as they convey certain meaning like any other words and the names mentioned like Sri Krishna, or Sri Vishnu, or Sri Hari Narayana, are all figurative. The moment we give a name to God Almighty, we become the father or mother of the God for it is the Parents who give name to children. God has no name and form. The word ‘Sri’ or ‘Shree’ stands for beauty and bounty; similarly, Vishnu stands for the All-pervading, ‘Vish’ meaning, ‘ to pervade’.  Hari means the ‘flow’, the cosmic flow of energy, Prana, the ‘life-sustaining force’. It also means ‘the sword that cuts ignorance’. Also ‘Narayana’ means a person who had ‘nara’, water as his abode. It alo means ‘journey (yana) of man (nara) in space’. Similarly, ‘Achyuta’ and ‘Krishna’ mean one who has no death or decay. ‘Chuyti’ means death and,‘Krish’ means, ‘to wear out’, decay. Hence, the names of Hindu Gods used here are the Samskrut words metaphorically conveying certain meaning. In Sanskrit, Shiva means ‘Bliss’; Sri Hari means ‘sweetness’. It is always very sweet to utter His name; it is pleasant to hear, ‘Karnamruta’. Everybody wants to hear His name. One is not tired of hearing his name repeatedly. It brings joy, happiness to repeat the Lord’s (His) name. God is the Lord Almighty who has no name or form. We may imagine him in our own form since He has created us as a microcosm replica of Himself. Man is a microcosm, a replica of the macrocosm; his power and glory made us to give Him several hands and heads and worship Him.

        Mantras, especially in Samskrut language, are very potent. It is the beauty of the Sanskrit language that the words are pregnant with meaning. Take for example, ‘Prapancha’ (world). Here,‘Pra’and ‘pancha’ mean that ‘objective world that comes within the grip of of the five senses’, in other words, the ‘sensate world’. So also, the syllable ‘ka’ which stands for ‘kana’ (anu), meaning the microcosm; the syllable ‘Kha’, on the other hand, stands for ‘Akhand’ meaning the macrocosm. The one-syllable word ‘Om’ includes the whole of the cosmic entity, the Cosmogony. Unlike other languages that are written and read from right to left, or from top to bottom, Sanskrit is directly piercing the heart with out entering the mind; it is considered the language of the Gods (Devanagari), the language of the soul, the spirit. The words and images are formed with the very origin of the universe with the word ‘AUM’ or ‘Om’, the sound that reverberated with the Big Bang. The word reaches, rather pierces, the heart and the meaning of the word come out of the heart.

        It is the beauty of the Sanskrit language that the words are pregnant with meaning. Take for example, ‘Prapancha’ (world). Here,‘Pra’and ‘pancha’ mean that ‘objective world that comes within the grip of of the five senses’, in other words, the ‘sensate world’. So also, the syllable ‘ka’ which stands for ‘kana’ (anu), meaning the microcosm; the syllable ‘Kha’, on the other hand, stands for ‘Akhand’ meaning the macrocosm. The one-syllable word ‘Om’ includes the whole of the cosmic entity, the Cosmogony. Unlike other languages that are written and read from right to left, or from top to bottom, Sanskrit is directly piercing the heart with out entering the mind; it is considered the language of the Gods (Devanagari), the language of the soul, the spirit. The words and images are formed with the very origin of the universe with the word ‘AUM’ or ‘Om’, the sound that reverberated with the 'Big Bang'. The word reaches, rather pierces, the heart and the meaning of the word come out of the heart. "Om" is the sum and substance of the Vedas and the Upanishads.

         In the Vedas, each word has got inherent intrinsic power and a person with austerity and deep meditation can use them as ‘mantra’ and gain enormous power. For example, the letter ‘Ja’ in ‘Japa’ stands for annihilation of cycle of births and deaths and, ‘Pa’ stands for eradication of sins (papa). Some words can cure diseases, while others console and soothen the distressed mind. Some words energise and others dampen the spirit. A slight change in the expression makes a world of difference; often the same word contains both (opposite) meanings. A slight variation in the expression of the word ‘Amruta’ can make a lot of difference in the meaning; ‘ Amruta’, what is ‘elixir’ that produces immortality, becomes ‘mruta’ the dead by just suppressing “a’ in it.  While Sanskrit language has got this strength, other languages simply float the meaning and no words of other languages come nearer to, or equivalent to, some Sanskrit words. Hence, Samskrut words are used in the text here along with their English equivalents. Glossory given at the end of the Text will be of some help.

     It is the Lord Almighty to whom we use the terms ‘He’ and ‘Him’, or the ‘Divine Force’ referred to as ‘That’. ‘He’ who resides in every creature as ‘soul’ is the real God and He is common to all the six-and-odd billion people as well as the plants and animals of this Planet Earth; and, ‘He’ has no name and form! If you so desire, you can give a name and form to ‘Him’ and worship ‘Him’. All these five or six Millennia, we have been doing only this. Jesus Christ, Sri Krishna, Sri Rama, Gautama Buddha and Mahavira are the mere avatars, or incarnations of the Lord. In a way, these are the persons who have purified their mind and soul, raised their level of consciousness to unite with the Supreme Consciousness and thereby developed their inner strength to become so powerful that they ‘swayed the world’ and have ultimately become the hope and faith of millions of people. Many spiritual leaders like Shri Ramana Maharishi, Shri Ramakrishna, have developed their inner strength, attained purity of mind, heart and soul, and they too have become the hope and aspirations of their followers. That way, everybody can attain this spiritual height by mere sadhana, practice of Sama, Dama, Dharana, Dhyan, Meditation and Samadhi.

       Elaborate description of this universe and the ‘world we live in’ is given so that one will clearly understand the nature of his existence bound by space and time. Some of the ‘Mahat Tattvas’, the ‘Great Principles’ are explained so that persons who seek permanent happiness will abide by the Lord’s Will and Trust in Him. There is no disappointment and cause for unhappiness to those who have total devotion, faith and trust in God. Some Golden Rules of Mind control (Manoniyantrana) taken out of the ancient scriptures are given in a seaparate Chapter. The exhaustive Index given at the end will help locate the subject easily and quickly.   

       This book is of immense value to all age groups. A doctor who follows the guidelines given in this book will achieve extraordinary success in his profession for he will realize the play of the hidden hand in saving lives of patients and reducing their pains. Similarly, an engineer will realize the extraordinary meaning and depth of his profession and gains insight into the working of machines. The yogic powers are such that one can identify the faults in a machine by mere touch, sounds and vibrations, without even opening it up. All sorts of professionals can gain success and happiness from the study of this small book. One can shape his life and achieve success and happiness.

        Some of the ‘Great Principles’, the Mahat tattvas, are repeated in different contexts to drive these into the minds of our ignorant selves and knock some sense to the unconscious mind indulging in mundane things. Many important mantras that are panacea for all our ills are also repeated several times. Elaborate description of the ‘cosmogony’ is given in order to locate the insignificant stature of ‘human’ life in this universe. The bloated ego of man makes him an imaginary giant, who can destroy this world by his wickedness but cannot sustain it by his humility, love, piety, compassion, and fellowship.                                                                         [Excerpts from my book]