Character and Karma

Hope the New Year, 2015 is treating you well. Today, I am going to talk a little about the Character of an individual and a bit about Karma.

I believe that the character of any person is the blend of his tendencies and the summation of the bent of his mind. I have heard many motivational speakers say this to their audience that we are what our thoughts have made us. Did you ever realize that every single work that we do, every movement of our body and every thought that strikes us, deliver an impression on the mind. If you notice that what we are at different moments is actually determined by the sum total of these impressions on our mind. Everybody's character is at every moment in their life is determined by the sum total of these impressions. If good impressions prevail, the character becomes good, if bad impressions prevail, it becomes bad.

Now, what is Karma? The word Karma is derived from the Sanskrit word Kri, which literally means -To Do; therefore, we can say that all actions is Karma. However, there is another meaning of this word, which is; The Effects Of Actions. In metaphysics, sometimes it also means the Effects Of Our Past Actions. But then, what is Karma Yoga?  In Karma-Yoga we have simply keep in mind the word Karma which means work. Swami Vivekananda often mentioned in his discourses, that the goal of mankind is knowledge; and it is that knowledge which is one ideal placed before us by Eastern philosophy. Pleasure should never be the goal of man; instead it should be acquiring knowledge. Pleasure and happiness will and for sure, come to an end someday.

Mastering - Power Of Concentration

The secret of mastering the power of concentration
 is through deep meditation

In my last post, I talked about the Power of Concentration and I ended that with a question – Can we become the master of using the power of concentration? Well, my answer to that is – yes.

The Yogis say that we can attain perfect control of our mind. Before I jump on talking more on this subject, I want to tell you something about the danger in developing the power of concentration. The danger that I am talking about is in not being able to detach ourselves as per our will after concentrating our mind on any object. This state causes great sufferings.  Most of our suffering is caused because we do not have the power to detach ourselves. Thus, along with the development of concentration, we must develop the power of detachment. The Yogis say, that we must learn the art of attaching the mind to one thing exclusively, and also to detach at a short notice and place it on something else. These two, attachment and detachment of mind should be developed together to make it safe.

This is systematic development of the mind. I believe that the very essence of education is concentration of mind and not collecting of facts. Swami Vivekananda had once said that, there is no limit to the power of the human mind. The more concentrated it is, the more power is brought to bear on one point.

The first step in training the mind is to begin with breathing. Regular breathing puts the body in a harmonious condition, where it becomes easy to reach the mind. While we are breathing, it is important to consider the posture. The proper position is any posture where one can sit easily. The spine should be kept free and the weight of the body should be supported by the ribs. It is said, that do not try by contrivances to control the mind, simple breathing is all that is required in that line.

The Powers Of Concentration

There are many differences between men and animals and the most important one is in their power of concentration. 

Mastering The Power Of Concentration Through Meditation

Each and every success in any line of work is the result of concentration. We all know something about concentration and we all have seen the results of concentration at some point in our lives. To site a few examples, I would say, the high achievements in art, music, literature, drama etc are the results of concentration.

An animal has a very little concentration power. Those who train animals, they would know, that the animal is constantly forgetting what is told to him. He cannot keep his mind concentrated for long upon anything at a time.  Here is the difference between man and animals. Man has a greater power of concentration than animals. The difference between powers of concentration is also seen between different individuals as well. Compare the highest with the lowest man and you will find the difference is in the degree of concentration.

Our mind becomes concentrated at some point in time. We concentrate on things that we love and we love those things on which we are able to concentrate our minds. Which mother in the world does not love the face of her child? That face is the most beautiful face to her, in the world. She loves it, because, she concentrates her mind on that face. And, if everyone could concentrate on that face, everyone would love it. It would be the most beautiful face to all. We concentrate our minds upon those things that we love.

The trouble with this type of concentration is that, we do not control the mind. It is actually, the mind that controls us. This is something outside of ourselves that draws the mind into it and holds it there as long as it chooses. We hear melodious tunes or see a beautiful painting, and the mind is held fast to that piece of art, and we cannot take it away.

If I talk to you well, about a subject of your interest, your mind concentrates upon what I am saying. I draw your mind away from you at that moment and hold it upon the subject. Thus our attention is held, our minds are concentrated upon various things and we cannot detach our mind from those things.

Now the question that arises is, Can this concentration be developed and can we become the masters it? The yogis say, yes, we can develop this power of concentration and master it.

Read my next blog on this subject to know more about – The Powers Of Concentration.

THE MEDITATION PROCESS

Swami Vivekananda

This post is in continuation to my last article- The secret Powers of Meditation.

I would like to add on to my last article on the Meditation. I thought this will help us to clear a few doubts that we might have about the Meditation Process.In my article today I am going to take a little help from the discourses of Swami Vivekananda when he introduced the Raja Yoga to the west .

The Correct Posture: According to Swami Vivekananda there are a series of exercises, both physical and mental, which is to be practiced every day, until one reaches a certain higher state. Said that it becomes quite essential that we find a posture in which we can stay on for a long time. The easiest and the convenient posture should be chosen.  This is a state when one finds new sorts of vibrations; the mind, body and the soul will be remodeled, as it was in the beginning. But the main part of the activity will lie along the spinal column, so that the one thing necessary for the posture is to hold the spinal column free, sitting erect, holding the three parts -- the chest, neck, and head -- in a straight line. Allow the whole weight of the body to be supported by the ribs, and then you have an easy natural posture, with the spine straight. You will easily see that you cannot think very high thoughts with the chest in. This practice makes the physical body very strong and its practice is very difficult. It and cannot be learned in a day, and, it does not lead to much spiritual growth. Therefore just try to be in a comfortable position in which you can go deep into meditation and stay in that state of mind for as long as you want or as long as you enjoy.

Swami ji (i.e. Swami Vivekananda) had once mentioned to sit straight, and look at the tip of your nose because it helps to concentrate the mind. He had cited a few specimens of meditation during his discourse. He asked the audience to imagine a space in the heart, and in the midst of that space think that a flame is burning. Think of that flame as your own soul and inside the flame is another effulgent light, and that is the Soul of your soul, God. Meditate upon that in the heart. Chastity, non-injury, forgiving even the greatest enemy, truth, faith in the Lord, these are all different tendencies, or psycho-physical propensities, we call them as vritti ,one should try to attain through the meditation process. Don’t be afraid or worried if you are not perfect in all of these; work on them and they will come on their own to you. He who has given up all attachments, all fear, and all anger, he whose whole soul has gone unto the Lord, he who has taken refuge in the Lord, whose heart has become purified, with whatsoever desire he comes to the Lord, He will grant that to him. Therefore worship Him through knowledge and love.

In the words of Swami Vivekananda: 

"He who hates none, who is the friend of all, who is merciful to all, who has nothing of his own, who is free from egoism, who is even-minded in pain and pleasure, who is forbearing, who is always satisfied,, who works always in Yoga, whose self has become controlled, whose will is firm, whose mind and intellect are given up unto Me, such a one is My beloved Bhakta. From whom comes no disturbance, who cannot be disturbed by others, who is free from joy, anger, fear, and anxiety, such a one is My beloved. He who does not depend on anything, who is pure and active, who does not care whether good comes or evil, and never becomes miserable, who has given up all efforts for himself; who is the same in praise or in blame, with a silent, thoughtful mind, blessed with what little comes in his way, homeless, for the whole world is his home, and who is steady in his ideas, such a one is My beloved Bhakta." Such alone become Yogis. 

  

The spiritual power to be content with every situation comes from the spiritual practices as has been shown, informed and taught by our great sages and eminent philosophers from time to time.  All we need is to remember their teachings and follow them. Success in every field will surely come on its own.

Terms used in this article :

Bhakta: It means a devotee

Yogi   : One who practices Yoga

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