Merely knowing what to do without one-pointedness of mind will not lead one to perform his duty accurately. Therefore the desired results will not be attained. Just as profound knowledge of what to do is essential, so having a onepointed mind is equally essential. The modern student tends to know intellectually but does not make sincere efforts to develop onepointedness of mind. Thus his mind remains scattered and all his actions result in disappoint-ment.
For lack of a onepointed mind, the modern student jumps from one path to another because he does not understand that it is his scattered mind that is creating barriers for him. He things that the barriers are outside. Assuming that another path or goal will be better is trickery played by the mind. One already knows what is right, but he does not know how to put it into practice. In childhood the fundamentals of all great truths are taught to us. Then we spend energy in trying to apply those truths, but we fail. We do not realize that with systematic practice we can succeed. The key point of practice as well as of success lies in onepointedness of mind.
Attention is the first step on the ladder to develop onepointedness of mind. One must pay wholehearted atten-tion to all of the things he does from morning until evening. The aspirant should also understand why he is acting in a particular way. Actions should not be performed as a reaction without understanding why one does them. The human mind is prone to be reactionary if it is not trained, and an untrained mind creates disorder, disease, and confusion. If one does something with full attention, he will increase his awareness and ability to perform his duty. If one forms the habit of attending fully to whatever he is doing, the mind will become trained, and eventually concentration will become effortless. It is a great quality for one to be able to express his knowledge through his speech and action with a onepointed mind. Thousands of thoughts remain waiting to be entertained. The purpose of Sadhana is to attend to those thoughts in a systematic manner so that they do not create unrest in the inner world.
Swami Rama
(Excerpts from Perennial Psychology of Bhagavad Gita)
For lack of a onepointed mind, the modern student jumps from one path to another because he does not understand that it is his scattered mind that is creating barriers for him. He things that the barriers are outside. Assuming that another path or goal will be better is trickery played by the mind. One already knows what is right, but he does not know how to put it into practice. In childhood the fundamentals of all great truths are taught to us. Then we spend energy in trying to apply those truths, but we fail. We do not realize that with systematic practice we can succeed. The key point of practice as well as of success lies in onepointedness of mind.
Attention is the first step on the ladder to develop onepointedness of mind. One must pay wholehearted atten-tion to all of the things he does from morning until evening. The aspirant should also understand why he is acting in a particular way. Actions should not be performed as a reaction without understanding why one does them. The human mind is prone to be reactionary if it is not trained, and an untrained mind creates disorder, disease, and confusion. If one does something with full attention, he will increase his awareness and ability to perform his duty. If one forms the habit of attending fully to whatever he is doing, the mind will become trained, and eventually concentration will become effortless. It is a great quality for one to be able to express his knowledge through his speech and action with a onepointed mind. Thousands of thoughts remain waiting to be entertained. The purpose of Sadhana is to attend to those thoughts in a systematic manner so that they do not create unrest in the inner world.
Swami Rama
(Excerpts from Perennial Psychology of Bhagavad Gita)
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