When Arjun ji aimed for the eye of fish, he had full focus on that eye and nowhere else. He was lazer focused on the eye. How can one have such focus in life so that whatever one aims for he/she can get in life both materially as well as spiritually. What I mean by lazer focus or 100% concentration is focus on any one activity at a given point of time. So for example if one is studying sometimes many useless thoughts come into one's mind and it is very common for all. What I want to do is to completely eradicate or minimize such thoughts which are not important while I am performing any activity. When we are performing any activity our complete focus should be only on that activity and all other thoughts become useless for us for the time being. I really want to know how can we achieve this in any phase of our lives. I am willing to put the effort and time required but i do not want to waste my time on unnecessary thoughts while focusing on one activity. This we can apply in bhakti as well. Suppose one is chanting mahamantra but in mind they are thinking about food, then it will not be effective. We need to depend on quality rather than quantity. I have also heard that whatever we imagine we see it in front of our eyes as well in real life. So if we imagine something in our mind, we can observe that whatever we imagined happens in our real life as well. It's like I imagine something and that thing appears before me. So is this because of such high focus on that particular thing in life? Kindly help me out.
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Hare Krishna,
Arjuna spoke:- ( BG 6.34)- For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Krsna, and to subdue it is, it seems to me, more difficult than controlling the wind.
The Blessed Lord said:--O mighty-armed son of Kunti, it is undoubtedly very difficult to curb the restless mind, but it is possible by constant practice and by detachment.
1. Love for any work..be it material or Spiritual if you love the work you do.. You can have 100% focus on it.
( that is why we chose the field which suits us best when we opt for career in a particular field).
A person who goes to 9 to 5 job says his job is so tiresome, only becoz he doesn't like the profession in which he is. If he opted the career pertaining to his hobby ( painting, singing ..or any other hobby) he would have excelled in that field and also.. He would have enjoyed the work he does every bit of it without feeling burden.
2. Live in the Present moment:- If you can sit peacefully for 30 min and Observe the thoughts going in your mind.. You will see that you are either in the past or in the future.
Either brooding over the past or planning for the future. You will notice that you have not lived in this moment at all. This particular moment is very short span. Every future second is getting changed into the past.. When you sit to chant also.. your mouth is chanting.. and mind is roaming in past or future planning.. This way we cannot ever achieve any perfection.
For one whose mind is unbridled, self-realization is difficult work. But he whose mind is controlled and who strives by right means is assured of success. That is My opinion.( 6.36 BG)
How to live in the present moment is the question.
What is gone is gone..we cannot change it..we should not brood over the past. Neither we can have those past good memories and recollecting them is simply time waste. And thinking planning for future is also waste.. What is right now in your hands if you are doing enjoying it while doing it....It will surely make ur future bright effortlessly!!!!
I know it is very tough even if me saying it is easy.. But in practice it is very tough.. That is why Lord said.. Constant practice and detachment.
Bring mind to the present all the time.. when it goes back and forth.. constantly practicing this and removing oneself from the thing things which are bothering you.. getting dispassionate about the things...in this way one can solve this.
People who are successful in life all those scientists and inventors worked not for getting name fame.. neither they worked to get money.. they only worked for they loved to work on it.. and they accidentally discovered things.. which fetched them laurels and money and fame.. But their main aim was not making money.
Well making money is not a big thing ..living life to the fullest is the greatest things.
3. Have you know something called brain waves?
brain waves can be studied by connecting the brain with electrodes to an EEG machine.
normal brain waves are called Beta waves.. They are useful for normal work.. which we do regularly during our wakeful state.
Sleep with dreams is next level called alpha level of frequency. They found that during this stage brain gets maximum ability to function . However as ur brain is getting into mode of shutting phase during this phase it is unable to get the maximum benefit or alpha level frequency.
the unique state of alpha is. .. we can keep awake and keep ur subconscious mind active and be in the present moment.
If you can reduced your thoughts .. consciously shut down ur brain ..and enter into alpha state or more deeper stages.. while chanting it is great achievement. constantly practice this kind of chanting ..
Now I cannot explain whole thing in here. You may study more on this.
Well, You can get into ALpha state of mind thru chanting also...Taking Harinama gradually reduces ( it has been proven and understood by scientists how sankirtan of Mahamantra changed the people minds reduced the thoughts per second flowing and make them live in the moment.
We have always observed when we went to temple and participated in the Aarti programme and danced with like minded devotees.... enjoyed kirtan we almost forget the time in the temple. HAVE U NOTICED .. We forget our houses, he forget our children and our family and live in the moment in joy and danced in joy singing Mahamantra .. After we came out of the temple we looked at the watches and thought OMG we have been in the temple so long and I forgot everything.. 4 hours have passed without my notice in a jiffy. HOW?? This is when ur mind was not thinking of past... or planning for future and was just at the right moment and was enjoying the Kritan.
-->It is proven fact that Lord's name is so potent and being with Satsanga one forgets about time and lives in the present moment and that is when ur brain waves are in Alpha and delta waves also. That is why we feel refreshed and energetic after a Sankirtan in temple.
Good vibrations and positive people and Lord's name are so potent and if we by chance get mercy of pure devotee. or.. get benefit of associating with a pure devotee then .we always be in the present moment of joy and celebration.
No worry about past no worry about the future just enjoying being in the moment.
Chant and Be happy.
Though we may think what is there in chanting.. But Once u feel the lord's names in ur heart you will know the difference.
For that we need to constantly practice bringing our mind to the present..!!!
http://mayapurvoice.com/svagatam/us-neurologist-says-chanting-hare-...
pls. you may go thru it also. How chanting helps heal schizophrenia and how it can bring neurological changes in the brain.
and focus in mind.
That is how we train our mind and Lord name is very potent.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare!!!
Hare Krishna.
Hare Krishna Gayatri Ji,
This is a great answer . Thank you for putting in the time and effort to research and presenting it in the simplest way possible so that it becomes easier for the reader to understand the answer completely. The best part about this answer is that it has a lot of examples to refer to so that it becomes easier to understand. I am sure anyone who reads the answer will benefit for sure as well as someone who reads this answer in future. This has become a record for anyone to refer to. Kindly keep guiding everyone as we all can benefit a lot from the answers from a vaishnava.
Hare KRsna Prabhuji,
PAMHO.
To get lazer focus concentration, Arjuna trained his mind. There is a pastime related to that - once he saw that Bhim was eating in the dead of night, in pitch darkness. He asked Bhim how can you see the food and your hand? Bhim replied that its practice. If you like something so much, you will practice. Arjuna learnt from that and started practicing in the night, day, any and everytime - because he wanted to become the best archer in the world.
Similarly, when we do something we like a lot, our mind doesn't deviate. Eg watching movie, or cricket match, or eating our favourite food...
The idea is - an untrained mind will jump here and there, whereas a trained mind will focus. One has to train the mind to follow the head.
To answer the second part of your Q, there is a book by Rhonda Bryne - The Present. It says what you are saying. The sub conscious mind has a way of aligning the elements of nature to fulfill what one's thoughts are. Therefore, one has to be careful of one's thoughts. Therefore we should think positive and say positive things. The sub conscious mind or the elements - I forget which, cannot process the negative word. Suppose you say - don't fail. The don't doesn't get processed, fail does. So instead say - pass or do well in exam. That is positive statement and elements of nature try to fulfill this positive thought. This is the concept given by this book.
In the context of spirituality, we are taught to be dependent on the lord and to thank Him for all that happens - whether positive or negative. And our level of surrender can increase with each incident, positive or negative. These are two completely different concepts. Do not try to marry them.
The take away is - positive thoughts will beget positive happenings and keep one's mind and health good. Good for spirituality as well.
Please ask if you have further questions.
Haribol,
Your servant,
Radha Rasamayi DD
Hare Krishna Radha Mataji,
I really found the answer to be awesome since this answer is to the point and it is well researched. The best part about this answer that i liked is that it has both material as well as spiritual references. The tips can be applied by anyone in materialistic as well as spiritual life. The tips and examples are very good and truly very helpful for anyone who reads this answer. The answer has now become a record and now anyone can refer this including me later in future.Thank you Radha Mataji for such a wonderful answer. Kindly keep guiding younger devotees since we need the association of senior devotees as we can learn a lot from their experiences.
Hare Krishna Bhanu ji,
Thank you for putting in the time and energy to answer the question. I really appreciate the effort. However, I think you could not get the essence of the question and it may happen as I admit the question can have a lot of meanings. So what i meant by lazer focus or 100% concentration is focus on any one activity at a given point of time. So for example if one is studying sometimes many useless thoughts come into one's mind and it is very common for all. What I want to do is to completely eradicate or minimize such thoughts which are not important while I am performing any activity. When we are performing any activity our complete focus should be only on that activity and all other thoughts become useless for us. I really want to know how can we achieve this in any phase of our lives.