Swami Vivekananda is a name to reckon with, not just for introducing Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world but also for his belief that noblest ideas can be brought “to the doorstep of even the poorest and the meanest”.The world remembers him for his stellar speech at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago in 1893, where he represented India.
A philosopher, an orator, an artist, and a widely-travelled monk, it is often said about Swami Vivekananda that “In him everything is positive and nothing negative”. He espoused the idea of ‘focused thought’ and recommended his disciples to “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone.”
Vivekananda’s Observations on Benefits of Mind Control
For Swami Vivekananda, an uncontrolled mind leads to negativity in life and a controlled mind saves us and frees us from such thoughts. He propagated the idea that ‘Self-awareness’ is the best way to control one’s mind. Will power and determination can also stop mind from wandering. However, his advice comes with a caveat: To keep the mind under control one has to practice and repeat the same thought over and over again. Practice of controlling one’s mind should be done twice a day especially in the morning and evening as those are the calmest times of the day. This, he believed, would decrease vagaries of the mind. When it comes to mind control, Vivekananda observed that it is the concentration that separates men from animals and it is the difference in concentration that makes one man different from another.
Morality and Control of Mind in Vivekananda’s Discourse
The common string that connects all his philosophical discourse is the message of oneness with God and the development of the mass. For him, morality is directly related to the control of mind. A mind which is strong and controlled is altruistic, pure and brave.
Vivekananda’s Multi-faceted Contributions
Vivekananda was born on 12 January 1863 in Kolkata, India. Each year his birth anniversary is celebrated as the ‘National Youth Day’. The worthy disciple of Saint Ramakrishna tried to disseminate a profound yet simple fact:“Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this Divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal.” His poignant words inspired generations of freedom fighters including Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Aurobindo Ghose and Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
No comments:
Post a Comment