By Anup Taneja
Swami Vivekananda said that to attain Self-realisation and success in life, three things are of paramount importance: to have unflinching faith in oneself; to adopt a positive approach to life; and to focus on one idea exclusively at a time.
Have unshakeable faith in yourself. “If you have faith in all the 330 million mythological gods, and still have no faith in yourselves, there is no salvation for you,” said Swami Vivekananda. Have unshakeable faith in yourself, stand upon that faith, and be determined to achieve the targets you set.
Seekers must never lose sight of the fact that they are sparks of the Infinite, Divine fire, and have the power within them to accomplish anything. If you believe that the Infinite Divinity is working in and through you, and that the ‘antaryami’, the Omnipresent, is present in every atom that penetrates your body, mind and soul, there can be no reason why you should not attain success in life.
Merely believing in certain theories and doctrines and understanding these at the intellectual level, opined Swamiji, would lead nowhere; there can be no liberation for man until he sees God; realises his own soul.
Adopt a positive approach to life. It is an irony that even though all powers in the universe are present right within us, we are not able to access these, and continue to live in a state of misery. The main reason for this is the deep-rooted habit of negative thinking that shatters our confidence and impairs our judgment. Negative thoughts like ‘I won’t be able to clear the examination; I am sure I am suffering from a serious disease’, constantly occupy the minds of people with a pessimistic approach to life. To such people, success proves elusive.
Seekers are, therefore, advised to invoke their will power through regular introspection and align themselves with the cosmic current of positive energy that constantly flows within them. This, in turn, will help in cauterising the cells of negative thinking and replacing them with self-confidence, and belief in one’s abilities. “Talk to your mind once a day, otherwise you may miss meeting an intelligent person in this world,” said Swamiji.
Take up one idea at a time. If we carefully observe our thought patterns, we may find that the mind can wander aimlessly, and is engaged in a number of things simultaneously. These scattered thoughts render the mind weak, making it virtually impossible for the seeker to focus on a particular subject. The result is that we are not able to attain success in any task that we undertake.
Swamiji recommends the technique of chanting the mantra ‘Aum’ during meditation and listening to its sound with rapt attention. This technique, if practised on a regular basis, goes a long way in increasing one’s power of concentration. In the words of Swami Vivekananda: “Take up one idea, make that one idea your life. Think of it, dream of it; let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.”
Swami Vivekananda was born on January 12 in Calcutta. He was among the foremost disciples of Sri Ramakrishna.
Courtesy - TOI
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