The Doctrine and Practice of Yoga

Invest in YOU! Discover the ten most downloadable books on our CBMall

Invest in YOU! Discover the ten most downloadable books on our CBMall in the following subjects





Self Control Exercises 1-16







Rightly has it been remarked that is easy to talk of and write upon this



subject but most difficult to possess it. Perfect Self-Control means



infinite power. Only the Buddas and the Christs of this World manifested



Perfect Self-Control. "Anything short of the absolute control of thought,



word and deed is only sowing wild oats," said Vivekananda. It is with no



little diffidence that I approach this subject as whoever handles



this subject is rightly culpable as being a "Do-as-I-say-and-not-as-I-do"



class of writers. Still you can make appreciable progress in this



direction by mastering these instructions, going through the exercises



and last but most important by "carrying the principles in your mind" and



applying them as far as you can in your daily life. Nothing is more



conducive to rapid growth and development as the making of the "little



and big" affairs in your work-a-day life, the occasion for the practical



expression and conscious translation of your ideals. We all are guilty of



a serious mistake in setting apart our higher ideals for regular



'practice' hours and leading a life of low and quite different ideals in



our ordinary life. The natural process, as you can see, is to LIVE OUT



your highest ideals every minute of your life. Nothing is more important



than the daily occupation of a man and if he fails to bring his ideals



right into these little things, then Success will ever elude him. A



mental scientist has summed up the entire secret of Character-Building in



this valuable advice on Objective Concentration: the simple task of



mental concentration on whatever task, business or profession a man is



engaged in is the beginning of the mastery which is the perfection of



Objective Concentration. Whatever you are doing be master of your work.



If you are a cobbler mend shoes in a perfect manner; if a barber keep



your razors and scissors in a state that will excite the admiration of



your customers; if a tailor make the coat fit like a glove; if a clerk



keep your accounts in apple-pie order; if a builder scorn your



jerry-brother; if a singer enchant the listener with a concord of sweet



sounds; if an actor enter into the spirit of the character and make the



play-goer feel that







"All the world's a stage



And all the men and women merely players,



They have their exits and their entrance



And one man in his time plays many parts."







If a leader in any department of thought or action, remember that if to



you much is given, from you also much is required, for the responsibility



of the lives and happiness of your fellows rests heavy on your shoulders,



whether you know it or not and thousands may secretly curse your



incapacity and bungling. It is infinitely better to be a good cobbler



than a bad ruler.







I believe the above advice if followed conscientiously by you would



go to make you really fit for initiation into the more advanced stages of



mastery. Take it to heart by all means. Be convinced, the man who



looks for quick results and a royal road to the mastery of Mental Science



breaks down in frequent despair at apparent failures and neglects his



daily work will never go far. In fact, his very impatience will lead to



failure. No individual life is fully rounded out unless some useful work



forms part of it. The Yogi who has renounced the world has already



done his work and is ahead of the times. The real hermit and the saint



are the Pillars of Strength on which this world stands. I cannot repeat



this too often. The mere fact of their breathing the same atmosphere



as you is a benediction and an inestimable boon unto the race.











PRELIMINARY STEPS.







"The first requisite," says Mr. Atkinson, "of concentering is the



ability to shut out outside thoughts, sights and sounds; to conquer



inattention; to obtain perfect control over the body and mind. The body



must be brought under the control of the mind; the mind under the



direct control of the Will. The Will is strong enough, but the mind needs



strengthening by being brought under the direct influence of the will.



The mind, strengthened by the impulse of the will, becomes a much more



powerful projector of thought vibrations than otherwise and the



vibrations have much greater force and effect."







The first four exercises are meant to train the mind to readily obey the



commands of the mind. Take them in the privacy of your own room and never



talk of them to others. Also do not let their apparent simplicity lead



you to neglect them. If you are one of those empty-brained men who go



about talking of their exercises hoping in this way to win praise, you



will never succeed. Be serious, earnest and sincere in your work. Give



up, once for ever, all fickle-mindedness and learn to accumulate Power in



silence and through work. Prayer gives you strength to "work"--the answer



comes from your Larger Self--which is the Spirit of God "brooding" over



all and pouring strength into all. But do not fly in the face of DEITY by



expecting it to "do the work" for you while you go about loafing after



offering your prayer. Nonsense. That man prays who works constantly,



silently, patiently, unceasingly and intelligently.







Exercise 1.







Sit still; relax your body all over and then neck, chest, and head held



in a straight line; legs crossed one under the other and weight of the



body resting easily upon the ribs; right hand on right leg, left hand



on left leg. There should not be a single movement of the muscles in



any part of the body. Mind, you must avoid all rigidness and tension of



the body. There should not be the least strain on muscles. You should



be able to "relax" completely. Start with 5 minutes. Continue till you



can accomplish the 5 minutes sitting without any conscious effort,



increase to 15 minutes which is about all you need. The aim is to give



you absolute dominion over all involuntary muscular movements. It is also



an ideal "rest-cure" after fatiguing physical and mental exercise or



exertion. The principal thing is "STILLNESS" and you can, if you like,



practise it even sitting on a chair or anywhere else; the idea is one of



"relaxation" and physical and mental quietude. Let not the apparent



simplicity of this exercise deceive you. It is not so very easy after



all. You will find that by concentrating the mind upon a particular



train of thoughts or ideas or by joining the mind to the Larger Self,



you can easily lose all idea of the body and thus maintain this stillness



for a considerable length of time. Genius, inspiration and intuition



are more or less the scientific and psychological results of



self-forgetfulness. "When he sits down to meditate," it was said of



Vivekananda, "in 10 minutes he becomes quite unconscious of the body



although it may be black with mosquitoes." Do you understand now?



Absolute physical self-forgetfulness is essential to deep concentration.



Dr. Fahnestock called it the "STATUVOLIC" condition or that state in



which the Will-Power is really active and the 'outer-self' is totally in



abeyance and forgotten.







Exercise 2.







Cultivate a self-poised attitude and demeanour in your everyday life.



Avoid a tense, strained, nervous, fidgety manner and an over-anxious



appearance. Be easy, self-possessed and dignified in your bearing.



Be courteous, thoughtful and quiet. Mental exercise and Will-Culture



will enable you to acquire the proper carriage and demeanour. Stop



swinging your feet and moving your hands or rocking your self



backwards in your chair while talking or sitting. Stop biting your nails,



chewing your moustaches, rolling your tongue in your mouth or any



other unnecessary movement such as may have become "second nature"



with you while studying, reading or writing. Never twitch or jerk your



body. Never wink your eyes or look blank. Train yourself to stand



sudden and loud noises with equanimity and composure. Such things



betray lack of control. Do not let anything outside (or even within you)



disturb your composure. When engaged in conversation let your speech



be calm and measured and your voice well-controlled and even. A certain



degree of reserve should always be observed. In short, keep yourself



well under control on all occasions. You can acquire this poise by



always carrying the thoughts of "Firmness," "Self-Control", and



"Self-Respect" in your mind and letting these express themselves in your



outward bearing. Avoid bluster, self-assertion, gossip, levity or light



talk, too much laughter, excitement and so forth. Too much laughter



weakens the will. Be a quiet, earnest-thinking being. Be serious. Regard



"solitude" as the greatest medium of self-development.







Exercise 3.







Fill a wine glass full of water and taking the glass between the fingers,



extend arm directly in front of you. Fix your eyes upon the glass and



endeavour to hold your arm so steady that no quiver will be noticeable.



Commence with one minute exercise and increase until the 5 minutes limit



is reached. Alternate right and left arms. Increase to 15 minutes.







Exercise 4.







Sit erect in your chair, with your head up, chin out and shoulders



back. Raise your right arm until it is level with your shoulders,



pointing to the right. Turn your head and fix your gaze on your hand and



hold the arm perfectly steady for one minute. Repeat with left arm.



Increase the time gradually to 5 minutes. The palms of the hands should



be turned downwards.







The following exercises are meant to aid you in getting under control,



such mental faculties will produce voluntary movements.







Exercise 5.







Sit in front of a table, placing your hands upon the table, the fists



clinched and lying with the back of the hand upon the table, the thumb



being doubled over the fingers. Fix your gaze upon the fist for awhile



and then slowly extend the thumb, keeping your whole attention fixed



upon the act, just as if it was of the greatest importance. Then slowly



extend your first finger, then your second and so on, until they are all



open and extended. Then reverse the process, closing first the little



finger and continuing the closing until the fist is again in its original



position, with the thumb closed over the fingers. Repeat with left hand.



Continue this exercise 5 times at a sitting, then increase to 10 times.



Don't forget to keep your attention closely fixed upon the finger



movements. That is the main point.







Exercise 6.







Place the fingers of one hand between the fingers of the other, leaving



the thumbs free. Then slowly twirl the thumbs one over the other, with a



circular motion. Be sure to keep the attention firmly fixed upon the end



of the thumbs.







N.B. Exercises Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6 have been culled (with slight



modifications by me) from the works of Yogi Ramacharaka.







Exercise 7.







Forty-eight hours after the full moon in each month, go by yourself into



a darkened chamber and quietly concentrate your mind upon one thing. Do



this as long as possible without allowing other thoughts to enter your



mind. At first you will find that your thoughts will fly from one thing



to another and it will be hard for you to accomplish this, but by



continued practice you will be able to think of one thing for a long



time. This should be continued for 5 nights in succession and one hour



each night.







Exercise 8.







Go out into the open air each evening when the sky is clear and see



how many stars you can count without allowing any other thoughts to



enter your mind. The more stars you can count without thinking of



anything the greater the degree of development produced. Quite an



interesting exercise.







Exercise 9.







Take 12 ordinary pebbles. Place them in your left hand. Then with your



right hand pick up one pebble, hold it at arm's length and concentrate



your mind thereupon without allowing other thoughts for full 60 seconds.



So with all the pebbles. Then start picking up with left hand. Do this



for one hour daily.







Exercise 10.







Concentrate your mind determinedly upon some one at a distance without



allowing other thoughts. Will that he do get strong, healthy and



spiritual. Get up a mental picture of your subject as if sitting



before you. Then give earnest, positive, forceful suggestions to his



sub-conscious mind. Will that he get into sympathy with you, write you on



the subject and earnestly co-operate with you in his spiritual



regeneration. Do it calmly and earnestly.







Exercise 11.







Get some moistened sand spread over the surface about a yard square. Make



it perfectly smooth. Then with your index finger draw any characters or



pictures in the sand. For instance, a square, a triangle or any other



figure. Fasten your gaze upon this figure. Concentrate your mind calmly



thereupon and will that the thought-form so created by your concentration



be transmitted to someone (whom you know to be sensitive to your will).



Do this for 15 minutes daily at the same time till your subject gets the



impression. Ask him to sit relaxed at the same time in the silence in a



receptive mental attitude. Face the direction, North, South, East or West



in which you send your thought. Imagine a psychic wire connecting you



with your subject and aim straight. Remember, the Will-Power is



represented in symbology by a straight line because it goes straight to



its mark.







Exercise 12.







Every night before retiring, concentrate upon your passive mind:



"When I get up in morning, my Will-power and Thought-Force will have



increased. I expect you to bring about a thorough change in my



Will-Force. It will gain in vigour, resolution, firmness and confidence.



It must grow strong, strong, strong." Project these positive suggestions



into your subjective self earnestly, confidently and concentratedly. You



will progress quickly by leaps and bounds. Every morning shall find



you stronger and full of vim, sap and energy. Persevere, persevere. In



following up such ideals to a successful conclusion you must have an



(i) overpowering desire; (ii) a strong belief in your ability to



accomplish anything; (iii) an invincible determination not a backboneless



'I will try to'; (iv) earnest expectation. This is an important and an



infallible method in Will-development.







Exercise 13.







Go by yourself into a room where you will not be disturbed. At the



beginning 'relax' all over. Then count from one to ten without allowing



any other thoughts. As soon as you accomplish this, your mind is in



a receptive state. Concentrate as before and order your sub-conscious



self to evolve a strong, infallible memory. Form your own



auto-suggestions.







Exercise 14.







Pick out half a dozen unfamiliar faces. Vividly impress them upon



your subjective mind. Then recall them at least once each day for full



one year, each day impressing at least one more new face. Should you



find you are forgetting any of your older faces, do not add new ones but



firmly fix the other old faces in your mind through concentration. This



is a very interesting exercise. Memory belongs to the sub-conscious



mind, remember.







Exercise 15.







Concentrate the mind on a paragraph in some holy book and commit



to memory. Learn by heart one paragraph daily taking care not to



forget the old ones. In time, you will improve wonderfully.







Exercise 16.







People with weak memories always lack concentrative ability.



Concentration is the key to all mind-power. You will find the above



exercises quite 'tedious' and monotonous. But you can train your



'attention' only by giving it trivial and 'dry' exercises. The strong



will can cope with the most 'monotonous' and uninteresting tasks without



experiencing fatigue. You must set yourself such tasks as might seem like



'work' to your attention. Remember, the effort required to concentrate



attention voluntarily on uninteresting, dry and monotonous works



strengthens and develops Will-Power and gives you 'mental muscle.' You



will thereby acquire firm control over mind and body and be 'Master' over



your lower impulses. Power over self will express outwardly as power over



others. If you can control yourself, you will find no difficulty in



impressing your will on others. But, mark you, this sacred power should



be used only to elevate, stimulate and strengthen others. Try your Will



upon your personality in all possible ways and be satisfied with nothing



short of perfect control. The absolute mastery of 'self' ought to be



your aim. I have given you the real secrets. You must exercise



your own ingenuity and intelligence in utilising them towards your



Self-development. I leave you to finish the fight for yourself. Get up



and start in to work at your task from to-day and not to-morrow. Back of



all efforts, always have this positive incentive and auto-suggestion:







"THIS IS TO DEVELOP MY WILL-POWER AND NO TEMPORARY PAIN CAN EQUAL THE



POWER AND HAPPINESS ARISING OUT OF SELF-CONTROL."







Get firm control over your emotions. Use this natural force but be



not used by it. Control over speech will lead to Emotion-control. Always



talk to the point. Cultivate silence. Repress volubility. Be brief



in speech and writing. Keep a cool head. Be level-headed and



concentrative.









