Business management, personal management, social management, financial management etc… all are worthless without mind management as mind management is the essence of life management.
According to Maharishi Patanjali “Yogashchittavrittinirodhah” i.e. Yog, teaches us how to control and manage the mental modifications. If we care for our mind, if we nurture it and if we cultivate it, it’ll blossom far beyond our expectation.
Mind should be governed by atmashakti or the inner power. The thoughts, sentiments, moods and emotions produce their strong impression on face; the outer world reflects the state of the inner world. Our mind is a wonderful servant but the worst master. Unfortunately 90% of human beings are slaves of their minds.
Yogeshwara Krishna clarifies it in Srimdbhagwadgita :
“Mann eivmanushyanaamkaranambandhmokshayo.
Chitteshchaltisansaronischale yogi uchchayete.”
Mind is to determine and as the strongest tool it is the cause behind bondages and salvation. When it runs after worldly gains it becomes the cause of bondages, but as it becomes calm we come in the state of yog, unshaken.
Even the perfect thinkers use only 25% of their mental abilities. Mind should not be a master but one should be the master of the mind, one who has mastered the mind can easily master the world and the only way to master the mind is to go in to meditation, the seventh limb of the eight fold path of yog.
Mind control is the one and only way to live a more purposeful and rewarding life, to love one’s own self, to feel alive, to have wisdom as it’s the most potent force and above all to be ‘the best’ in all spheres of life.
We definitely need to open the windows of our mind but not so much that all dust particles enter into it. In fact let us open it but only up to the extent that fresh air enters and provide oxygen to it. Meditation is the only way to avoid the dust. Let only the fresh air enters i.e. only the very best information enter our minds.
Mind management provides a sight to the practitioner regarding how to take situations and how to interpret the circumstances of life and how to go far beyond the worries, anxieties, tensions, stress, painful past, insecure future, failed relationships, mental unease, dissatisfaction, financial crisis and so on.
According to Gurudev Swami Bharat Bhushanji, ‘Yog is not a subject of body it’s a subject of mind’. When mind is good everything is good and when the mind is upset… entire world seems upset. Also, when the mind is healthy, then the body also remains healthy and vice versa.
Once the mind is under control, individual becomes aware that life is all about choices and has the ability to choose whatever one wants from life. That way one never make mistakes in life but only get experiences, never judges the events as positive or negative but simply experiences and enjoys them. He/she is then aware of the balance between making it happen and letting it happen and finally becomes the architect of the future. The only way to do this is to control the mind, to manage the mind and to live a perfect life is through MEDITATION.
“I’ve visited almost so many countries for my dance performances and yog discourses but the most beautiful place I’ve ever been is My Inner World where I can’t reach through any conveyance but leaving all conveyances aside and sitting in the beautiful chariot of meditation”.
According to Yog philosophy meditation is an unbroken, uninterrupted and constant flow of the idea, of the object that is concentrated, which leads to the stage of Samadhi, which is the no thought stage or a stage of going beyond the thoughts.
Bharat Yog offers innumerable meditations for different problems and individuals.
There are several ways to meditate depending upon the Sadhna and level of the practitioner. Here I am sharing a very simple technique to practice everyday Bharat yog-meditation:
Two basic / simple Bharat Yog meditation techniques
Early morning meditation is the key to a perfect day. It gives us strength to enjoy the best and accept the worst. In case one doesn’t know even the ‘abc’ of meditation, can simply begin with the following:
Pranav Uccharan
Chanting of ‘Om’ is the easiest way to meditate and a wonderful yogic practice to treat almost all physical and mental problems.
Each and every individual can practice and get benefitted by it.
If practiced 13 times at bed time, just before sleeping (must be the last impression before sleep) – it is one of the best cures for insomnia.
Preparation
* Sit in Padmasana, or Sukhasana with calm mind. In case of knee pain, it can be done while sitting on chair.
* Spine must be straight.
Procedure
Step 1:
* Inhale gently deeply and completely.
* While exhaling chant ‘a’ (अ ) with open lips and concentrate on abdomen.
* Keep chanting until exhaled completely and deeply.
* Again take a deep breath in.
* While exhaling chant ‘o’ (ओ ) with lips open in round shape and concentrate on chest.
* Keep chanting until exhaled completely and deeply.
* Again take a deep breath in.
* While exhaling chant ‘m’ (म) (humming sound) with closed lips and concentrate on skull, especially at the top of the head and feel the sensations there.
* Keep chanting until exhaled completely and deeply.
* This is one round.
* Begin with 3 rounds and keep increasing the number.
Step 2 –
Now that you have become aware of the effect of three different sounds at three different areas of the body, be prepared to step 2.
* Inhale deeply and gently.
* Chant ‘a’ (अ ) for few seconds, followed by ‘o’ (ओ ) and finally ‘m’ (म) (humming) : all three in one exhalation concentrating on its effect at abdomen – chest – skull simultaneously.
* Keep chanting until exhaled completely.
* Make sure sound of ‘a’ (अ ) should be smallest in time duration, ‘o’ (ओ ) must be a bit longer and ‘m’ (म) (humming) must be longest.
* This is one round. Start with 3 and take it to 13 times.
Sugam Dhyan
Sugam Dhyan is the simplest way to meditate for beginners and can be practiced by all.
Step 1: Sit in Padmasana, Sukhasana or any other comfortable meditative posture with calm mind, keeping spine straight. In case of knee pain, it can be done while sitting on chair.
Step 2: Take a deep breath and practice Pranav Uccharan (chanting of aum) thrice
Step 3: Concentration on free and natural flow of breath.
Step 4. Be aware of the self.
Step 5. Follow the below suggestions:
- I am the best.
- I am most beautiful.
- I am the child of ‘Param Pita’ (supreme soul /almighty) hence I have inherited all HIS qualities. I just need to grow them.
- My basic nature is not anger, not fear, nor stress, neither attachment nor detachment. My basic nature is peace.
- I am at peace! I am at peace! I am at peace.
Step 6. Again bring awareness back to breath.
Step 7. With each breath thank almighty for blessing us with this divine gift of breath: of life. Thank Gurudev for blessing us with the divine knowledge of yog.
Step 8. Pranav Uccharan thrice.
This very simple technique will leave you fresh, beautiful, shinning and happy the entire day.
Acharya Pratishtha is an internationally acclaimed yoga guru, director of Mokshayatan Yog Sansthan and a member of key yoga committees of the Government of India. She is the author of five books, creator of CDs & DVDs and a presenter of television shows on yoga.
