English
Make a game of it if you like, and you will find it quite MIN i$r*y THE CULTIVATION OF ATTENTION itesting to notice the steady but gradual improve: g/will be interesting to practise this in connection tn some friend, varying the exercise by both examining tne object, and writing down their impressions, separ¬ ately, and then comparing results. This adds interest to the task, and you will be surprised to see how rapidly Doth of you increase in your powers of observation, which powers, of course, result from Attention. Exercise II. This exercise is but a variation of the first one. it consists in entering a room, and taking a hasty ° r a " Ce around, and then walking out, and afterward writing down the number of things that you have observed .with a description of each. You will be surprised to observe how many things you have missed at first sight, and how you will improve in observation by a little practice. I his exercise, also, may be improved by the assistance of a friend, as related in our last exercise. It is astonishing how many details one may observe and remember, after a little practice. It is related of Houdin, me French conjurer, that he improved and developed* his faculty of Attention and Memory by playina this game with a young relative. They would pass by a shop window taking a hasty, attentive glance at its contents, then they would go around the corner and compare notes. At first they could remember only a few prominent articles that is, their Attention could grasp only a few. Eut as they developed by practice, they found that they could observe and remember a vast number of things and objects in the window. And, at last, it is related that Houdin could pass rapidly before any large shop window, bestowing upon it but one hasty glance, and then tell the names of, and closely describe, nearly every object in plain sight in the window. The feat was accomplished bv the fact that the cultivated Attention enabled Houdin to fasten upon his mind a vivid mental image of the p* M mr^y. RAJA YOGA ,and its contents, and then he was able to des< articles one by one from the picture in his mind 3udin taught his son to develop Attention by a simple exercise which may be interesting and of value to you. He would lay down a domino before the boy—a five-four, for example. He would require the boy to tell him the combined number at once, without allowing him to stop to count the spots, one by one. “ Nine,” the boy would answer after a moment’s hesitation. Then another domino, a three-four, would be added. “ That makes six¬ teen,” cried the boy. Two dominoes at a time was the second day’s task. The next day three was the standard. The next day four, and so on, until the boy was able to handle twelve dominoes—that is to say, give instantane¬ ously the total number of spots on twelve dominoes, after a single glance. This was Attention, in earnest, and shows what practice will do to develop a faculty. The result was shown by the wonderful powers of observation, memory and attention, together with instantaneous mental action, that the boy developed. Not only was he able to add dominoes instantaneously, but he had powers of observation, etc., that seemed little short of miraculous. And yet it is related that he had poor attention and defi¬ cient memory to begin with. Jf this seems incredible, let us remember how old whist players note and remember every card in the pack, and can tell whether they have been played or not, and all the circumstances attending upon them. The same is true of chess players, who observe every move and can relate the whole game in detail long after it has been played. And remember, also, how one woman may pass another woman on the street, and without seeming to give her more than a careless glance, may be able to relate in detail every feature of the other woman’s apparel, including its colour, texture, style of fashioning, probable mis-r^ THE CULTIVATION OF ATTENTION __ of the material, etc., etc. And a mere man wo_ have noticed scarcely anything about it—because he would not have given it any attention. But how soon would that man learn to equal his sister in attention and observation of woman’s wearing apparel if his business success de¬ pended upon it, or if his speculative instinct was called into play by a wager with some friend as to who could remember the most about a woman’s clothing, seen in a passing glance? You see, it is all a matter of Interest and Attention. But we forget that the Attention may be developed and cultivated, and we complain that we “ cannot remem¬ ber things,” or that we do not seem to be able to “ take notice.” A little practice will do wonders in this direction. Now, while the above exercises will develop your memory and powers of observation, still that is not the main reason that we have given them to you. We have an ulterior object, that will appear in time. We aim to develop your Will-power, and we know that Attention stands at the gate of Will-power. In order to be able to use your Will, you must be able to focus the Attention forcibly and distinctly. And these childish exercises will help you to develop the mental muscles of the Attention. If you could but realize the childish games the young Yogi students are required to play, in order to develop the mental faculties, you would change your minds about the Yogi Adepts whom you have been thinking about as mere dreamers, far removed from the practical. These men, and their students, are intensely practical. They have gained the mastery of the Mind, and its faculties, and are able to use them as sharp-edged tools, while the untrained man finds that he has but a dull, unsharpened blade that will do nothing but hack and hew roughly, instead of being able to produce the finished product. The Yogi believes in giving the “ I ” good tools with which to RAJA YOGA and he spends much time in tempering and s ig these tools. Oh, no, the Yogi are not idle drea -Their grasp of “ practical things ” would surprise many a practical, matter-of-fact Western business man, if he could but observe it. And so, we ask you to practise “observing things.” The two exercises we have given are but indications of the general line. We could give you thousands, but you can prepare them yourselves as well as could we. The little Hindu boy is taught Attention by being asked to note and remember the number, colour, character and other details of a number of coloured stones, jewellery, etc., shown for an instant in an open palm, the hand being closed the moment after. He is taught to note and describe passing travellers, and their equipages—houses he sees on his journeys—and thousands of other every¬ day objects. The results are almost marvellous. In this way he is prepared as a chela or student, and he brings to his guru or teacher a brain well developed—a mind thoroughly trained to obey the Will of the “ I ’’—and with faculties quickened to perceive instantly that which others would fail to see in a fortnight. It is true that he does not turn these faculties to “business” or other so-called “practical” pursuits, but prefers to devote them to abstract studies and pursuits outside of that which the Western man considers to be the end and aim of life. But remember that the two civilizations are quite different —following different ideals—having different economic conditions—living in different worlds, as it were. But that is all a matter of taste and ideals—the faculty for the “ practical life ” of the West is possessed by the chela, if he saw fit to use it. But all Hindu youths are not chelas, remember—nor are all Western youths “ captains of industry,” or Edisons. Vi the cultivation of attention MANTRAM (AFFIRMATION) ^ I am using my attention to develop my mental facul- ies, so as to give the “ I ” a perfect instrument with which to work. The mind is My instrument, and I am ringing it to a state of capacity for perfect work. Ml NIST#), §L THE SIXTH LESSON CULTIVATION OF PERCEPTION Man gains his knowledge of the outside world through his senses. And, consequently, many of us are m the habit of thinking of these senses as if they did the sensing, instead of being merely carriers of the vibrations coming from the outside world, which are then presented to the Mind for examination. We shall speak of this at greater length a little later on in this lesson. Just now we wish to impress upon you the fact that it is the Mind that per¬ ceives, not the senses. And, consequently, a development of Perception is really a development of the Mind. The Yogis put their students through a very arduous course of practice and exercises designed to develop their powers of perception. To many this would appear to be merely a development of the Senses, which might appear odd in view of the fact that the Yogis are constantly preaching the folly of being governed and ruled by the senses. But there is nothing paradoxical about all this, for the Yogis, while preaching the folly of sense life, and manifesting the leaching in their lives, nevertheless believe in any and all exercises calculated to “ sharpen the Mind, and develop it to a keen state and condition. They see a great difference between having a sharp¬ ened perception, on the one hand, and being a slave to the senses on the other. For instance, what would be thought of a man who objected to acquiring a keen eye¬ sight, for fear it would lead him away from higher things, by reason of his becoming attached to the beautiful things he might see? To realize the folly of this idea, no CULTIVATION OF PERCEPTION look at its logical conclusion, which would would then be much better off if all his senses destroyed.