Dear Viewers,
We are living in the WORLD OF DISTRACTIONS ! There are so many Medias and tools distracting the mind of people and in this modern age of technology, the most burning problem of the students is How to develop CONCENTRATION & how to overcome the DISTRACTIONS ?
Students are frequently complaining that Social Media, TV, Movies, video games, vulgar websites are Distracting our mind
But my dear students don’t worry at all. Today Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul brings the MASTER SOLUTION to this burning problem of the students. If you are facing difficulty to focus your mind on your goal & getting distracted from your goal, then Invest your 15 Mins, take a notepad & note down the ideas from this blog.
We are learning the 5 Virtues of an Ideal Student. The 1st virtue of the Ideal Student which is “PERSISTENCE”.
In this shloka, the 2nd virtue is mentioned as, Bak Dhyanam
Bak : Crane, a Bird, Dhyanam : Focus
Bakdhyanam = Focus like a Crane
Have you ever seen a crane standing in the water? He will be standing with a single leg for a longer time & will be waiting for his prays, fishes. He stands without any movement so that fishes can come near to him. His complete focus is only on the fishes & nowhere else and, as fishes come near to him, he grasps the fishes quickly with so much focus & energy
And his attempt never fails because he attempts with complete focus & energy
As a student, what can we learn from the Crane ? As a student, whatever activities you are doing but your FOCUS should be ONLY on your GOAL & NOT on anything else
When you are attending classes, your focus should be on Learning, you should be ready to grasp the each & every words of teacher like how Crane grasps the fishes, you should be ready to grasp the learning from anything from anybody.
If you want to be a BRILLIANT STUDENT, EXTRAORDINARY STUDENT then you should develop the LASER SHARP FOCUS on your Goal
Story of Arjun’s Focus
Once Draunacharya called all the students & announced a small test of archery. He said all of you have to pierce the eye of a bird which is far on the tree. So, first Yudhisthir comes for the attempt Draunacharya asked to him, what do you see Yudhisthira He replied I see tree, branches, bird, nest of a bird, Draunacharya said, Hmm… keep down your bow & arrow & go back!
Then came Duryodhan, same question asked, what do you see ? Duryodhan said, I can see jungle, tree, many branches, bird. Hmm, keep down go back. Then comes Bheem, same question, What do you see? Ya, I see many fruits on the tree. Can I shoot those fruits ? No Bheem see what more can you see ?
Ya I see more fruits Hmm go back!
Then finally comes Arjun, Same question, What do you see ? Arjun said, I see the eye of a Bird
Can you see the tree, fruits, branches ? No, Gurudev ! Can you see me ? No! Right now I see only the eye of the bird Draunacharya said, great ! Shoot now and Arjun shot the arrow & Arjuna’s arrow whizz past and everybody heard a sharp click With a single attempt Arjun pierced the Aim Draunacharya pleased on Arjun & blessed saying that, Arjun, you have a great potential to be a world’s best archer, so, I will make you the no. 1 Archer of the world and we know that later Arjun became the greatest archer in the world.
Can you tell me, Why only Arjun could pierce the eye of the bird & why not others ? Because Arjun could FOCUS only ON his AIM & not on anything else
People think that Arjun’s most powerful weapon was his Gandiva Bow but his most powerful weapon was single-minded focus, Laser Sharp Focus
In the battlefield, his arrows never missed the aim
Today we want to ask you the same question which Draunacharya asked to Arjun
WHAT DO YOU SEE ?
Where is your FOCUS ?
Is it on FRUITS like Bhim or only on the AIM like Arjun ?
If your focus is on FRUITS, that means on TEMPORARY PLEASURES then you can’t achieve your goal & if your focus is only on the EYE than means only on GOAL, then you can achieve your Goal
Remember this life-changing quote,
The secret of Success is CONCENTRATION
The Secret of Failure is Mostly DISTRACTIONS
When you do anything with concentrated mind, you SUCCEED, LEARN & GROW When you do anything with distracted mind, you FAIL, FORGET & FALL Today Our Question to all students who are Reading this Blog now : Do you study with SINGLE FOCUS or DIVIDED FOCUS?
You might have experienced that sometimes we study for a number of hours though we don’t remember anything, don’t get clarity on particular concepts Do you know why it happens so ? Just because we study with DIVIDED FOCUS That’s why, 1 hour with SINGLE FOCUSED STUDY is equal to 4 Hours with DIVIDED FOCUSED STUDY And, what do you mean by FOCUS ?
So, Steve Jobs says that
Focusing is about saying NO!
Focus means NO to rest 99 things
When you study, say NO to everything other than studying,
When you study, say NO to mobile, TV, social media, eating, sleeping, playing… etc. all
When you play, say NO to everything other than playing,
When you pray to God, say NO to everything other than praying,
Focus means say NO to everything other than your goal
There is a thought-provoking Proverb : “One who chases two rabbits at once, will catch none.”
You can’t chase 2 targets at once
You can’t STUDY & PLAY at once & if you do so then you will improve none, you will succeed in none !!
Single Focus is Vital for The Victory
Focus is Power
Have you ever observed?
We have this sunlight which feels normal, but when all the rays of the sun are focused at a single point with the help of magnifying glass, it creates FIRE, it becomes LASER !!
If you want to create a FIRE in your performance ? If you want to produce BURNING results ?
Then, Focus all your rays at the single goal, make a laser sharp focus & then see tremendous results, burning results you get !
Remember the Life-changing Quote
Wherever your FOCUS goes there is where your ENERGY flows
This is not the power of focus, Focus itself is the POWER
Focus creates the ENERGY to produce the burning results
Let me give you the compelling example of Shastriji Maharaj Shri Dharmjivanjivan Swami who was the visionary founder of Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Organization
Swamiji has memorized the 700 shlokas of Shrimad Bhagwad Gita within just 18 days along with the busy schedule of satsang activities
He had memorized 3000+ sanskrit Shlokas of the various vedic Scriptures
He had memorized 1000+ Devotional Kirtans, Songs
At the age of 80 years also these all shlokas & kirtans were in his memory !!
How could Shastriji Maharaj memorize this much ?
Answer is simple !
Because of his SINGLE-MINDED FOCUS,
They used to do it with LASER SHARP FOCUS, they used to apply all their energy into it
Let me tell you one more compelling Focus of Swami Vivekanand
Who memorized 7 volumes of encyclopedia just by reading once !!
Whatever he used to read, used to remember as well !
Once during His visit to Chicago, USA, Swami Vivekananda saw some young boys with an air gun trying to shoot at eggshells floating in the river. But none of the boys hit an eggshell, despite trying many times. Swami Vivekananda was watching their game with keen interest. Seeing this, the boys called out to Him, “Sir, you have been watching us all this time. Would you like to give it a try?” Swami Vivekananda smiled and said that He would like to try.
Taking the air gun in His hand, He aimed at the eggshells and concentrated on the target for some time. Then He fired the gun twelve times and hit an eggshell each time! The boys were awestruck on seeing Swamiji’s skill and asked, “Well, Sir, how could you do this? Have you had a lot of shooting practice?”
Swamiji laughed and said, “No, I have never practiced shooting.” The boys were confused, “Then how is it that you shot so well?” Swami Vivekananda replied, “Well, let me tell you a secret. Whatever
you do, concentrate all your attention on it. Think of nothing else. If you are shooting, keep your mind only on the target. Your aim will not fail. ”
I could hit the target because I could concentrate completely on the target
Concentration can work wonders.
Once Swami Vivekananda has said that
The power of concentration is the only key to the treasure-house of knowledge
That means one can’t gain the knowledge with DIVIDED FOCUS & DISTRACTED MIND,
You are a STUDENT right ?
You can gain Knowledge with only SINGLE FOCUS, NOT with DIVIDED FOCUS
Why don’t we remember ?
But generally when we study, only our senses are involved, our eyes & ears are involved in studies that’s it, BUT our mind keeps roaming somewhere else
And that is why we don’t remember what we read, don’t understand what we study
Because our MIND is not involved & focused
Now the burning question is that What DISTRACTS the Mind ? What breaks the FOCUS ?
Lack Of Goal
Research says that only 3% of the people in the world has the GOAL, rest of the people are just passing the life without goal
When you have NO GOAL, NO TARGET at hand, your mind will jump on to TEMPORARY PLEASURES & TEMPORARY ENTERTAINMENT
Right now you are reading this blog but if you don’t have any TARGET behind reading this blog then soon you will switch over to the other entertaining videos etc
Why ? Because you don’t have a GOAL
Remember one very very important FACT that,
EMPTY MIND is Devil’s Workshop
Empty Mind means Mind with NO GOAL !
And Mind with NO GOAL becomes DEVIL !
It will DISTRACT you, it will destroy you
So keep you mind ENGAGED in your goal but not EMPTY without Goal
If you will not DIRECT your Mind towards the GOAL then your Mind will DISTRACT you AWAY from the Goal
That’s for sure !
Not even God can save you from the ATTRACTIONS & DISTRACTIONS of worldly pleasures If you are not FOCUSED on your Goal
So, basically you must have GOAL to stay focused
But just setting a Goal is not ENOUGH to have Laser Sharp Focus
You need something compelling to get Laser Sharp focus
Let’s go to root level, What is the ROOT CAUSE of FOCUS ? What is that MAGNIFYING GLASS which brings all the rays of our Mind at the single point?
Before we reach to the answer, let me ask you one thing, Why can you FOCUS easily on playing Video Games, watching movies, playing sports, etc. ?
Why do you get EASILY focused on it ? And, why can’t you focus EASILY on study ?
What is the root cause of it ? The Root cause of FOCUS is, INTEREST Interest means PASSION & LOVE. Where there is Interest, Passion & love, Mind gets focused automatically & easily
INTEREST is that MAGNIFYING GLASS which brings all the rays of mind at the single point, it brings all the energy of Mind at the single point
MASTER SOLUTION FROM VACHANAMRUTAM
Now the question is that How can we develop (acquire) Interest for our Goal ? We don’t have INTEREST in Study & in other important goals of life, how to acquire the interest ? Before we reach to the answer, let me ask you few question, Why do people work hard to earn Money ? Why do people work out hard in the gym ? Why do people sweat in morning walk ? Why do people intake medicines even if they’re so bitter ? Why do people go for trekking the mountains ? Why do people go on pilgrimage by walking ? Is it really Easy & Comfortable to them ?
No !
Even though they DO it, they ENJOY it !!
WHY ?
Because they have understood some kind of IMPORTANCE, some kind of VALUE of it in their MIND, so they do it even if it’s PAINFUL to do !
They DO it with Interest because they understood the IMPORTANCE
Bhagwan Swaminarayan has given this Solution in Vachanamrutam that
One can develop LOVE by realizing the IMPORTANCE
You can develop Love, Interest & Passion by realizing the IMPORTANCE of that particular thing
People are INTERESTED in money because they have understood the importance & value of money in their mind
Similarly if you realize the Importance of anything, automatically you will develop interest & that interest will develop Laser Sharp Focus & that focus will lead to the Achievement of Goal!
This is the MASTER SOLUTION for developing Focus & concentration
Realize the Importance → Develop the Interest → Develop the laser sharp Focus → Achieve the Goal
How to overcome the distractions of TEMPORARY PLEASURES ?
How to convince our Mind to not get distracted in Temporary pleasures ? Bhagwan Swaminarayan has given ultimate solution in the Vachanamrutam, which you may not get elsewhere
ભગવાનના સુખને અતિશય જાણીને બીજાં જે જે પંચવિષયનાં સુખ તેને વિષે બુદ્ધિવાનને તુચ્છતા થઈ જાય છે.
“One can discard the temporary pleasures of world by realizing the greater pleasures in god,” (Panchala 1)
If you can show the PICTURE of GREATER PLEASURES to your Mind, mind will get convinced to give up the TEMPORARY PLEASURES. In childhood, you were playing with the toys but now are you playing with the toys ? No! Now you like to play video games, play cricket, football, basketball etc.
Why did your INTEREST shifted from TOYS to SPORTS ?
Because you realized the GREATER PLEASURES in SPORTS than playing with toys ! Similarly, If you can realize the greater pleasures in being successful as a doctor, engineer, scientist, businessman, etc. then you can easily SHIFT your INTEREST from temporary pleasures to your GOALS Mind gets convinced to sacrifice the TEMPORARY PLEASURES – SHORT-TERM BENEFITS if you SHOW the PICTURE of GREATER PLEASURES – LONG-TERM BENEFITS
But you have to show the PICTURE, mind thinks in picture. So, this is the Master Solution, Ultimate Solution to OVERCOME the Distractions & develop the long-lasting Concentration ! Today we understood the 2nd virtue of ideal student as Bakadhyanam. Laser Sharp Focus is the revolutionary virtue to become a Brilliant Student, Ideal Student
Let’s develop laser Sharp focus like Arjun, like Shastriji Maharaj, like Swami Vivekanand & achieve our goal