The key lies in your hands

Don’t lose heart if your grasping power, memory or reasoning is not so sharp or if your mind is intellectually weak or even underdeveloped. If continuous friction of a rope can leave marks on a stone then why can’t rigorous practice make the mind proficient in intellectual faculties? Indeed, it can. Life and works of Kalidas – the revered poet and scholar of Sanskrit language, stand as shining example in this context. This man was such a fool and blunt head that he would cut the same branch of a tree on which he was sitting. Awakening of self- respect kindled the grow of confidence in him. Sincerely, assiduity and dedicated studies became integral part of his nature and with elevated dedication and inner urge he could make glorious contributions to Sanskrit Literature and also reached the pinnacle of intellectual excellence. It should be remembered that success blossoms on the tree of motivated endeavors and perseverance – intellectual development is no exception to this universal fact.

Noting the importance of mental focus and the fact that can’t be imposed by compulsion, one should reorient and focus the attention of mind by inducing interest in objective. It is the basic tendency of mind to get pulled by entertainment, assurance and anything pertaining to self-interest. Appropriate conjunction of these factors helps diverting its inclinations in the aimed direction. For instance, suppose you basically don’t like Mathematics but you are required to study it well. Then, the first step towards preparing your mind for this purpose would be – appraise it of the benefits of learning Mathematics. Create an impressive imagination of the positive effects, the best outcomes of mastering this subject, etc. Expose it to interestingly written basic texts in Mathematical teaching.

Repeating the projections of the above sorts before the mind whenever it is in a relatively calm state would inspire curiosity and enthusiasm. Similarly, it could be prepared to study the subject of law with interest as and when a glimpse of the brighter aspects of future – e.g the goal of attaining the honorable title of a barrister / advocate and the materialistic gains and success thereafter – appears in its memory. Blissful imaginations of divine – realization, uniting with the Almighty and attaining absolute peace and liberation, and meeting spiritually enlightened people, would for example, induce spiritual motivation by similar effects on human mind.