Aug 22 Memory Culture

Take up memory culture. Take to any exercise that suits you best and put it into daily practice. Keep a daily record - this is very important. Mere skipping over the pages will not do. You will not be benefited. If you really want rapid improvement, if you want to become a real man, put the lessons into practice and take down notes. You can watch your progress and correct your mistakes.

Learn the art of extracting work from the subconscious mind. If you want to remember a forgotten passage, give a definite message to the subconscious mind just before you retire to bed. Talk to the subconscious mind, just as you would talk to a friend. Give the order in clear terms. The following morning it will place the words before you. If this fails, wait with a calm mind till the answer comes from the subconscious mind itself.

After you are well up in memory culture, you can take up will culture. Success in memory culture will give you a great impetus in will culture. You will rejoice now. You will train every nerve in the practice of will culture. You have started the current and it will keep up your zeal and enthusiasm.

Practise the assertions boldly and calmly. Fully understand the meaning of every assertion. Try to feel it. This feeling will slowly manifest. Do not be discouraged. You will have to fight your old enemies, the old samskaras. Try to develop patience, attention, power of endurance, balance of mind, presence of mind and so on.

Pay great attention to this; you will derive great benefit from it. Will is dynamic soul-force. If rendered pure and irresistible, it can work wonders. There is nothing you cannot achieve with a strong will. The majority of persons have no consciousness of will or mind or intellect, though they talk much of 'will' and 'mind'.

The will has become impure and weak through vasanas (desires). When a desire is controlled it becomes changed into will. Sexual energy, muscular energy, anger, etc., are all transmuted into will-force when they are controlled. The fewer the desires, the stronger the will.

The force of brahmacharya is at the back of will. No will culture is possible without brahmacharya. Will is another name for the force of celibacy. Satsankalpa is the pure willing of jnanis. They can do anything through satsankalpa.