________________
HOW TO INCREASE MEMORY AND BRAINPOWER
Shatavadhani Pujya Gurudev Shri Manak Muniji Maharaj
Here we will discuss some techniques and simple ways to increase our memory, brainpower, and the concentration of the mind. Our brain has an infinite amount of knowledge. Our mind has endless power. Everything, such as heaven and hell, pleasure and pain, happiness and sorrow, and bandh and moksh, is in our mind. A controlled and balanced mind is the heaven, and an uncontrolled mind is the hell. Whether we want heaven or hell is our choice.
Everything in the universe, including the human body, is a miracle. The human brain is the greatest miracle in the whole universe. According to medical scientists, the brain consists of more than 100 billion individual nerve cells called neurons. The brain is the control center of our whole body. It consumes 25% of all metabolic energy. Our brain constitutes only 2% of our body's weight. Such a small things has incredible power. Can you imagine that we have a super computer, super television, super VCR, sophisticated tape recorder, and super communication system in our brain? Can science make such a powerful instrument?
We are lucky that we have a powerful brain. But do you know how much brainpower we use in our whole life? Only 2 to 9% of the total brainpower is used. Can you believe that Einstein, the greatest scientist and the most intelligent person of this century, used only 8% of his brainpower? If only 8% of the brain is so powerful, then imagine how powerful 80 to 90% of the developed brain would be. Is it possible? The answer is yes.
In India, there are many yogis and sadhus who have developed their brainpower to a very high extent, by the practice of yoga and meditation, by self-discipline and self-realization.
To learn, think, and memorize are the three basic functions of our brain. What we learn in
life depends on our memory. We learn amazing numbers of different things, thousands of names, dates, formulas, methods, and so many other things. Of course all this learning would be useless if we could not remember. Memory is the root of knowledge. Without memory, we would respond to every situation as if we had never experienced it. The value of memory is also shown by the fact that we reason and make judgment on the basis of remembered facts. We are able to deal with time, relating the present to the past, and making predictions about the future, all due to what is stored in our memory. The use and the capacity of the human memory are indeed amazing. We can store billions of pieces of information in our memory. Our two-pound brain can store more than today's most advanced computers.
The lack of memory is our biggest problem. We tend to forget things we would like to remember. We forget names, numbers, birthdays, appointments, and so many other things. We forget what we learned in school or in college, sometimes soon after we have completed an examination, and sometimes even before the examination. So many students say "Oh, in the exam, I knew the answer or solution to the mathematical problem, but at that moment, I forgot, my mind was blank!"
In our life we read a lot, listen a lot, visualize a lot, and write a lot. But the question is, how much of all this can be remembered? If we cannot remember, reading, writing, listening, and everything is useless.
Sometimes you read a book and after you have completed reading someone asks, "What have you read in this book?" You will say, “I don't remember" or you may recall only 10 to 20 lines. What then was the use of reading that book? You have wasted your time and energy.
126
Jain Education Intemational 2010_03
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
