Jaina Gazette 1927

Author(s): J L Jaini, Ajitprasad
Publisher: Jaina Gazettee Office

Page 26

CONCENTRATION
11
indeed. Our object is first of all to know what the cause of the disturbance which comes in our way may be, and then to know how to remove it, and what steps to take in centralizing our thoughts. The disturbing influences may 's: mental, physical or moral. The physical difficulties are our c a physical surroundings : perhaps some person is making a noise at the time when we wish to concentrate the thoughts, and they cannot remain fixed and are drawn away. That is of course a physical difficulty There are mental difficulties also. We centralize our thoughts on some subject, the character of some great man, for instance, and the thought is drawn away to some other subject; thoughts about our own physical condition, or our own affairs, or certain matters of a worldly nature take away our thoughts from the central point. Other difficulties are of a moral character. A person's moral ideas depend on the kind of desires which he has, and on his object of life.
When the object of life is vicious or immoral, then these things also disturb the mind. How can we remove these disturb. ing influences ? First of all the physical difficulties must be removed. If the person is only of the ordinary mental calibre it is necessary that he should have some sort of outside help. If he has a strong will he can, merely by a continued exercise of the will force, concentrate his thoughts on whatever subject he likes, but for most persons help is necessary. The best way to avoid physical difficulties is to get away from them. Many persons are not able to stay in the midst of these difficulties, and in such a case they should seek some quiet place where they can think until they become able to concentrate their thoughts more easily. The great difficulty, however, lies in removing the mental and moral distractions. Mentality is indeed a great force, and that very power enables us to think on so many subjects. The disturbing influence comes in when we think on unimportant and useless subjects. When we find that our thoughts run in different directions, physical modes may assist us. Some persons are so nervous that they cannot keep still at all, and every part of their
body is always moving. Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat