WILL AND ITS POWER.

^BY

^{PROFESSOR S. V. RENGASAMI.}

^{Latent Light Culture,Tinnevelly Bridge.}

    Slowly out of the ruins of the past - like a young fern frond uncurling out of its brown litter the wonderful and mystical truths of Occultism, the buried and forgotten treasure of India are now transforming, in the modern light, into scientific truths and principles.

    I see a new life arise with the twentieth century and that inventive, enterprising, and far-seeing nation - the Americans have begun to get glimpses of our Vedas, Shastras and Puranas and are trying to put into practical use what we have muddled and thrown into our homes as useless, blinded by the materialistic views of the so-called civilisation of the present day.

    Man is born good and it is only his surroundings that mould his character in his future life. Even a spoiled character can best be transformed into one of supreme excellence by the aid of the 'Will.' Now by developing this will, man can, not only control his moral nature to any extent, but also bring into action or realise very extraordinary states of mind, that is, faculties, talents or abilities which he has never dreamt of to be within his power of realisation. Yet the stupendous power has been never grasped fully, by any, from the beginning of the time to the present day - not even by the rishis, sages and fakirs of Ind except by a very selected and gifted few. All that man thinks as mystic, supernatural and superhuman and that which lies in an invisible world is within him and in his reach. The key that will unlock this mystery is nothing but his Will.

    It has been repeatedly said and written by various men that it is marvellously good and desirable to have a strong mind and that one has simply to assert his will to gain anything. But unfortunately the 'how to do it' has hitherto been a mystery, as what was known to the adepts of India were hitherto jealously guarded with the proverbial Indian mystification.

    We shall, as far as possible and consistent with the ties we have formed, try to put the practical side of the question in this short article.

    Now when you enter the realm of practice, to control or strengthen the will, the first thing you have to do is to develop Attention and Interest. We shall now treat of Attention and Interest as it gradually leads to the development of will. The popular belief is that Interest is a special, heaven-sent gift and not one that can be acquired by human efforts. Interest cannot be created in one unless one strictly adheres to the social precept "listen politely and patiently." Such an enforced action deliberately trains you to acquire a shrewd intelligence. This enforced fixing of your mind is nothing but fore-thought. This in turn leads to attention and a firm determination. Gradually this attention develops interest in you. Attention is closely allied to memory. Without "memories" the matter we gather from continued attention will vanish. At times, whether we will or no, the memory of various actions and scenes are thrust upon as incessantly; and the want of concentration and strong will to resist unwelcome thoughts compel you to view the case in its various moods. Though you have sufficient time to deliberate upon it, yet the recurrence of the thing at every turn you take, makes you give it a worth and importance however trivial and unimportant it is. This is the gist of the power and effect of suggestion and a great secret of the trade. You know pretty well that one of the important sources of success to any business is continued advertisement. By the continued appearance of any matter in a newspaper or magazine, you are forced to read what it is and your successive readings create a desire in you to try the efficacy of the thing advertised. Thus without actually knowing or being in need of a thing, you go in to invest an amount in the purchase of the thing and the advertiser is no doubt by your purchase benefited though the thing bought is of no immediate use to you.

    Thus in the same way that pernicious habits are cultivated in our young men and they become as the usual phrase goes "as second nature." These habits by a mere effort of the Will can best be set aside and peace of mind and even of body obtained. The power of the mind acts beautifully even on the physical body of which we shall treat in extensor in another place.

    The great drawback with the general public is that they ignore the easy manuals on the impression that a mere collection of rudiments cannot have much in it. They forget that out of small that great things arise. Just a little attention before a thing is attempted, eases every burden and lightens every toil. As fore-thinking is the initiatory stage of hypnotism, that hypnotism can be successfully used to train the attention of persons habitually inattentive, though fore-thinking is in itself sufficient as both hypnotism and fore-thinking are gradual persuasion of the nervous system yet the former acts more forcibly, impresses and creates a deep rooted idea.

    Even in such an advanced state when the effects of hypnotism are widely known, many suffer from various causes of ill-health pertaining to the nervous system which could be set aside by mere effort of the will or by the aid of the hypnotic operator. Under such circumstances it is always advisable to accustom any such moral invalid to being hypnotised or willed a few times into a calm self controlled state.

    It has been experimentally proved that if one determinedly wills that an image, an idea or a thought conceived must recur or return at a certain future time, it returns correct and true to the time fixed. This especially can be easily tested by having an aim in view when one goes to sleep. When you wake up the first idea that comes across, is the particular one you wished to have.

    This kind of recurrence can greatly be facilitated by resolving to begin a task, with a little fore thought or fore-thinking process. This leads us to think that there is some magic virtue in sleep and it is known to preserve culture and ripen our mental activities. The time-honoured saying "sleep over the resolve and night brings counsel" proves this.

    This is a kind of Auto Hypnosis. Here it may be remarked that this sleep need not necessarily be a hypnotic one. Here ordinary sleep also works on similar lines, but its powers are limited; whereas the hypnotic sleep has unlimited powers and possibilities vested in itself.

    The Awakening of the will is a very interesting feature in the life of man. All life is purposeful and equally important. Every man has his own aims, ambitions and aspirations, and no man is ushered into existence whose work is not born with him. There is always work and tools in him to work withal, but some never care to utilize them in their life. They always fail in whatever they undertake, not because of their incapacity to succeed, but because of their indifference. They are duly paid for their negligence some time or other in life.

    Not so the man who succeeds' - the man of influence, or power. He has an important aim in life; he possesses the aptitude and perseverance to attain his goal, and the main secret of success lies in the fact that he is ready to avail himself of the opportunities which present themselves on his way. This is the man of will. He comprehends what is good and what is wrong. The more he learns of things in general, the more he aspires knowledge and, the more he understands how to select things, that bring success and the secret lies in the nature of 'choice' too and upon that depends his success or failure.

    The main key to every individual is his own thought force. Thought is the emanation of mind at work. The working of the human mind is the most marvellous activity known. The belief or the thought which one cherishes about oneself determines the nature of one's activities. He who cares to attain success in life, should first assume that he can do things. He must not be discouraged by failures. There is really no such thing as shame resulting in an honest attempt. His failure not only brings him knowledge but also experience, which repays him for his effort sometimes more richly than would have been the case had he succeeded in obtaining that which he aimed at. Every success is more or less the overcoming of failures. The noble Jesus taught the world that all things are possible to him that believeth. Believing what? Believing in "oneself". This believing in oneself of one's own powers is termed self confidence. A person who lacks self confidence, can with all safety develop it through the will. In the cultivation of self confidence, it is a good plan to affirm to oneself "I can", which is easily done by holding the idea and picturing within oneself that one is powerful enough to do anything and everything.

    A persistent affirmation that you do possess the qualities which are requisite for your success, and that you can develop them to their utmost capacity, aids wonderfully in acquiring the desired possession. If you lack courage or if you are a coward in some part of your nature, gradually begin to brace up your weak point by daily mental exercise based upon sound and systematic principles of science. Like an actor assume the part you would play with all the strength of your inner being, until you actually live his life and are surrounded by his atmosphere.

    Experienced actors tell us that they feel the characters they impersonate; that if they act the part of noble and heroic souls, they actually feel the noble impulses and the strong current of heroism assumed. On the other hand when they are playing a mean contemptible part they feel mean and debased.

    From the above you see that there is everything in assuming firmly and persistently the part you wish to play in life. Resolve and believe that you are noble, vigorous and strong. Never for an instant allow yourself to think that you are weak, mean and contemptible. When you continue exercising on the mental lines suggested above, after a time you will feel yourself in its full power within you and that will in its course retain the mental attitude as a permanent factor in your life. When I look about me what do I see? I see the great mass of people discontented with their present regime of life, and I cannot but help appreciating the necessity for a change in the mental state. The real cause of this depraved condition is the lack of knowledge on the part of the average individual as to the right method of controlling his mental machine.

    There is need today for intelligent, thoughtful consideration of the great questions that crowd upon us for attention and solution. A man is of the greatest value to the race when he becomes a centralised individual, fully developed in himself and equal to assuming his own responsibilities.

    As is well said in the beautiful words of Ridpath - the historian, "when liberty is born man's limbs are unbound; he straightway begins to flourish, to triumph, to be glorious. Then indeed he sends up the green and blossoming trees of his ambition. He grows in freedom, his philanthropy expands, his nature rises to a noble stature, he springs forward to grasp the great substance, the shadow of which he has seen in his dreams. What men want, what they need, what they hunger for, what they will one day have the courage to demand, is a freer manhood and more knowledge and intelligence. The right of free thought, free enquiry, and free speech to all men, everywhere, is as clear as the noonday and bounteous as the air and sea."

    What do you think is the basis for attaining this much coveted liberty? It is nothing but a firm determination and the mighty secret of the power of the will.

THE LATENT LIGHT CULTURE

TINNEVELLY BRIDGE.

 

S.V. RANGASAMI.