Harnessing Inner Potential

Harnessing Inner Potential HIS ALCOHOLISM BECAME A quotidian habit. Dharmendra was making a last-ditch effort as he boarded a flight from Jaipur to the Art of Living Ashram at Bangalore. Fortuitously, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had given him an appointment at 4pm that evening. Stinking of liquor, reeking of stale cigarettes, with an unsteady gait he landed at Bangalore airport. He needed a physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional, parachute. Only a ‘Master’ through grace could provide such a life support system. For some time, my friend was trying to seek redemption from the lethal disease of alcoholism. My inventory list was prepared: join a rehab, attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and undertake the Happiness Programme of the Art of Living. This was my road to sobriety. Gurudev, advanced the appointment to 11am, and on one glance asked my friend to get admitted to the Ayurveda Hospital in the Ashram for a complete detoxification of body, mind and soul, and after a 15-day rehab to undergo the Happiness Programme. T Harvekar, a psychologist writes, “If we challenge our minds and ourselves and make our container larger, we will watch the universe rush in to fill in the space.” The Guru had scripted a change in the life of Dharmendra, it was for his mind to grab the opportunity. But the monkey mind invented an excuse and Dharmendra left the Ayurveda Hospital and once again indulged in brinkmanship. He could not draw the redlines or flag the issues confronting his mind and succumbed to temptation. This typifies a weak and a fragmented mind. While the brain is an organ that serves as the centre of the nervous system, the mind is the faculty of consciousness and thoughts. It is an individual’s intellect, memory or the attention span and will, whose potential needs to be enhanced. It is said that vultures feed on the carcass of history. Similarly, my friend was not living in the present moment rather he was feeding on the past with no window of opportunity to escape the conundrum. Buddha further said, “Do not dwell in the past and do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” Such individuals are unable to break the patterns and barriers of the comfort zone. Their prana levels are exceedingly low. low and the pendulum of their mind’s swings to the past. They carry the burden of the past and attempt a course correction without any professional help (Guru) displaying false bravado in their imaginary worlds. They unfailingly try to also change the behavioural patterns of those close to them, essentially to market their point of view. Such minds invariably resort to short cuts in life, trying to please everyone without any success. Ignoring the larger picture, this is a cunning and selfish mind, which does not trust anyone: basically, short of confidence and haunted by fear. The human mind is an enigma. It has enormous