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Vitani
27 May 2012, 08:21 AM
Namaste all. I try to meditate sometimes, but I always feel so overcome with worry. I am a student and right now I am taking quite a few classes that keep me busy and even feeling stressed. So, when I try to meditate, thoughts come to my mind like, "did I remember to submit that assignment?" "Did I study enough for that test?"

My question is, are there any ways to calm my mind? For those of you that are students here, what do you do to help yourself remain calm?

Thank you all,

Vitani

IcyCosmic
27 May 2012, 09:12 AM
Hi 5. 18 year old student. My advice is remember that time that you idle away doing nothing merely thinking about work - but you feel not nearly as much sorrow doing those things, but when someone asks you do some work, you scream 'I MUST STUDY!'

Furthermore remember that it is not a waste of time, its time well spent on mastery of certain things, and time dedicated towards the divine, so you will surely benefit from it, as per the law of karma. That is my opinion. So listen to a mantra before meditating, whichever you like - and forget everything except the divine, sit down and concentrate on relaxing every part of your body. That is what my father taught me. You'll realise your neck, fingers, shoulders and certain parts of your body will be tense...so target every part and loosen them...hopefully you'll be fine!

Other members will give better advice but that is just my humble view

Mana
27 May 2012, 09:30 AM
हरिः ओम्


Namaste Vitani,


I would recommend swimming or some other form of rhythmic aerobic sport, this will help move the nervous energy at the
same time that it assists your breathing in becoming deeper, more regulated, the heart stronger. the heart is after all, the
central mechanism in this process, every thought has a root in the heart.

Are you breathing deeply into the stomach with your diaphragm, or into the top of the lungs; if it is into the lungs you will
notice your ribcage expanding? Take a few moments to notice how you breath, this is of the utmost importance.

Re read the above, as breathing is meditation!!!

The time of day that you meditate will have a great effect on your mind also. As has been uttered by so many for so long; the
morning before sunrise is the best most effective time for peace of mind, this will set you up spiritually for the day.

The key to remaining calm is, exactly that; not to become stressed in the first place.
Do you recite mantra whilst you meditating?

Meditation is letting go, knowing that you don't need to control your destiny, so you might need to change your
practise a little.

How about a new mantra to the divine Sarasvatī, whilst you are studying ... ?

What do you enjoy doing most?

My favourite way to meditate is in improvisation with my guitar, do you have any hobby's with which you can stop the whirling
of your mind?


Quite why the Western education system bases its all upon memorising things for regurgitation is quite beyond me, everything
focuses on competition and stress rather than true aptitude or real understanding; but that is a topic for another thread.


praṇāma


mana


ॐ नमः शिवाय
Aum Namaḥ Śivāya

yajvan
27 May 2012, 10:44 AM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté

regarding breath




It is said as prāṇa goes, so do the senses. He or she that manages/ befriends prāṇa is able to manage and control the various dimensions of prāṇa - the mind, taste, touch, etc.

you will find more here on this HDF post:
http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=3911

praṇām

ZarryT
29 May 2012, 04:55 PM
Namaste all. I try to meditate sometimes, but I always feel so overcome with worry. I am a student and right now I am taking quite a few classes that keep me busy and even feeling stressed. So, when I try to meditate, thoughts come to my mind like, "did I remember to submit that assignment?" "Did I study enough for that test?"

My question is, are there any ways to calm my mind? For those of you that are students here, what do you do to help yourself remain calm?

Thank you all,

Vitani



First i think it needs some clarification as to what your goals / purposes are for your meditative practice. The other posts in this thread are useful, but we can be more useful if we know a few things about your practice.

So i have a few questions for you, and then i might be able to say something useful.

1. Why are you meditating?

2. What are you meditating on / about?

3. What do you think 'meditation' is? / What exactly are you doing when you meditate?

Vitani
29 May 2012, 08:57 PM
Namaste ZarryT

Well, I have mala beads that I use to chant the mantra "Namah Shivaya." I unfortunately sometimes allow my mind to wander, but I try to concentrate on Shiva Linga when I meditate on the mala beads.

I hope that helps clarify a bit

Pranams

Vitani

saidevo
29 May 2012, 10:03 PM
namaste Vitani.

This website on Yoga meditation based on the HimAlayan tradition has information on how to control your thoughts during meditation:
http://www.swamij.com/

Sahasranama
29 May 2012, 10:24 PM
namaste Vitani.

This website on Yoga meditation based on the HimAlayan tradition has information on how to control your thoughts during meditation:
http://www.swamij.com/
There are two problems with this website:

1)The webmaster of this site is a shishya of the very controversial figure Swami Rama, who has been charged guilty with sexual abuse in court.

2)The webmaster of this site tries to separate yoga from Hinduism, pretending that Hinduism as a religion and yoga are two different things. He thinks that Hinduism is a perversion of yoga.

Therefore, I would avoid this website like the plague.

ZarryT
30 May 2012, 04:10 AM
Namaste ZarryT

Well, I have mala beads that I use to chant the mantra "Namah Shivaya." I unfortunately sometimes allow my mind to wander, but I try to concentrate on Shiva Linga when I meditate on the mala beads.

I hope that helps clarify a bit

Pranams

Vitani


If you could explicitly answer the three questions i gave you it would clarify it much more, since from this post I can only make inferences about your answers.

Maya3
30 May 2012, 05:35 AM
It helps to chant for a few minutes before you meditate. Also try to find a time during the day when you feel the most relaxed.
For me it's just before lunch and in the evening before dinner.
Your mind will wander, a lot. It takes years to learn to get really focused, probably life times. But stick with it when your mind wanders bring it back, just keep doing this over and over again, and eventually your mind will be more still.

Maya

devotee
30 May 2012, 06:47 AM
Namaste Vitani,


Namaste all. I try to meditate sometimes, but I always feel so overcome with worry. I am a student and right now I am taking quite a few classes that keep me busy and even feeling stressed. So, when I try to meditate, thoughts come to my mind like, "did I remember to submit that assignment?" "Did I study enough for that test?"

My question is, are there any ways to calm my mind? For those of you that are students here, what do you do to help yourself remain calm?


You must have a good time management to get rid of thoughts like, "Did I study enough ..." etc. because you are supposed to the worldly duty too. Please remember what Lord Krishna said in BG, "Maam anusmara yudhya cha" ===> Keep me in your mind and fight. So, Arjuna cannot leave aside his duty on the pretext that he was busy meditating on God ! God's wish is that Arjuna must fight too.

If you don't do your worldly duties and try to meditate, the thoughts arising out of not fulfilling your duties are bound to disturb you at the time of meditation. So, you must manage your time well.

However, when you sit for meditation, you must take leave from this world and its duties while you want to be with God. There can't be more important that spending sometime without any other thoughts with God alone. The world will not stop, if you stop working for an hour or so while you are meditating. Things can certainly wait ... unless there is some pressing urgency (in that case, the time of meditation should be changed) while you are meditating. Nothing great is going to be achieved in one hour if that could not be achieved in balance 23 hours ! So, free yourself from such thoughts and meditate. :)

OM

Jainarayan
30 May 2012, 09:43 AM
2)The webmaster of this site tries to separate yoga from Hinduism, pretending that Hinduism as a religion and yoga are two different things. He thinks that Hinduism is a perversion of yoga.

Really? That's a shame. We must be reading different pages.

http://www.swamij.com/index-yoga-meditation-yoga.htm
http://www.swamij.com/yoga-note.htm

Yoga



Throughout this website the word "Yoga" is used in its traditional meaning of spiritual realization, rather than the revisionist meaning of Yoga as a physical fitness program.

See also these related articles:






Modern Yoga versus Traditional Yoga (http://www.swamij.com/traditional-yoga.htm)
Yoga and the words Hindu and Hinduism (http://www.swamij.com/hindu-word.htm)Traditionally, Yoga (Sanskrit: union) has referred to the realization through direct experience of the preexisting union between Atman and Brahman, Jivatman and Paramatman, and Shiva and Shakti, or the realization of Purusha standing alone as separate from Prakriti. Yoga is the realization of union between the microcosm of individuality with the macrocosm of universality.
Yoga is the union of the
- Microcosm of individuality and the
- Macrocosm of universality
Yoga is the union of the
- Atman (Center of consciousness, Self; Vedanta) and
- Brahman (Absolute reality; Vedanta)
Yoga is the union of the
- Jivatman (Soul as consciousness plus traits; Vedanta) and
- Paramatman: (Self/soul as only consciousness; Vedanta)
Yoga is the union of
- Shiva (Static, latent, unchanging, masculine; Tantra) and
- Shakti (Active, manifesting, changing, feminine; Tantra)
Yoga is the dis-union of
- Purusha (Untainted consciousness; Sankyha-Yoga) and
- Prakriti (Primordial, unmanifest matter; Sankyha-Yoga)

Jainarayan
30 May 2012, 09:53 AM
Namaste.


Namaste all. I try to meditate sometimes, but I always feel so overcome with worry. ...

My question is, are there any ways to calm my mind? For those of you that are students here, what do you do to help yourself remain calm?

Thank you all,

Vitani

I've asked the same questions because my mind is like a ferret... scampering all over the place. The answers I've gotten have almost everything to do with breathing: concentrating on the breathing and on the mantra or nama.

I can't do japa/meditation with more than two syllables or breaths per rep. If I do OM, the inhale is silent, the exhale is OM, sounded (audibly or inaudibly) for as long as the exhale lasts. If I say Krishna, 'Kri-' is on the inhale, 'shna' is on the exhale; or 'Ra-' 'ma', or 'Ha-' 'ri'.

Take with grain of salt.

Sahasranama
30 May 2012, 07:15 PM
Really? That's a shame. We must be reading different pages.

http://www.swamij.com/index-yoga-meditation-yoga.htm
http://www.swamij.com/yoga-note.htm

He freely appropriates terminology from Hinduism, but that doesn't mean he thinks that Hinduism is an integral part of yoga. He thinks that they are separate and somehow got blended.

Read this page: http://www.swamij.com/religion.htm

This is how most postmodern yogis think, as is evident by the list of "yogis" at the end of the page who say that yoga is not a religion. If you are truly interested in yoga, you should study the premodern literature on yoga and avoid reading nonsense that is written to appeal to the secular western population with money to spend.

Vitani
30 May 2012, 08:10 PM
If you could explicitly answer the three questions i gave you it would clarify it much more, since from this post I can only make inferences about your answers.


Namaste ZarryT, I'm sorry. I will answer your questions directly.

1. Why are you meditating?

I am meditating to become closer to God; though, I am sure there are other reasons for meditation, but that is why I do it right now.



2. What are you meditating on / about?

I meditate on Shiva, mostly as Linga, and I usually recite "Namah Shivaya" on Malas.


3. What do you think 'meditation' is? / What exactly are you doing when you meditate?

Hmm. Well, I think meditation can be controlling the mind, the breath, and may even be a form of prayer. As I said, when I meditate, I chant the mantra above on mala beads

Pranams

Vitani

saidevo
30 May 2012, 09:09 PM
namaste Sahasranama.

I have long known about the Website www.swamij.com, have read at least once a good number of articles and have found them useful, traditional and in tune with Hindu teachings. Following your objections, I went through the Website once again and found the following articles: I still find that the author acknowledges Hinduism to be the source of Yoga and that his teachings are only based on the yogasUtras of Patanjali maharShi. The author prefers the word SanAtana Dharma to Hinduism and that is in fact more appropriate.

http://www.swamij.com/sanatana-dharma-what-is.htm
http://www.swamij.com/hindu-word.htm
http://www.swamij.com/timeline.htm
http://www.swamij.com/hindus-now.htm



There are two problems with this website:

1)The webmaster of this site is a shishya of the very controversial figure Swami Rama, who has been charged guilty with sexual abuse in court.

2)The webmaster of this site tries to separate yoga from Hinduism, pretending that Hinduism as a religion and yoga are two different things. He thinks that Hinduism is a perversion of yoga.

Therefore, I would avoid this website like the plague.

Sahasranama
30 May 2012, 09:25 PM
There is no good reason to say that the word Sanatana Dharma is more appropiate than the word Hinduism. These are just words and its more important how they are used in context. Sanatana Dharma = Hinduism. People who try to make a distinction often have a hidden agenda. The hidden agenda of this webmaster is to dissociate yoga from the Hindu religion which involves worship of deities, rituals and beliefs he cannot sell to an American audience.

saidevo
30 May 2012, 10:42 PM
namaste Sahasranama.

SanAtana Dharma is integrated with Hinduism, and as you say, "involves worship of deities, rituals and beliefs". Your perception about any hidden agenda by the author might be right or not, but we see here in HDF itself that almost all western Hindus, who prefer the word SanAtana Dharma naturally take to worship and rituals and find their happiness in them as much as in meditation. Western Hindus here prefer to call themselves that--not Western SanAtana dharmis, although some of them might not be favourably inclined towards India being their motherland.

• SwamiJ seems to favour the views of Universalists like Frank Morales, but he also seems to be with Adi Shankara: I was surprised to see a translation of Shankara's saundarya laharI in his Website:
http://swamij.com/saundaryalahari.htm

Besides, his another Website
https://sites.google.com/site/abhyasaashram/home
includes daily mantras such as aum namaH shivaya among other mantras that are also associated with bhakti sAdhana:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxhYmh5YXNhYXNocmFtfGd4OjJjYTJmYTkyOTI3MDVjYjk

• SwamiJ's views on worship are also not alien to what Shankara and other prominent Advaitin teachers have taught us:

From http://www.swamij.com/vedantic-meditation.htm
Vedanta has a theistic side, recognizing a cosmic creator (Ishvara) who rules over the universe through the law of karma. God is the supreme teacher, the highest guru from whom all true teachings arise by the power of the divine word. Vedantic theism takes many forms such as the worship of Shiva, Vishnu, and the Goddess. In fact, it can accommodate almost any form of theism that accepts karma and rebirth.
...
Yet surrender, though easy to conceive, is also a difficult process because it requires giving up the ego and all of our fears and desires that go with it. To facilitate this way of surrender is added chanting of Divine names and other devotional forms of worship. These can also be practiced along with knowledge-oriented techniques like Self-inquiry.

In the Vedanta we approach the Creator as a means of discovering our true Self, in which both the soul and God are one. Union with God is part of the process of Self-realization. The Deity worshipped is ultimately the same as oneself and we must come to see it in all beings. Until we see the Divine beloved within our own heart, our devotion has not yet reached its highest goal.

All this is not to support SwamiJ who is not my guru, but only to show that he is not against recognising India and Hinduism as the birthplace of Yoga, unlike many other Western gurus.


There is no good reason to say that the word Sanatana Dharma is more appropiate than the word Hinduism. These are just words and its more important how they are used in context. Sanatana Dharma = Hinduism. People who try to make a distinction often have a hidden agenda. The hidden agenda of this webmaster is to dissociate yoga from the Hindu religion which involves worship of deities, rituals and beliefs he cannot sell to an American audience.

Jainarayan
31 May 2012, 07:35 AM
Namaste.

I read that page. However, I don't see it the way you do, and that's perfectly fine. Admittedly I had to read it 2 or 3 times before I was satisfied that he was saying what I believe is correct. Everything is colored by personal views and point of view; again, that's perfectly fine.

Which is higher on the hierarchy: Hinduism or yoga? Is Hinduism within yoga or is yoga within Hinduism? Does yoga take precedence over Hinduism, or is it the other way around? Is Hinduism within puja or is puja within Hinduism? Is Hinduism within bhakti or is bhakti within Hinduism? Or are all of those inextricably linked?

To me, he takes great pains to distance "western" and "fitness" yoga" from what it is, "union", and its roots in Hinduism.The world is not black and white, my friend.

Like anything else, one has to look beyond the surface, beyond face value and beyond the words. Give some credit to the intelligence of the people that would read that site. Those are some things to consider before dismissing something out of hand.



He freely appropriates terminology from Hinduism, but that doesn't mean he thinks that Hinduism is an integral part of yoga. He thinks that they are separate and somehow got blended.

Read this page: http://www.swamij.com/religion.htm

This is how most postmodern yogis think, as is evident by the list of "yogis" at the end of the page who say that yoga is not a religion. If you are truly interested in yoga, you should study the premodern literature on yoga and avoid reading nonsense that is written to appeal to the secular western population with money to spend.

Jainarayan
31 May 2012, 07:52 AM
Namaste saidevo.


Your perception about any hidden agenda by the author might be right or not, but we see here in HDF itself that almost all western Hindus, who prefer the word SanAtana Dharma naturally take to worship and rituals and find their happiness in them as much as in meditation. Western Hindus here prefer to call themselves that--not Western SanAtana dharmis, although some of them might not be favourably inclined towards India being their motherland.

What you say is true, from the perspective of a western white Hindu... me. :D If I were to say Sanātana Dharma, people would look at me as if I had antlers. But they know the terms Hinduism and Hindu. The intelligent ones can separate the religion from Indian ethnicity. However, I will go on to explain what Sanātana Dharma means. Unfortunately many Indians and westerners cannot make the separation. But I don't think there are hidden agendas lurking around every corner and under every bed.

I was telling some stories to my family, and I was asked "so, are you a Buddhist"? :doh: I said "no, Hindu". Can you imagine the "huh, what?" I would have gotten had I said "Sanātana Dharma"?

As far as India being the motherland, it is the motherland of the faith and spirituality I follow. For that I have great respect. It's clear, however, that from a physical viewpoint, I am clearly not Indian. I barely resemble my Italian and Sicilian ancestors, much less an Indian. But if there is no physical connection now, there was at some time in the past, as far as I am concerned. I felt an affinity for India, Indians and Hinduism from a young age. But this is just one westerner's p.o.v. I believe you are right in that not all western Hindus feel that way.

Sahasranama
31 May 2012, 08:02 AM
Namaste.

Which is higher on the hierarchy: Hinduism or yoga? Is Hinduism within yoga or is yoga within Hinduism? Does yoga take precedence over Hinduism, or is it the other way around? Is Hinduism within puja or is puja within Hinduism? Is Hinduism within bhakti or is bhakti within Hinduism? Or are all of those inextricably linked? I am not talking about hierarchy. Yoga is an orthodox Hindu system of religious practice, based on Sankhya metaphysics with its foundation in Vedic literature and shares the same goal with all other systems of Hindu philosophy, excluding early mimamsa. Hinduism is the very fabric of yoga.


To me, he takes great pains to distance "western" and "fitness" yoga" from what it is, "union", and its roots in Hinduism.The world is not black and white, my friend. He also goes to great pain to separate religion from yoga to show that yoga is not distinctively Hindu and that yoga can be a universal practice that goes together with all religions.


Like anything else, one has to look beyond the surface, beyond face value and beyond the words. Give some credit to the intelligence of the people that would read that site. Those are some things to consider before dismissing something out of hand.I am looking beyond the surface, I am familiar with this website and with what various teachers in this lineage of Swami Rama have written and said. Those who do not look beyond the surface cannot see this hidden agenda and only see him using words like "Sanatana Dharma" and phrases like "spiritual yoga instead of physical yoga." This is only done to make oneself look superior to others.

This anti-Hindu snobbery was only the second part of my warning against this website. The first part of my warning, which should play a greater role in avoiding these writings, was the misconduct of the postmortem convicted felon and the guru of this webmaster, Swami Rama. Nevertheless, if you want to learn about religion transcending "spiritual" yoga from the chela of Jack the Ripper's incarnation as a Himalayan master, be my guest.

Jainarayan
31 May 2012, 08:17 AM
He also goes to great pain to separate religion from yoga to show that yoga is not distinctively Hindu and that yoga can be a universal practice that goes together with all religions.

So why can't it if one believes that Sanātana Dharma is the true way, despite the religion one follows to reach God, and at the heart of it all humans are part of Sanātana Dharma, even if they don't know it?

I'll tell you why it can't... when someone does not believe that any other genuine, faithful and devoted way to reach God is valid. There's the prejudice and bias that so many non-Indians and non-Hindus are accused of. Ironic, isn't it?

But now we're veering off into conversations about "paths" and that U-bomb word that have plagued this site too many times. With this I'll bow out and say we can and must agree to disagree.

Sahasranama
31 May 2012, 08:57 AM
So why can't it if one believes that Sanātana Dharma is the true way, despite the religion one follows to reach God, and at the heart of it all humans are part of Sanātana Dharma, even if they don't know it? I'll tell you why it can't... when someone does not believe that any other genuine, faithful and devoted way to reach God is valid. There's the prejudice and bias that so many non-Indians and non-Hindus are accused of. Ironic, isn't it?

This is a contradiction, you cannot belief that Sanatana Dharma, a.k.a. Hinduism is the true way, despite being a follower of another religion. Unless someone is mentally ill or is being threatened with violence to follow another religion, it's illogical to believe in the truth of Sanatana Dharma while still worshiping the J-man or any other non-Hindu god for that matter. As a Hindu believing that Christianity is not true is by no means similar to condoning the killing of heathens and condemning them to eternal hellfire, so there is no irony here.

Jainarayan
31 May 2012, 09:09 AM
This is a contradiction, you cannot belief that Sanatana Dharma, a.k.a. Hinduism is the true way, despite being a follower of another religion. Unless someone is mentally ill or is being threatened with violence to follow another religion, it's illogical to believe in the truth of Sanatana Dharma while still worshiping the J-man or any other non-Hindu god for that matter. As a Hindu believing that Christianity is an invalid path that does not lead to moksha is by no means similar to condoning the killing of heathens and condemning them to eternal hellfire, so there is no irony here.

There is no contradiction. Think deeply on it.

Sahasranama
31 May 2012, 09:13 AM
The contradiction is very simple, Christianity is incongruent with yoga and Sanatana Dharma. You cannot be a Christian and a practitioner of Sanatana Dharma or yoga at the same time.

ZarryT
31 May 2012, 09:24 AM
O.k. great, i'll make a few comments about each of your answers and then give a general summary of what meditation is to me; take it with a pinch of salt, since my views might be considered a little controversial.



Namaste ZarryT, I'm sorry. I will answer your questions directly.

1. Why are you meditating?

I am meditating to become closer to God; though, I am sure there are other reasons for meditation, but that is why I do it right now.



A further question: what do you think it means to become closer to God? Perhaps it might be worth considering that if emptying your mind and staying focused isn't the chief goal of your meditation, then it might also be the case that it's o.k. for your mind to wander!

And what do you mean by God?




2. What are you meditating on / about?

I meditate on Shiva, mostly as Linga, and I usually recite "Namah Shivaya" on Malas.



when you say you meditate on Shiva, what do you mean precisely? What sort of thoughts are you bringing to mind, what details? What is it exactly that you do other than mantra recital?



3. What do you think 'meditation' is? / What exactly are you doing when you meditate?

Hmm. Well, I think meditation can be controlling the mind, the breath, and may even be a form of prayer. As I said, when I meditate, I chant the mantra above on mala beads

Pranams

Vitani

There is a great distinction between control and observance. For me, meditation is all about one thing: the way in which you actively direct your attention. Meditation is about paying attention to particular things.

If you want closeness to god, then direct your attention towards every element of your sensory experience; pay attention to every detail in your vision, every sound, every feeling of every inch of your body. Starting this way instantly calms the mind, since it's something we so rarely do; it's a new activity, and new activities are compelling and absorb our attention.

Start by focusing on your vision. Then add sounds; start seeing what you can hear in each moment. Notice the transience; how everything constantly changes, even those things which appear static / still. You'll see that the very manner in which you observe / notice / pay attention changes; the lines and corners of objects shift and move whilst staying the same...

"the more it changes, the more it stays the same".


As for breathing; perhaps try to pay attention to your breathing, rather than trying to control it. Watch and feel your breathing, but don't concern yourself with trying to "breathe correctly", as this is silly - you breathe! you're a human! we do this regardless!

Watch how sometimes, you are actively breathing... you are doing the breathing - watch also how sometimes you are not doing it, it happens on its own. Watch this contradiction, contemplate it's possibility, try and spot the distinction.

The biggest thing is don't try to do it "correctly" - just absorb. Meditate for the sake of meditation.

I have lots more to say but i'm trying to keep it relevant, ask more questions :)

silence_speaks
13 June 2012, 07:38 AM
Hi All,
:)

This is a very nice problem. Let us look at it carefully.
suppose I am seated in meditation and I have told my mind "Say OM Namah Sivaya" ... and it however has its own agenda :) ... suppose it says , I'll instead bring out thoughts about Siva, a friend who lives in chennai ! what is the basic problem ?

Please see friend. We need to tackle at the root of the issue, not the offshoots. And I would request all sincere seekers to give me a little time as I go about building this up. Many people do not like a "big post" --- but I am sure that a sincere seeker would not be mind reading a big article on this, esp if it is useful.

So here is the point... Why is the mind doing something else, when its told to simply chant ? Friends, mind is an instrument. Like a microphone or perhaps a neural machine. And it has ingrained neural network ... lets explore how this works a little. Suppose I see a cat. what happens is, the light from the object falls on my retina, and a few neurons there "Fire". The neurons have a energy level, beyond which they fire. So these neurons got excited due to the light that fell on it and they fire.

And between two neurons there can be three kinds of relationships:
a) no connection.
b) A positive connection: meaning the synaptic junctions and weights are so designed that whenever one of them fires, the other also has a tendency to fire.
c) A negative connection: whenever one of them fires, it inhibits the other from firing.

This is how our whole neural system is designed. So when I see a cat, it fires a few neurons in retina and then they in turn fire a few other neurons and inhibit a few others ... which inturn do the same and this goes on ... and then the whole network "Converges" :). Converges to what ? The Form Cat, Recognition about the Cat, your feelings, ideas etc about the cat and so on...

So all these are "recollected" and based on our "mood", the mind has a tendency to go in a certain direction.
its the mood that directs the next thoughts/ neural movements.
the mood is also a "Background" set of neurons that remain "Fired". They are the "background" set of neurons that are active and which trigger or inhibit certain other neurons from firing.

Do we see this please ? so ... when i have just seen a ghost movie and returned ... I am in a "Fear" mood ... if i see a shadow now ... it triggers lot of fear.

Thats why someone reads Swami Vivekananda and is inspired. Now this person is in that mood ... certain neuron are already active... and if he faces with a situation thats challenging, he would Face it Fearlessly.

unfortunately, he will lose this "inspiration" after some time.

When I sit down for chanting ... if we can remove all the background mood ... other than that of total surrender ... or total vairagya ... the mind wont move. coz mind is just an instrument. it functions based on our attitude.

so japa is an act ... the background attitude is what decides how we go about it.
if the attitude we have is incorrect ... if the overall mood is not properly prepared ... mind keeps jumping to other things.

There is really nothing that can create the mood or background attitude towards life better than Vedanta Sravanam.

anyways, I stop at this point ... would expect people to read and then come up with questions on it before proceeding any further.