" Master Mind "

P.Natarajan.




Master Mind is a board game for two players that may date back 40 years or so. One player becomes the code-maker and the other code-breaker. Master Mind is also a British Quiz Show well known for the challenging questions, intimidating settings, and air of seriousness. In these games the player has to be inept and sharp in his mind to anticipate the intricate moves of the opponent and push him in a way to a state of ' house-arrest'.

'Mastering the Mind' is a vital subject and is taken up for discussion in this article:-
Consciousness of the physical body is not so important where as keeping conscious about one's mind pay a lot of dividends in life. You may be sitting in front of the monitor, but there are chances that your mind will go up to Washington or Warsaw at the same time and return. The speed of the mind is astonishing that it could fly past Washington and around and return in a matter of seconds.
It is possible to forsake everything but not possible to control the roaming thoughts in the mind.

Picture depicts a 'Mind Wheel' with thoughts roaming.
This is especially true for an average man. May be those who lead a ritualistic and disciplined life can set their mind undisturbed in some selected tasks for some time only. For example, when we eat in a restaurant, a passing thought occurs in our mind that 'home-food' would be much hygienic, tastier and economical. As we take meals regularly only at home, sometimes the thoughts would go up to 'M.T.R. Restaurant' and start tasting a hot-hot masala-dosa. Similarly When we visit places like Chennai, our mind thinks " Bangalore is certainly cooler weather-wise ".. The mind weighs or takes a posture that the other side of the shore to be always greener. In a nut-shell the mind does not stay put at one place at a or any time.

The mind has two important functions to perform. It can make one to be aware of his true self.. Second it is the same mind that also prevents one from knowing himself. The tendency to have some superiority complex arises in the mind only. A gentleman of class learns to behave politely and his mind shows no pride in getting along with people. The first enemy to a person is his mind only and he has to overcome not only its weakness but also to conquer it to become a man of success.

The psychologists are of view that it is not the body alone which cause hyper tension. A very much stressed and tensed mind is also equally responsible. On the contrary if you can develop a mind set that you feel healthy, the beautiful mind can give you a conviction that you remain healthy physically too.


Picture showing Healthy Mind leads to Healthy Body

' The mind is the master ' and a determined mind can give the direction to bring credit to oneself and to those connected with him. The simplest way would be not to put the blame on others but to blame one self.
A person can take it up as an exercise by repeatedly blaming himself standing in front of the mirror. The image in the mirror reflects your conscious mind and when it repeats the message what you utter, the egoism, egotism or ego centric nature gets driven away and a submissive nature blossoms in ' THE BEAUTIFUL MIND '. A person can always lead others from this position by his conduct and render himself in a win-win position.

Persons like Gandhi, who was very strong and determined in his mind, belong to this class. That was the secret why he had millions of followers in India and abroad..

When mind is under control, it would direct the eyes to see right things or view things as right or in its natural form. It can direct the legs to trod on the right path only. The body language of a person will show signs of submissiveness, politeness. A person who minds his words and conduct gets easily accepted by others and become automatically a leader in his neighborhood.

Tobacco was after all a bunch of green leaves before they were processed to become dry and assumed the state for ready use. Many biological, inanimate objects are subject to some special processing techniques and get preserved for longevity. The mind also need to be trained steadily in continuum in order to obtain the will power and command over it.

I need to stress here that there are three attributes that are governed by the human mind. They are " Vivekam, Vairagya and Vichakshana " in Sanskrit. The intelligence quotient or the sixth sense is what is known as ' Vivekam '. ' The power to disown or the sense of detachment is known as ' Vairagya '. ' Vichakshana ' denotes the power of discrimination. A level headed person can look at things most objectively and examine with the help of these three attributes to make his decision which will prove to be wholesome in the long run.

'The presence of mind' - a key word which is often used, is the quality to apply one's wits appropriately and judiciously at a critical moment and come over the difficulty.. The absence of mind or an absent minded personality invites trouble for himself as his thoughts are elsewhere and not on the job on hand. He may not listen to the speaker nor take due precaution before commencing the job. He remembers things under coerced conditions in retrospect that put him in a big disadvantage.

The sign boards such as " Halt & Go ", " No Smoking Zone ", " Speed Limit ", "Keep Silence", 'School or Hospital Zone', "Zodiac Sign' become necessary to caution absent minded persons even though they may happen to go to such places habitually or quite often.

Control over the mind has to be developed from early hood by systematic training. A person can become dispassionate or refuses himself to be influenced by any desire once he masters his mind. He can make an elder-ado of anything or find peace under difficult circumstances.

Some inspirational quotes by way of highlighting the salient aspects discussed above are presented below to catch your attention and for analyzing the contents in a perspective, objective and conceptual way :-

* A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.
* No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
* People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
* Knowledge is proud that she knows so much; Wisdom is humble that she knows no more.
* No man is free who is not master of himself.
* Discipline is the bridge between goals and achievements.
* He who can conquer himself has won a greater victory than he who conquers a city.
* The Mind is a lousy Master but a Beautiful Servant. Realize that your mind remains always beautiful.
* The wisest man has something yet to learn.
* The secret of health for both Mind & Body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.
* The function of Wisdom is to discriminate between the good and the evil.
* If our thoughts and hopes are elsewhere it is impossible to set our faces steadily toward the work required of us.
* Some make it happen, Some watch it, and Some say " What Happened" ? Be discreet. !

pn