SURE WAYS TO SUCCESS IN LIFE AND GOD-REALISATION
BY SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA
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CHAPTER THREE
PSYCHIC INFLUENCE
PERSONALITY
In common parlance, when one says that Dr. Tagore has a good
personality, he means that Dr. Tagore has a strong, stalwart, tall
figure, a beautiful complexion, a fine nose, sharp and lustrous eyes,
broad chest, a muscular body, symmetrical limbs, curly hair, and so
on. That which distinguishes one man from another is personality. In
reality, personality is something more than this. It includes a man's
character, intelligence, noble qualities, moral conduct, intellectual
attainments, certain striking faculties, special traits or
characteristics, sweet powerful voice, etc. All these things put
together constitute the personality of Mr. So and so. The sum-total
of all these things make up the personality of a man. Mere physical
characteristics alone cannot make up the personality.
If one man is able to influence many people, we say that such and
such a man has magnetic personality. A fully blown Yogi or Jnani is
the greatest personality in the world. He may be of a small stature.
He may look ugly also. He may be clad in rags. And yet, he is a
mighty personality - a great Mahatma. People flock to him in
thousands and pay homage. A man who has attained ethical perfection
by continued practice of right conduct (Yama and Niyama) has also got
a magnetic personality. He can influence millions; but he is inferior
to a Jnani or a Yogi who has got full knowledge of the Self.
Dr. Samuel Johnson had an awkward figure, a pot-belly and
unsymmetrical limbs. But he was the greatest personality of his age.
He was neither a Yogi nor a Jnani; but he had intellectual
attainments. He was a great essayist. He had good command of the
English language. He is famous for his bombastic style. It is called
Johnsonian English. Just hear some of his lines: "Will you be kind
enough to allow my digits into your odoriferous concavity and extract
therefrom some of the pulverised atoms which, ascending my nasal
promontory, cause a great titillation of all my olfactory nerves?"
Rich people also have got some personality. This is due to the `money-
power'. They may be licentious. Money has its own share in the making
up of the personality of a man. It infuses in him a sort of
colouring. The charitable nature may cover up the licentious nature
and may send some fragrance abroad. People flock to him. Lord Jesus
says: "Charity covereth multitude of sins."
Character gives a strong personality to man. People respect a man who
has good character. Moral people command respect everywhere. He who
is honest, sincere, truthful, kind and liberal-hearted, always
commands respect and influence at the hands of people. Sattvic
virtues make a man divine. He who speaks the truth and practises
Brahmacharya becomes a great and dynamic personality. Even if he
speaks a single word, there is power in it and people are magnetised.
Character-building is of paramount importance if a man wants to
develop his personality. Brahmacharya is the root of a magnetic
personality. No development of a strong personality is possible
without celibacy.
Personality can be developed. Practice of virtues is indispensable.
One should try to be always cheerful. A morose, gloomy man cannot
attract and influence people. He is an infectious parasite amidst
society. He spreads gloom everywhere. A man of pleasant nature with
the spirit of service, with humility and obedience, can influence
millions. The law of "like attracts like" operates in the physical
and mental planes. A man of strong personality need not send
invitations to people. Just as bees come and perch as soon as flowers
blossom, so also, people of lesser minds are attracted to men of
strong personality of their own accord.
A powerful, sweet voice, knowledge of music, knowledge of astrology,
astronomy, palmistry, art, etc., add to the personality of man. One
should know how to behave and adjust himself with other people. You
must talk sweetly and gently. This produces a tremendous impression.
You must be polite, civil, courteous. You must treat others with
respect and consideration. He who shows respect to others is
respected in turn. Humility brings respect by itself. Humility is a
virtue that subdues the hearts of others. A man of humility is a
powerful magnet or loadstone.
You must know the ways and means to approach people. You must know
how to talk with them and how to behave towards them. Behaviour is
important. An arrogant, stubborn and self-willed man can never become
a man of strong personality. He is disliked by all.
Develop joyful nature. Always keep a smiling and cheerful face. This
will give you a good personality. People will like you much. Your
superiors will be very much pleased. Have an amiable nature, a modest
and unassuming temperament. You will succeed in your interviews with
highly-placed gentlemen. Take down notes of what you want to speak
with them in the course of the interview. Keep a small memorandum
slip in your pocket. Remember the points well and talk slowly and
gently. Then the man will patiently hear. Be not agitated in your
speech. Do not become nervous. Be bold. Pay respect with sincerity as
soon as you see the person. Do not stand erect like the proverbial
man who holds the gas-light in a marriage procession. Gently bow your
head with feeling. The man will be immensely pleased. He will be glad
to receive you with a depth of feeling and you will get success in
your interview. Talk about the important points first, and just
review in your mind whether you have finished all the points you
wanted to talk. In the West, people care for personality. In India,
people care for individuality and assert: "Aham Asmi," which means "I
exist." They try to destroy the personality to realise the Self.
Endeavour to possess a magnetic personality. Try to possess that
strange and mysterious power, personal magnetism, which charms and
fascinates people. Understand the secrets of personal influence.
Develop your will-power. Conserve all leaking energy. Enjoy robust,
blooming health and a high standard of vigour and vitality, and
achieve social and financial success in every walk of life. If you
can understand the amazing secrets of personal influence, you can
increase the earning capacity and can have a broader and happier life.
A strong personality is a very valuable asset for you. You can
develop it if you will. "Where there is a will, there is a way," is a
maxim which is as true today as it was from the beginning of Adam.
Win laurels of name and fame and attain success in life through a
dynamic personality. You can do it. You must do it. You know the
science now. I shall back you up.
POWER OF SUGGESTION
You should have a clear understanding of suggestions and their
effects upon the mind. You should be careful in the use of
suggestion. Never give wrong suggestion which may bring destructive
results to anybody: you will be doing a great harm and a disservice.
Think well before you speak. Teachers and professors should have a
thorough knowledge of the `science of suggestion' and `auto-
suggestion'. Then they can educate and elevate the students in an
efficient manner. In South India, when children cry, parents frighten
them by saying: "Look here, Balu! Irendu-kannan (the two-eyed man)
has come. Keep quiet or I will hand you over to this man." "Poochandi
(ghost) has come." Suggestions of this sort are very destructive. The
child becomes timid. The minds of children are elastic, tender and
pliable. Samskaras are indelibly impressed at this age. Changing or
obliterating the Samskaras becomes impossible when they grow. When
the child grows into a man, he manifests timidity. Parents should
infuse courage into the minds of their children. They should
say: "Here is a lion. See the lion in this picture. Roar like a lion.
Be courageous. See this picture of Sivaji or Arjuna. Become
chivalrous." In the West, teachers show the pictures of battlefields
to the children and say: "Look here, James! See this picture of
Napoleon. Look at his cavalry. Won't you like to become a Commander-
in-Chief of the army or a Brigadier-general? " They infuse courage
into the minds of children from their very childhood. When they grow,
these Samskaras get strengthened by additional external stimuli.
Doctors should have a thorough knowledge of the science of
suggestion. Sincere and sympathetic doctors are very rare. Doctors
who have no knowledge of suggestion do more harm than good. They kill
patients sometimes by unnecessarily frightening them. If there is a
little cough of an ordinary nature, the doctor says: "Now, my friend,
you have got T.B. You must go to Bhowali or Kasauli or Madanapalli.
You must go in for a course of tuberculin injections." The poor
patient is frightened. There is not at all any sign of consumption.
The case is an ordinary one. It is simple catarrah of the chest from
exposure to chills. The patient actually develops Pthisis by fright
and worry, owing to the wrong destructive suggestion of the doctor.
The doctor ought to have told him: "Oh, it is nothing. It is simple
cold. You will be all right by tomorrow. Take a purgative and inhale
oil of eucalyptus. Adjust your diet. It is better you fast today."
Such a doctor is God himself. He must be adored. A doctor may say
now: "Well sir, if I say so, I will lose my practice. I cannot pull
on in this world." This is a mistake. Truth always gains victory.
People will run to you as you are sympathetic and kind. You will have
a roaring practice.
There is healing by suggestion. This is a drugless treatment. This is
suggestive therapeutics. By good and powerful suggestions, you can
cure any disease. You will have to learn this science and practise
it. All doctors of Homoeopathic, Allopathic, Ayurvedic and Unani
systems should know this science. They can combine this system along
with their own. They will have a roaring practice by this happy
combination.
Do not be easily influenced by the suggestions of others. Have your
own sense of individuality. A strong suggestion. though it does not
influence the subject immediately, will operate in due course. It
will never go in vain.
We all live in a world of suggestions. Our character is daily
modified unconsciously by association with others. We unconsciously
imitate the actions of those whom we admire. We daily absorb the
suggestions of those with whom we come in daily contact. We are acted
upon by these suggestions. A man of weak mind yields to the
suggestions of a man of strong mind.
The servant is always under the influence of the suggestions of his
master. The wife is under the influence of the suggestions of her
husband. The patient is under the influence of the suggestions of the
doctor. The student is under the influence of the teacher. Custom is
nothing but the product of suggestion. The dress that you put on, the
manners, the behaviour, and even the food that you eat, are all the
outcome of suggestions only. Nature suggests in various ways. The
running rivers, the shining sun, the fragrant flowers, the growing
trees are all incessantly sending you suggestions.
All the prophets of yore were hypnotists. They knew the `science of
suggestion' fully well. Their words had tremendous power. Every word
they uttered had magical power and a peculiar charm. All the hearers
remained spellbound. A spiritual preacher produces a sort of hypnosis
in the minds of hearers. The audience come under the influence of his
suggestions.
There is power in every word that is spoken. There are two kinds of
Vrittis, viz., Sakti Vritti and Lakshana Vritti in words. In the
Upanishads, the Lakshana Vritti is taken. "Veda Svaroopam" does not
mean "embodiment of Vedas." The Lakshana Vritti does denote "Brahman"
who can be reached by the study of the Upanishads alone and by the
Sabda Pramana alone.
Mark here the power in words. If any one calls another "Ullu"
or "Badmash" or "fool," he is thrown into a state of fury
immediately. Fight ensues. If you address any one as "Bhagavan"
or "Prabho" or "Sir," he is immediately pleased.
Steve Boodram
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