Guiding Light: One thing at a time

They asked a woman saint, “How did you arrive at the lofty heights you have reached? What was the tapasya you performed to attain such a state? We always find you smiling and cheerful. Pray, tell us what is the secret of this happy state!”

The saint replied, “My secret is a very simple one. When I eat, I eat. When I work, I work. When I sleep, I sleep.”

The people were puzzled. They said to her, “But that is what we do, too! We eat when we eat; we work when we work and we sleep when we sleep.”

“No,” she said. “When you eat, your mind travels far. You think of so many things that you are not even aware of the food you are eating. You don’t enjoy the food. You should taste every morsel, chew it, swallow it. Alas, you don’t do this! And when you work, you are thinking of a thousand things. You must live in the present!”

Let us learn to do only one thing at a time. Doing more than one thing divides your attention and multiplies your stress. When you are talking to someone, give him or her your full attention. It may be just a little matter – but it saves you from considerable stress. Give your best to what you are doing at any given moment. Let all your energy and attention be focused on the task at hand. When the mind is one-pointed, it becomes capable of concentration and is free from tension.

Dada J P Vaswani is a humanitarian, philosopher, educator, acclaimed writer, powerful orator, messiah of ahimsa, and non-sectarian spiritual leader

Published on: Tuesday, February 07, 2023, 06:00 AM IST