Mind--Its Mysteries and Control - The Divine Life Society

MIND—ITS MYSTERIES AND CONTROL
anything as you are very anxious to see your loving father. You even run the whole distance and
reach the place within a couple of hours. Then you begin to wonder, “What! I was myself very sick.
The day was very hot. I have covered a distance of twenty miles within two hours. What a marvel it
is!” This clearly shows that you are, in reality, all-powerful. The mind possesses various kinds of
powers and faculties. They lie dormant. You will have to awaken them.
THE SIX IMPORTANT POWERS OF MIND
There are three Saktis (powers, potencies) in the mind, viz., Ichha Sakti (Will), Kriya Sakti
(Action) and Jnana Sakti (Knowledge). A desire arises in the mind. This is Ichha Sakti. The mind
exerts to have this desire gratified. This is Kriya Sakti. It plans, schemes and finds out methods, etc.,
for the achievement of the desired object. This is Jnana Sakti.
Vedana-Sakti (power of perception), Smarana-Sakti or Smriti-Sakti (power of memory),
Bhavana-Sakti (Power of imagination), Manisha-Sakti (power of judgment), Ichha-Sakti or
Sankalpa-Sakti (will or volition) and Dharana-Sakti (power to hold) are the six important powers of
the mind.
Vedana-Sakti
Vedana-Sakti is power of cognition or sensation or power of perception and knowing
through Indriyas or senses (Indriya-Jnana or sense-knowledge).
Smriti-Sakti
The Smriti-Sakti does three things. It grasps. It holds. It brings to memory whenever a thing
is needed. Though the power of grasping is done by the Vedana-Sakti of the mind (power of
perception or cognition), the Smriti-Sakti also participates in the act of grasping.
Suppose you hear the sound of a bell in the temple. The memory Sakti grasps it. Then it
retains it through Dharana. When you hear again the sound of the temple bell, it at once reminds
you, “This is the temple bell. This is not the hostel bell.”
In Dhyana, the mind grasps and takes possession of its perceptions or judgments. It makes
the content of the idea its own. It strengthens the Samskaras so that a voluntary recall is rendered
easy.
Bhavana-Sakti
You have never seen an elephant riding a cycle. When a man, who has actually seen it, gives
you a description, your mind forms a mental picture at once. This is done by the Bhavana-Sakti
(power of imagination) of the mind.
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