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A Series of Lessons in Raja Yoga560
and consideration to a new subject, he suspended further work upon it,
and allowed his mind (under concentrated attention) to bring forth all his
associated knowledge regarding the subject, after which he renewed the
task with increased power and efficiency.
The more one’s attention is fixed upon a subject under consideration, the
deeper is the impression which the subject leaves upon the mind. And the
easier will it be for him to afterwards pursue the same train of thought and
work.
Attention is a prerequisite of good memory, and in fact there can be
no memory at all unless some degree of attention is given. The degree of
memory depends upon the degree of attention and interest. And when it
is considered that the work of today is made efficient by the memory of
things learned yesterday, the day before yesterday, and so on, it is seen that
the degree of attention given today regulates the quality of the work of
tomorrow.
Some authorities have described Genius as the result of great powers of
attention, or, at least, that the two seem to run together. Some writer has said
that “possibly the best definition of genius is the power of concentrating
upon some one given subject until its possibilities are exhausted and
absorbed.” Simpson has said that “The power and habit of thinking closely
and continuously upon the subject at hand, to the exclusion, for the time,
of all other subjects, is one of the principal, if, indeed, not the principal,
means of success.” Sir Isaac Newton has told us his plan of absorbing
information and knowledge. He has stated that he would keep the subject
under consideration before him continually, and then would wait till the first
dawning of perception gradually brightened into a clear light, little by little.
A mental sunrise, in fact.
That sage observer, Dr. Abercrombie, has written that he considered that
he knew of no more important rule for rising to eminence in any profession
or occupation than the ability to do one thing at a time, avoiding all
distracting and diverting objects or subjects, and keeping the leading matter