Limitless is the Power of a Controlled Mind

Swami Vivekananda once happened to visit Hyderbadad. Swamiji had heard about a Brahmin, who lived there, that he had some mysterious powers by which he could materialize anything anywhere. He was a highborn merchant of repute. Swamiji went to him and requested him to exhibit his miraculous powers. The merchant, however, was bed-ridden with some illness. There is a generally prevalent belief in India that a man's illness disappears if a holy man places his hand on the ailing man's head. The merchant appealed to Swamiji, "Swamiji, if you kindly put your hand on my head, my fever will disappear, and then I can show you miracles". Swamiji agreed to do so.

The man kept nothing but a loin cloth on his body; he had removed all other clothes. As the days were cold, he was given blanket to cover himself. Quite a large crowd and gathered there. Having covered himself with the blanket, the man went and sat in a corner. Then he said, "Please, give me in writing the names of things that you want me to materialize for you." Everybody did so. Swamiji himself wrote the names of those fruits which were not produced in that area. To the surprise of all, he produced from the blanket bunches of grapes and oranges on such abundance that their weight was double the weight of that man. All partook of the fruits, which were sweet in taste. Finally, at Swamiji's behest, he produces about a hundred or more fully-bloomed rose flowers whose petals were wet with morning dew and not one of them was loose or withered.

Endorsing the veracity of this incident, Swamiji writes, "People may consider this as a magical or miraculous display, but I don't. This was an exhibition of fact. How can the shadow be there if the substance is absent? This was not 'maya' but truth or fact. It is a proof of the limitless powers of the mind. Our mind is capable of producing anything desired. The mind is internally packed with all the wealth and abundance of the earth. The only condition is that we must handle the mind properly. An uncontrolled mind can not only ruin itself but all others too. This Brahmin from Hyderabad controls his mind, but is ignorant of the basic fact that he is dealing with his controlled mind. Under a delusion he has taken a halt at the limit of miracles. He has failed to recognize that Almighty, who resides within." This miracles and miraculous powers of the mind have been proved in many ways. It is capable of conquering time and space through the force of its imagination.

It is reported about Rabbi Elijah of Lithuania, that in spite of his having some miraculous mental power, he could not turn it to his personal advantage on account of his inability to control it. Reading only once, he had memorized about 2000 books. Being asked to quote from memory any page from any book, he could do so faultlessly. His brain was ever active, so he had to have a book in his hand always and when he had nothing else to do he would start reading.

Harry Nelson of Pitisburg (USA) had also such wonderful mental faculty. He was reputed as "The magician of the Chess Board." He could play with twenty contestants at a time remembering the moves of each of them. Sometimes thus engaged against twenty opponents he could feel some mental fatigue, to remove which he would indulge in a game of cards also.