It’s vital for our well-being to live in the present. Sometimes thinking doesn’t work; we need to relax and go beyond thinking, says Venugopal Acharya

It is undoubtedly difficult to curb the restless mind, but it is possible by suitable practice and detachment. — Bhagavad Gita (6.35)

Rahul Dravid was down and out, almost. He came in to bat at number six, in the second innings follow on of a match that India was quickly losing. As he prepared to face the ball, the Australian captain hurled a scathing remark, “Oh Rahul is number six now, next match, he’ll be number twelve”. He meant Rahul is playing so bad, he’ll be out of the team soon.

Rahul had had a bout of low scores in the past and he felt shaken within as he prepared to bat. Memories of his poor performance flashed before his eyes. His mind had weakened. He was now being intimidated by aggressive opponents who were amongst the best in the art of sledging-a ploy to distract a batsman and disturb his concentration by sarcastic insults which would cause him to make mistakes and get dismissed.

What did Rahul do? He decided to take one ball at a time. He told himself there’s nothing he could do about the past and he has no control over his fate after this match. But this innings was his. And to be more precise, the ball that is coming at him now is the only reality of his life. ‘This ball is mine and I play it to perfection’ affirmed Rahul. Meanwhile, the Aussies tried their best to see the back of him but Rahul Dravid just lived one ball at a time.

What happened then is an incredible story of grit. Along with his partner Laksman, Rahul batted the entire fourth day, and most astonishingly, the Indian team came back to life, became the aggressor and won the match that is widely considered to be one of the greatest matches in test history. Rahul did what the American philosopher Henry David Thoreau said, “The meeting of two eternities — past and future — is precisely the present moment.”

It’s absolutely vital for our well-being to live in the present. That doesn’t mean we don’t plan our future or analyse our past mistakes. It simply means that you act mindfully. Don’t mix up many activities or multi-task and land up mentally exhausted. Play one ball at a time!

Ignore the mind’s scripts

The mind can offer many scripts and each appears convincing. If you ignore the mind’s proposal, it assures it has an alternative and then another one, until you succumb. Like this, we remain dutiful slaves of the mind. In the process, we miss out on a simple, yet most effective tool to puncture the mind’s tirade. And that is ‘just be present, here and now’.

In the spiritual tradition I come from, we softly chant the Holy Names of God on our prayer beads, and the entire focus is on hearing the sound. Srila Prabhupada, a revered Bhakti yoga teacher gave a simple tool: “Listen to the mantra you are chanting now. There’s no question of mind.” He’d say, ‘simply listen’. When you listen to sacred sound, you enter a spiritual space. In other traditions, the details may vary but wherever the practice is to ‘listen’ or ‘observe’ or ‘present’, we enter a space beyond the mind; it is here we touch divinity.

Examples of living beyond the mind

Once I was searching for my umbrella that I had misplaced. I thought hard and long but was clueless. I gave up and went about doing other things. Later as I relaxed, suddenly, as if out of nowhere, I knew where I had kept it earlier. Sometimes thinking doesn’t work; we need to relax and go beyond thinking.

Often when we try to solve a problem, our mind conjures up many alternatives. But if we slow down and learn to relax, accepting the present in a detached fashion, we’ll be surprised by the clarity we get, even in the midst of the confusion all around. Likewise, compulsive thinking could inhibit us. But if we learn through these small steps, we will blossom into our true self.

The writer is a motivational speaker and author of the book Mind Your Mind: Three Principles for Happy Living