The quality of our mind determines the quality of the life we lead. It can be our greatest ally or our worst adversary. A mind that runs amok could steal our inner peace and undermine every productive endeavour. Yet, with proper knowledge, training and discipline, it is possible to unleash the mind’s infinite potential. In The Science of Mind Management, Swami Mukundananda charts the four different aspects of the human mind and lays down a clear path towards mastering it. Through witty anecdotes, real-life accounts and stories from the Vedic scriptures, he gently guides readers on the road to winning their inner battle.
I have recently been diagnosed with GAD, and have been feeling crestfallen since our university declared the exam result, ostensibly because my result wasn't I had been expecting.
I have been listening to the kirtans of Radha Kunj on YouTube since, now, more than one and half years, and also got in touch with a few devotees of Radha Kunj on social media. The first time I saw ' The Science of Mind management' on Meenu Auntie of Radha Kunj and decided to give her a read right after my exams, but, unfortunately, I kept procrastinating and couldn't read. One day, Jess Neverette, a staunch devotee and also a member of kirtan ensemble called Nikunj Ras — and regularly attends the lectures of Swamiji whenever he comes to Radha Kunj — out of brotherly affection asked: "How have you been?" I complained of deservement, dejection, fear and anxiety. Then he, because he knew what could help me, recommended me and asked me to check Swamiji's latest book' The science of Mind Management.' This time i, finally, decided to read It. And to my surprise, it turned out to be a life-changing book.
'The science of Mind Management' by Swami Mukundananda — a disciple of Kripalu Ji Maharaj, and studied Vedas under the tutelage of Maharaj Ji — is a beautiful amalgam of modern psychology, Vedic psychology, experiences of saints and sages, great personalities and personal experiences of Swamiji himself.
It is replete with anecdotes, stories of saints and examples from everyday life, which make, otherwise intricate and subtle philosophy, easy to understand for the neophyte readers like myself. Summary of the crucial points at the end of each chapter makes it easier to memorize. If you, like me, are tired of verborrea, circumlocutory speeches of motivational speakers — who tell you, you all have the potential to do this and that and what might seem impossible, but not how to materialise that potential, then you, I firmly believe, will find out in this book.
The book has been divided into ten parts and many subparts. For chapters/ parts 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 Swamiji brought heavily from Maharaji's Lectures — whoever has listened to those lecture can literally feel Maharaji Speaking through Swamiji's words.
Desire, Swami Ji asserts so do all Scriptures, which is insatiable, stems from the attachment, is the biggest foe and impediment in spiritual growth. This is in stark contrast to the opinion of a controversial Guru, so-called self-proclaimed Godman and Charlatan Osho, who propounded — for his vantage — if we keep doing something incessantly, our desire for that thing will be forever suppressed. Sex, he says, if keep doing it perpetually our appetite for it eventually be obliterated, and the person will attain the state of 'Samadhi.' Preposterous! One might call it, so do every scripture and great saints. Desire is unappeasable, it can only, as Swamiji writes, be fulfilled for a moment, and the happiness and satisfaction one gets is ephemeral, not everlasting what soul intrinsically craves, it then comes back with greater intensity. Swamiji provides in his book an excellent example where Subhari laments and warns ' learn from my downfall and not be fooled into thinking you will ever fulfil desires.'
It would be interesting to ask Swamiji, what if the reader is not a believer, but a secular, how, then, he can always be happy in this life, since he not interested and looking for the infinite bless/happiness for forever, but only in this life, because he is a humanist, doesn't believe in soul? Suppose he believes the happiness is in the knowledge - which is considered a good habit, but not the higher attachment - knowledge brings power, more power more knowledge and power corrupts since he has no higher purpose. How then desire for good things - knowledge to say, is regarded as good - will uplift if he doesn't have a higher purpose? Or the result will be the same as 'Faustus?'
One thing that makes me uneasy is why would Swamiji enumerate the comments Of western Scholars, philosophers and orientalists, that too before writing about Vedic psychology, about Vedas? Perhaps because of us Indians inferiority complex and self-doubting attitude — which requires validation even from a mediocre white scholar who has meagre knowledge of Vedas and Sanskrit. Would have been better if he had referred to comments of Adi Sankrachara and Kripaluji Maharaj himself. Max Muller, of course, did not give his life long study of Vedic Scriptures to ascertain the views of Schopenhauer, but because for 18th and 19th-century Western scholars, like Max Muller, 'East was a career.' Even now we have successors - who wish to play the same game of distortion - ilk of Sheldon Pollack and Wendy Donegar again thanks to Indians who provide them oxygen to carry out their nefarious agendas.
The most exhilarating thing for me in 'The Science of Mind Management' is Vedic psychology of which I have been, unfortunately, hitherto unaware. I have a few texts — which I shall not disclose here — in my mind to which I can apply it, the mere thought of its outcome excites me. Now, I have a new tool to analyse the texts I read for my literature class. This is not they teach and will never teach us, our education system is still in a colonial stupor.
'The science of mind management' is a remarkable feat of condensation, explication and synthesis of the unfathomable wisdom of Vedic Scriptures by Swamiji for which every reader of this book should be grateful.
Indeed! 'The mind alone is the cause of bondage and liberation.'
This book definitely will help in 'mind management ' and transform you into a better person, if, of course, you practice its teachings. Truly a life-changing book! A Must Read!
The Science Of Mind Management is simple step-by-step guide to try to control our mind towards ultimate truth or divine or spirituality and making ourselves better in the process. It's a easy and quick read. As a religious person I liked that spiritual practices and vedik scriptures are considered as important factor towards mind management in this book. "The science of mind management requires us to empower the intellect with right knowledge from the scriptures and then use that illumined intellect to properly govern the mind."
Noteworthy Quotes :
Inner victories are the real basis for outer accomplishments. Let us, therefore, gain a better perspective on what goes on within us.
Your efforts and the grace of God, both are essential for success.
The mind is the cause of bondage and the mind is the cause of liberation. when our mind is attached to something, we experience desire for it. The cause of desire is attachment.
Desire is like a two-edged sword. Its fulfilment leads to greed and its hindrance leads to anger. 1) There is misery in the world. 2) Misery has a cause. 3) The cause of misery is desire. 4) If desire is eradicated, misery will be eradicated.
Resentment is like drinking poison and hoping that the other person dies.
Circumstances come in our life for a purpose, and they remain until the purpose is served.
4/5 star. If you have read Gita few times, this won’t be anything new. However, this books definitely gives a different methods to implement its principles in daily life. in short, you have to use your will power and discipline to make sure your intellect control your mind and governs your senses, rather than otherwise. All focus should be used to subdue your mind not to hanker after sensual pleasures beyond modest needs. It also later talks of self affirmation, visualisation and sadhana. Finally, the author diverts the narrative towards God and wants the audience to keep God as the centre of his being. First 2/3 of the book does makes lot of sense and would ignite déjà u. Final part feels a bit biased as the author is renowned spiritual guru and bends the end towards him. To seek a spiritual guru for fulfilment. In short take good things from the book, use your discretion to extend or narrow the limit of information.
Honestly, after reading this book, I felt a little disappointed as this one wasn't as good as the last one by the same author. And, also the content of this book was quite similar to the last book and the videos on his channel.
The book contains divine knowledge and teachings from the Bhagvat Gita and the vedic scriptures. It tries to describe the various aspects of human mind and shares techniques and tools to manage it. Honestly, I didn't find them quite useful or practical and felt that most of them had to do with bhakti(devotion ) and faith.
Also, one thing which I didn't really like was that at some places in this book Swami ji has very smartly tried to promote his own foundation. Which made the book seem more like a promotional strategy than a self-help book.
Overall, this book was quite underwhelming and I won't recommend it to anyone who has already read the last book.
The book teaches readers how to regulate their wandering minds and achieve inner calm.
Swami Mukudananda, the author of this book, demonstrates how desire may inadvertently damage our life. He used scripture references like as the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishad, etc, to demonstrate why regulating one's thoughts is so vital.
Then he shows how the human brain works, including neural activity, dopamine, patterns, and so on. Despite the fact that I thought the cotent was lifted from David Eagleman's book "The Brain-Story of You," I like the author's writing style. Furthermore, he discusses how good habits shape us and how bad habits wreck our entire lives, as well as how to create a good habit and break a bad one. Once again, I thought the substance was lifted from James Clear's book Atomic Habits.
The author used examples from his personal life as well as compelling stories to illustrate his point.
He also advises us to read the Vedic writings continuously till they get ingrained in our minds. It will be useless if we simply read and do not use it in our daily lives.
The book then moves on to pure spiritual topics such as Karm Yog, Reincarnation, and Surrender to God.
This book is for individuals who wish to give up desire of material existence vand achieve inner peace in a spiritual way, not for those who want to earn fortune, burn desire, or enjoy life with material existence.
The book is divided into Ten inits that throws light on almost everything you should know about mind management. What caught my attention was the sentence THE MIND IS OUR BEST FRIEND AND WORST ENEMY. And considering my mental health, I was inclined to believe that it will be a cure to me. And surely it was.
The author jots down some anecdotes from the life of famous personalities and real-life instances to make it even more relatable and understandable. Taking that into consideration, the book is well researched and an absolute amalgamation of Vedic and Modern Science.
If you are searching for the right book about Mind management to start with, this book is TRULY RECOMMENDED!!
An awesome book with a step by step explanation on how a human can control their mind. This book taught me that there is no magic that can make one to be happy immediately, it requires consistent efforts to follow simple steps mentioned in this book and finally make it a habit to live a blissful life. I really loved this one and it has been so strong on my mind and I'm working towards applying everything that's taught here in my day to day life, little did i know that my life has already changed for good and i have started to see positives in everything, yes you read it right, literally on everything!!! and i have started to become more happy when my friends, neighbors succeed in their life. This is a testament to whatever that's mentioned in the book.
The book can go a long way in changing the perspective of the readers towards life and helping them to enjoy a more happy, healthy, and satisfied living. It presents the solutions to attain mastery over the mind through various examples derived from the life of some of the most successful individuals. The book is written in a simple and easy to understand language and can prove to be a great read for people struggling with stress and anxiety. The book is quite unlike any other self-help book and is sure to be recommended for everyone.
The book is a different approach to religious scriptures but bringing forth the spiritual and philosophical aspects. The author's knowledge about the materialistic world is commendable. It is a book by a Swami, who states the verses from Bhagawat Gita, Upanishads, Ramayan, etc, and talks about God but still comes out as a secular piece of literature.
The bottom line is that I love this book. I want to read it once more. But you might not love it if you approach it with prejudice. It is definitely not a simple read. You need to have real interest in this topic.
This book serves as a great recommendation for anyone who is seeking for any spiritual practitioner. Swamiji quotes excerpts from the puranas, Bhagavat Gita, upanishads and many scriptures not just limited to Hinduism to drive home how body and mind works. It also brings a devotional element to spirituality and provides a framework of how one can purify the mind by enriching the intellect with right nutrition. Every concept is backed by examples from the lives of saints,businessmen, sports personalities and all of this very tied back to the scriptural knowledge which has stood the test of time.
I'll give the book a solid 3. It's a breezy read and puts into use many of the techniques backed by empirical research to lead a more balanced life like visualisation, daily anchor habits, gratitude.
The author goes one step beyond and asks the reader to include god into the process to lead a more happy life. He quotes various Vedic scriptures and renowned people to support his thought process.
Only 3 because it doesn't add anything new as per the techniques already out there. All in all a good collection of ideas to lead a more balanced and happy life.
If you are looking for spiritual guidance, then this is recommended as it will give you all the theoretical knowledge required to get started in your daily practice towards being better at spiritualism. The best part of the book is the stories mentioned via which Swamiji explains all the difficult concepts just so simply. This can be your guide to sadhana, visualization, and being one step closer to god.
Before I was extremely limited with how to worship and connect with God and understand how to use my mind effectively. Swami Mukundananda not only uses vedic scriptures to help understand the flexibility of devotion to God, but connects it to how we can control our mind in order to get through life. Highly recommended for spiritual seekers and ESPECIALLY Krishna Bhaktas.
This book properly illustrates different ways one can obtain to control and harness mind and give it proper direction to achieve God realisation.
After reading this book I experienced Mental peace and realized how Maya effects our mind and what are different steps explained in the book to overcome Maya and realise God everywhere.
Like academics and knowledge of the material world is important to improve your comfort and wellbeing, the spiritual knowledge of knowing yourself is very important to achieve ultimate peace and happiness. Most importantly, it makes you into a Good Human Being.
The science of mind management written by Swami Mukundananda ji is the book has the content that will reinforces you to attack against evil mind . There are some highlights that we should learn in the beginning but when coming across many topics , it will make you dive deeper into the methodology that are used into the Hindu ancient mythology that makes you weird whether you can use it to modern world but it is up to your hands . But overall I like this book ,good and some deep ancient content .
I was suffering from high anxiety from 3 years but i came upon his video set of 21 days which i completed and then bought this book related to that same topic. Its a good book giving examples from his guru and gita ji to how to manage mind , stress and anxiety. There are also ways to incorporate meditation and yoga to ur life. I liked it alot. Would def love to read more from the author.
It is a very useful book in which swamiji not only shared the wisdom but also supported those arguments by the proofs from the Vedic scriptures and Bhagavadgita. The common man who cannot by himself decipher the wisdom hidden in those valuable ancient books can gain the wisdom from this kind of books. A must read!
It is a good book with decent writing and explaining has been done in a simple language with adequate proof provided from all around the world but the basic foundation of the methods shown in the book is Hindu scriptures and Vedic things that doesn't make it wrong though there are real life examples given of famous people to help us believe more
I may not agree with all of the arguments or statements in this book but I can say that this book worth my time. I have learned a lof of tools and lessons regarding mind management. Swami knows how to make things simple by illustrating an example in the form of short narrative. He knows how to convey his message in a simple manner.
The book is an engaging and interesting read. The author not only delineates the importance of controlling the inner machinery of the mind but also provides valuable yet simple tips to conquer the mind.
I'm on page 81 of The Science of Mind Manag: What an amazing book! Peeling the layers of my own mind, my own core, systematically! The Power of Habits! This is like a Manual for my Life, as we speak!
The ideas are presented in a very simple manner and yet they are so powerful and have a lasting impact on the reader. Swami je explains all concepts so well that understanding them and remembering them is so easy
This book teaches few concepts that are critical to understand our mind, to create a healthy relationship with our mind, I thought the book would dwell very much into religious scripts but wasn't that much, much of it was based on science. Good book.
A very helpful book on mind management with simple applicable ideas drawn from vedic scriptures. This book presented the core functioning of the mind and its importance in handling and overcome from the diseases of the mind i.e. anger, greed, envy, desire. This is a must read book for everyone.
Secret to mind management is surrendering ourselves to god,, In this book author talks about how to mediate,how to disconnect from the material world And implementation of those steps consistently will lead to inner peace and union with God, the author concludes...
This is an early review. I have a healthy skeptism of mind-management and self-help books. Sometimes the author is bullshitting, sometimes his construct is quite different from ours so that we cannot get the point clearly. Here it seems is the latter, only I can give a clearer review once I finish the book.
I saw some problems outright. This book was supposed to be a practical exercise to apply to better you r mind. But right of the bat, there are some very difficult assumptions like, desire is the root of all unhappiness, we cannot stop desire, so you have to cultivate new desires. Let's stop here for a minute. Desire is programmed into your brain, the way you were born, due to past karmas possibly. And it is next to impossible to just cultivate a new desire to just shadow the desire of your sub-consciousness. It may not be impossible, but it is highly improbable, atleast practically.
Second, there are sentences like 'god is the ocean of happiness, you have make god your desire'. Sorry, but if you see what I am saying, I can come up with thousands of vague statements all day while taking a dump or in a shower. I think here the construct is 'god' and it may mean something to this author, based on his realization, but until we are in the same construct, this feels meaningless to us.
-- Updated at 46%. The more I read it, the more BS I uncover. There are some good parts, but I don't like some blind-belief propagation in some parts.