Embracing Inner Focus: The Wisdom of the Tortoise

We are swarmed with information every day. With feeds and notifications bombarding us from all over, it takes greater effort to shield ourselves. The difference between our inner self and outer behavior is constantly growing. We find it difficult to spend time with ourselves for a few minutes, yet we find reasons to spend hours socializing. We have programmed ourselves that way, haven’t we?

Recently, I read a startlingly true statement:

“The biggest human predicament is this: the very seat of experience is within you, but your perception is entirely outward-bound. If even an ant crawls upon your skin, you can sense it right away, but there is so much blood flowing within you that you cannot feel!”

The default setting of a human mind is always outwardly focused. Therefore, it takes effort to turn our vision or perception inward. Let’s take some guidance from Lord Krishna here.

In the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna emphasizes the need for a focused mind. This is not new. We all know that we need focus to achieve anything in life. But here’s the problem: how does one achieve a focused mind? What needs to be done? Is there a specific way to be focused? Fortunately, the answer is a resounding YES!

‘तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता’ – The Solution to a Steady and Focused Mind

We interact with every situation or external event using our sensory organs – hearing, seeing, touching, tasting, and smelling. These senses build our external perception. Therefore, they are messengers to the mind. When an ant crawls on the skin, the touch is communicated to the mind. The mind receives and sends back the message to take action or to ignore it. Thus, it is clear that the mind is the command center and the sense organs are its messengers.

This hierarchy takes a serious hit and the reverse starts happening when the mind is not steady. For instance, as you are passing by the road, you smell a wonderful aroma coming from a street-side shop, and this scent pulls your mind into action – “Stop whatever you’re doing and try out this food!” the mind tells you. This invitation did not come directly from the mind but from the provocation of the sense organs.

Sense organs are like five mischievous kids at home! They will drag you in all directions, create chaos, and never let you settle until they are satisfied. To make things worse, they never grow up!

“The easily excitable and eager senses forcibly seize the steadiness of the mind even of one who has a high degree of enlightenment,” says Lord Krishna.

He further compares the mind that is driven by sense organs to a boat caught in a fierce storm. The storm leaves the boat disoriented and directionless. It is not very different when it comes to sense organs. We might experience this every single day!

A simple notification buzz from Facebook is enough to trigger waves and waves of curious interpretations by the mind. We let our focus waver and allow our senses to guide us. An hour later, we have no clue where it all started! There can be many such examples.

Therefore, it boils down to this – how to mend the ways of these sense organs. How to make the mind powerful enough not to yield to these temptations.

This is where it gets interesting.

Have you ever noticed a tortoise? A tortoise has a big hard shell to protect itself from intruders. Not many know how to penetrate this shell. It’s hard as a rock and impossible to break through. As the tortoise withdraws its limbs inside the shell, the enemy has no choice but to retreat.

Lord Krishna asks us to learn from this wonderful act of nature!

“Just as a tortoise withdraws its limbs from all sides and creates an impenetrable wall for itself, we humans have the capability to fully withdraw our five senses into ourselves every time we encounter a situation. The practice of this withdrawal helps in steadying the mind.”

This is a powerful image to keep in mind. An image of a tortoise withdrawing into itself.

Let’s dwell on this a little more.

When the mind achieves steadiness and focus, it has the capacity to drive us into a meditative state of energy and consciousness. Any work done in this state of consciousness yields wonderful results, eventually bringing peace and long-lasting joy within. This is not just from a yogic perspective.

Let’s put it in a more relatable context. What is the most common adjective used to describe all the learned and successful people? Their resolute focus. What is the difference between a lazy, talented person and a hardworking, average-skilled person? Relentless persistence and focus! No matter which game you play or work you do, focus helps you cut through any barrier!

Therefore, the path to achieving long-lasting inner peace starts with the basic lesson learned from the wise old tortoise.

Withdrawal of senses into oneself can help achieve mental focus. Consistent practice of such withdrawal from sensory pleasure-seeking helps achieve superlative awareness. This awareness is meditative and transcends into unbiased decision-making followed by graceful execution. This, in turn, leads to flair and joy!

So, let’s put this into action. The actionable areas are many, but here are a few. As weird or pleasant as it sounds:

• The next time we are working on something important, let’s think of the tortoise-withdrawal and ignore social media.

• The next time we have difficulty following a diet, let’s think of the tortoise-withdrawal and control our senses.

• The next time we have difficulty being consistent, let’s think of the tortoise-withdrawal and steady our mind!

• The next venture or adventure we take up, let’s think of the tortoise-withdrawal and remain focused!

Sources:

1. Inner Engineering – By Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

2. यततो ह्यपि कौन्तेय पुरुषस्य विपश्चितः । इन्द्रियाणि प्रमाथीनि हरन्ति प्रसभं मनः ॥ २-६०॥, Bhagavdgeeta

3. इन्द्रियाणां हि चरतां यन्मनोऽनुविधीयते । तदस्य हरति प्रज्ञां वायुर्नावमिवाम्भसि ॥ २-६७॥, Bhagavdgeeta

4. यदा संहरते चायं कूर्मोऽङ्गानीव सर्वशः । इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता ॥ २-५८॥, Bhagavdgeeta