Power of Suggestions

You should have a clear understanding of suggestions and their effects upon the mind. You should be careful in the use of suggestion. Never give wrong suggestion which will have destructive results to anybody. You will be doing a great harm and a disservice to them. Think well before you speak. Teachers and professors should have a thorough knowledge of the Science of Suggestion and Auto-suggestion. Then they can educate and elevate students in an efficient manner. In India, when children cry out in houses, parents frighten them by saying: “Look here, Ram! The one-eyed man has come. Keep quiet. Or I will hand you over to this man.” Ghost has come” and suggestions of this sort are very destructive. The child becomes timid. The minds of children are elastic, tender and pliable. Samskaras (Impressions) are indelibly impressed at this age. Changing or obliterating the Samskaras becomes impossible when they grow. When the child grows into a man, he manifests timidity. Parents should infuse courage into the minds of their children. They should say: “Here is a lion. See the lion in this picture. Roar like a lion. Be courageous. See the picture of Shivaji, Arjuna or Clive. Become chivalrous.” In the West, teachers show the pictures of battlefields to children and say: “Look here, James! See this picture of Napoleon. Look at his cavalry. Won’t you like to become a Commander-in-Chief of the army or a Brigadier-General?” They infuse courage into the minds of children from their very childhood. When they grow, these Samskaras get strengthened by additional external stimuli.

Doctors should have a thorough knowledge of the science of suggestion. Sincere, sympathetic doctors are very rare. Doctors who have no knowledge of suggestion do more harm than good. They kill patients sometimes by unnecessarily frightening them. If there is a little cough of an ordinary nature, the doctor says: “Now, my friend, you have got T.B. You must go to Bhowali or Switzerland or Vienna. You must go in for a course of tuberculin injections.” Poor patient is frightened. There is not at all any sign of consumption. The case is an ordinary one. It is simple catarrh of the chest from exposure to chills. The patient actually develops phthisis by fright and worry owing to the wrong destructive suggestion of the doctor. The doctor ought to have told him: “Oh, it is nothing. It is simple cold. You will be all right by tomorrow. Take a purgative and inhale a little oil of eucalyptus. Adjust your diet. It is better you fast today.” Such a doctor is God Himself. He must be adored. A doctor may say now: “Well, sir, if I say so, I will lose my practice. I cannot pull on in this world.” This is a mistake. Truth always gains victory. People will run to you as you are sympathetic and kind. You will have a roaring practice.

There is healing by suggestion. This is a drugless treatment. This is suggestive therapeutics. By good and powerful suggestion, you can cure any disease. You will have to learn this science and practise it. All doctors of Homoeopathic, Allopathic, Ayurvedic and Unani systems should know this science. They can combine this system along with their own systems. They will have a roaring practice by this happy combination.

Do not be easily influenced by the suggestions of others. Have your own sense of individuality. A strong suggestion, though it does not influence the subject immediately, will operate in due course. It will never go in vain. We all live in a world of suggestions. Our character is daily modified unconsciously by association with others. We unconsciously imitate the actions of those whom we admire. We daily absorb the suggestions of those with whom we come in daily contact. We are acted upon by these suggestions. A man of weak mind yields to the suggestions of a man of strong mind.

The servant is always under the influence of the suggestions of his master. The wife is under the influence of the suggestions of her husband or vice versa. The patient is under the influence of the suggestions of the doctor. The student is under the influence of the teacher. Custom is nothing but the product of suggestion. The dress that you put on, the manners, the behaviour and even the food that you eat are all the outcome of suggestions only. Nature suggests in various ways. The running rivers, the shining sun, fragrant flowers, the growing trees, are all incessantly sending you suggestions.

All the prophets of yore were hypnotists. They knew the science of suggestion fully well. Their words had tremendous powers. Every word they uttered had magic power and a peculiar charm. All the hearers remained spell-bound. A spiritual preacher produces a sort of hypnosis in the minds of others. The hearers come under the influence of his suggestions. There is power in every word that is spoken. Mark here the power in the words. If anyone calls another idiot or “fool,” he is thrown into a state of fury immediately. Fight ensues. If you address anyone as Lord” or “King” or “Sir,” he is immensely pleased. So always remember to give and take wise suggestions.

Reference

Mind – Its Mysteries and Control by Sri Swami Sivananda