So many students prepare for exams with many coaching centres and some at their own – self study. But do they remember all these things? Forget them. We have been teaching for so many years. Do we remember all these things?
We saw students struggling. Studying 14 hours a day. But why don’t they get marks in the end? Because they don’t remember anything.
Don’t you think that in basic learning, apart from studying and writing, we should also teach things like how to enhance your memory? So our team got a new topic. And we started researching. We read multiple articles, journals, reports and other valuable sources of information..
Then we remembered something. Do you remember there used to be a Gurukul in India? That Gurukul in which India’s heritage Vedas were taught. That Rig Veda in which 10,600 mantras were taught by the Guru without writing – kanthas, i.e. remembering.
Which makes us understand one thing. That we have the capacity in our brain to remember multiple things in an efficient way. But somewhere we have left the technique behind.
Which technique did the ancient gurus have which we could not reach? That’s it. Whatever we got in this research, I am going to tell you in this video. Let’s get started.
You know that Vedas are the oldest literature of humankind. It existed a long time ago. But it was written after 2,500 years.
So how did the ancient people store such massive information in their brain for 2,500 years? And how did they pass it on? That too without any tiny mistake. Because remember, even if there is a slight mistake in the shloka, the whole meaning of the shloka changes. There is no step marking in it.
So how did they remember such massive information for so long? When we found the answer to this, we came to know many of their techniques. Which we can apply today. The first practice was avadhana.
The most important and common practice of that time. Which is also called the art of concentration. Avadhana is derived from the Sanskrit word avadh.
Which means to direct the mind. Through avadhana, people used to gain mastery of multiple concentration. The practice was basically used to increase the memory, span of attention and to make avadhanis conscious of things at the same time.
How did the avadhanis practice this? The avadhanis were given multiple tasks to perform. For example, if an avadhani had to compose a poem, he was also given to solve a mathematical puzzle. And he had to do all this while reciting a mantra correctly.
Not only that, when this whole process was done, a bell was rung at the back. And after completing the task, he had to tell at the end how many times the bell was rung. Or there was another practice.
While you are chanting a mantra, you are given a particular word. You have to skip that word and complete the entire mantra. That too in the given time.
If this seems impossible to you, then let me tell you that even today, modern day avadhana is practiced in many places in South India. Like Bangalore. So basically they used to train their minds.
And the by-product of this session was that they used to remember the thousands of mantras Because they used to train their brains with that efficiency. But we make a mistake. We think that enhancing memory is a short-term process.
Like remembering a formula or even remembering a concept exam. But it is not so. Enhancing your memory is a long, long process.
And how can you do this? By learning new things. So if you are a student, then you have to study. But along with that, you have to do an activity with which you can learn something new.
Like learning a new language, learn a new instrument, play mindful games like Rubik’s cube, chess, or write a poem. And you will see that your memory will start enhancing. Now you will say that what will these new things do in my studies? Think that remembering new things is enhancing your memory which will help you in your studies.
You must have seen children in your childhood who used to learn dance along with studies. They used to learn songs too. Along with that, they used to try their hand at sports too.
You must have done it too. It was a kind of awakening. Training different areas of your brain continuously.
Making your brain ready to adapt new things continuously. And what will be its benefit? What will be its by-product? That you will start remembering things. You will not put extra efforts in remembering things from different areas.
Okay, tell me. You remember the songs of your life very quickly. Why? Because you listen to songs with fun and concentration.
And because of shorts and reels, you can revise too. This is where we get to know another practice of Vedas. Shruti and Smriti.
Shruti means what has been heard. Smriti means what has been remembered. You will see that in olden times, people didn’t just read mantras.
Instead, they used to chant mantras with gestures of their hands and head. You will see that in such times, your maximum senses like eyes, ears, tongue, skin remain active. And in such times, your concentration remains at its peak.
Because let me tell you that memory is not just stored in one place. Memories of different senses are stored in different places. So, next time if you go to remember something, do it through practice of Shruti and Smriti.Listen to it. Repeat it. Say it loudly.
If possible, make a tune. And try to repeat it again and again and try to remember it. Apart from this, other things you can practice are by breaking anything into bits and turning it into mnemonics and abbreviations.
This used to be practiced in ancient times too. To chant mantras, there were 8 parts. And each part had a different recitation technique.
You have also done this practice. For example, to remember rainbow colors, Vibhjior which you have not been able to forget. Or if we talk about breaking, then you will see that instead of remembering a mobile number of 10 digits at a time, to break that number into 2 categories of 5. Then there is a practice which I personally like the most.
And I do this practice with you all. That is, to explain your understanding to someone else. With this, the concept sits in your mind with good clarity.
And you remember it for a long time. If we look at the major reasons for memory loss, then they are lack of concentration, stress, and lack of sleep. If you look at the ancient times, then in Gurukul, one thing was religiously practiced.
In their timetable, proper and good amount of sleep, meditation, and daily physical exercise were included. So, good quality sleep is very much necessary if you are really trying to enhance your memory. Along with that, you have to do meditation on a daily basis.
This will release serotonin in your body, which helps you to regulate your mood. And along with that, daily physical exercise. With this, the cells of your brain help in growth and neurotransmitter emits in your body. So, if you are giving 14 hours of study, but you are not learning anything new with it, you are not doing meditation, you are not taking proper sleep, or you are not exercising, then trust me friend, those 14 hours might not serve you. So, the bottom line is, enhancing memory is a skill.
And you will get mastery only if you practice it regularly. And the best part is, there is no age limit to learn this skill. You can start learning it If you practice it regularly, you will definitely get improvement in yourself.
And if you get stuck somewhere, then watch some history practices. By the way, should I tell you an interesting thing? In 2008, UNESCO classified Vedic Chant as a Masterpiece of Humanity’s Oral and Intangible Heritage. Now, if we are talking about Vedas, then quickly go to the comment section and tell me the names of 4 Vedas.