Examination days are tough when studies follow us everywhere and all the time. What increases the challenge is that we don’t have to just study but also have to remember what we have studied and the more we study the more material we have to remember. Our capacity to remember things is loosely called memory. There are always people whom we know who have better memory than we have. However what do we mean by someone having a good memory is not very clear. It probably means he or she gets the highest marks in the class. It is also said that the elephants have good memory.
By good memory we mean a person is able to recall what he has read or experienced in detail and in letter and spirit, when needed. If we were to look at memory closely, we shall see that it has three stages. When we read or experience something new we first assign a simple and short code to it so that it may be stored easily. The code that we assign relates to our existing knowledge so that it is familiar and probably interesting. This code is called a mnemonic. The next step is to recollect the stored information or experience when required. So memory is actually a long process comprising encoding, storing and recalling.
The time that we take to go through these three stages determine whether we have a quick memory and the variety of things that we can encode, store and recall determines the vastness of our memory and when combine them, it is called extraordinary memory. If there were one example of a person with extraordinary memory, it is Narendranath Dutt later known as Swami Vivekananda.
Narendranath was an extraordinary student with phenomenal memory. After a discussion with Narendranath, Dr. Mahendralal Sarkar reportedly said, "I could never have thought that such a young boy had read so much”. He had a wide range of interests that comprised subjects like philosophy, religion, history, social sciences, arts, and literature. He evinced interest in scriptural texts like Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas. He also studied western logic, western philosophy and history of European nations and is said to have studied the writings of David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Baruch Spinoza, George W F Hegel, Arthur Schopenhauer, August Comte, Herbert Spencer, John Stuart Mill, Charles Darwin. He became fascinated with the evolutionism of Herbert Spencer. He was regarded as a srutidhara—a man with prodigious memory. His favourite books were Bhagvad Gita and The Imitation of Christ.
It is said that he would read a book so rapidly that to an onlooker it would seem like he was simply turning pages, and yet he could accurately tell what was contained in which page. He probably read 2-3 lines or a full page with one stroke of the eye. It was possible only through deep concentration. The three stages of memory in his case were assimilated and compressed into a continuous stream of consciousness aided by his sharp intellect and wide readings.
By good memory we mean a person is able to recall what he has read or experienced in detail and in letter and spirit, when needed. If we were to look at memory closely, we shall see that it has three stages. When we read or experience something new we first assign a simple and short code to it so that it may be stored easily. The code that we assign relates to our existing knowledge so that it is familiar and probably interesting. This code is called a mnemonic. The next step is to recollect the stored information or experience when required. So memory is actually a long process comprising encoding, storing and recalling.
The time that we take to go through these three stages determine whether we have a quick memory and the variety of things that we can encode, store and recall determines the vastness of our memory and when combine them, it is called extraordinary memory. If there were one example of a person with extraordinary memory, it is Narendranath Dutt later known as Swami Vivekananda.
Narendranath was an extraordinary student with phenomenal memory. After a discussion with Narendranath, Dr. Mahendralal Sarkar reportedly said, "I could never have thought that such a young boy had read so much”. He had a wide range of interests that comprised subjects like philosophy, religion, history, social sciences, arts, and literature. He evinced interest in scriptural texts like Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas. He also studied western logic, western philosophy and history of European nations and is said to have studied the writings of David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Baruch Spinoza, George W F Hegel, Arthur Schopenhauer, August Comte, Herbert Spencer, John Stuart Mill, Charles Darwin. He became fascinated with the evolutionism of Herbert Spencer. He was regarded as a srutidhara—a man with prodigious memory. His favourite books were Bhagvad Gita and The Imitation of Christ.
It is said that he would read a book so rapidly that to an onlooker it would seem like he was simply turning pages, and yet he could accurately tell what was contained in which page. He probably read 2-3 lines or a full page with one stroke of the eye. It was possible only through deep concentration. The three stages of memory in his case were assimilated and compressed into a continuous stream of consciousness aided by his sharp intellect and wide readings.
He is an everlasting inspiration for us. "Be brave! Be brave! Man dies but once!" Who would not be inspired by the above words...?
ReplyDeleteSwami Vivekananda is a modern inspiration especially in preaching Bhakti, yoga, meditation and spirituality to the mundane souls.
ReplyDeleteSpecialty is that he achieved salvation on free will on the Rocks of kanyakumari.
Lot to learn from him!