Prof. Muni Mahendra Kumar
Anupreksha - contemplation - is an important exercise in the system of preksha. In this, auto-suggestion plays a very significant role. By use of auto-suggestion and intense willing, the practitioner can modify his psychological distortions, change his attitude and behavioural patterns and generally develop his personality.
Repeated prolonged recitation of words (or sentences) which describe the practitioner's intense will to acquire a virtue, can bring about a radical attitudinal reform. The mental faculty or function which is directed to conscious and intentional action is called will. If one applies one's will-power with a resolute determination that something shall happen, it will happen. Full concentration of mental faculty coupled with intense willing results in the fulfilment of the desired objective. In other words, repeated willing and auto-suggestion by a practitioner of Anupreksha enables him to achieve a desired objective. If his objective is to affect an attitudinal change (e.g. from negative), he does bring about the change. Whether one's goal is spiritual or not, the exercise of auto-suggestion positively accomplishes the desired transformation.
Sigmund Freud, the founder of psycho-analysis, and later Jung found that patient could fall straight into a hypnotic sleep without any action on his part. This implies the process of autosuggestion which was made the basis of later clinics where cures depended entirely on suggestion administered by the patient himself.
Healing and Suggestion
Faith-healing, in fact, is nothing else but applied suggestion. In 1953, Prof. H.J. Eysenck described a scientific experiment in which a group of children with warts - virus induced tumours -were treated by suggestion: while another, the controlled group, was given the then orthodox medical treatment which was shown to be far less effective. It must be remembered that the warts are organic.
That suggestion given to patients under deep relaxation can produce striking and significant alterations in their bodily behaviour is proved by ample evidence.
In other words, it is possible to use suggestion to affect a wide range of organic changes for treatment of the sick.
What is important in promoting health is not suggestion coming from others but auto-suggestion. In other words, the healing power lies wholly within the patient's own organism. The healer or hypnotist is merely an agent helping to stimulate it. This hypothesis has received ample confirmation from countless experiments. Auto-suggestion is a simple explanation of the centuries old faith-healing. The trouble is, it is too simple. It does not exhibit any apparently miraculous element.
