In order to attain concentration, the students must follow certain rules. Respect your study books. Have interest in them. Limit your food intake. Befriend only good people. Have reverence and devotion towards your teachers. These guidelines are not just for the students. They are applicable for everybody in any stage (ashrama) of life. Let us understand these rules in detail.

The first rule is to develop passion towards your study books. Lack of concentration is the natural state of any person. As a result, we get the desire of reading varieties of books. The students forget about their studies and read novels. The people leading household life (Grihastha) do not read dharmic books and instead read books of fiction. The Sannyasis (those who renounce everything) read books pertaining to unnecessary matters. Hence, the first rule implies that you must read only those kinds of books prescribed to you based on your stage of life.

The second rule is about respecting the books you study. The students must have lot of affection on their study books whereas householders must have passion for dharmic and holy books. Without such interest, the matters cannot be retained in the memory.

The third rule is about the intake of food. It has to be limited. Any spiritual practice depends on the mind and the body. To control them both, one must take limited food. When there is no control on food intake, the mind goes astray.

The fourth rule tells us to befriend only good people. Who are good people? Those who walk in the direction of reaching the goal in their respective stages of life are all good people. For instance, let us assume that one who studies well is a good friend for a student. For a householder, a good friend is one who abides by responsibilities diligently. A Sannyasi does not need friends at all. We must remember this.

One must have devotion towards those who teach us. This is the fifth rule.

In order to realize God, only Guru’s teachings guide in the way. Hence, in all stages of life, one must develop devotion towards Guru. One must have the strength to follow all the aforementioned rules in the different stages of life.

A student neglects his study books because once he looks at them, he becomes over confident that he can score well in the exams. Such overconfidence, unnecessary courage and negligence are totally wrong. When we think so, we forget that easily. Hence, the second aspect here is a student must not have interest on other books. He must only accumulate knowledge about his subjects. Yogis and those who pursue spirituality must read only spiritual books. They must not read unnecessary books just with the madness of acquiring general knowledge. They completely get diverted. Hope you all will follow these words!

Jai Guru Datta! Sri Guru Datta!