A good memory is a boon for a sadhaka(spiritual seeker). a forgetful man always fails in his endeavors.the forgetful man commits serious mistakes again and again. A man with a strong and retentive memory gets sanguine success in all his ventures and undertakings. he who has a good memory can conduct his business affairs successfully, remember credits and debits, and keep accounts in a satisfactory manner. a student who has a retentive memory will get success in all his examinations.i can boldy say that intelligence is only one-tenth of memory as said by swami Sivanandna.
The Sanskrit term for memory is Smriti. Smarana is remembering. This is the functioning of the subconscious mind or chitta. the samskaras of thinking are deeply impressed on the Chitta.the chitta is like a sensitive plate like a camera. all the impressions are indelibly recorded there. whenever we make an attempt to remember past things or events, they come up to the surface of the conscious mind through the trap door. just as the man enters the stage from the side curtain.so also the impressions come out of through the trap door in the form of big waves of thought or mental image.
the following are the four characteristics of the good memory.
1)if you can read a passage once and can reproduce the same nicely.it is a sign of a great memory. This is termed “sugamata”
2)if you can reproduce something without increase or decrease(addition or subtraction),it is called “Avaikalya”.
3)if you can preserve a fact or passage or anything for a considerable period, it is called retentive memory.”Dharana”.
4)if you can reproduce a passage at once without any difficulty when it’s needed, its called “Upaharana”.
if one wants to develop a good memory he should learn the ways of the subconscious mind. Dharana is one of the important steps in the Ashtanga yoga.if one wants to develop dharana one can begin with observing an article or thing or a face of a loved one and start reproducing it on the paper without looking at then.initially it ll be very tough for the one reproducing it.but it is one of the most potent ways to develop dharana shakti.
Affirmations for good memory.
1)I have a strong memory OM OM OM
2)I can remember things now nicely OM OM OM
3)My memory has very much improved OM OM OM
4)I have wonderful retentive memory OM OM OM
Exercise that improves memory.
Study one important sloka from the Gita. find out parallel lines in the Ramayana, The Bhagavata, The Upanishads, The Yoga Vasista, and the bible, and connect all these passages and keep them in your mental disposition or pigeonholes of the brain.