IS MEMORY GOD’S GIFT?
I. V. Chalapati Rao
Memory is the function of the mind. It is the
product of attention, which, in its turn, is the outcome of interest. Memory is
an indispensable requirement in education, an invaluable asset to human beings,
and a mark of personal efficiency. The word ‘memories’ is used in the popular
sense to mean experiences that are recollected. Human consciousness, like an
exhibition of photographs, has many pictures: some sweet and some sour, some a
blessing and some a blight. One who has the power of total recall is regarded
as fortunate. However, if memory haunts and disturbs one’s peace of mind, it is
of dubious value.
“Memory is the diary we all carry about with
us” as Oscar Wilde said. Cicero said “Memory is the treasure and guardian of
all things.” There were and still exist men of extraordinary memory who astound
the whole world.
Julius Caesar had the
ability to simultaneously dictate seven different letters to his secretaries
without losing the thread.
Themistocles of Greece had extraordinary
memory. He could tell the names of the entire population of Athens. Its
population was 20,000. Not only this. He could identify them!
Sir Asutosh Mukhelji, the former Vice-Chancellor
of Calcutta University and Madanmohan Malavia of Banaras University knew all
the names of their students. When they called them by their names, they felt
happy, because to no man there is a sweeter music than the sound of his own
name!
World-renowned Napoleon Bonaparte used to
address every soldier in his army by his name. No wonder, his soldiers remained
loyal to him till the end and cheerfully sacrificed their lives.
Similarly, Cyrus, a Greek General, knew all
the soldiers under his command by their names.
Seneca the famous Roman senator, a great
orator and scholar, could reproduce the contents of many books that he had
read. In his speeches he quoted their contents verbatim. Illuminating sentences
aptly quoted, captivate the audience.
Thomas Babington Macaulay, the historian and
essayist, challenged that he would undertake to reproduce through memory John
Bunyon’s ‘Pilgrim Progress’ and Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost (12 books), if they
were lost by an act of vandalism.
John Milton, Britain’s blind bard, composed
his ‘Paradise Lost’ in his mind forty lines at a time. As he was visually
handicapped, he dictated to his daughter from memory.
John Bell, a clergyman, could reproduce the
contents of any book read by him once. Such people existed in India in good
number, they were called “Ekasantragrahis”.
Beshop Jevale who was Francis Bacon’s
contemporary, had photographic memory of a special type. Once Bacon wrote a few
lines from an old forgotten book of poetry and arranged those lines in a
topsy-turvy manner, deliberately omitting a few lines. To the astonishment of
those who were present, the Beshop quoted them correctly and in proper order,
supplying the omissions!
Mahammedali Hatei of Turkey could recite accurately 6,500 verses from the Holy Koran. His intense devotion and religious fervor helped him to do this.
According to Mayori Mori, a research scholar,
Hidiake Tamor of Japan could mention the first 10,000 decimal places of P.L and
subsequently extended his record to 40,000 decimal places.
Edgar Wallace, the noted English writer who
wrote 500 novels and plays, used to have a mental pre-view of the whole matter
before he actually started writing. Like Shakespeare, he did not blot a single
line. He was so tenacious that he did not sleep before he finished writing the
book.
Computer King, world famous Bill Gates,
Chairman of the Microsoft Company in U.S. even today remembers hundreds of
lines of the source code for his Basic programming language.
T. E. Lawrence, popularly known as Lawrence
of Arabia wrote a voluminous book known as ‘the Seven Pillars of Wisdom’. The
manuscript was lost. Any other man in his position would have committed
suicide. But he managed to reconstruct the entire volume with the help of his
prodigious memory!
In the same way Sir Isaac Newton
reconstructed the contents of his scientific treatise ‘PRINCIPIA’ when the
original was accidentally burnt. His pet dog threw the original into the
fire-place. Instead of venting his fury on the poor animal, he simply said
“Dear! You don’t know what you have done!”
Sankaracharya, the great philosopher of
India, is said to have dictated to his disciple Padmapada a whole book when the
original was burnt by Padmapada’s uncle out of malice during the absence of the
latter! Sankaracharya just heard its contents only once when Padmapada had read
it out for his Guru’s approval.
India of ancient days was known for such
feats of memory. The Vedas were not written. They were just passed on from
generation to generation through word of mouth.
Even today we have among us in India men of extra-ordinarily
retentive memory who could perform wonderful feats. They are known as
‘Ashtavadhanis’, ‘Satavadhanis’ and ‘Dwisatavadhanis’. They exhibit wonderful
memory in addition to their literary genius and poetic abilities, even when
people try to distract their attention and disturb their concentration.
Memory is not necessarily a God’s gift or
genetic equipment. It can be sedulously cultivated and developed. The following
are some interesting facts:
-
Habit plays an
important part in strengthening memory.
-
Emotion or
feeling creates strong memory.
-
Memory
increases when information is received with great interest or motivation.
-
Brain is a
muscle. The more it is used the more is its effective functioning. Human brain
consists of two parts. The right hemisphere is connected with imagination and
memory.
-
What is
sensational or unusual is long remembered. Routine happenings are not
remembered long.
-
Memory is a
selective process. We remember things which we must or like to remember.
-
It is a thing
of the heart as well as the head.
-
We remember
information that is well organised and analytically presented. Order is
important. Memory functions effectively when it is reinforced by interest and
repetition on a basis of order.
-
It is useful to
make associations.
-
The more we
concentrate upon a subject, the stronger will be its memory. Therefore we must
invest more time on a subject which we need to remember.
-
Narration of
events in sequential order and story-telling are aids to memory.
-
Meditation
boosts memory. This is of great importance.
-
Men grow old
but memory doesn’t. There are cases of 90 year old people with strong memory.
-
Concentration
is at its best at spaced out intervals. One should not focus attention
at an unending stretch. There must be
pauses for rest and refreshment, as in all human activities.
-
Sleep helps in
enhancing memory power. It may sound strange but scientifically based.
-
Memory is an
act of faith. We must have confidence in ourselves.
-
We should not
depend on medicines for memory power.