Yogi Raman was a master of the art of archery. One morning, he asked his favorite disciple to witness a display of his skill. The disciple had seen this over a hundred times before, but he obeyed. They went into the jungle and when they reached a beautiful oak tree, Yogi Raman took a flower and placed it on one of the branches of the tree.

He opened his bag and took out three objects: his bow made of precious wood, an arrow and a white handkerchief, beautifully embroidered with lilacs. He positioned himself one hundred paces from the spot where he had placed the flower. While he was facing his target, he asked his disciple to blindfold him with the embroidered handkerchief.

The disciple followed his teacher’s instructions. Yogi Raman then asked his disciple how often he had seen him practice the ancient sport of archery.The disciple replied that he saw him every day. He added that the teacher had always managed to hit the flower from three hundred paces away.

With his eyes covered by the handkerchief, Yogi Raman stood firm, drew back the bowstring, aiming at the flower placed on the branch of the oak tree, and released the arrow. The arrow whistled through the air, but missed even the tree, and missed the target by a huge margin. Raman asked if he hit the flower, removing the handkerchief. The disciple replied that he had missed it completely. The disciple told the master that he had thought that he was going to demonstrate the power of thought and the ability to perform magic.

Yogi Raman replied that he had just taught him the most important lesson about the power of thought. He said that when we want something, we must concentrate only on that.No one can hit a target they cannot see.