his duty, even under difficult
circumstances.

Self-control as to the mind also means concentration on each piece of
work as it has to be done. My Master says about the mind: "You must not
let it wander. Whatever you are doing, fix your thought upon it, that it
may be perfectly done." Much time is lost in school because the boys do
not pay sufficient attention to their work; and unless the teacher is
himself paying full attention to it the minds of the boys are sure to
wander. Prayer and meditation are intended to teach control of the
mind, but these are practised only once or twice a day. Unless the mind
is controlled all day long by paying attention to everything we do, as
the Master directs, we shall never gain real power over our minds, so
that they may be perfect instruments.

One of the most difficult parts of a teacher's duty is to turn quickly
from one subject to another, as the boys come to him with their
different questions and troubles. His mind must be so fully under his
control that he can pay complete attention to the particular anxiety of
each boy, taking up one after the other with the same care and interest,
and without any impatience. If he does not pay this full attention he is
sure to make mistakes in the advice which he gives, or to be unjust in
his decisions, and out of such mistakes very serious troubles may arise.

On this point my friend, Mr. G.S. Arundale, the well-known Principal of
the Central Hindu College, writes: "At frequent intervals, of course,
boys come with complaints, with petitions, and here I have to be very
careful to concentrate my attention on each boy and on his particular
need, for the request, or complaint, or trouble, is sometimes quite
trivial and foolish, and yet it may be a great source of worry to the
boy unless it is attended to; and even if the boy cannot be satisfied he
can generally be sent away contented. One of the most difficult tasks
for a teacher is to have sufficient control over his attention to be
able continually to turn it from one subject to another without losing
intensity, and to bear cheerfully the strain this effort involves. We
often speak of something taxing a person's patience, but we really mean
that it taxes a person's attention, for impatience is only the desire of
the mind to attend to something more interesting than that which for the
moment occupies it."

Boys must be helped to concentrate their attention on what they are
doing, for their