Question: Why the mind cannot be turned inward in spite of repeated attempts?

Answer: It is done by practice and dispassion and that succeeds only gradually. The mind, having been so long a cow accustomed to graze stealthily on others' estates, is not easily confined to her stall. However much her keeper tempts her with luscious grass and fine fodder, she refuses the first time; then she takes a bit; but her innate tendency to stray away asserts itself; and she slips away; on being repeatedly tempted by the owner, she accustoms herself to the stall; finally even if let loose she would not stray away. Similarly with the mind. If once it finds its inner happiness it will not wander outward.

... Bhagwan Sri Ramana Maharshi

antakAle ca mAmeva smaranmuktvA kalevaram /
yah prayAti sa madbhAvam yAti nAstyatra saMSayah //

yaM yaM vApi smaranbhAvaM tyajatyante kalevaram /
taM tamevaiti kaunteya sadA tadbhAvabhAvitah //

'And the one, who, at the time of death, having abandoned the body, remembers Me alone, that one attains the True Nature of 'I'; in this there is no doubt.' 'Whatever mental state one remembers, at the end, when one leaves the body, to that alone one goes, O Son of Kunti, (because of) ever 'thinking' of that state.' (Bhagavad Gita, 8; 5,6) This is the reason Self Enquiry 'practice' is so important. At the time of death, the ego throws up all the reasons it can to show its (small) self-importance. It reflects on its life... desperate to sustain that life. It bemoans the loss of its family and friends. It screams that this cannot be happening to one so awfully important. It remembers its possessions. It dwells on property and business. All it is... is these random thoughts. All this seems like it takes an age...but happens in the blink of an eye. EGO PANICS. This is the time to catch it. If Self Enquiry has been rehearsed, in the 'strong' mind... it cuts in, finding ego weak and vulnerable, and eradicates all trace of ego... there and then. Of this there is absolutely no doubt. There is absolutely no doubt.
Story:

A pair of birds who built a nest on the sea-shore, close to the waves. The birds were sand-pipers. They had three beautiful little eggs laid in their nest that where beginning to hatch, when, one day, while they were away getting soft things to line the nest, there came an extra big wave, rolling in from the sea, right up to the place where they had hidden the nest among the dunes. In one lap, it swallowed the nest and swept it out to sea: eggs, nest and all. The birds came back and could not find the nest. The reeds and the ruses were all wet, all white, all covered with foam. And the sea murmured. The birds flew up to the water’s edge, and demanded of the sea that their nest be restored to them. The sea continued to murmur and the waves to break. But there was no answer. Then the birds decided, "The sea has no business to take what does not belong to it. The sea shall give up what is not its own. We shall empty the sea. We shall regain our own." Then the father bird flew back to a clump of grass, and plucked one tiny blade, few out to sea, scooped up a few drops of water, flew back to the sands, shook the drops of water to the shore, and returned to the sea. This process, back and forth, flying out to sea, dipping and scooping, flying back to land, shaking water on the shore, again, and again he repeated. Then, exhausted with hunger, he gave the blade of grass to the mother bird and foraged for food while she continued the process. The birds didn’t look at the sea. They didn’t try to calculate its depth or its magnitude. They concentrated fully upon the task at hand.

Day’s passed. They poured themselves into their work. Then a great sage who was wandering past, saw the two little birds shuttling back and forth between shore and wave, and paused to watch them, puzzled. Then he addressed them, "Little ones, what your engaged in?" And the father bird replied, "Oh sage, I seek to empty the ocean." The sage’s eyes widened. The little bird narrated the story of the wave, and the capture of his nest and eggs. He spoke of his determination to regain them. So saying, he sought the sage’s blessings and flew out to sea. The sage was astounded at the greatness of the spirit of this little bird. And he addressed it, (for he was a man of great realization, established in cosmic consciousness and at one with nature). He demanded that the ocean restore that which the wave had taken. And the ocean brought back the nest and the eggs, and laid them at the sage’s feet. And the birds were satisfied.

... Sri Swami Chidananda

Vedantic Thought for the Month

We all find ourselves in the position for which we are fit ... So it is no use to grumble. There may be a rich man who is wicked, yet there must be in that man certain qualities that made him rich. What is the use of fighting and complaining? That will not help us to better things. He who grumbles at the little thing that has fallen to his lot to do will grumble at everything. Always grumbling, he will lead a miserable life, and everything will be a failure. But that man who does his duty as he goes, putting his shoulder to the wheel, will see the light, and higher and higher duties will fall to his share.

... The Vedata Kesari

Repeat Lord’s Name

Past sins can be countered by meditation. Japa and spiritual thought. .. The result of Karma is inevitable. But by repeating the Name of God, you can lessen its intensity. If you were destined to have a wound as wide as a ploughshare, you will get a pin-prick at least. The effect of Karma can be counteracted to a great extent by Japa and austerities.