Time
— A Mode of the MindTime is but
a mode of mind. It is also illusory like the objects. When your mind is deeply concentrated, a period of two hours appears
like five minutes. If the mind is distracted and wandering, half an hour appears as two hours. This is everybody's experience.
In dream also the experiences of some years take place within ten minutes. Through the play of the mind a kalpa is considered
as a moment, and vice-versa.
If all the modifications
of the mind stop through restraint (nirodhah), time will vanish. Time is a mental creation. Mind is a product or modification
of the indescribable power of the Lord. The one power (shakti), which is known by various names, assumes various forms for
keeping up the divine play of the Lord. Wonderful is the illusive power of the Lord! Still more wonderful is the Lord and
His divine play (lila). He who obtains the grace of the Lord through total unreserved self-surrender and unswerving devotion
understands His divine play, rejoices in Him, goes beyond time and mind and attains immortality.
Bulbs
are of different colours but the light is the same in all bulbs. Even so, the bodies and mental attitudes (bhavanas) are different
but Atman (the Self) is one in all beings. A white bulb represents sattvic mind or sattvic bhavana; a red bulb rajasic mind
or rajasic bhavana; a black bulb tamasic mind or tamasic bhavana.
Bodies are different, mental attitudes are different, gunas (qualities born of nature) are different and actions
are different, but the Self is the same in all beings.
Noses
are different. Some noses are aquiline, some are broad, but the power (shakti) that grasps the smell is one in all noses.
Flowers are different, colours of flowers are also different, but the organ that sees is one. Even so, bodies are different
and minds are different, but the Intelligence (Self, Atman or consciousness) is one.
All colours are centred in the eye, all tastes are centred in the tongue, all touches are centred
in the skin, all sounds are centred in the ear, all scents are centred in the nose, all senses are centred in the mind, all
minds are centred in OM or Atman or the Supreme Self, the support of everything.
This universe is also an aspect of the Lord, because its creation, preservation and dissolution
proceeds from Him. Golden ear-rings, armlets, etc., are nothing but gold; so also this world of names and forms is nothing
but the Lord. All the forms are divine manifestations of the Lord. If you remember this constantly you will have a new angle
of vision. You will be freed from attachment and hatred. You will attain Self-realisation through the worship of the Lord
in His form as the manifested universe.
Metaphysics of the Inner Man The physical body, the astral body, life-force (prana), intellect (buddhi), the instinctive mind,
the spiritual mind and the spirit are the seven principles of man. Buddhi is pure reason. The seat of buddhi is just below
the crown of the head in the pineal gland in the brain. Buddhi is manifested only in those persons who have developed right
intuitive discrimination (viveka). The ordinary reason of worldly people is termed practical reason, which is dense and has
limitations.
Prana is the vital-force or life-energy.
It is the eternal symbol of God or Brahman. It is the link between the astral and physical body.
Prana is divided into physical prana and psychic prana. Breathing is an external
manifestation of physical prana. All thoughts are due to the vibration of psychic prana in the sub-conscious. Prana is the
horse and the body is the chariot. It vibrates and mind is set in motion. Mind thinks when prana moves. If it departs from
the body all functions of the body will stop. The physical body will remain like a log of wood. Separation of prana from the
physical body is called 'death' in common parlance. Control of prana leads to control of mind and vice-versa.
Just as an arrow is propelled by a bowman, so this body is propelled
by prana. It is prana which manipulates this physical body and which fills and permeates it.
By the command of Brahman the ocean does not exceed its limits. By His command
the sun shines and rises at the appointed time in the east. By His command the fire burns. By His command the mind, prana
and the senses function.
Matter, prana and
mind are the three relative manifestations of the Absolute. Prana is really a modification or manifestation of mind. Prana
is the faculty of action. Matter emanates from prana. Prana proceeds from mind. Matter is below prana. Prana is above matter
but below mind. Prana is positive to matter but negative to mind. Mind is positive to both prana and matter, but negative
to will. Will is the centre of ego. Will is the general-in-chief which directs the mind and prana to all parts and in all
directions. Intuition is above reason and is the channel of communication between man and spirit. Development of the will-power
by auto-suggestion is the basic principle of raja yoga or vedanta.
If you separate yourself from negative feelings and identify yourself with the Supreme Being no external influence
can affect you. You will be invulnerable. Sometimes depression manifests on account of some disappointment or failure, severe
dyspepsia or heated debates, wrong thinking or wrong feeling. Drive out the feeling of depression and gloom at once by enquiry,
singing divine songs, prayers, chanting of OM, pranayama, a brisk walk in the open air or thinking of the opposite quality,
the feeling of joy. Try to be happy in all states and radiate only joy towards all around you.
Why do you weep, my child? You are more emotional than rational. Control the emotions
and become calm. Remove the bandage from your eyes and see now. You are surrounded by truth and truth alone. All is light
and bliss only. The cataract of ignorance has blurred your vision. Extract the cataract immediately. Put on a new pair of
glasses by developing the inner eye of wisdom through regular practice of concentration.
It is not thought alone that determines action. There are some intelligent people
who think reasonably on the pros and cons of a thing, but when the time comes they are led astray by temptations. They do
wrong actions and repent later on. It is the feeling that really goads man to action. Some psychologists lay special stress
on imagination and say that it is imagination that really determines action. They bring the following illustrations in support
of their view. Suppose a long plank one foot broad is placed between two turrets, each twenty feet high. When you begin to
walk on this plank you imagine that you will fall down, and so you actually fall down, whereas you are able to walk on the
same plank when placed on the ground. Suppose you go on a bicycle along a narrow lane. You see a big stone on the way. You
imagine that you will hit the cycle against the stone, and so you actually run the cycle against the stone. Some other psychologists
say that it is the will that determines an action. Will can do everything. Vedantins are of this latter opinion.
Will is the basic power in man. It is the soul-force. If the
desires are destroyed, will-power develops. Control of the sense organs also augments the will-power. Determination, patience,
interest, attention, perseverance, tenacity, application, fixity of purpose, persistency, practice of celibacy and meditation
on the Self develop the will-power. A man of strong will has perfect self-confidence. He achieves sanguine success in all
his attempts. Failure is unknown to him. Do not mistake obstinacy or stubbornness for strong will. Stubbornness is born of
tamas or inertia. It is a form of stupidity.
Within
you is a vast magazine of power, within you is the ocean of knowledge, within you is the fountain of bliss. All faculties
are latent in you. The inner man is the immortal Soul. You are identical with the supreme Self. Realise this and be free.
Unfold your latent faculties through meditation. Tap the source, dive deep within and bring up the pearl of the Atman. Be
bold, be cheerful. May you become a superman!
You
are the architect of your own fate and fortune. You are the master of your own destiny. You can do and undo things. You can
attain Brahmanhood by right thinking, right feeling and right acting. You can break old morbid habits by the power of your
will.
You can destroy wrong tendencies, unholy
desires and incorrect imaginations. You can cultivate new habits, you can change your nature, you can build up a beautiful
character. You can move the whole world by your spiritual force, you can elevate others also to the status of divinity. You
can control the forces of nature and command the elements.
The powers of the mind are like rays of light dissipated. The rays of the mind are drawn towards various objects.
You will have to gather them patiently through dispassion (vairagya) and practice (abhyasa), renunciation and austerity, and
then march boldly on with indefatigable energy towards God or Brahman. When the mental rays are concentrated, illumination
begins.
The intelligent, skilful and ever vigilant
yogi is ever ready with his arrows to kill this wandering mischievous, turbulent mind. He attains ethical perfection, discipline
of the senses and the mind, steadies the body, regulates the breath, adjusts the diet, controls the semen and finally hits
at the mind straightaway. Then he enters into deep samprajnata-samadhi. You will find in the Mandukya Upanishad: "Pranava
or OM is the bow, the mind or the lower self the arrow, and Brahman the mark or the target. If one carefully shoots at the
mark, he becomes one with it."
It is an admitted psychological fact that the mental processes by which you obtain knowledge are not merely confined
to the field of consciousness, but also cover the field of subconsciousness. If you know the technique of speaking to your
subconscious mind and the art or science of extracting work from it just as you would speak to your servant or a dear old
friend, then all knowledge will be yours. Yes, it is a question of practice, and practice will make you perfect.
All that you have inherited, all that you have brought with
you through innumerable births in the past, all that you have seen, heard, enjoyed, tasted, read or known either in this life
or in past lives, are hidden in your subconscious mind.
When you are unable to solve some puzzle in metaphysics, science or philosophy, ask your subconscious mind to
do the work for you with the full trust and confidence that you are bound to get the right solution from it. Master the technique
of concentration and way of commanding your subconscious mind and make full and free use of all that knowledge. Command your
subconscious mind in the following manner: "Look here, you subconscious mind! I want the solution to this puzzle or problem
very urgently tomorrow morning.
Kindly do it quickly." Let your command be given in very clear terms, and let there be no ambiguity about it. You will positively
get the answer from your subconscious mind the next morning. But sometimes the subconscious mind may be busy otherwise, and
in such cases you will have to wait for some days. You will have to repeat the same command regularly every day at a fixed
time.
If an idea is planted in the mind
it grows at night through the operation of the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind never takes any rest. From the authentic
writings and the experiences of a hypnotised person we can clearly infer the existence of the subconscious mind which operates
throughout the twenty-four hours.
Practice
of telepathy, thought-reading, hypnotism, mesmerism, distant healing, psychic healing, etc., clearly prove that mind exists
and that a higher developed mind can influence and subjugate the lower mind.
The occult phenomena that take place in the mental world are all based on scientific laws. Occultists
and raja yogins should have a comprehensive, intelligent understanding of these laws. Then only will they be able to easily
control the psychic forces. Mind is Like a Chameleon
Mind is not only daily made, but hourly made. Every minute it changes its colour and shape like
a chameleon. It is very wavering and unsteady.
Neem
leaves are bitter when you are in normal health, but if you taste them when you are bitten by a cobra, they are sweet. Bitterness
and sweetness do not lie in the leaves, but they are in the subject. They are created by the mind. It is the mind that gives
the qualities of shape, colour, taste, etc., to the object.
Just as the water that flows from a tank to the fields through channels assumes the forms of the respective fields,
so also the mind goes out through the channel of the eyes, pervades the objects and assumes the forms of the respective objects.
As soon as one field is filled with water, the water is diverted and sent to the next field. Water thus flows from one field
to another field. Even so, the mind assumes the form of one object, and then it jumps to another object, then to a third object
and so on.
Sometimes one says: "I was
absent in mind, I did not hear. I was absent in mind, I did not see." In this manner it is evident that a person sees with
the mind and hears with the mind. Desire, determination, uncertainty, belief, unbelief, steadiness, unsteadiness, intellect
and fear are mind alone.
When one is
under chloroform anaesthesia, the activity of the cells of the brain is inhibited by the effect of chloroform. The mind, which
has its seat in the brain during waking consciousness, now rests in a place midway between the throat and the heart and so
one has no feeling of pain even when his leg is amputated. Man feels pain only when the mind is connected with the body. When
one is under chloroform the mind is disconnected from the physical body.
When the mind is fully occupied in the affairs of warfare the soldier does not feel any serious
injury when he gets a gunshot wound in the leg. He is filled with enthusiasm. He is not conscious of his body for the time
being. When the excitement is over, when he sees some blood spots on his clothing or when one of his comrades points out to
him the wound on the leg, he comes to consciousness. Then he is alarmed a bit. The power of imagination havocs now. He gets
a collapse. The power of imagination always exaggerates.
Conscience is the result of the action of environment on the mind. It is one's own convictions. It is ever-changing.
The conscience of one man differs from that of another. If you acquire some more experience you will have a different conscience.
Though the mind is the same, the mode of thinking is different
in different persons. The mentality, temperament and latent tendencies are different in different persons. A Persian poet,
a Delhi grocer and an Ayodhya priest were travelling together on the road to Badrinarayan. Near Deva Prayag, where the Ganges
and the Alakananda meet together, a nightingale was singing in a very melodious tune. The Persian poet said: "This bird is
singing subhan teri kudaret — How magnanimous is Thy nature's glory." The grocer said: "The bird is singing hing haldi
adharak — Asafoetida, turmeric, ginger." The Ayodhya priest said: "The bird is singing Rama-Sita-Dasarath (names of
God)".
A philosopher will make out some
kind of philosophy even from abusive words and unpleasant expressions.
The mind born of meditation is free from desires and impressions. There cannot be any abode for
desires or attraction and repulsion or virtue and sin in the mind that is born of meditation. Marvels of the Mind
Look at the marvels of the mind! One is struck with awe and wonder when he witnesses a hypnotised
person in trance and hears his narratives. The hypnotised person narrates very lucidly the life history and incidents of a
person whom he has not seen in his life.
A
maid servant who was attending on a Hebrew priest used to hear the Hebrew verses during her service. She suddenly developed
a double-personality when she was sick in the hospital, and repeated Hebrew verses. She did not know the Hebrew language.
All the impressions (of hearing from the priest) were in the subconscious mind, and she repeated the verses. No impressions
are lost. They are indelibly recorded in the gramophone machine of the mind stuff (chitta).
A priest used to forget his old personality and assume a new personality, a new
name and a new vocation for six months. When he developed a double-personality he would leave his old house and entirely forget
all about his old life, and then return after six months and entirely forget all about the second personality he assumed for
six months. Power of Thought
Man is thought-formed. "As a man thinks, such indeed he is and as he thinks in this world he
becomes on departing hence." —Chhandogya Upanishad: III-41-1
If all thoughts are eliminated there remains nothing which can be called 'mind'. So 'thoughts'
are the mind. Again, there is no such thing as the world independent of and apart from thoughts.
Your thoughts mould your character and shape your destiny. Thought has tremendous
power. It is more powerful than electricity. Thoughts control your life. Conquer your thoughts.
Thoughts gain strength by repetition. If you entertain an evil thought or good
thought once, this evil thought or good thought has a tendency to recur again. Thoughts crowd together just as birds of the
same feather flock together, so if you entertain one evil thought all sorts of evil thoughts join together and pull you down.
If you entertain any good thought, all good thoughts join together and raise you up.
Kill ruthlessly the fear-thoughts, selfish-thoughts, hate-thoughts, lustful-thoughts
and other morbid negative thoughts. These evil thoughts induce weakness, disease, disharmony, depression and despair.
At first an evil thought enters the mind. Then you entertain
a strong imagination. You take delight in dwelling on that evil thought. You give it consent to stay in the mind. Gradually
the evil thought, when it is not resisted, takes a strong hold in your mind. Then it becomes very difficult to drive it off.
The proverb goes: "Give a rogue an inch and he will take a mile." This is true of thoughts also.
Like attracts like. If you entertain an evil thought this thought attracts all
sorts of evil thoughts from others. You pass on that thought to others also. Thought moves; it is a living force. Thought
is a thing. If you allow your mind to dwell on a sublime thought this thought will attract good thoughts from others. You
pass on that good thought to others. You pollute the world with your bad thoughts. You improve the world with your good thoughts.
Cultivate positive thoughts such as mercy, courage, love and
purity. The negative thoughts will die by themselves. Try this and feel your strength. Pure thoughts will infuse in you a
new exalted life.
The thoughts you create
in your mind and the images you form in your daily life will help in making you what you are or what you want to become. If
you constantly think of the pure, immortal Atman and meditate on the formula 'I am Brahman', you will become identical with
Atman. If you constantly think of Lord Krishna you will become identical with the Lord. You will abide in Him for ever.
Sublime divine thoughts produce tremendous influence in the
mind and drive away evil thoughts and change the mental substance. Mind is wholly changed into light by entertaining divine
thoughts.
Thoughts are solid things, more solid
than a lump of stone. They have tremendous force or power. Utilise this thought-power carefully. It can serve you nicely in
a variety of ways. But do not misuse this power at random. If you do misuse it you will have quick downfall or a terrible
reaction. Utilise it to help others.
From
thinking comes attachment; from attachment desire is born; from desire proceeds anger — anger arises when desire is
frustrated by some cause or the other; from anger arises delusion; from delusion, failure of memory, from failure of memory,
loss of intellect; from loss of intellect man is totally ruined. If you want to attain everlasting peace do not think of objects
but think always of the immortal, blissful Atman alone.
Desires by themselves are harmless. They are galvanised by the power of imagination or thought. Then only they
do much havoc. Man muses or thinks on the objects of the senses. He imagines that he will get a great deal of pleasure from
them. This imagination cooperates with the desires. Then the desires are invigorated or vitalised. They attack the deluded
jiva vehemently.
The external objects
are continuously acting upon the brain. The sense-impressions reach the brain through sense-avenues and produce mental stimuli.
Now you are conscious of the external objects. Consciousness may be caused by an awakening, either by an external stimulus,
i.e., a stimulus from a sense-impression or an internal stimulus through memory. Each simple sense-impression is a highly
complex bundle of afferent-stimuli (stimuli that are carried from outside towards the brain). A stimulus is an awakening in
the substratum of the mind. The associations of awakenings which arise from a single sense-impression are very complex.
When the mind thinks of worldly objects there is order. The
mind may think of a rose and then it may think of a bungalow, money, sea-voyage, aeroplane, motor car, restaurants and pictures.
You may think that the mind is aimlessly wandering, but there is order in its movement. The idea of a bungalow comes when
it thinks of a rose because the rose is grown in the compound of a bungalow. As soon as it thinks of a bungalow the idea of
money creeps in, because a wealthy man who possesses money lives in a bungalow. Then the mind wants to enjoy pleasant objects
with the help of money. It wants to take a pleasure-trip to Europe and move about there in an aeroplane and automobile, to
eat dainties in hotels and to see pictures in cinemas.
Molten gold which is poured into a crucible assumes the shape of the crucible. Even so, the mind assumes the
form of the object which it intensely dwells upon. If it thinks of an orange it assumes the shape of an orange. If it thinks
of Lord Krishna it assumes the form of Lord Krishna. You must train the mind properly and give it proper pure sattvic food
for assimilation. Have a pure background of thought or mental image.
It is the mental attitude that determines the nature of an action and brings its fruits. You
may embrace your mother or sister or your wife. The action is the same but the mental feeling (bhava) is different.
Watch your ideas and feelings always. Your attitude should always
be pure. You should always entertain thoughts of God. Watch the feeling during meditation.
If you have purity and concentration you can make the mind assume any feeling
you like. If you think of mercy your whole being will be saturated with mercy. If you think of peace your whole being will
be pervaded with peace. Chitta
The subconscious mind is termed chitta. Much of your subconscious consists of submerged experiences, memories
thrown into the background, but recoverable.
When
you show symptoms of losing your memory as you grow old, the first symptom is that you find it difficult to remember the names
of persons. The reason is not far to seek. All the names are arbitrary. They are like labels. There are no associations along
with the names. The mind generally remembers through associations, as the impressions become deep thereby. You can remember
in old age some passages you have read in school and college, but you find it difficult to remember in the evening a passage
you have read in the morning. The reason is that the mind has lost its power of grasping ideas. The cells have degenerated.
Those who overwork mentally, who do not observe the rules of celibacy and who are afflicted with many cares, worries and anxieties,
lose their power of memory soon. Even in old age you can remember old events as there are associations with these events.
The mental processes are limited to the field of consciousness
alone. The field of subconscious mentation is of a much greater extent than that of conscious mentation. Only ten percent
of mental activities come into the field of consciousness. At least ninety percent of our mental life is subconscious. We
sit and try to solve a problem and fail. We look around, try again and again, but fail. Suddenly, an idea dawns and leads
to the solution of the problem. The subconscious process was at work. Messages when ready come out like a flash from the subconscious
mind or chitta.
Sometimes you go to sleep at
night with the thought: "I must get up very early in the morning to catch a train." This message is taken up by the subconscious
mind and it is this subconscious mind that wakes you up unfailingly at the exact hour. Subconscious mind is your constant
companion and sincere friend. You repeatedly fail at night to get a solution for a problem in arithmetic or geometry. In the
morning when you wake up you get a clear answer. Even in sleep it works incessantly without any rest. It arranges, classifies,
compares, sorts all facts and works out a proper satisfactory solution. This is all due to the subconscious mind.
When you desire to remember a thing you will have to make a
psychic exertion. You will have to go up and down the depths of the different levels of the subconscious mind and then pick
up the right thing from a curious mixture of multifarious irrelevant matter. Just as the mail sorter in the Railway Mail Service
takes up the right letter by moving the hand up and down along the different pigeonholes, so also the sorter in the subconscious
mind goes up and down along the pigeon-holes in the subconscious mind and brings the right thing to the level of normal consciousness.
The other functions of chitta are remembrance, attention and
investigation. When you repeat a mantra it is the chitta that does the remembering. It does a lot of work. It turns out better
work than the mind or intellect.
With
the help of the subconscious mind you can change your vicious nature by cultivating healthy, virtuous qualities that are opposed
to the undesirable ones. If you want to overcome fear, mentally deny that you have fear and concentrate your attention upon
the opposite quality, the ideal of courage. When this is developed, fear vanishes by itself. The positive always overpowers
the negative. This is an infallible law of nature. You can acquire a liking for distasteful tasks and duties by cultivating
a desire and taste for them. You can establish new habits, new ideals, new ideas and tastes and a new character in the subconscious
mind by changing the old ones.
