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Chapter
XII MIND Q. Kindly define mind. A. Mind-Stuff is made of a highly rarefied
matter or Satva substance in the elements. Gossamer-like it spreads in the body
with its tentacles deeply rooted in the senses, working through sense-organs. Its base also goes far above, rooted as it
is in the universal or comic mind chid-akash.
It serves as a link between the material body and the conscious spirit
or soul in the body which is enlivening both the mind and the body. Like fire, it is a good servant but a bad
master. Q. Where is the seat of the mind?
A. The seat of the mine in the body is in the
eye-focus as that of the soul, but slightly towards the right corner of the
left eye while that of the soul is slightly towards left corner of the right
eye. Q. Is mind conscious?
A. No, the mind by itself, is not
conscious. It is the consciousness of
the soul that the mind reflects. Q What are the attributes of mind?
A. Mind has four facets or attributes; to wit,
(1) Chit. It may be likened to a lake
in which countless streams of impressions are imperceptibly pouring in all the
time. (2) Manas. It is the thinking faculty of the mind which
cogitates over such impressions as rise on to the surface of the lake in the
form of ripples and waves just as the breeze of consciousness blows over the
waters of the chit-lake and sets in motion an endless chain of thoughts one
after the other. (3) Budhi or
intellect. It is the faculty of reason,
ratiocination, discrimination and finally decision, after considering the pros
and cons as presented by the manas. It
is the grand arbiter that tries to solve the problems of life which come before
it. (4) Ahankar or ego. It is the self-assertive faculty of the mind
for it likes to assume credit for all the acts done, and thus prepares a rich
harvest of karmas that keep one moving up and down in giant Wheel of Life. Q. Why is mind considered a formidable barrier
to spiritual progress? A. Mind in its present state is burdened with
huge karmic load of past lives. It is
enthralled by the outgoing faculties of senses and it thus driven helplessly
into the mire of sense-gratification.
The alphabet of spiritual progress commences with the control of
mind. It is said that unless mind is
controlled, senses are disciplined, and intellect is stilled, we cannot have
experience of Self-realization. Human
body is just like a chariot wherein soul is the rider, mind is the driver,
intellect is the rains and senses are the powerful steeds running amuck in the
mire of sensuous gratification. It is
for this reason that for having a retrace of the facts, the senses are to be
disciplined, intellect stilled and mind controlled so that the inner experience
of soul can be had. Mind is accustomed
to roam about externally through ages.
Unless it is offered something more joyous within, it cannot be
controlled. The four main attributes of
mind as discussed above have to be divinized before any perceptible right
understanding of the subject can be arrived at. Just as at present we are so greatly impressed by the facts of
externality of life that we have little or no knowledge of the higher spiritual
truth full of Divine beautitude; which is gross ignorance, similarly unless we
have firm conviction of the life of the Beyond, there is not hope of our mind
taking the right turn. It is only in
the presence of the taking the right turn.
It is only in the presence of the Living Master, who has full command
and control of His mind, that we find radiant reflections of inner stillness
and equipoise of the mind. A Saint has
exclaimed aptly: Gar
tu dari dar dile khud azam --raftan suey dost; Yak qudam bar nafas -- khud neh
deegray dar kuey dost. " If you are firmly resolved to proceed to the Beloved Lord, you
should put one foot on the mind and the other will enable you to reach the
alley of the Friend." Self is the friend of self and self is the foe of self. The mind, acting as a slave to the senses,
running after the sense-objects, debases itself. As a reckless sower of the karmic seeds, it has, per force, to
reap and garner an abundant harvest, in life after life, in an endless
series. The poor soul in the light and
life of which the mind works is hopelessly and helplessly relegated to the
back- ground and the mind assumes the supreme command of the citadel of
body. What a pity! The princess of the
royal blood is swayed by the wiles of a trickster who himself is being
pleasurably duped by the siren-songs of the senses and is unwittingly dancing
to their tunes on the stage of mundane life.
No wonder that it poses menace to the security and integrity of the
soul, running a handicap race with formidable andat times insurmountable
hurdles in the way. We have, therefore,
to subdue this inveterate foe before we can smoothly tread the spiritual
path. To subdue the mind by force is
impracticable. It has to be won over
steadily by persuasion and by giving it some foretaste of the real happiness
which a Master-Saint alone can do. Q. Why does mind not relish its spiritual
discipline?
A. Human mind is so fashioned by Providence
that it does not like to be captivated.
It is ever restless unless it reaches its true abode. It is an agent of the Negative Power tied to
each soul and will not allow the latter to proceed to the True Home of the
Father. The Masters instruct us for
taming it for the higher purpose of spiritual progress. As a matter of fact mind is helpless against
the onslaught of senses which are in their turn driven into the jungle of
gratification. A careful analysis will
show that the lower categories of creation who are endowed with one sense
prevailing as uppermost are either done to death or live their whole life under
captivity. For instance moth is
overwhelmingly fond of light on account of its sense of sight, which takes its
precious life. A moth will never
hesitate to burn itself on the burning candle.
Flower-fly
is fond of small and other fragrance.
It rushes on to the blossoming flower and prefers to die in it than to
leave it. Fish is the fastest creature
and enjoys its life in running waters.
It has the weakness of taste or lure of tongue. The fish catchers put some eatable on the
rod and the fish is caught helplessly on the hook and serves as a eatable. Deer
is one of the most nimble-footed animals which can rarely be overtaken by a
horse, but it has a weakness for hearing.
The hunters go to the wood and beat the drum in such an enchanting
manner that unaware the deer is irresistably driven near, and places its head
on the drum and loses its freedom for lifetime. Elephant is one of the mightiest creatures but it has the
weakness of lust which provides for a not very difficult way of capturing it by
digging deep pits in the jungle and covering them with grass and bushes. An artificial she-elephant like a decoy is
placed over it. The lustful animal
rushes towards it and thrown into the deep well, where it is kept for several
days hungry and thirsty. When it is
taken out it is so weak and feeble that it is put under the iron goad for the
entire life. From the above it is
pretty clear that the souls which are considered as bound in lower forms of
creation are so much overpowered
by one sense, where lies the safety of human souls who are endlessly enticed by
all the five powerful senses of sight, smell sound, taste, and touch. By sheer habit, it has become mured, roaming
the world over like a wild elephant in a forest. Feeding fat on the lusts of the flesh, from moment to moment, it
has grown out of all proportions. The
spiritual disciplines are irk-some and galling to it for they impose serious
restraints on its free movement. This
is why the mind does not relish any discipline, and plays all kinds of tricks
to evade them, posing at times, as an honest broker pleading on behalf of our friends
and relations and whispering sermons on our duties and obligations towards the
world in varied aspects of life. Unless
one is very vigilant and is equipped with a quick discernment, one fails to see
through its pranks and falls an easy prey to them. It is the outstretched gracious Hand of the Master which help us to wade
through jungles of sensuous wilderness.
Ethical discipline if cultivated under the protective guidance of the
Master is helpful for spiritual progress.
Ethics
and spirituality go hand in hand. The
former is the soil and latter the seed which thrives and blooms in favourable
circumstances. Q. Is there any good or helpful characteristic
of mind?
A. Yes, mind like Janus, has another face as
well. If it is trained properly by
gentle persuasion and kindly words of advice, with a little patting now and
then, it can be converted from a formidable foe into a valuable friend and a
helping hand to the soul in its search for Truth. It is just a question of time and patience to bring about this
conversion, and when it is done, one can have no better help-mate than the
mind. It has the capacity,
chameleon-like, to take on the colour of the ground where it squats and that
indeed is a redeeming feature. When
living on the circumference of life, it expands outwards, downward; but rooted
as it is in the Gannan, it is not impervious to the higher and holier
influences of a Master-soul to whom it responds and He channelizes it the other
way about. Like fire it is a very good servant but a bad master. Mind
has helpful quality of running into the grooves of habit, and to relish acts of
repetitive nature. We can benefit from
this by inducing it towards good acts leading to spiritual discipline and
progress. A saint has beautifully
said:( My feet proceed farther and father; the mind follows quite meekly and
cheerfully.) If
by careful and steady striving we could induce our mind to sit silently for
meditations at the fixed time for a certain number of days, a good habit will
be formed. It is a proven fact that
when that hour of meditation will arrive, our attention will be drawn towards
it, and by degrees we shall begin to relish to- meditate. Similar is the case with attending Satsang
regularly. We can develop this habit by
regularly going to see the Master and attending His discourses that are full of
Divine Knowledge. It is often noticed
that persons with very poor spiritual background tend to grow spiritually by benefitting
from the radiation of the Master-Power in the charged atmosphere. Q. How can the mind be stilled?
A. Mind is enamoured of pleasures and runs
after them whenever and wherever they can be found. It is stilled in the
physical presence of the Master. It is
by His Divine Radiation that the souls are attracted towards Him, and the mind
which gets consciousness from the soul is stilled for the time being. Tulsi
Sahib says.( The attention or the outer expression of soul is controlled in the
company of a Sadh. It is only then that
the mind attains some stillness.) But pleasures of the flesh are quite
different from true happiness born of inner peace in the soul. It the mind is provided with the appetency
to relish something sublime and gets an opportunity of doing so it knows the
value of real happiness with the result that the sense-pleasures lose all their
charm, and thereafter seem insipid and valueless. This is the way to still the mind and the way to control the
hydra-headed monster by making manifest in the body the dulcet strains of the
Music of Life, enlivening the entire creation.
We have an instance of it in the life of Lord Krishna, where it is
allegorically explained how the Lord tamed the many headed cobra in the river
Jumna (human body), by the melody of His magic flute (Audible Life Stream). Q. Can all actions undertaken at the level of
mind and senses help spiritual progress?
A. All actions performed at the level of mind
and senses, however good and virtuous in themselves, cannot per se bring about
Spiritual Salvation. They are as
binding as evil actions. One is the
chains of gold and the other or iron. To do good actions are better than to do
bad ones, or inaction altogether, but beyond preparing a ground for spiritual
progress, do not by themselves be of any avail to the spirit which lies far
beyond and above the sense-plane. But
once a person is put on the spiritual path, then all the actions automatically
flow from him as from any agent working for the principal and as such cease to
have any binding effect on him as he has lost all sense of doership, ultimately
making him neh-karma (actionless). To
be neh-karma then should be our ideal in life and this means Salvation. Q. Does mind retain impressions of past karma? A. Yes, mind is nothing but a storehouse of
karmic impressions coming down from the beginning of time in an endless series
of incarnations. The body cannot but
perform karmas, and karmas fashion the body and all that is of the body and
bodily relation. The entire world is a
play of karmic impressions stored in the mind by the people of the world. This is why the world is termed as mano mai
srishti or creation of the mind. Q. How can the dross of mind be washed away?
A. The dross of mind can be washed clean. The sovereign and the most potent remedy to
wash the mind clean, say all the Masters is by communion with the holy Word. The God-in-action power creating and
sustaining all that is visible and invisible.
To be in tune with the music of the soul is to cut asunder and to sunder
for ever the knots which at present bind the material body with the conscious
soul, imprisoned in the body with countless fetters. Guru
Nanak says in Jap Ji: When the hands, feet and the body are
besmeared, they are washed with water; when the clothes get dirty and polluted,
they are cleansed by soap; When one's mind gets defiled by sin, it can be
purified only by communion with the world. |