[Via Appa - An article in The Hindu]
It is paradoxical that the majority of human beings fritter away their entire life in pursuit of sensory joys, which are short-lived, while they hardly aspire for Self-knowledge, which will give them eternal bliss. Even realising this irony will go a long way in enabling a person to keep the spiritual objective in mind while engaged in the world. In the BhagavadGita, Lord Krishna has stated that the senses are turbulent by nature andthey distract the mind when one practises self-control. So it is with effort that a spiritual seeker must master his senses and meditate on God.
In his discourse, Swami Omkarananda said the Lord had outlined thecharacteristics of a man of wisdom (Stithaprajna) in the Gita to enable theaspirant to develop these traits. Being an embodiment of bliss, a wise mandoes not seek joy outside. As he is poised in the non-duality of the Self heis aware that the diversity that is apparent to his senses is a delusion asa result of Maya. So he advocates Dharma without getting affected by thejoys and sorrows of the world.
Why is there so much emphasis in the scriptural texts on control of the mind and the senses? It is only by self-control that one can develop dispassion.Only when there is detachment can one embark on scriptural study by which Self-knowledge can be attained. Unless the mind is free from the turmoil created by sensations it cannot grasp the preceptor’s teachings. The Gita rationalises this prerequisite for spiritual life succinctly in a verse, “He who has not controlled his mind and senses can have no reason; nor can such an undisciplined man think of God. The unthinking man can have no peace; and, how can there be happiness for one lacking peace of mind?”
After studying the scriptures from a Guru, the spiritual seeker must seek solitude and reflect on the teachings, and engage in meditation. The scriptural texts do not say that he returns to worldly life. The example of Yayati will be relevant to highlight the importance of self-control. He enjoyed heavenly pleasures for over a thousand years before he understood that it is impossible to satisfy one’s desires. Like a fire fed by fuel burns brighter, desires only grow stronger when one tries to satisfy them. So a wise person must never become a slave to his senses.
Hi Adi,
I agree with your point that a wise man should not become slave to his senses, but you might have heard about the saying “mind is like a monkey” the more u control it, the more it wanders. I agree that one has to control his mind, but not always does this happen.It is the continuous belief and practice to realize god within himself makes him supreme
this is just my opinion
-Veda
Veda,
You are right!
Actually, the more you try to control your mind the more it wanders is very true. Instead, what we can do is just try and keep ourself away from the thoughts that the mind is generating. That way the control is not got, but atleast the mind is not controlling you!
Thanks for your comment! :)
Adi
I would like to bolser ur views on meditation , which truly is THE way to perfection. but attempting to controlling the mind and sense is not for the weak soul infested with kaarmic dirt. Some catalyst needs to be added. the catalyst can be a person who has truly gotten a glimpse of the TRUTH by seeking refuge in the TRUTH itself. Am gonna try and elaborate on that..
True it is that controlling the mind is the key to that swarga vaasal..but practically speaking and observing, it is somehting not easily achievable to everyone.As veda has pointed out , the mind of an average person in kali yuga is so conditioned before he/she gets to know about controlling the mind. Hence ,it becomes exceedingly difficult to control the mind. How can such a man seek his inner self? This situation is agravated by nature of Kali yuga itself which doesnt provide such a conducive environment for such practises. But as pointed out succinctly in Srimad bhagawatham, the easier way is first develop bhakthi to an Ishta Deivam , which can be developed effortlessly by pracitsing one or many of the nine ways to develop bhakthi(worshipping, prostration, hearing, remembering,chanting, archana,acting as a servant or dasya , acting as friend and total surrender unto him)
When one develops such an association with God, wat other difficult yogic process is needed?
When one develops love for the God ,who is in everything , he gets to know about him better and realizes tha t everything is HE and HE is everything…thus realizes wat his REAL self is…
thus constance remembrance of the god (Ishta deivam,) is the easiest and way to meditate. Of course, even such an easy way of meditation will be difficult for a person who is immersed in the world of samsaras but it doesnt take much time for the aspiring individual to gear forwards.
Gradually, other kinds of yoga can be easily put into practise further speeding up the time to that blissful state where one sees God everywhere.
If at all , all the above said thing made any sense , it is actually because of the grace of the prophets that walked this earth and obviously its because of the truth of the GRACE itself.
SRI KRISHNAARPANAMASTHU
Adi – very good post :)..I guess its high time the world control their senses and attain liberation lime me ;)
Krishna:
Superb! Divine is your comment! And has enhanced the value of my post!
Kali yuga and conditioning of mind seem to be paradoxical. We need tremendous will power to get over the various distractions available.
Thanks! :)
Arjuna:
The liberated being! Thanks! :)
Hey Adi reading your post, I have just one question, it may be juvenile, but it just cropped up. Why do we seek liberation, we all are trying to merge into the supreme, in short we are trying to vanish from the world. we are trying to destroy our identity.
Why did we come here in the first place ? who are we ? what is our real purpose ? are we born just so that we realize that we have to go back ? Don’t know just felt like asking – probably it is the state of my mind at the present moment.
Dear Aatma
Time will fetch u the answer.:) just like it made u to ask the questions..
Adi,
Nice read.
Krishna,
Very well said. There shouldn’t be any forceful controls. This would cause abnormal psychology. But the mind should gradually evolve to a state where attraction don’t bind us. This can be acheived through Bakthi which presupposes Jnana.
Holding in
All the limbs of desire
Just as a tortoise does
And accumulate all the energy
And then express
With the power of consciousness
Into this wide wide world
A life of bliss
Aatma:
We need to find answers to those questions! As Krishna says, time will fetch us the answers if our quest is pure!
Kasthuri:
Thanks! :)
Swahilyaji:
Thanks for that wonderful piece! :) It’s profound!