KrishnaUnlimited
Krishna Unlimited
United States
suresh
IT IS QUITE CLEAR THAT THE MIND CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO PURSUE ITS WAYWARD WAY OF PURSUING TEMPTATION. IT MUST BE STEERED TO THE CORRECT PATH. |
Control of the thought process is the prescribed way to realization. But control by whom or what? All of us are aware of how difficult it is to sit in meditation even for a few moments, without our thoughts running haywire. The control prescribed for attaining a higher state is the continuing and without any let up of concentration and awareness of the Paramathma. The establishment of who controls whom and what in the mind is very important to establish in the mind before the process of unrelenting focus begins. |
CONTROL OF THE MIND HAS MANY DIFFERENT ASPECTS AS DETAILED IN THE PURANAS. CONTROL, AS DESCRIBED IN THE PURANAS, ORIGINATES, NOT FROM A SUPPRESSION OF TEMPTATIONS OR URGES, BUT TO ENTIRELY ELIMINATE THEM. WHEN SELF CONTROL IS ESTABLISHED, ONE's LIFE MOVES AWAY FROM THE GRIP OF KARMIC FORCES AND PROBLEMS DISSIPATE. CONSIDER THE EMOTION OF ANGER AS AN EXAMPLE. IN PLAIN LANGUAGE, IF WE REFUSE TO GET ANGRY IN A SITUATION WHERE ANGER WAS EXPECTED, THE SUBSEQUENT EVENTS ARE ALSO MODIFIED FROM ONE OF CONFLICT TO ONE OF CONCILIATION AND PEACE. THIS IS HOW KARMA IS DEFEATED. SO THE PROCESS OF LEARNING ABOUT THE BEHAVIOUR OF THE SELF IS INITIATED BY THE PROBLEMS OF THE EXTERNAL WORLD. MODERN SCIENCE ON THE OTHER HAND, ATTEMPTS TO SOLVE EXTERNAL WORLD PROBLEMS BY GAINING KNOWLEDGE ON THE BEHAVIOUR OF MATERIALS. |
THIS CLEANSING IS ACCOMPLISHED ONLY THRU LEARNING and REALIZATION OF THE TRUTH. |
THOUGHT ALWAYS ACCEPTS WHAT IT PERCEIVES AS THE TRUTH AND THE PATTERN OF DESIRES, NEEDS, WANTS ETC., WILL BE REORGANIZED ONCE TRUTH IS REALIZED FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN IT IS REALIZED THAT PURSUIT OF MATERIAL WEALTH BEYOND ONE"S NEEDS IS WASTEFUL, THE MIND WILL NO LONGER BE DRIVEN BY GREED. |
THIS IS WHY OUR PURANAS PLACE SO MUCH IMPORTANCE ON THE REALIZATION OF TRUTH. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRANSFORMATION OF THOUGHT. |
TRADITIONALLY THERE ARE TWO PATHS TO REALIZATION OF THE TRUTH. ONE IS THROUGH GNANAM, WHICH IS KNOWLEDGE OF THE SELF, AND THE OTHER IS THROUGH BHAKTHI, WHICH IS COMPLETE SURRENDER OF THE THOUGHT PROCESS TO EASWARA. |
THE MIND CAN BE CONTROLLED AND PERSUADED TO STAY ON THE PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT ONLY THROUGH THE COMBINATION OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE SELF (GNANAM) AND BHAKTHI. |
MODERN SOCIETY PLACES RESTRICTION ON ACTS OF PLEASURE AND GREED THROUGH LAWS THAT ENCOURAGE MODERATION. THIS IS TO ENSURE THAT INDULGANCE DOES NOT RESULT IN PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HARM TO THIRD PARTIES IN THE SOCIETY OR IN A BREACH OF COMMUNITY's PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE. HOWEVER, AT THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL, OUR PURANAS ARE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE WASTEFUL AND MISDIRECTED USE OF THE THOUGHT PROCESS, WHICH IS MEANT TO LEAD TO A HIGHER LEVEL OF EXISTENCE. CONSEQUENTLY, PHYSICAL CONTROL IMPOSED BY SOCIETY TO CURB UNDESIRABLE BEHAVIOUR DIFFERS FROM AND IS SUBSERVIENT TO THE ELEVATION OF THE MENTAL PROCESS DESCRIBED IN THE PURANAS. |
SO THE STATE OF CONTROL OF THE MIND ORIGINATES FROM LEARNING THROUGH EXPERIENCE, OBSERVATION AND INFERENCE. |
KNOWLEDGE OF THE SELF IS ATTAINED THROUGH EXPERIENCE, AS ONE'S KARMA IS RENDERED. IT IS ALSO ATTAINED THROUGH OBSERVATION OF THE HAPPENINGS AND EXPERIENCES OF OTHER HUMAN BEINGS. |
KNOWLEDGE IS CONVICTION THAT WHAT IS BEING LEARNT IS THE TRUTH. THERE CANNOT BE ANY CONTROL UNLESS THE MIND IS CONVINCED OF THE BENEFICIAL IMPACT OF WHAT IS LEARNT. |
EVEN AFTER TRUTH IS REALIZED, IT IS QUITE POSSIBLE THAT THE MIND IS PULLED BY TEMPTATIONS TO BEHAVE IN A MANNER THAT GOES AGAINST ITS LEARNING. THE STORY OF KAUSHIKA MUNI IN SRMAD BHAGAVATHAM ILLUSTRATES THE IMPACT OF TEMPTATIONS (SENT BY INDIRA) TO BREAK HIS TAPAS. THE MUNI's TAPAS IS BROKEN THREE TIMES. EACH TIME HE STARTS FROM SCRATCH, AND FINALLY SUCCEEDS. |
TO STAY ON THE PATH OF REALIZATION WITHOUT SUCCUMBING TO TEMPTATIONS AND DISTRACTIONS IS A MAJOR ACHIEVEMENT THAT REQUIRES THE MIND TO BE IN A STATE OF DETACHMENT. |
TO BE IN A STATE OF DETACHMENT FROM WORLDLY OBJECTS, THE MIND MUST LEARN TO ATTRIBUTE ALL HAPPENINGS THAT ARE EXPERIENCED AND OBSERVED, TO THE CREDIT OF THE PARAMATHMA. IT IS ESSENTIAL TO REALIZE THAT WE AS INDIVIDUALS WITH SEVERE LIMITATIONS, CANNOT POSSIBLY BECOME OWNERS OF EITHER OBJECTS, PEOPLE OR EVENTS AROUND US. |
THE REALIZATION MUST ALSO SET IN THAT WE CAN CONTROL (OR ATTEMPT TO CONTROL) ONLY OUR OWN INNER SELF. THIS WILL HELP US TO STAY AWAY FROM WASTING TIME WITH THE EXTERNAL WORLD. |
BHAKTHI IN EASWARA IS THE MAJOR MOTIVATOR IN STAYING DETACHED FROM THE EXTERNAL WORLD. IF EVERYTHING THAT WE OBSERVE IS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF EASWARA, THEN THERE WILL BE NO PLACE FOR THE EGO, WHICH IS THE PARENT OF KARMA's FAVORITE CHILD - DESIRE. |
Copyright 2012 Krishna Unlimited. All rights reserved.
Krishna Unlimited
United States
suresh