Mind Is a Marvel
In the East, the Yogic
masters, rose beyond the mind through processes of Yoga, and totally separated
themselves from the mind and all its associated functions, and from that point
of vantage, untouched by the mind, and entirely free from influence of its
habitual patterns of thought, patiently studied its essential, inherent nature
and its behavior. They beheld it in the light of a tangible and higher
spiritual experience upon which they were established, and from where the mind
was seen to be a distinct object apart from the seer, a thing to be observed
and studied.
Mystery of the mind
Vegetation is entirely
unconscious of itself and its environment, knowing nothing about the soil in
which it grows, about the winds blowing above it, about the water soaking it.
In man alone, there is some miraculous factor which gives him an immediate
perception of his surroundings, and simultaneously gives him the ability to
develop knowledge out of which new ideas are created for himself. This
phenomenon is the mystery of human life. It is the mystery of the mind.
If you are in possession of
this amazing mental faculty, wherever you go, knowledge opens its doors to you;
whereas, deprived of this faculty, you are just like a pebble or a stone or a
cabbage. When you go into sleep, and as soon as the mind is absorbed, you
'lose' all practical knowledge and become like a block of stone or a piece of
wood. The moment the mind starts its activity once again, the whole miraculous
motion involved in life begins anew.
Mind – a boon or a bane
What is this mysterious thing
that makes so much difference to our being by its activity and its
non-activity, by its projection and its withdrawal? Man is all too unconscious
and ignorant of this inner marvel of his own mind. Who gives thought to
thought? A total change is brought about in that personality in whom the mental
functions go out of order. Such a person loses his importance and even his
'individuality'.
The faculty of the mind is the
greatest gift that God has bestowed upon the individual soul. Human nature
consists of the mind, but unfortunately, the mind can be the greatest single
curse as well. Everyone knows from experience how the mind can plague man at
the pinnacle of God's creation and is indispensable to his life in this
framework of earthly existence.
The State of mind
Now, we see that happiness or
unhappiness is totally a question of the state of mind. Passion, unlimited
desires and uncontrolled impulses are the unmaking of an individual. They lower
the state of mind, and total loss of peace, terrific agitation and intense
restlessness are the result. All this is experienced as pain, sorrow and
suffering. Such mental experiences make man miserable no matter what other
benefits God may have bestowed upon him. There is, therefore, a purpose in
trying to understand the mind and in making proper use of it. The mind is
designed as an instrument. Thought is, itself, your happiness and misery; your
heaven or your hell. Thought can either make you or ruin you. When the thought
process is ultimately stopped, life comes to an end. Thus, thought is life.
Thought and Mind
Mind and thought are not two
different things. If a person is able to stop thought temporarily or
permanently, then temporarily or permanently, mind ceases to be for him. If
this were ever to happen by itself, the person would be ruined, but if it were
done deliberately and scientifically, then he would become the master of the
whole universe. Total and complete stoppage of all mental activity by complete
mastery over the mind immediately gives man the experience of his True Being.
When the mind is totally eradicated, then the experience of what you really are
becomes your very own. You rest and have your existence in your Self.
Mind is a powerful instrument
Man's consciousness is never
as it essentially is. The mind clouds it over and acts as the barrier, as the
obstruction, to the play of Pure Consciousness which is your true being. You
should consider mind as an instrument, for when its behavior and its functions
are understood, you can use it as the greatest power that God has given. When
it is not properly understood, when nothing about its control is known, then
you are just a plaything in the hands of the mind. You should recognize
yourself as the master of the mind; otherwise you will fall into the error of
regarding yourself as a thinking machine. You are not a thinking
machine. You are the thinker - the independent director and controller
of this thinking machine called mind. If you do not realize this, you become
enslaved by the mind. As the mind is inclined, so are you propelled. You are
not at peace. You are tossed like a piece of cork on the surface of stormy
waters. Instead of using the mind, you become helpless. This must not be.
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