Secrets of Mind control....

Have you ever noticed ‘silent mind’? The mind is always in the habit of thinking about something and it cannot remain idle for a moment. They say ‘Idle mind is a devil’s workshop”? It is not a correct statement! How the mind will remain idle without any thought? Thoughts are like the air that surrounds us! The very meaning of ‘idle’ is doing nothing, but the mind has only one function; i.e. to think. Have you noticed at any time that the ‘thoughts cease’? It is not possible. Only when one faints, the thought may cease. Otherwise we are always thinking except during ‘deep sleep’ state! Even during dreaming state, the mind remains active. Only during deep sleep, the mind rests in the self and remains quiescent. Hence after waking up, we realize the pleasant experience of deep sleep state, when the mind remains absent at least for few hours in the night!

This experience of ‘absence of mind’ is a way to enable us to realize the blissful state of Atma! But this experience ceases when one slide into dream state or wake up from the slumber! Once again, we are caught in the turmoil of earthly life which is full of grief and pain, intercepted by few moments of pleasure. Hence, it is said that “Pleasure is an interval between two pains”. Unceasing happiness is not given to anyone on earth except ‘self-realized souls’, who are very few in numbers. At any time, they can be counted with the fingers of the hand though the world population is around seven billions plus.

From ancient time, many sages, saints and philosophers were experimenting with the above theory! They have understood that the ‘mind should be annihilated’ in order to gain freedom from the miserable, mundane existence. But it is not an easy joke. Mind is like the ether and how can one kill the mind? The sages and yogis have found out that “Ignoring the mind is the best way to avoid the mind”. Many teachers advocate ‘meditation’ as a sure means to get away from the mind! Real meditation won’t admit the ‘mind element’. Hence, meditation is possible only when we go beyond the mind and thoughts. If you start controlling the thoughts (mind), by force, it will rise furiously! Ignore the mind and thoughts. Remain ‘indifferent’ to the thought process! Just observe the thoughts as a mute witness, without getting involved in them, or judging them or forming opinions about them! This is the primary step to avoid the continuous stream of thoughts! We have noticed how mothers feed their toddlers? It is not an easy task. The child will run hither and thither, and the mother will be chasing the children with the food. Once the child is aware that its mother is behind it, it will run here and there! Let the mother stop still. What happens is funny! Finding that the mother is no long chasing it, the child become panicky! It stops and retraces its steps crying for its mother! This is the technique one should adopt when dealing with the thoughts! Mind is nothing but the conglomeration of thoughts. Remove the thoughts one by one and you will find that there is no mind beside the thoughts.

A cloth is nothing but the warp and woof of threads crossing each other and woven in such a pattern that it remains intact. If one wants the cloth to vanish, he can pull each of the thread patiently from both directions. When all individual threads are pulled, there is no entity called the ‘clothe”. This is how each individual thought when mingled with other thoughts give shape and form to the mind! Hence our sages sought ‘deep jungles’ and sat there for meditation. Initially, many thoughts assailed them, but later, when the sages ignored those thoughts, the thinking process becomes slow. With persistent efforts, the sages reached the state of ‘no mind’. Their conscious become ‘crystal clear’. For instance, in deep jungles where the trees grow very thick, there will be lakes which remain clear, so that even the bottom ground is visible and one can see the fishes and frogs very clearly. Occasional dropping of leaves cause a little disturbance on the surface but soon, it becomes clear as crystal. The thoughts are like pebbles thrown on the surface and there is little disturbance due the pebbles. Circular waves form the place to the bank of the lake and subside soon! Hence, just witness those thoughts as they form and rise in the firmament of the mind, but do nothing! Then it will automatically subside like the waves formed due to pebble or leaf.

Many people are conversant with the above but they never practice it with focus! They try to meditate but sooner they find that there is a mad rush of thoughts from everywhere! If you focus on the thoughts, you can never practice a wee bit of meditation. Ignore them and remain indifferent to the thought process. Persist and bring back your attention once again on the Self. Consistency is the key for achieving success in meditation. Never bother about success or failure. Do not bother about the rush of thoughts. We have seen seashores and we enjoy watching the waves coming one after the other. If you want to take bath in the sea, ‘will you wait till all the waves subside? It is not possible. Take bath even while the waves are coming one after the other! This is the wisest way! Hence do not bother about the rise of thoughts. They will subside automatically, if you remain indifferent to them and ignore them!