Swami teaches... The Vedic lesson for the mind

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram

Light and Love Swami teaches.... (1 -2 August 2005)

The Vedic Lesson for the Mind

"Sathyam vada. Dharmam chara" (Speak the truth; practise righteousness).

"Om iti Brahma" (Om is Brahmam). "Sathyam, Jnanam, Anantham Brahma" (Truth,

knowledge, all are Brahamam). "Ekam Sath; Vipraah bahudhaa vadanthi" (The Real

is One; the wise call it bymany names). "Ekoham bahusyaam" (I am One; let me

become many). "Eko vasi sarvabhutha antharaatma" (The One is the Indweller in

all beings) these aphoristic pronouncements acquired the form and power of

mantras spread throughout the world and generated bliss among people by raising

their consciousness.

Knowledge of all the shaastras and Vedhas Will not serve to remove the

curtain of the mind Which stands between the individual and God. This

curtain makes it appear That God and man are separate Though both are

one. Only when the mind is subdued Will God and man, Nature and God,

The Cause and the Effect become one. The Vedantic method of arriving at

Oneness by the process of Neti ("not this, not this") leads to the Atmictruth.

The "I" exists in everyone. Once you have cultivated this "Ekaatma bhaava" -

the spiritual oneness of all there will be no room for differences and discord.

In spite of training Vedic explanations before every generation, from

ancient times, the questions, "Where is God?" and "How does he appear?" have

been agitating the minds of people. The answers have been sought by different

ways of investigation, The believers, non-believers, those with doubts and

others have not been able to get clear answers to these questions. To

comprehend the truth, one should look within oneself. This cannot be learnt

from text-books or from teachers. Chaithanya (Consciousness) is there in the

mind and pervades everywhere. People are using the sense organs but do not

know the source of the power which activates them.

Chaithanya cannot be comprehended by the physical vision. It is within

everyone in very close proximity. The entire Creation is a manifestation of the

Divine Will. Prakrithi (Nature) is the manifestation of God. Human is also part

of Prakrithi and thus has the Divine power in him.

The seed of the entire Universe is Chaithanya (Pure Consciousness) what is

Sath-chith-aanandha. It grows in full bloom in the human being and blossoms

into the flower of Awareness. Thus God incarnates in human. To understand this

truth is the goal of human life. It is the mind that stands in the way of this

realisation. Thinking on the physical plane and looking at the external world,

human is not able to understand the Divinity within. However, the physical

world also reflects Divinity. There are two entities, Svabhava and Prabhaava

the former emanating from the True Inner Self and the latter from worldly

pursuits. Human forgets own true Divine nature and as consequence, is wallowing

in troubles and tribulations, reflecting animal qualities in his/her actions.

Human life today is riddled with many problems. People are confused as to

what they should believe and what they should reject, what they should do and

what they should eschew. They believe in the unreal and has no belief in that

which should be believed. The reason for this is selfinterest.

It is only when human behaviour is reformed that the world will get

transformed. The process of change has to begin in human's minds. Thoughts lead

to action. And actions account for the state of the world. When the thoughts go

astray, the actions also are improper. The state of the world, good or ill,

depends on the behaviour of individuals.

Unity in a family is the basis of unity in society. Though there are lots

of common features among mankind, people are not able to visualise their unity,

but promote only their differences. The cause for the lack of peace in the world

is the absence of harmony in thought, word and deed in each individual, which is

reflected in the lack of unity among different individuals. Spiritual values

have been given up, resulting in the turmoil that we see today.

To live in the world completely free from troubles is not possible.

Recognising the difference between good and bad, you have to lead a balanced

life. Happiness and misery are inseparable twins which are inextricably linked

to each other. One is the beginning and the other is the culmination. Beginning

and end go together. Only the Divine is free from a beginning, a middle or an

end, but in worldly affairs, everything that has a beginning, has an end. Grief

is not something which someone thrusts on you from outside. Troubles and

difficulties are not imposed on you from outside. Grief and trouble arise in

the natural course of things.

In creation there are many things which are naturally bad. Out of these bad

things, good emerges. When one desires something, the desire is associated with

aversion to something else. Human's life is bound up with likes and dislikes,

with good and bad thoughts, with union and separation.

Hence samsara (worldly life) has been compared to a vast ocean on which the

waves are constantly bringing about union and separation. Life is full of

trials. If these difficulties are not there, life will have little value.

 

Human existence can become meaningful only when, human at the very outset,

recognises the nature of the mind and bases the actions on that understanding.

The mind is subtler than the subtlest entity. There is no end to the waves

arising from the ocean of the mind. The five elements, the five lifebreaths,

the five sense organs, the five sheaths are all based on the mind.

The mind is responsible for differences in opinions, likes and dislikes, and

diversity in attitudes. The world is perceived through the mind. The world is

permeated by the mind. Without the mind there can be no world and no

attachments and hatred, no joy and sorrow. Human can achieve nothing without

the motive power of the mind.

People do not realise today the prodigious powers of the mind. The powers of

the mind are indescribable. In one moment it can encompass the universe. In

another moment it can be a total blank. The mind is the cause of both good and

bad.

It is because the immense power of the mind is not recognised, human life is

ruined. By belittling the mind, human is dehumanising himself and behaving

either like an animal or as a demon. In the worldly life usually human gets

puffed up with pride on the basis of own wealth, physical strength, scholarship

and position. Hatred and attachment is plunged human today in misery.

As the mind is the root cause of all this, human has to go beyond the

natural infirmities of the mind to the Over-mind to be able to recognise

Divinity. To experience the great fragrance emanating from Nature, its unity

with the Divine has to be realised. For this, it is necessary to transcend the

limitations of the ordinary mind and proceed to the Super-Mind, the

Higher-Mind, the Illuminated Mind and the Over-Mind what is nothing more than

experience the pure Divine Self. It is in the Thureeya state - the fourth state

of consciousness beyond the waking, dream and deep sleep states. This is the

state of the Over-Mind. In that state human is one with the Divine. He has no

attributes and is allpervading. Nature is bound by the five qualities of sound,

touch, form, taste and smell (these are the qualities of space, air, fire, water

and earth - the five basic elements). With the loss of each quality, starting

from smell, a process of expansion takes place. Finally, we have Akaasha (ether

or space) which has only one quality, sound, and is all-pervading. That being

the case, how much more pervasive must be the Lord, who has no attributes.

The mind and thoughts are closely interconnected by inner cosmic-divine

grids. Thoughts influence the vision, which, in its turn, affects the mind.

Thoughts too may assume good and bad forms. (This is the message of the

three monkeys pictured as one with closed eyes, another with closed ears and

the third with a closed mouth "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil."

Today the entire environment is polluted by evil things which offend the eyes,

the ears and the tongue. Everyone should free himself from this three-fold

pollution).

Thought waves radiate very much like heat waves, radio waves, light waves,

gravitational waves, etc. They exists in spite of that science cannot discover

essence of the Divine Creation by wordly methods. The thought waves are the

cause of human's joy or sorrow, health or disease, birth or death. The whole

cosmos is made up of thought waves; hence, the scripture declares: "The mind is

at the root of the cosmos." There is no place, or form or action wherein the

mind is absent. Hence, all human's thoughts should be turned in the right

direction.

When good thoughts, good feelings and good intentions are developed, the

mind becomes pure. Only when the mind is pure, can the action be pure and the

fruits thereof be pure. Today we sow the seed of thought - karma - and reap the

fruit of action. From the seed of karma arises the fruit of behaviour. Out of

the seed of behaviour comes the fruit of character. The seed of character

yields the fruit of fortune. Thus, from thought to fortune, the chain of human

progress can be perceived. Our good and bad luck are thus linked to our

thoughts. The mind immerses human in impenetrable darkness through bad

thoughts. The same mind can lift human to sublime heights by good thoughts.

 

The entire human existence is based upon thoughts and their results. As

thoughts lead to actions, one's behaviour, speech and conduct affect the

tendencies of the mind and give rise to good or bad impulses.

The natural state of a human's heart is pure. But by letting in the

poisonous snakes in the form of evil thoughts, he is inviting trouble. Bad

thoughts in the mind are worse than poisonous reptiles in the house.

The refinement of life calls for continual sadhana (spiritual practice).

Without such practice, lifegets degraded. Sadhana is necessary to elevate life

from the trivial to the sublime. No one is a scholar at the moment of birth. It

is only through various endeavours that he becomes a scholar and a righteous

person.

There is a saying: "Anything can be achieved by Sadhana." Sadhana means

converting bad into good, transforming evil into virtue. This calls for the

right use of the mind as human is not aware of the potentialities of the mind.

Discharge of your duty is the daily yajna (spiritual offering) you have to

perform. That is the primary spiritual exercise. That is the penance you have

to do and that is the goal you have to keep in mind. Next one should have a

mind filled with Samarasa, a vision of equality, the conviction that

fundamentally all are same. You should try to have complete knowledge of

anything. Partial knowledge is dangerous. You should study the nature of the

heart. He has a broad vision, while human beings have a narrow selfish outlook.

You should also expand your heart - not the physical but spiritual heart. This

heart with dhaya (compassion) is Dhaivam (God). Compassion is the most

essential quality of a human being. A compassionate heart reflects divinity.

It is not easy to subdue the mind immediately. But you must begin to bring

it under control. When the mind desires something, you must immediately set the

Buddhi (intellect) at work. Why? So that the intellect may give you the proper

advice. The mind has to be taught to examine your desire, using the power of

discrimination to find out whether it is good or bad, right or wrong. Do not

wish to acquire whatever you desire. When you try to teach the mind in this

manner, it loses its potency. This Vijnaana is full of intelligence and common

sense. It is called Divine Intellectual Will. The Divine Will Power has to be

acquired by everyone. Only then, they can realise their true human nature. It

is through this Will Power that the Cosmic Divine nature of the universe can be

recognised. This Cosmic Power has to be seen with the eyes, experienced

mentally, practised through the body and made an integral part of one's being.

Develop the feeling: "I and God are one." This should not be purely a verbal

exercise. You must realise the implications of the manthra you recite God's

name or such as "Soham" (I am He) and live up to it.

There is no difference between the Cosmic Divine and the Inner Divine But

when it is experienced by the individual, it is described as Inner Divine. When

the individual experience is extended to the entire universe, it is called

Cosmic Divine. The Individual Self and Paramaathma (the OmniSelf) are one, like

the rind of a fruit and the juice inside. (Reet's compilation from, Sathya Sai

Speaks. Vol. 24."The human predicament and the Divine," Chapter 16 and "Face

the challenges of life," Chapter 18; Sathya sai Speaks. Vol. 26. "Beyond the

Mind," Chapter 20; "Thought waves make up the Cosmos," Chapter 21 and "Role of

the Avathaar in the cosmic play," Chapter 30).

 

Namaste - Reet