WANDER NOT MY DEAR

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WANDER NOT MY DEAR

Baba said, "He who has no understanding and whose mind is unrestrained, his

senses unmanageable" in Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch. XVI & XVII.

A disciple and his Guru were walking through the forest. The disciple was

disturbed by the fact that his mind was in constant unrest.

He asked his Guru: "Why is it that most people’s minds are restless, and only a

few possess a calm mind? What can one do to still his thoughts?"

The Guru looked at the disciple, smiled and said: I will tell you a story. An

elephant was standing and picking leaves from a tree. A small fly flew buzzing

near his ear. The elephant waved it away with his long ears. then the fly came

again, and the elephant waved it away once more."

This repeated several times. Then the elephant asked the fly: "Why are you so

restless and noisy? Why can’t you stay for a while in one place?"

The fly answered: "I am attracted to whatever I see, hear or smell. MY five

senses pull me constantly in all directions and I cannot resist them. And what

is your secret, how can you stay so calm and still?"

The elephant stopped eating and said: "My five senses do not rule my attention.

Whatever I do, I am immersed in it. Now that I am eating, I am completely

immersed in eating. In this way I can enjoy my food and chew it better. I rule

my attention and not the other way round."

The disciple’s eyes opened wide and a smile rose on his face. "I understood. If

I am in charge of my senses and attention, then the mind is calm. The outside

objects are infinite in number. If I let my five senses pull my attention, then

the mind is constantly restless.""

"Yes, that’s right", answered the Guru. The mind is restless and goes wherever

the attention is. Control your attention, and you control your mind."

Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya......

Question: Why is India so restless still?

Answer: India has not found her true Self. She is psychically dominated by influences of the West.

Question: What may India do to realize herself?

Answer: India must avoid the two extremes of imitation and isolation.

The monastic attitude of aloofness must go. India must mingle with the modern

world. India must develop a new objective outlook. Self-reliance is not

seclusion.

India cannot fulfil the calling of her life without meeting the challenges of

the modern world. And to meet his challenge, we must give up the game of

imitation. To imitate is to surrender our own individuality and to imprison

ourselves in uniforms which make us external, inert, heavy.

On the Indian type of life, one mark is – simplicity. India’s greatest ones from

the Vedic Age downwards have been simple. Be simple.

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