THE MIND AND THE OCEAN

[Guest guest]

THE MIND AND THE OCEANSwamiananda

and his disciple Ranga were strolling on the beach by the ocean. It was

a cold day and the wind was blowing strongly over the ocean, raising

very high waves.After walking for some time, Swamiananda stopped, looked at his disciple and asked: " What does the choppy ocean remind you of? " " It reminds me of my mind. Of my rushing and restless thoughts, " answered Ranga.

" Yes,

the stormy ocean is like the mind, and the waves are the thoughts. The

mind is neutral like the water. It is neither good, not bad. The wind

is causing the waves, as desires and fears produce thoughts, " said

Swamiananda. " I wouldn’t want to be on a boat, in the middle of the ocean, " " You

are there all the time, " responded Swamiananda and continued, " Most

people are on a rudderless boat in the middle of a choppy ocean, even

if they do not realize it. The mind of most people is restless.

Thoughts of all kinds come and go incessantly, agitating the mind like

the ocean’s waves. " " Yes " , Ranga interrupted him, " You don’t

have to tell me. This is the reason I am with you. I want to calm down

the waves of my mind. " Swamiananda looked at Ranga for a while,

smiled and said: " You don’t calm the ocean by holding the water and not

letting it move. What is necessary is to stop the wind. The wind is

made of your thoughts, desires and fears. Don’t let them rule your

life. Learn to control them by controlling your attention, and then the

ocean of your mind becomes calm. " " And how do I do that? " " Suppose it is possible for the ocean to disregard the wind, what would happen then? " asked Swamiananda. " The waves would cease. But no one can stop the wind. "

Swamiananda

looked at him and a mysterious smile and said, " Why not? The wind, the

ocean, and thoughts are all within the mind. When you can control the

mind, you can control everything within it. But first you have to

control your mind, which means you have to control your attention. " " Yes

master, " said Ranga, " this is what I am trying to do. You say whoever

controls his mind can also control the wind. Can you do that? " " First learn to calm down the ocean of your mind, and then find out if you can calm down the ocean. It is better to learn to control the mind, then enjoying mental tricks. When you calm your mind, you can calm down everything. "

-- With Love,Ganesh Babu+919880962897My Group: Kriyababa_spiritualjourney- (Send a blank email)