Lessons to The Mind

                “Hari om”

Lessons to the mind

The mind is the reason behind a person’s bondage or salvation. Pious and benevolent resolves and actions purify the mind remove all its faults and such a pious and faultless mind leads one to final salvation. And the same mind, when it becomes impure by its impious resolve and sinful acts promotes insentience and binds one to the bondage of this world. It has rightly been said in the Ramayana

Only the virtuous-minded ones attain me. Anyone indulging in fraudulent acts deception can never win my favour

 Take your mind to task everyday

Therefore my dear atman if you desire to attain your supreme good then you must constantly counsel your mind and convince it “o restless mind! Now be quiet and steady. Why do you disturb me by wandering all the time? Has anybody ever attained true happiness in the external world? Whoever has experienced true happiness, has done so within his own self even king bhartihari, who ruled over all of india and possessed an abundance of luxuries and riches, was unable to attain happiness in the external world. And you desire external pleasure? Why  don’t take recourse to discrimination like king bhartrihari and prince uddalak and return to th bliss personified self?

Prince uddalak’s discrimination had awakened in his early youth and he would often retreat  to the mountain caves where he would counsel his mind O mind! Why do you make me wander? You are enamored with perfumes, with taste and with some music at different times.

O foolish mind! You have ruined me. You gave me transitory happiness and robbed me of my self bliss.  You have made me hanker after sence pleasures and thus impaired my energy, intellect luster, health longevity and zeal.”

Prince uddalak continud. “O mind! Time and again you run after sence pleasures and worldly relations. Seeking company of the wife, children, friends etc. but why dosen’t the simple fact dawn on you tha they are all short-lived?  You have been forced to abandon them in all of yours previous lives and will have to abandon them in in all of your previous lives and will have to abandon them in this life asw well. Then why do you still think about them? Your are such a fool why don’t you immerse yourself in the mediation of your true self, who is always with you  who is never distant from you, and who is bliss supreme?  You have already wasted so much time and precious life. Be quiet at least now!  Let me earn some spiritual wealth? Until now I did your bidding, and in your association made wretched resolve, fell into bad company and indulged in sinful acts. Now be king enough to abandon you old habits and delve within.”

Like uddallak one should take the mind to task, not just once but everyday . them mind is so deceptive. Never trust it keep a constant watch to see whether the mind is following your commands. Keep an attentive vigil on its activities at all times. The stick of insightful discrimination must always be ready in your hand to discipline the mind punish the mind for its every act of ransgression against established principles and time tested social norms, don’t give it food and make it observe a fast. Only then will it realize that it is under command of a tough administrator and any misstep will bring a sever punishment   

By asaramji babu (Indian saint) translator : shekhar banerjee, nitesh shetty