17th December, 1935
Talk 113.
A Telugu gentleman asked about Karma Yoga. Sri Bhagavan said that the man should act as an actor on the stage. In all actions there is the sat [?] as the underlying principle. "Remember it and act."
He asked about the purity of mind - chitta suddhi [?]. Sri Bhagavan said that chitta [?] suddhi is to engage in one thought only to the exclusion of all others. It is otherwise called one-pointedness of the mind. The practice of meditation purifies the mind.
Talk 112 Talk 114
Showing posts with label mind. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mind. Show all posts
Talk 104
28th November, 1935
Talk 104.
Mr. Kishorilal, an officer of the Railway Board, Government of India, hails from Delhi. He looks simple, gentle and dignified in behaviour. He has gastric ulcer and has arranged for his board and lodging in the town.
Five years ago he took up the study of devotional literature. He is a bhakta [?] of Sri Krishna. He could feel Krishna in all that he saw. Krishna often appeared to him and made him happy. His work was going on without any effort on his part. Everything seemed to be done for him by Krishna himself.
Later he came in contact with a Mahatma who advised him to study Vedanta and take to nirakara upasana, i.e., devotion to formless Being. He has since read about seven hundred books of philosophy and Vedanta, including the Upanishads, Ashtavakra, Avadhuta and Srimad Bhagavad Gita.
He has also studied Sri Bhagavan's works in English and is much impressed by them. Once when he was in the jaws of death, no other thought haunted him but that he had not yet visited Sri Bhagavan in his life. So he has come here on a short visit. He prays only for Sri Bhagavan's touch and His Grace. The Master said to him: atmaivaham gudakesa, i.e.,
I am Atman;
Atman is the Guru; and Atman is Grace also.
No one remains without the Atman. He is always in contact.
No external touch is necessary.
D.: I understand. I do not mean external touch.
Maharshi: Nothing is more intimate than the Atman.
D.: Again Sri Krishna appeared to me three months back and said, "Why do you ask me for nirakara upasana [?]? It is only sarva bhutesu cha atmanam sarva bhutani cha atmani. (The Self in all and all in the Self.)
Maharshi: That contains the whole truth. Even this is oupacharika (indirect).
There is in fact nothing but the Atman. The world is only a projection of the mind. The mind originates from the Atman. So Atman alone is the One Being.
D.: Yet it is difficult to realise.
Maharshi: There is nothing to realise. It is nitya suddha buddha mukta (the Eternal, pure, aware and liberated) state. It is natural and eternal. There is nothing new to gain. On the other hand a man must loose his ignorance. That is all. This ignorance must be traced to its origin. To whom is this ignorance? Of what is one ignorant? There are the subject and the object. Such duality is characteristic of the mind. The mind is from the Atman.
D.: Yes. Ignorance itself cannot exist. (He finally surrendered saying , "Just as a doctor learns what is wrong with the patient and treats him accordingly, so may Sri Bhagavan do with me". He also said that he had lost all inclination to study books and learn from them.)
Talk 103 Talk 105
Talk 104.
Mr. Kishorilal, an officer of the Railway Board, Government of India, hails from Delhi. He looks simple, gentle and dignified in behaviour. He has gastric ulcer and has arranged for his board and lodging in the town.
Five years ago he took up the study of devotional literature. He is a bhakta [?] of Sri Krishna. He could feel Krishna in all that he saw. Krishna often appeared to him and made him happy. His work was going on without any effort on his part. Everything seemed to be done for him by Krishna himself.
Later he came in contact with a Mahatma who advised him to study Vedanta and take to nirakara upasana, i.e., devotion to formless Being. He has since read about seven hundred books of philosophy and Vedanta, including the Upanishads, Ashtavakra, Avadhuta and Srimad Bhagavad Gita.
He has also studied Sri Bhagavan's works in English and is much impressed by them. Once when he was in the jaws of death, no other thought haunted him but that he had not yet visited Sri Bhagavan in his life. So he has come here on a short visit. He prays only for Sri Bhagavan's touch and His Grace. The Master said to him: atmaivaham gudakesa, i.e.,
I am Atman;
Atman is the Guru; and Atman is Grace also.
No one remains without the Atman. He is always in contact.
No external touch is necessary.
D.: I understand. I do not mean external touch.
Maharshi: Nothing is more intimate than the Atman.
D.: Again Sri Krishna appeared to me three months back and said, "Why do you ask me for nirakara upasana [?]? It is only sarva bhutesu cha atmanam sarva bhutani cha atmani. (The Self in all and all in the Self.)
Maharshi: That contains the whole truth. Even this is oupacharika (indirect).
There is in fact nothing but the Atman. The world is only a projection of the mind. The mind originates from the Atman. So Atman alone is the One Being.
D.: Yet it is difficult to realise.
Maharshi: There is nothing to realise. It is nitya suddha buddha mukta (the Eternal, pure, aware and liberated) state. It is natural and eternal. There is nothing new to gain. On the other hand a man must loose his ignorance. That is all. This ignorance must be traced to its origin. To whom is this ignorance? Of what is one ignorant? There are the subject and the object. Such duality is characteristic of the mind. The mind is from the Atman.
D.: Yes. Ignorance itself cannot exist. (He finally surrendered saying , "Just as a doctor learns what is wrong with the patient and treats him accordingly, so may Sri Bhagavan do with me". He also said that he had lost all inclination to study books and learn from them.)
Talk 103 Talk 105
Talk 98
19th November, 1935
Talk 98.
Bhagavan further explained: The Self is the Heart. The Heart is self-luminous. Light arises from the Heart and reaches the brain, which is the seat of the mind. The world is seen with the mind, that is, by the reflected light of the Self. It is perceived with the aid of the mind. When the mind is illumined it is aware of the world. When it is not itself so illumined, it is not aware of the world. If the mind is turned in towards the source of light, objective knowledge ceases and Self alone shines forth as the Heart.
The moon shines by the reflected light of the sun. When the sun has set, the moon is useful for revealing objects. When the sun has risen, no one needs the moon, although the pale disc of the moon is visible in the sky.
So it is with the mind and the Heart. The mind is useful because of its reflected light. It is used for seeing objects. When it is turned inwards, the source of illumination shines forth by itself, and the mind remains dim and useless like the moon in day-time.
Talk 97 Talk 99
Talk 98.
Bhagavan further explained: The Self is the Heart. The Heart is self-luminous. Light arises from the Heart and reaches the brain, which is the seat of the mind. The world is seen with the mind, that is, by the reflected light of the Self. It is perceived with the aid of the mind. When the mind is illumined it is aware of the world. When it is not itself so illumined, it is not aware of the world. If the mind is turned in towards the source of light, objective knowledge ceases and Self alone shines forth as the Heart.
The moon shines by the reflected light of the sun. When the sun has set, the moon is useful for revealing objects. When the sun has risen, no one needs the moon, although the pale disc of the moon is visible in the sky.
So it is with the mind and the Heart. The mind is useful because of its reflected light. It is used for seeing objects. When it is turned inwards, the source of illumination shines forth by itself, and the mind remains dim and useless like the moon in day-time.
Talk 97 Talk 99
Talk 97
19th November, 1935
Talk 97.
One Mr. Ramachandar, a gentleman from Ambala, asked where the Heart is and what Realisation is.
Maharshi: The Heart is not physical; it is spiritual. Hridayam = hrit + ayam
- This is the centre. It is that from which thoughts arise, on which they subsist and where they are resolved. The thoughts are the content of the mind and, they shape the universe. The Heart is the centre of all.
Yatova imani bhutani jayante (that from which these beings come into existence) etc. is said to be Brahman in the Upanishads. That is the Heart. Brahman is the Heart.
D.: How to realise the Heart?
Maharshi: There is no one who even for a trice fails to experience the Self.
For no one admits that he ever stands apart from the Self. He is the Self. The Self is the Heart.
D.: It is not clear.
Maharshi: In deep sleep you exist; awake, you remain. The same Self is in both states. The difference is only in the awareness and the non- awareness of the world. The world rises with the mind and sets with the mind. That which rises and sets is not the Self. The Self is different, giving rise to the mind, sustaining it and resolving it. So the Self is the underlying principle. When asked who you are, you place your hand on the right side of the breast and say `I am'. There you involuntarily point out the Self. The Self is thus known. But the individual is miserable because he confounds the mind and the body with the Self. This confusion is due to wrong knowledge. Elimination of wrong knowledge is alone needed. Such elimination results in Realisation.
D.: How to control the mind?
Maharshi: What is mind? Whose is the mind?
D.: Mind always wanders. I cannot control it.
Maharshi: It is the nature of the mind to wander. You are not the mind. The mind springs up and sinks down. It is impermanent, transitory, whereas you are eternal. There is nothing but the Self. To inhere in the Self is the thing. Never mind the mind. If its source is sought, it will vanish leaving the Self unaffected.
D.: So one need not seek to control the mind?
Maharshi: There is no mind to control if you realise the Self. The mind vanishing, the Self shines forth. In the realised man the mind may be active or inactive, the Self alone remains for him. For the mind, the body and the world are not separate from the Self. They rise from and sink into the Self. They do not remain apart from the Self. Can they be different from the Self? Only be aware of the Self. Why worry about these shadows? How do they affect the Self?
Talk 96 Talk 98
Talk 91
6th November, 1935
Talk 91.
A Bengali visitor asked: How is the mind controlled?
Maharshi: What do you call `the mind'?
D.: When I sit down to think of God, thoughts wander away to other objects. I want to control those thoughts.
Maharshi: In the Bhagavad Gita it is said that it is the nature of the mind to wander. One must bring one's thoughts to bear on God. By long practice the mind is controlled and made steady. The wavering of the mind is a weakness arising from the dissipation of its energy in the shape of thoughts. When one makes the mind stick to one thought the energy is conserved, and the mind becomes stronger.
D.: What is the meaning of the strength of the mind?
Maharshi: Its ability to concentrate on one thought without being distracted.
D.: How is that achieved?
Maharshi: By practice. A devotee concentrates on God; a seeker, follower of the jnana-marga, seeks the Self. The practice is equally difficult for both.
D.: Even if the mind is brought to bear on the search for the Self , after a long struggle the mind begins to elude him and the man is not aware of the mischief until after some time.
Maharshi: So it would be. In the earlier stages the mind reverts to the search at long intervals; with continued practice it reverts at shorter intervals until finally it does not wander at all. It is then that the dormant sakti [?] manifests.
The satvic mind is free from thoughts whereas the rajasic mind is full of them. The satvic mind resolves itself into the Life-current.
D.: Can one keep the mind away from entering into the phase of thoughts before one experiences the current?
Maharshi: Yes; the current is pre-existent.
Talk 90 Talk 92
Talk 85
16th October, 1935
Talk 85.
The same gentleman asked the Master about the material relation between memory and will and their relation to the mind.
Maharshi: They are functions of the mind. The mind is the outcome of the ego and the ego is from the Self.
Talk 84 Talk 86
Talk 85.
The same gentleman asked the Master about the material relation between memory and will and their relation to the mind.
Maharshi: They are functions of the mind. The mind is the outcome of the ego and the ego is from the Self.
Talk 84 Talk 86
Talk 81
15th October, 1935
Talk 81.
Dr. Bernhard Bey, an American Chemist who had interested himself in Vedanta for the last twenty years, now in India, came on a visit to the Master. He asked: "How is abhyasa [?] to be made? I am trying to find the Light." (He himself explained abhyasa as concentration = one-pointedness of mind.)
The Master asked, what was his abhyasa till now.
The visitor said he concentrated on the nasal base, but his mind wandered.
Maharshi: Is there a mind?
Another devotee gently put in: The mind is only a collection of thoughts.
Maharshi: To whom are the thoughts? If you try to locate the mind, the mind vanishes and the Self alone remains. Being alone, there can be no one-pointedness or otherwise.
D.: It is so difficult to understand this. If something concrete is said , it can be readily grasped. Japa, dhyana, etc., are more concrete.
Maharshi: `Who am I??' is the best japa [?].
What could be more concrete than the Self? It is within each one's experience every moment. Why should he try to catch anything outside, leaving out the Self? Let each one try to find out the known Self instead of searching for the unknown something beyond.
D.: Where shall I meditate on the Atman? I mean in which part of the body?
Maharshi: The Self should manifest itself. That is all that is wanted.
A devotee gently added: On the right of the chest, there is the Heart , the seat of the Atman. Another devotee: The illumination is in that centre when the Self is realised.
Maharshi: Quite so.
D.: How to turn the mind away from the world?
Maharshi: Is there the world? I mean apart from the Self? Does the world say that it exists? It is you who say that there is a world. Find out the Self who says it.
Talk 80 Talk 82
Talk 76
29th September, 1935
Talk 76.
Mr. K. S. N. Iyer said that he was not convinced how spiritual life could be reconciled to worldly activities. The Master in answer cited some verses from Yoga Vasishta. (The original is said to be millions of verses, of which only 32,000 stanzas are now found in the Sanskrit text. It was condensed to 6,000 and called Laghu Vasishta. The latter has been rendered in Tamil in 2,050 stanzas).
D.: Without the mind concentrating on it the work cannot be performed satisfactorily. How is the mind to be spiritually disposed and the work kept going as well?
Maharshi:
That which is seen is lokah or the world. Which is the eye that sees it? That is the ego which rises and sinks periodically. But you exist always. Therefore That which lies beyond the ego is consciousness - the Self. In deep sleep mind is merged and not destroyed. That which merges reappears. It may happen in meditation also. But the mind which is destroyed cannot reappear. The yogi's aim must be to destroy it and not to sink in laya [?]. In the peace of dhyana [?], laya ensues but it is not enough. It must be supplemented by other practices for destroying the mind. Some people have gone into samadhi with a trifling thought and after a long time awakened in the trail of the same thought. In the meantime generations have passed away in the world. Such a yogi has not destroyed his mind. Its destruction is the non-recognition of it as being apart from the Self. Even now the mind is not. Recognise it. How can you do it if not in everyday activities. They go on automatically. Know that the mind promoting them is not real but a phantom proceeding from the Self. That is how the mind is destroyed.
Talk 75 Talk 77
Talk 76.
Mr. K. S. N. Iyer said that he was not convinced how spiritual life could be reconciled to worldly activities. The Master in answer cited some verses from Yoga Vasishta. (The original is said to be millions of verses, of which only 32,000 stanzas are now found in the Sanskrit text. It was condensed to 6,000 and called Laghu Vasishta. The latter has been rendered in Tamil in 2,050 stanzas).
D.: Without the mind concentrating on it the work cannot be performed satisfactorily. How is the mind to be spiritually disposed and the work kept going as well?
Maharshi:
The mind is only a projection from the Self, appearing in the waking state. In deep sleep, you do not say whose son you are and so on. As soon as you wake up you say you are so and so, and recognise the world and so on. The world is only lokah ,lokah = lokyate iti lokah (what is perceived is the world).
That which is seen is lokah or the world. Which is the eye that sees it? That is the ego which rises and sinks periodically. But you exist always. Therefore That which lies beyond the ego is consciousness - the Self. In deep sleep mind is merged and not destroyed. That which merges reappears. It may happen in meditation also. But the mind which is destroyed cannot reappear. The yogi's aim must be to destroy it and not to sink in laya [?]. In the peace of dhyana [?], laya ensues but it is not enough. It must be supplemented by other practices for destroying the mind. Some people have gone into samadhi with a trifling thought and after a long time awakened in the trail of the same thought. In the meantime generations have passed away in the world. Such a yogi has not destroyed his mind. Its destruction is the non-recognition of it as being apart from the Self. Even now the mind is not. Recognise it. How can you do it if not in everyday activities. They go on automatically. Know that the mind promoting them is not real but a phantom proceeding from the Self. That is how the mind is destroyed.
Talk 75 Talk 77
Talk 54
16th June, 1935
Talk 54.
An Andhra Pandit - an elderly gentleman - had some doubts regarding Kavyakantha's exposition of Advaita. He has found it in books that Brahman is free from sajatiya, vijatiya and swagata bheda. Such conditions are satisfied in vivarta vada but not in parinama vada [?]. In the latter, swagata bheda is bound to be.
The Master pointed out that Dakshinamurti did not teach anything of the kind. He did not say that Brahman is related to Sakti [?] or not related. All that was, was only silence; and the doubts of the sishyas (disciples) were cleared. The significance is that there is nothing to be learnt, discussed and concluded. Everyone knows `I am.' There is the confusion that the `I' is the body. Because the `I' arises from the Absolute and gives rise to buddhi [?] (Intellect). In buddhi the `I' looks the size and shape of the body, na medhaya [?] means that Brahman cannot be apprehended by buddhi. Brahman aham [?] (`I-I') buddhi (intellect). How can such buddhi crossing over aham discover Brahman? It is impossible. Just get over the false conception of the `I' being the body. Discover to whom the thoughts arise. If the present `I'-ness vanishes, the discovery is complete. What remains over is the pure Self.
Compare deep sleep and wakefulness. Diversity and body are found only in the latter. In the former the Self remains without the perception of body or of the world. Happiness reigns there.
The Sruti vakya, `Aham Brahmasmi', relates to the state and not the mode of mind. One cannot become Brahman by continuing to repeat the mantra [?]. It means that Brahman is not elsewhere. It is your Self. Find that Self; Brahman is found. Do not attempt to reach Brahman as if it were in some far off place.
The Pandit remarked that thoughts are so persistent that the aham cannot be reached.
The Master said: The Brahma akara vritti helps to turn the mind away from other thoughts. Either some such practice is necessary or association with sadhus should be made. The sadhu has already overcome the mind and remains in Peace. His proximity helps to bring about such condition in others. Otherwise there is no meaning in seeking a sadhu's company.
Deho aham (I am the body) is limitation and is the root of all mean and selfish actions and desires. Brahma aham (I am Brahman) is passing beyond limitation and signifies sympathy, charity, love etc., which are divine and virtuous.
D.: How does a grihasta (householder) fare in the scheme of moksha [?]
(liberation)?
Maharshi: Why do you think you are a grihasta? If you go out as a sanyasi , a similar thought (that you are a sanyasi) will haunt you. Whether you continue in the household, or renounce it and go to the forest, your mind haunts you. The ego is the source of thoughts. It creates the body and the world and makes you think you are a grihasta. if you renounce the world, it will only substitute the thought sanyasi
for grihasta and the environments of the forest for those of the household. But the mental obstacles are always there. They even increase in new surroundings. There is no help in the change of environment. The obstacle is the mind. It must be got over whether at home or in the forest. If you can do it in the forest, why not in
the home? Therefore why change the environment? Your efforts can be made even now, in whatever environment you may be. The environment never abandons you, according to your desire. Look at me. I left home. Look at yourselves. You have come here leaving the home environment. What do you find here? Is this different from what you left? Even if one is immersed in nirvikalpa samadhi [?] for years together, when he emerges from it he will find himself in the environment which he is bound to have. That is the reason for the Acharya emphasising sahaja [?]
samadhi in preference to nirvikalpa samadhi in his excellent work Viveka Chudamani. One should be in spontaneous samadhi - that is, in one's pristine state - in the midst of every environment.
Later on Sri Bhagavan said: "Control of breath may be internal or external." The antah pranayama [?] (the internal breath-regulation) is as follows:- Naham chinta (I-am-not-the-body idea) is rechaka [?] (exhalation). Koham (who am I?) is puraka [?] (inhalation). Soham [?] (I am He) is kumbhaka [?] (retention of breath). Doing thus, the breath becomes automatically controlled. Bahih pranayama (external control) is for one not endowed with strength to control the mind. There is no way so sure as that; or a sadhu's company. The external practice must be resorted to by a wise man if he does not enjoy a sadhu's company. If in a sadhu's company the sadhu [?] provides the needed strength, though unseen by others, Pranayama [?] need not be exactly as described in hatha Yoga. If engaged in japa [?], dhyana, bhakti, etc., just a little control of breath will suffice to control the mind. The mind is the rider and the breath the horse. Pranayama is a check on the horse. By that check the rider is checked. Pranayama may be done just a little. To watch the breath is one way of doing it. The mind abstracted from other activities is engaged in watching the breath. That controls the breath; and in its turn the mind is controlled.
If unable to do so, rechaka and puraka need not be practised. Breath may be retained a short while in japa, dhyana, etc. Then, too, good results will follow.
Talk 53 Talk 55
Talk 54.
An Andhra Pandit - an elderly gentleman - had some doubts regarding Kavyakantha's exposition of Advaita. He has found it in books that Brahman is free from sajatiya, vijatiya and swagata bheda. Such conditions are satisfied in vivarta vada but not in parinama vada [?]. In the latter, swagata bheda is bound to be.
The Master pointed out that Dakshinamurti did not teach anything of the kind. He did not say that Brahman is related to Sakti [?] or not related. All that was, was only silence; and the doubts of the sishyas (disciples) were cleared. The significance is that there is nothing to be learnt, discussed and concluded. Everyone knows `I am.' There is the confusion that the `I' is the body. Because the `I' arises from the Absolute and gives rise to buddhi [?] (Intellect). In buddhi the `I' looks the size and shape of the body, na medhaya [?] means that Brahman cannot be apprehended by buddhi. Brahman aham [?] (`I-I') buddhi (intellect). How can such buddhi crossing over aham discover Brahman? It is impossible. Just get over the false conception of the `I' being the body. Discover to whom the thoughts arise. If the present `I'-ness vanishes, the discovery is complete. What remains over is the pure Self.
Compare deep sleep and wakefulness. Diversity and body are found only in the latter. In the former the Self remains without the perception of body or of the world. Happiness reigns there.
The Sruti vakya, `Aham Brahmasmi', relates to the state and not the mode of mind. One cannot become Brahman by continuing to repeat the mantra [?]. It means that Brahman is not elsewhere. It is your Self. Find that Self; Brahman is found. Do not attempt to reach Brahman as if it were in some far off place.
The Pandit remarked that thoughts are so persistent that the aham cannot be reached.
The Master said: The Brahma akara vritti helps to turn the mind away from other thoughts. Either some such practice is necessary or association with sadhus should be made. The sadhu has already overcome the mind and remains in Peace. His proximity helps to bring about such condition in others. Otherwise there is no meaning in seeking a sadhu's company.
Deho aham (I am the body) is limitation and is the root of all mean and selfish actions and desires. Brahma aham (I am Brahman) is passing beyond limitation and signifies sympathy, charity, love etc., which are divine and virtuous.
D.: How does a grihasta (householder) fare in the scheme of moksha [?]
(liberation)?
Maharshi: Why do you think you are a grihasta? If you go out as a sanyasi , a similar thought (that you are a sanyasi) will haunt you. Whether you continue in the household, or renounce it and go to the forest, your mind haunts you. The ego is the source of thoughts. It creates the body and the world and makes you think you are a grihasta. if you renounce the world, it will only substitute the thought sanyasi
for grihasta and the environments of the forest for those of the household. But the mental obstacles are always there. They even increase in new surroundings. There is no help in the change of environment. The obstacle is the mind. It must be got over whether at home or in the forest. If you can do it in the forest, why not in
the home? Therefore why change the environment? Your efforts can be made even now, in whatever environment you may be. The environment never abandons you, according to your desire. Look at me. I left home. Look at yourselves. You have come here leaving the home environment. What do you find here? Is this different from what you left? Even if one is immersed in nirvikalpa samadhi [?] for years together, when he emerges from it he will find himself in the environment which he is bound to have. That is the reason for the Acharya emphasising sahaja [?]
samadhi in preference to nirvikalpa samadhi in his excellent work Viveka Chudamani. One should be in spontaneous samadhi - that is, in one's pristine state - in the midst of every environment.
Later on Sri Bhagavan said: "Control of breath may be internal or external." The antah pranayama [?] (the internal breath-regulation) is as follows:- Naham chinta (I-am-not-the-body idea) is rechaka [?] (exhalation). Koham (who am I?) is puraka [?] (inhalation). Soham [?] (I am He) is kumbhaka [?] (retention of breath). Doing thus, the breath becomes automatically controlled. Bahih pranayama (external control) is for one not endowed with strength to control the mind. There is no way so sure as that; or a sadhu's company. The external practice must be resorted to by a wise man if he does not enjoy a sadhu's company. If in a sadhu's company the sadhu [?] provides the needed strength, though unseen by others, Pranayama [?] need not be exactly as described in hatha Yoga. If engaged in japa [?], dhyana, bhakti, etc., just a little control of breath will suffice to control the mind. The mind is the rider and the breath the horse. Pranayama is a check on the horse. By that check the rider is checked. Pranayama may be done just a little. To watch the breath is one way of doing it. The mind abstracted from other activities is engaged in watching the breath. That controls the breath; and in its turn the mind is controlled.
If unable to do so, rechaka and puraka need not be practised. Breath may be retained a short while in japa, dhyana, etc. Then, too, good results will follow.
Talk 53 Talk 55
Talk 43
28th March, 1935
Talk 43.
Mr. S. Ranganathan, I.C.S., Collector of Vellore, Mr. S. V. Ramamurthi, I.C.S. and Mr. T. Raghaviah, late Diwan of Pudukottah State, visited the Asramam. Mr. Ranganathan asked, "Kindly instruct me as to how the mind may be controlled."
Maharshi: There are two methods. The one is to see what the mind is; then it subsides. The second is to fix your attention on something; then the mind remains quiet. The questioner repeated the question for further elucidation. The same answer was returned with a little more added. The questioner did not look satisfied.
Mr. Raghaviah: Men of the world that we are, we have some kind of grief or another and do not know how to get over it. We pray to God and still are not satisfied. What can we do?
Maharshi: Trust God.
D.: We surrender; but still there is no help.
Maharshi: Yes. If you have surrendered, you must be able to abide by the will of God and not make a grievance of what may not please you. Things may turn out differently from what they look apparently. Distress often leads men to faith in God.
D.: But we are worldly. There is the wife, there are the children, friends and relatives. We cannot ignore their existence and resign ourselves to Divine Will, without retaining some little of the personality in us.
Maharshi: That means you have not surrendered as professed by you. You must only trust God.
Mr. Ramamurthi: Swamiji, I have read Brunton's book A Search in Secret India, and was much impressed by the last chapter, where he says that it is possible to be conscious without thinking. I know that one can think, remaining forgetful of the physical body. Can one think without the mind? Is it possible to gain that consciousness which is beyond thoughts?
Maharshi: Yes. There is only one consciousness, which subsists in the waking , dream and sleep states. In sleep there is no `I'. The `I-thought' arises on waking and then the world appears. Where was this `I' in sleep? Was it there or was it not? It must have been there also, but not in the way that you feel now. The present is only the `I-thought', whereas the sleeping `I' is the real `I'. It subsists all through. It is consciousness. If it is known you will see that it is beyond thoughts.
D.: Can we think without the mind?
Maharshi: Thoughts may be like any other activities, not disturbing to the Supreme consciousness.
D.: Can one read others' minds?
The Master as usual told him to find his Self before worrying about others. "Where are others apart from one's own Self?" asked the Master.
Mr. Raghaviah: How shall we correlate the higher experience with the lower experience (meaning spiritual experience with mundane affairs)?
Maharshi: There is only one experience. What are the worldly experiences but those built up on the false `I'? Ask the most successful man of the world if he knows his Self. He will say "No". What can anyone know without knowing the Self? All worldly knowledge is built upon such a flimsy foundation.
Mr. Ramamurthi: How to know the `Real I' as distinct from the `false I'.
Maharshi: Is there anyone who is not aware of himself? Each one knows , but yet does not know, the Self. A strange paradox. The Master added later, "If the enquiry is made whether mind exists, it will be found that mind does not exist. That is control of mind. Otherwise, if the mind is taken to exist and one seeks to control it, it amounts to mind controlling the mind, just like a thief turning out to be a policeman to catch the thief, i.e., himself. Mind persists in that way alone, but eludes itself."
Talk 42 Talk 44
Talk 43.
Mr. S. Ranganathan, I.C.S., Collector of Vellore, Mr. S. V. Ramamurthi, I.C.S. and Mr. T. Raghaviah, late Diwan of Pudukottah State, visited the Asramam. Mr. Ranganathan asked, "Kindly instruct me as to how the mind may be controlled."
Maharshi: There are two methods. The one is to see what the mind is; then it subsides. The second is to fix your attention on something; then the mind remains quiet. The questioner repeated the question for further elucidation. The same answer was returned with a little more added. The questioner did not look satisfied.
Mr. Raghaviah: Men of the world that we are, we have some kind of grief or another and do not know how to get over it. We pray to God and still are not satisfied. What can we do?
Maharshi: Trust God.
D.: We surrender; but still there is no help.
Maharshi: Yes. If you have surrendered, you must be able to abide by the will of God and not make a grievance of what may not please you. Things may turn out differently from what they look apparently. Distress often leads men to faith in God.
D.: But we are worldly. There is the wife, there are the children, friends and relatives. We cannot ignore their existence and resign ourselves to Divine Will, without retaining some little of the personality in us.
Maharshi: That means you have not surrendered as professed by you. You must only trust God.
Mr. Ramamurthi: Swamiji, I have read Brunton's book A Search in Secret India, and was much impressed by the last chapter, where he says that it is possible to be conscious without thinking. I know that one can think, remaining forgetful of the physical body. Can one think without the mind? Is it possible to gain that consciousness which is beyond thoughts?
Maharshi: Yes. There is only one consciousness, which subsists in the waking , dream and sleep states. In sleep there is no `I'. The `I-thought' arises on waking and then the world appears. Where was this `I' in sleep? Was it there or was it not? It must have been there also, but not in the way that you feel now. The present is only the `I-thought', whereas the sleeping `I' is the real `I'. It subsists all through. It is consciousness. If it is known you will see that it is beyond thoughts.
D.: Can we think without the mind?
Maharshi: Thoughts may be like any other activities, not disturbing to the Supreme consciousness.
D.: Can one read others' minds?
The Master as usual told him to find his Self before worrying about others. "Where are others apart from one's own Self?" asked the Master.
Mr. Raghaviah: How shall we correlate the higher experience with the lower experience (meaning spiritual experience with mundane affairs)?
Maharshi: There is only one experience. What are the worldly experiences but those built up on the false `I'? Ask the most successful man of the world if he knows his Self. He will say "No". What can anyone know without knowing the Self? All worldly knowledge is built upon such a flimsy foundation.
Mr. Ramamurthi: How to know the `Real I' as distinct from the `false I'.
Maharshi: Is there anyone who is not aware of himself? Each one knows , but yet does not know, the Self. A strange paradox. The Master added later, "If the enquiry is made whether mind exists, it will be found that mind does not exist. That is control of mind. Otherwise, if the mind is taken to exist and one seeks to control it, it amounts to mind controlling the mind, just like a thief turning out to be a policeman to catch the thief, i.e., himself. Mind persists in that way alone, but eludes itself."
Talk 42 Talk 44
Talk 10
15th May, 1935
Talk 10.
A visitor asked how to realise oneself in accordance with Maharshi's instructions, contained in his text of Truth Revealed, verse 9, supplement. The difficulty was in controlling the mind.
Maharshi: It is to be done by controlling the breath. If you practise it by yourself without other help, then the mind is controlled. Otherwise the mind comes under control spontaneously in the presence of a superior power. Such is the greatness of association with the wise (satsanga).
Talk 9 Talk 11
Talk 6
15th May, 1935
A question was asked by a monk (sannyasi [?]) about how to prevent the mind from being distracted.
Maharshi: You see the objects on forgetting your own Self. If you keep hold of your Self, you will not see the objective world.
Talk 5 Talk 7
A question was asked by a monk (sannyasi [?]) about how to prevent the mind from being distracted.
Maharshi: You see the objects on forgetting your own Self. If you keep hold of your Self, you will not see the objective world.
Talk 5 Talk 7
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