Mind : ( 24/10/2012. )

Most of us are in such a helpless condition, as it were, that we have to take into account everything that takes place outside without having any say in the matter.  This is the life of slavery. A slave is one who has no personal say in anything. Whatever he is ordered to do, he has to do, and his life depends not on himself but on something else.  Whatever changes may take place in that ‘something else’ will also be the corresponding change that takes place in one’s own self. This is not a life of freedom, and therefore, it cannot be a life of happiness and peace. We are unhappy for one reason or the other. Though the cause of the unhappiness may vary from one person to another, the consequence is the same.  People may die for various reasons, but the result is that all die. The consequence is uniform: no one is happy, whatever be the cause behind it and whatever be the ultimate reference we make as to the originating factor of it.  We cannot be ...

An element in a well-ordered life is to have a stable background of thought. Most of us suffer due to an absence of this stability in our inner life; we depend mostly on conditions prevailing outside, and we may be said to be living more an outward life than an inward one.  The outer conditions of life seem to be determining our personality to such an extent that whatever happens outside seems to have a direct bearing on our personal life.  Like the winds that blow in different directions according to the vicissitude of seasons, our personality seems to shift its scene of activity and experience on account of a precarious dependence on outer circumstances. We are always in a state of mood, as we call it, either elated or depressed, on account of getting influenced by factors beyond our control.  It is something like floating on the surface of the ocean and being tossed up and down, hither and thither by the violent waves, having nothing to say in the mat...

Truth is a centre; let us remember it again for the purpose of our meditation. Satya or truth is a centre which is in us, which is in others, which is in other objects, and it is non-externalisable; it cannot be externalised. Therefore, it is not possible to see this centre through the senses. We cannot see the centre of another person, because the moment we begin to see it, it has become an object.  Just as we cannot see our own centre as an object, we cannot see the other centre as an object. But when we begin to see the centre of other things in the same way as we comprehend our centre, that would be to really appreciate other people and things. Then the war ceases.  There will be no Mahabharata or Ramayana afterwards. A new revelation will supervene; a flood of light will be thrown on our existence in such a way that existence itself would become consciousness. Sat becomes Chit. Our centre is our existence ultimate, and this ultimate existence and centre is th...

An element in a well-ordered life is to have a stable background of thought. Most of us suffer due to an absence of this stability in our inner life; we depend mostly on conditions prevailing outside, and we may be said to be living more an outward life than an inward one. The outer conditions of life seem to be determining our personality to such an extent that whatever happens outside seems to have a direct bearing on our personal life. Like the winds that blow in different directions according to the vicissitude of seasons, our personality seems to shift its scene of activity and experience on account of a precarious dependence on outer circumstances. Some sort of situation  seems to be supervening in our personal lives – one and all, without distinction – so that we have mistaken this life of bondage for a life of freedom. Inasmuch as we have been born into bondage, we have never seen freedom, and do not know what it is. We mistake bondage itself for a sort of freed...

Generally, an example of a tortoise is given to tell us how we have to conduct ourselves under pressing conditions of life. The tortoise thrusts its head outside and moves forward in any direction it likes, but whenever there is a sensation of danger or even a slight movement of anything outside, it has a background of its own. It withdraws itself into its shell, and it seems to be safe there. The shell cannot be pierced or attacked. Whenever there is fear of any kind, the child runs back to its mother and sits on her lap. It is safe there because the ultimate protecting factor is taken as the refuge, which is the solution for all anxieties, for all fear, and for all unhappiness. Continues....

Truth is a centre; let us remember it again for the purpose of our meditation. Satya or truth is a centre which is in us, which is in others, which is in other objects, and it is non-externalisable; it cannot be externalised. Therefore, it is not possible to see this centre through the senses. We cannot see the centre of another person, because the moment we begin to see it, it has become an object.  Just as we cannot see our own centre as an object, we cannot see the other centre as an object. But when we begin to see the centre of other things in the same way as we comprehend our centre, that would be to really appreciate other people and things. Then the war ceases. There will be no Mahabharata or Ramayana afterwards.  A new revelation will supervene; a flood of light will be thrown on our existence in such a way that existence itself would become consciousness. Sat becomes Chit. Our centre is our existence ultimate, and this ultimate existence and centre is th...