Re-Educating the Mind :9. ( Last Part )
Most people cannot succeed in meditation because a satisfactory answer cannot be given to this question. Why should we reject something when the mind feels that there is a great point in thinking about it? Unless there is some meaning in it, why should we think of it? It sees something; some meaning, some significance, some purpose, some wish-fulfilment is practicable, and we are doing contrary work by saying, "It should not be thought. It is not good. It is untraditional, unreligious." Merely making a statement of this kind is not going to be acceptable to the mind, because the mind cannot be terrified by orders of this nature. It is a very terrible thing by itself, and so it requires a gradual training from inside, rather than an order issued from outside.
The mind is intelligent; it is not a corpse which can be dragged as we like, in the direction we please. As it is difficult to control anything that is intelligent, merely because it is intelligent, we have to apply intelligence itself to control intelligence. An intelligent person can be subdued only by intelligence, and not by force, because intelligence will not yield to any kind of external pressure. So mere pressure will not succeed here in this context of meditation, because the mind is intelligent, it is capable of understanding, and it knows where to find its wish fulfilment. Therefore, any kind of whipping which is meted out to it in an illogical manner will bring about a resentment in the mind in such a way that it may completely upset the whole practice after sometime.
An intelligent technique has to be adopted in the very beginning itself. The mind should be made to understand the necessity of avoiding certain ways of thinking for the purpose of a larger objective that it has placed before itself, because the reason behind the necessity to give up certain other methods of thinking is that these methods of thinking which are supposed to be given up are irreconcilable with the nature of truth. And as truth alone succeeds, thoughts which are not consonant with the nature of truth should be given up.
For this, the mind has to know what are the characteristics of truth. When it knows that truth is this, and the nature of truth is like this, and 'my way of thinking is not in consonance with the nature of truth, and therefore I will not succeed by the pursuit of this method', it may gradually withdraw itself from its erroneous tracks and pursue the right path of spiritual meditation.
An intelligent technique has to be adopted in the very beginning itself. The mind should be made to understand the necessity of avoiding certain ways of thinking for the purpose of a larger objective that it has placed before itself, because the reason behind the necessity to give up certain other methods of thinking is that these methods of thinking which are supposed to be given up are irreconcilable with the nature of truth. And as truth alone succeeds, thoughts which are not consonant with the nature of truth should be given up.
For this, the mind has to know what are the characteristics of truth. When it knows that truth is this, and the nature of truth is like this, and 'my way of thinking is not in consonance with the nature of truth, and therefore I will not succeed by the pursuit of this method', it may gradually withdraw itself from its erroneous tracks and pursue the right path of spiritual meditation.
END
Next : Attaining Peace of Mind
Next : Attaining Peace of Mind
Swami Krishnananda
To be continued ....
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