18. Mature Mind is as important as a Mature Body!!!!!

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/self-improvement/mature-mind-is-as-important-as-a-mature-body

As a general perception we believe that if person responses to an event or an incidence in a most responsible and adaptable manner he is a mature individual. The maturity of an individual that is visible through bodily growth does not account him to be matured unless he is mature in mind. Yes, scientifically one is matured when he or she reaches the age of puberty but then it is hard to know if they have mentally matured.

What is being mentally matured?

Maturity is a complicated notion, it modifies too often for those who are adaptive and at the same time remains the same for those who are less adaptive and cognizant of the circumstantial changes. There are times when we have thought that we are mature enough to take decisions and at times found that our decisions were wrong. If one thinks deep there are so many times that our decisions have gone wrong and we have repented that the decision we took were not correct. If we were matured then, why did our decision go wrong in the first place?

Answer is very simple; we were not matured enough for the decision at that particular time, and were not aware of the matter at that point in time. And after our decision failed to yield the required results and if we are in a position to adapt to the changes, we are now more matured than what we were at the time of taking the decision. Right?

Unfortunately our misconception is that maturity grows by age but in reality maturity comes with experience. There was a belief in ancient times that the elderly person was more matured than the young, but now the scenario is that young are regarded more matured than the elders since they are acquainted to the world more. The more exposure to the world could get them more information but for a person to be matured he has to get it by experience. Hence in olden days the young King had an able minister who was old and experienced man.

Having said that, if maturity is got from experience is it right to say learn from the mistake and thus become more mature?

Life is indeed very short and we cannot afford to learn from the mistake committed by us so it is wise to become more mature by learning from the mistakes other people make as well. When a person with burned fingers say that fire burn your fingers, it is wise to heed his advice not to find out really if that happens. We have not that much time and in fact there are so many sources to get experience. It is worthwhile to become matured by reading and knowing from good books.

Our ancient thought is that of a Rishi who would have documented the words of wise and poured out his experience in the way of scriptures. These scriptures do not only talk of Absolute and the Cosmos but also gives us the knowledge on how to live a Blissful life. Complete maturity is something that is an un-achievable concept. As maturity is experience oriented growth it is an infinite phenomenon, hence it is incomplete. For a person in material world it is an impossible task, but if one is on spiritual track this is some thing that can be defined. Our Upanishads proclaims, “Brahmavid Brahamaiva Bhavati” the knower of Brahman becomes Brahman himself. A person who has experienced Brahman is a completely matured one. 

17. Peace of Mind is an Illusion it cannot be achieved from anything Outside me.

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/self-improvement/peace-of-mind-is-an-illusion-it-cannot-be-achieved-from-anything-outside-me

The conception that the external conditions have to be in accordance with our perception and only then we will attain Peace of mind is a sheer illusion. This illusions manifest as an unconscious thought impression persisting in mental realm that always put pressure on our thought process. This pressure induces stress and we assume that it will subside and think “once my son/daughter gets admission to that particular college then I’ll have peace of mind” or “by next week end I will be finishing my project, once I do so I will have peace of mind”. The illusions like this sort will only add more to our stress.

Now let us understand what stress is? Stress is a gap between the Sankalpa and Sadhana in the management terms it is the gap between the idea and implementation. Wider the gap more is the stress. 

Now what has this got to do with our peace of mind?  

Peace of mind is the skill to remain mentally and emotionally composed irrespective of the external conditions, people and situations.  

We have heard people say that they are planning for a holiday to get some peace of mind. But amazingly it is with the same mind we undertake the vacation so getting the stress relived will never happen again it is an illusion. Peace of mind is not to be achieved it is already in us it only requires our awareness. If we carefully observe the sentence “peace of mind”, the solution of the problem lies in the sentence itself. To achieve peace we have check our mind. For all the stressful turmoil, restlessness, annoyance and all other unwanted attitudes it is our own mind that is the cause, it is believed to have direct influence on our finance, job, and relationship.  

For example if we are to think that we are not that financially secure as we would want to be, thinking that by working for some more hours or day till we achieve it would seem like a reasonable bargain for our peace of mind. We get the money, and then we think we are at peace. But for sure this approach is not as bright as our thoughts make us believe.

Uniqueness is one of the obstacles for peace of mind. We humans always think to be unique. When we look at the articles we posses we would love to get the brand new ones so that other have not got it and likewise the same holds good in collecting antique objects also. Our mind always aims at reaching the unique status and in the process of achieving that we lose our peace of mind.   

New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were the famous duo who climbed Mount Everest first in 1953. But few people know about the discussion they had when they were half way up the mountain. 

It goes like this:

“You see Tenzing; we are going to tame the dragon of Everest. We have been climbing its back, and soon we will be higher than its head.” said Hillary joyfully.

“Yes, I see Hillary, but I am not as enthusiastic as you are.”

“But look at the fantastic view. We are at a crossroads: down there is the valley, our resting place, the ultimate depression. And up there is the roof of the world, the highest point on earth, with its eternal snow. What more could you want?” said Hillary.

“I don’t want anything. I know people who are depressed, and who have sworn to me that they reached the very bottom of their being which is not a good place to be, believe me. I have also spoken to people who reached the summit of their existence, and who sacrificed everything to get there. They did not seem to be happier either. When you are at the top, you are alone, it’s cold, and nothing grows there. Personally, I prefer staying with my friends and family, at a level where I am comfortable. You are not at peace, Hillary, because you look up or down too much. You don’t know how to stay still.” advised Tenzing.

With such thoughts Tenzing did reach the top of Everest, he did what he was to do but did not pin his hope of peace on the deed.

THAT IS PEACE OF MIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What Say?????????

16. From Firm Mind to Freedom of Mind..........

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/self-improvement/from-a-firm-mind-to-freedom-of-mind

A Firm Mind keeps the individual unruffled to the duality that the world presents. Freedom of Mind helps the individual to be indifferent to the duality that the mind presents.  

The world is amalgamation of pain and pleasure. Change is inevitable in the world of duality. Just as the season changes so does the opposites. Opposites need not be something that happens to be contrast. Instead they can also be like the other side of the same thing. Swamy Vivekanada said, “Happiness comes to us wearing the coronet of sorrow. If you welcome it, you must be ready to accept sorrow also.” And a firm mind does know this truth and is not rattled when there is a change of scene in the play.

A seeker with a firm mind even though gets involved in all the worldly activities will never get puffed up by the success or disheartened by failures. The reason being he credits his success to Absolute and failure (if any) to his destiny, since he is sure that he has given his best. He goes on with his duties and responsibilities with an undeterred mind as he relates work to worship. With such an attitude he always thinks that work is done through him and never by him and hence he never develops attachment to the fruit of the action. He is sure that the Providence will provide him all that he needs and he certainly has no greed. 

Mind is full of thoughts and if let to prevail there is a network of endless thoughts both negative and positive. These endless thoughts induce strain when it becomes too noisy. An individual struggles to shy away from noisy thoughts. He often thinks he needs a break and plans a vacation, but if he is carrying the same thoughts the vacation is no better. This situation will in a way make an individual the hostage of mind and is always in a fear of how the mind might react to the circumstances. Freedom of mind is to be free from ignorance which is the cause of fear, anguish, doubt, abhorrence, and bewilderment. All these emotions imprison the individual of his limits not offering assurance and inner peace. He forgets his true nature and has to depend on false identity to face the problems. The more he tries to dodge from his inner freedom to act as per his wishes, the more ineffective he feels and the more futile his existence seems to be. If his existence loses its meaning the individual become desperate and will be ready to dance to whims and fancies of his negative thoughts.

Freedom of mind can be attained when awareness of the “now” is experienced. Thoughts can never be stopped but when the “I ness” gets involved the thoughts get the wings to fly high beyond reach. “I ness” gets the support from the memory to fuel the thoughts and the fire is at rage. Being a mere witness to a thought will annihilate it and stops it from prevailing in the first place.

What Say?????

15. What are Samskaras? Can I detect and get out if not good??

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/self-improvement/what-are-samskaras-can-i-detect-and-get-out-if-not-good

Continuation from the previous blog post: 

http://manonuga.blogspot.in/2014/08/14-mind-is-fickle-and-difficult-to-be.html

My mind works at three levels. The moment I am out of my bed I am awake to the soundings, this level is Conscious level. In this level my Conscious Mind is supported by “Medha Shakti” (Intelligence) an aspect of Buddhi (Intellect). Medha Shakti helps me comprehend the working pattern of the happening in the world outside. Conscious mind is an objective mind. There is another level which I may not be aware of its working, but it plays an important role. This level is called Sub-Conscious Mind. It is the store house of memories of uncountable past lives. In Vedanta it is called Chitta. Sub-Conscious Mind is a subjective mind.        

Apart from these two levels there is one more level, which is called Super-Conscious Mind. In Vedanta it is called Karana Chitta. In this level I am not only awake but also aware. In this level my Conscious Mind is supported by “Dhi Shakti” (Intuition). This Super-Conscious Mind is the aspect of Universal Consciousness which is infinite. The Super-Conscious Mind is like a mega computer that interface with smaller computer connected to it and operate them. 

The moment I consciously perceive something with the help of my senses there is a resonating effect on my Sub-Conscious Mind. This resonating effect produces Vrittis (Thoughts). These vrittis are generated not only on the recently posted information. Just like as in a computer where I feed in information from the input-output devices and the working of the system depend not just on the latest added input, but all the previous stored up signals as well, so does thoughts in me get projected using the cognized object and the memories related to it stored in Sub Conscious mind.

Vritti (Thoughts) create a ruffle for some time and then it sink down deep into the region of the Sub-Conscious Mind and continues to remain in a dormant state. A conscious action whether cognitive, effective or co-active is required to simulate the hidden form just below the threshold of my Consciousness. This action is termed a Samskaras (Impressions).

Samskaras are subtle imprints that are glued on to my memory whenever I perform any action consciously. Hence they say memory is like a small kid walking by the sea shore, no one know which pebble it lifts from the sand and keeps it in the treasure called Samskaras. Memories are not impressions; instead they are formed from impressions just like a photograph is developed from a negative. Generally, I retain memories only from recent impressions, but then I do have countless Samskaras from many, many lives. Many of these Samskaras do not have memories associated with them. To be clear, the Samskaras from many, many past life affect me but I am unable to recollect the cause of it and hence do not comprehend why I am affected by it.

Samskaras may be powerful but can be countered and to counter them with an appropriate one I need to have an Achala Sankalpa (Strong Intention). As there is a network of events happening in destiny, so does that strong intention sets things in motion. The nature, people and events respond to my strong intention in many forms to provide enough “hints” to go beyond my comfort level and act as needed to make the change.

Firstly, I need to become aware of my Samskaras and know whether they are good or bad. My attitude is the indicator, if it is not sensitive and is not in agreement with my self and other I have to change it. Awareness of this will slow down my Conscious Mind so I can lengthen the pause between my impulse and my action which provides me ample time to reflect. If I rush through life too fast it becomes a heap of vague impression without details and it is here I lose my sensitivity.

14. Mind is fickle and difficult to be checked......

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/self-improvement/mind-is-fickle-and-difficult-to-be-checked

Sage Patanjali says the senses follow the mind in the same way the hive of bees follows the queen bee. Wherever the queen bee goes, they just follow her. Similarly, if the mind truly goes inward, the senses will also go inward behind it. But as a habit my senses seem to drag the mind to the external world, in pursue for material objects, food, or circumstances related to professional, social, or economic life. Can the senses be blamed for pulling the mind to the outside world? No, if I see the anatomy of my physical body the design of the Absolute is such that the sense organs face the outside world.    

The 5 sense organs namely eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin are those through which my mind gets in touch with external world. These senses are the source of information for my mind that is in direct connection with the thoughts and past memories. The moment I am out of bed early in the morning my mind employs these five sense organs because they are there and are permanently engaged. It is impossible for me to shut down my senses. My mind has to know how to deal with the external world and see that it would not be sucked into the illusions and delusions. The ancient sages talked about how to develop clarity of mind and learn not to be distracted by the external stimulations.

Should I blame my mind for all the chaos then? Yes and No. Eat, mate, defend and sleep are the four activates that depend on the basic instincts and mind necessarily might not get involved in it. Basic instinct is a natural behavior as in animals, it does not know if the act is right or wrong. There are many instances where a human yield to this instinct and behave worst than an animal ignoring the cautions given by the intellect. The inability to heed to the cautions is the failure of the mind.          

Once a seeker felt that if the senses are kept in check the chaos of the mind can be controlled. He was told by his Guru that instead of controlling the senses it would be better if mind is attentive to the advice of the intellect. But he did not agree and headed straight to the near by hill seeking solitude. On the first day his eyes fell on a newly married woman who was grazing goats, he thought to himself that she was very attractive and it would be nice for him to befriend and have her company. Coming back to his senses he blamed his eyes for going in the direction of the woman who was the wife of another man, so he decided that he has to shut his eyes.

The next day as the woman passed by, he could hear the jingle of her anklets and said to himself: “The pretty woman has arrived.” Realizing that just closing his eyes was not going to be of much help and he decided to plug his ears also. The next day he could smell the fragrance of the flowers the woman wore in her hair. So the next day he sat with his eyes closed, ear plugged and nose masked, as the time approached for the woman’s arrival he could think of nothing else but the woman. He kept telling himself: “This is the time she arrives, anytime she will be here.”

Thus, shutting his eyes, plugging his ears, and masking his nose had not brought him any relief. That was when the seeker realized that it was not the sense that led the mind but it was the mind that led the senses to the erroneous direction. Hence the senses need not be controlled, but the need was for the mind to be controlled by heeding to intellect. Controlling the mind is not easily achieved, for the mind is fickle. Lord Krishna tells Arjuna, “Undoubtedly the mind is fickle and difficult to be checked. Yet, O son of Kunti, it can be brought under control by dispassion and spiritual practice.”  

Why does Mind not listen to Intellect??? Is it due to Samskaras (Impressions)??? For it is Samskaras which decide what a person is and how he behaves…….. If so what has to be done to get away from such Samskaras??? ......... Lets try to look at it in the next post!!!!!!

13. Let not Mind flirt with too many unwanted Thoughts!!!!!

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Every day on an average a human being has 60,000 thoughts, the most interesting feature is that of those 90% are repetitive and only 10% is a new thought. The reason for the thought to repeat is the momentum it gathers due to its power to attract more thoughts of the same nature. Once it has gathered momentum it forms a wall of thought enough to engulf the mind and make it inactive. If this wall of thought is of a negative nature then situation leads to what is called depression.

If we are conscious not to pay attention to the unwanted thoughts we are not letting the thoughts to form a wall. We have to remember that attention is the fuel that provides momentum to each thought. The mind losses the ability to use intelligence or be creative if it is burdened by the wall of thoughts with no free space left for it to utilise.

There are several methods to avoid too many thoughts but the secret to slowing down thoughts is to simply relax and let go of the mind completely, and let it do what it wants to do on its own. The other way is to do all action without getting attached to it by just making our mind understand about non-doership. This is achieved when we are simply “aware of Consciousness” without the need to “think”, we are in a status of radical intelligence and creativity. There is an unbelievable quantity of intelligence and wisdom, in the simple state of active presence. Awareness is the absolute intelligence that has the ability to bring forth something better and new in our creativity. The more our presence is felt the less active our mind tends to be.

Our mind is an excellent instrument for mechanical processes but it is utterly hopeless when it is need to get us out of a problem. Only from the absolute intelligence of pure awareness can anything new be born, as solutions have to be new because they cannot come from the past patterns that created the problem. Our mind will involuntarily start resting more and more, as it allows the intelligence of pure awareness to take over from it. We will notice that the rapidity of our noisy thoughts is slowing down as a silent absolute intelligence is working in our life.

Buddha was once on his way to deliver a sermon in a village with disciple Ananda. On their way, they crossed over a small canal and proceeded further. It was a hot day and the sun was blazing. Buddha felt thirsty and rested under a tree. He asked Ananda to get some water from the canal that they had just crossed to quench his thirst. In the meantime, a bullock cart had crossed the canal and the water had become muddy.

Ananda on seeing the muddy water returned back to Buddha saying that the water was not clean. Buddha insisted Ananda to wait for sometime until the water becomes clean and then fetch some. So when Ananda went back he still found the water not good enough to drink. He waited for a while and went into meditation.

After his meditation, Ananda was surprised to find the mud settled and the crystal clear water fit to be drunk. He brought the water to Buddha. Buddha told Ananda that same is the case with mind too. Thoughts are like the mud which pollutes the mind. If it is agitated with thoughts the mind is unclear and is not in a position to take correct decisions. Our consciousness gets cleared the moment we stop paying attention to thoughts, obliging with them, investigating them and bothering them. It is only then that silence descends in pure consciousness and our mind is clear.

Just be in Seat of Silence!!!!!!

12. Ego, Mind, Reality and Miracle…….!

There are series of events that happen in our lifespan and every event, if it is a cause will have an effect and if it is an effect it will certainly have a cause. Sometimes the cause or the effect will not be visible. It is in such rare cases that our Ego misjudge and declares the event impossible and if that which our ego has told impossible happens it calls the event a “MIRACLE”. Our Ego does not want our Mind to believe in “REALITY”. The erroneous faith that we are the Body, Mind and Intellect is the breeding ground for the Ego to exist. It is that firm belief which make Ego to possibly take our Mind further away from our authentic Self.

When I think the thoughts which appear has to be about past or future I will never have thoughts of present. If I think about now there is no thoughts and it will be void. If it is void then it has to be silence and in silence there is no Mind. If there is no Mind there is no Ego. This is the reason why Ego hates silence in my thoughts, because it will have no space and will just vanish. Ego will never allow the Mind to accept Reality, it fears losing its identity.

Ego and Reality can never co-exist. Naturally Reality is ever-present and this is the issue of concern to Ego and it wants to hide it from the Mind. To hide it from the Mind, Ego tricks the Mind to think about unwanted things so that it too busy to inquire about eternal Truth or to dwell in the authentic Self. 

Mind will go inward to the Self if the struggle of the Ego to trick the Mind stops. Amazingly blogging and thinking of a topic to write a blog is also a part of Ego fooling the Mind though on a creative side, the only solace is it is not on the destructive side.

Reality has no extent and hence finding it cannot be in the process, but it can be the final destination. Ego does not easily accept this and wants to convince the Mind that over a period of time Reality will be revealed. But as long as my Mind is in the process of searching for Reality, the Reality remains veiled. 

Why does reality not manifest itself? 

Simply because it does not want to have a conflict with the Ego which is a worthless fantasy and self created for its own survival.

Even without Ego Mind can exist but if Mind thinks only of the present. This will make the Mind aware of the evidence of Reality in everything. There is no room to be judgmental as it identifies with the Self and is familiar with the “is-ness” of every other being. It is like when a restless night shift worker calls up the manager to inform about the machine breakdown and to confess the inability to fulfill the production target to be delivered in the morning. The manager has had the buffer stock from the day shift and reassures the worker and tells him not to panic. Like the manager if the Mind also knows the reality it remains calm and not act as the restless worker. Mind can remain calm in the middle of worthless babble if it knows how momentary everything else around it is.

The mind has to be aware that Reality has all the elements like Comprehension, Clarity, Care, Calm, Contentment and Courage. These elements endorse Unconditional Love, Tranquility, Plenitude, Well-being and Oneness with all. And this is MIRACLE.