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!!!!!!
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