Mind and how can we control it

Mind is mysterious something which is really nothing but does everything. Just as a busy officer alone in a room by closing all the doors, so also the busy mind works alone in a dream by shutting out all the doors of the senses. Mind is a power born of the soul. It is through mind that the Lord manifests Himself as the differentiated universe with heterogeneous objects. Mind is merely a bundle of thoughts. Of all thoughts the thought ‘I’ is the root. Therefore, mind is only the thought ‘I’.
Mind is nothing but a collection of Samskaras or impressions. It is nothing but a bundle of habits. It is nothing but a collection of desires arising from contact with different objects. It is also a collection of feelings aroused by worldly botherations. It is collection of ideas gathered from different objects. Now these desires, ideas and feelings constantly change. Some of the old desires are constantly departing from their storehouse of the mind, and new ones are replacing them.
In the waking state, the seat of the mind is the brain; in the dreaming state the seat of the mind is the cerebellum; in the deep sleep state it rests in the heart.
Mind always attaches itself to something objective. It cannot stand by itself. It is only the mind that asserts itself as ‘I’ in this body.
The things that we perceive all round us are only mind in form or substance. ‘Manomatram Jagat-Manah Kalpitam Jagat.’ Mind creates Mind destroys.
Practice of telepathy, thought-reading, hypnotism, mesmerism, distant healing, psychic healing, etc., clearly prove that mind exists and that a higher developed mind can influence and subjugate the lower minds. From the automatic writing and the experiences of a hypnotized person. We can clearly infer the existence of subconscious mind which operates throughout the twenty-four hours.
If an idea is planted in the mind, it grows at night through the operation of the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind never takes any rest. It works vigorously throughout the twenty-four hours. Those who know how to manipulate this subconscious mind can turn out tremendous mental work. All geniuses have control over the subconscious mind. You must understand the ways of extracting work from the subconscious mind. Subconscious mind is a wonderful underground mental factory.
Mind is the greatest force on this earth. He who has controlled his mind is full of powers. He can bring all minds under his influence. All diseases can be cured by psychic healing. One is truck with awe and wonder at the marvelous and mysterious powers of the minds of a man. The source or home or support of this mysterious mind is God or Atman.
Any action that is done by the physical body is the outcome of a preconceived idea. The mind thinks, plans and schemes at first. Then the action manifests itself. He who invented a watch at first had all ideas in his mind about the construction of the lever, various wheels, dial, minute-hand, second-hand, hour-hand, etc. these ideas materialized later on into action.
A spark of light presents the appearance of a continuous circle of light if it is made to rotate quickly. Even so, though the mind can attend but to one thing at a time, either hearing or smelling, though it can admit of but one kind of sensation at a time, we are led to believe that it does several actions at a time, because it moves from one object to another with tremendous velocity, so rapidly that its successive attention and perception appear as a simultaneous activity.
The best philosophers and seers (Rishis and sages) are unanimously agreed that the mind cannot actually attend to more than one thing at a time, but it appears to be doing so only when it is shifting with prodigious rapidity backward and forward from one end to the other.
Changes of thought, relaxation of mind by dwelling on thoughts of pleasant objects, cheerfulness, Sattvic food, mental recreation of Sattvic nature are necessary for mental health.
The mind assumes the shape of any object it intently thinks of. If it thinks of an orange, it assumes the shape of an orange. If it thinks of Lord Jesus on the Cross it assumes the shape of Lord Jesus on the Cross. You must train the mind properly and give it proper, pure food for assimilation. Have a Divine background of thought or mental image.
If all the thoughts are eliminated, then there remains nothing which can be called mind. So thought are the mind. Again there is no such thing as world, independent of and apart from thoughts. Two thoughts, however closely related to one another, cannot exist at the same time.
The mind becomes that on which it dwells. This is an immutable psychological law. If you begin to think about the Dosha or defects of a man, for the time being, at least your mind dwells on the bad qualities and becomes charges with these qualities, whether the man possesses these bad qualities or not. This may be your vain imagination only through your wrong thinking. Wrong Samskaras or wrong (bad) habits of the mind. He may not possess even a bit of the bad qualities which you have superimposed on him through ill-will or some form of jealousy or petty-mindedness or habitual Dosha-drishti or fault-finding nature. Therefore, give up the dangerous habit of censuring and finding fault in others.
Praise others. Develop the power or vision of finding only good in others. Glorify others. You will glow spiritually. You will be liked, honored and respected by others.
Sleep (Sushupti) is not merely a state of inactivity or passive repose. It has deep philosophical significance. Vedantins study this state very deeply and carefully. It gives the clue for non-dual philosophers to trace, search and find out the hidden, silient witness.
Mind is atomic according to the Indian school of logic. It is all-pervading according to Raja Yoga school of Patanjali Maharshi, is of the middling size (same size as that of body) according to the Vedantic school.
Mind is material. Mind is made up of subtle matter. This discrimination is made on the principle that the soul is the only source of intelligence; it is self-evident; it shines by its won light. Mind is formed out of the subtlest portion of the food.
Mind can be compared to water. Water exists in four states, viz., causal state in the form of H2 O, subtle state in the form of water, gross state in the form of ice and gaseous state in the form of vaporized steam. Even so the mind is in a gross state during Jagrat state when it enjoys sensual objects, is in a subtle state when it functions in the dream state, is in a causal state when it gets involves into its cause, Mula-Avidya during deep sleep and it evaporates as gas when it melts or dissolves in Brahman during Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
Just as the physical body is composed of solid, liquid and gaseous matter, so also the mind is made up of subtle matter of various grades of density with different rates of vibration. A Raja Yogi penetrates through the layers of the mind by intense practice.
Just as you nourish the physical body with food, so also you will have to give food for the mind and spiritual food for the soul.
Control of Mind
Life in this physical plane is a mere preparation for the eternal life of everlasting sunshine and joy which is to come when one gest the knowledge of the self through intense and constant meditation after purifying the mind. This immortal life of supreme joy is described as the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, in the Bible which is within you, in your heart. Realize this Immortal Life. By controlling the mind, enjoy the Supreme bliss of the Self.
The secrets of Yoga Sutra can only be imparted to that student who is Jitendriya and Abhyasa-Sura, who has devotion to Guru, who has Vairagya, discrimination, who is firm in his determination and who has strong conviction in the existence of God.
The mind is single, but it appears dual in dreaming state as the perveived, through the power of Maya or Illusion. The mind itself takes the forms of rose, mountain, elephant, river, ocean, enemy, etc. just as heat is inseparable from fire, so also fluctuation is inseparable from mind. It makes the mind restless. This fluctuation is caused by the power of Rajas. It is the fluctuation that causes Asanthi (absence of peace of mind). The Bhaktas removes this tossing by Japa, Upasana and worship of Ishta-deveta.
The power of fluctuation is itself the mind. This fluctuating mind alone is this world. The mind becomes no mind if fluctuation disappears. The mind ceases to exist, if it becomes destitute of this fluctuation. What is called Maya is this fluctuating potency of the mind. Mind does havocs through the power of fluctuation. Fluctuation is Mara Satan or Vasana or Ishana or Trishana. It was this fluctuation that tempted Visvamitra. It is this fluctuation that brings about the downfall of a struggling aspirant. Destroy this fluctuation through strong Viveka, constant meditation and ceaseless Brahma Vichara.
As soon as fluctuation manifests itself various sorts of imaginations crop up. Imagination co-exists with fluctuation. Imagination is as much dangerous as fluctuation. Fluctuation moves the mind. Imagination fattens the mind. Mind, minus fluctuation and imagination is a mere zero. Fluctuation and imagination are the two wings of the mind bird. Cut the right wing through Atmic enquiry and the left wing through the practice of thoughtlessness. The great bird-mind-will fall dead on the spot immediately.
The one dividing wall between the soul and body is mind. If this wall is broken by ceaseless Atmic enquire, then the Jiva mixes with Supreme Soul just as the river mixes with the ocean.
Close your eyes, Meditate. Open your heart to the inflow of the invisible power. You will find in the Bible “Empty thyself, I will fill thee”. Then you will have abundant, super-intuitional knowledge which is beyond the reach of intellect. Just as water freely flows when the tap is turned, so also Divine Wisdom will flow freely when the obstacles of ignorance that stand in the way of knowledge are removed. You will get flashes, glimpses of the Divine inspiration, revelation and intuition. You will have to put yourself in a state of quietude by silencing all bubbling thoughts and emotions and connect the mind with the source by withdrawing the mind from sensual objects, just as you do in telephone by turning the switch off and connecting the two persons who want to speak.
All duality is of mind. The whole of duality is caused by the imagination of the mind. If all imaginations are withdrawn into the mind itself by constant practice of discrimination, Vairagya (dispassion), Sama, Dama and Samadhana, you will not experience the dual universe. The mind will become no mind. As it has nothing to cognize, it will rest in the source, the Atman.
The mind should be absorbed in the word Om (Pranava). That Yogi or Jnani whose mind is absorbed in Om has no fear whatsoever. He has reached the goal of life. The fire of meditation rapidly consumes all evils and sins. Then there follows that knowledge of Truth which confers perfection, everlasting peace and immortality. Stop the Vrittis through constant and steady practice. The mind will become no mind. You will attain Yogarudha state (the Absolute state). The seeds of Avidya in the form of potential tendencies which are embedded in the mind are all burnt to ashes when the mind rests in the Truth during Samadhi. The fire that burns is the fire of knowledge of Atman (Jnana Agni, Yoga Agni).
When the Yogi has attained the last stage of meditation, when he has entered into Asamprajnata Samadhi, he becomes a Jivanmukta in this very life. The fire of Yogic Samadhi burns all Samaskaras in toto. There are now no seeds for rebirth. At last we can say that
“He who knows the receptacle (Ayatana) verily becomes the receptacle of his people. Mind is verily the receptacle (of all our knowledge).”
That which separates you from God is mind. The wall that stands between you and God is mind. Pull the wall down through Om-chintana or devotion and you will come face to face with God.