The Word - The silent mind!
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Hope all of you are keeping well, safely at home, practicing social distancing, wearing masks, washing hands and accessing vaccines when available. Only last week, I wrote the next paragraph. This week look at New Delhi and surrounding areas. The after effects of a untimely celebration of a Kumbhmela and in South India, the mindless election campaigning. Last week, I wrote-
Humanity,
we need to work together with logic, compassion for each other and a
deep scientific temper to come out of this pandemic. It is not a hoax,
fake news, misinformation or conspiracy theory. It is that mindset that
is going to keep the humanity tied down within our own homes for next
three to even four years, if we are not careful and taking care of
ourselves and our loved ones. The best thing is wear masks, wash hands
frequently, socially distance and get the vaccine when it is accessible.
Also don't crowd and do festivals, when the pandemic is raging, whether
Kumbhamela or Carnival or Christmas, because the world needs to first
come out of this pandemic, so that the humans and world can move around
freely once again.
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| Covid-19 Vaccine vial and needle- the needed measure Image credits - Pixabay.com |
The virus, doesn't care. It doesn't take a break. Common sense, science, religion and spirituality should go hand in hand. They can coexist, if they can coexist within our mind. These are not the problem. The human mind is the problem, always, from eons to modern times. The concepts, religion, groups or ways of life is not able to coexist within the mind. So, that inner reality shows up in our life, again and again. As long as the inner reality is not getting fixed, the outer reality keeps on being riddled with divisions, chaos, confusions, misinformation, anger, hate, rage, fake news and what not.
The mind: The division is not outside. But within. My thought is the division comes from the mind and the metaphorical heart, Hrudayah has all the unity needed and the Universal love. In Katha Upanishad, the English version the following sloka is written. The mind here, read as ego. The heart as the Self.
In the secret cave of the heart, two are
Seated by life's fountain. The separate ego
Drinks of the sweet and bitter stuff,
Liking the sweet, disliking the bitter,
While the supreme Self drinks sweet and bitter
Neither liking this nor disliking that.
-Katha Upanishad, Part 1, 3:1, Translated by Eknath Easwaran
As we have discussed before, the divisions are within the mind. A factor that influences this, is the way humanity always tends to accept guidance from outside. Mind always trying to get guidance from outside. Yes, we need guidance from others. We need to know government regulations, news, what is happening in the world and the current affairs. But it should not be so much that it overtakes and consumes our life totally.
Think like this. We have a train and train driver waiting in the station called life. The announcement comes every second. " Your path is to Ahmedabad. Next one to Jamshedpur. Another one to Kochi. Then, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Thiruchirapilli, Kanyakumari, Chandigarh, Patna and Bengaluru. Won't the driver get totally confused and just sit frustrated and annoyed? This is how the everyday ordinary being's mind is.
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| Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Chapter 1, folio 3b, page 2v-900 to 600 BCE (pre-Buddhist era).
Image credits - Ms Sarah Welch, via Wikimedia Commons |
The information is coming from million different directions. The person who is unaware never takes any charge of their own mind and direct it towards what they want. Instead, they sit mired in all the noise of the instruction that comes from every direction. Within all those directions, there is just one and only instruction, that is the path the Soul is meant to take. It is the path of Dharma, one's own deepest purpose. Only in this path, the greatest and most expansive potential of the Soul is uncovered. Not in any other path.
The tiny voice within: But that one path becomes just any other path for the train of life of the person. The announcement or the chatter of the mind is incessant, un-breaking and constant. The being does not get a break from this noise of the mind. People, perspectives, circumstances, situations all come vying for our attention. Look at me, look at me, give importance to this, heed to that thought, how about this idea, how about that circumstance? The mind of the being is pulled in million different directions.
Within those pulling, the being just settles on one path and leads the life. Unfortunately, the problem is the mind chatter is loudest compared to the path of purpose, because the mind sits front and center in the inner realm of the being. So, mind voices are very loud. But the deep inner voice of the heart where the Soul sits is very tiny, like a small push or prod. A very light nudge, "Do you think, that is your correct path? Aren't you missing something?"
But a person mired in all these loud chaotic noise of the mind, don't even take a second look at the tiny inner voice. Who wants to listen to such a small prodding? The person ignores it totally. But it is in that one path, the being can transcend the mind and access the heart. Mind is extremely limited and has boundaries. Don't think, mind is valueless. It is very valuable. It is great with the ways and paths the person already knows about.
Think like this. We are going to a grocery store, usually through a very normal roadway. But one day a huge hurricane came and destroyed the connecting bridge on the road. That day we were forced to go through another forest road. We don't know this road. So, here mind is not helpful in a logical way. We have to use the mind with its wits, common sense and a mentality of openness to newer unknown things. Same way, the path of the heart is expansive, out of the comfort zone and asking for Self-trust.
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| Intuition- the voice of the heart, that comes through the mind (The Moon) Image credits - Pixabay.com |
But with the path of the heart, the mind is pretty clueless and has to walk the path of Self-trust. It cannot plan, strategize and conceive steps before hand. A major part is unknown. Most of the time, only the next step is shown. Are you courageous enough to take the step- is the question? But it is in this path every potential and even the potential that is yet to evolve is kept.
But this path is only revealed by a very tiny voice from within. If the mind or inner voices are too noisy or raucous, this voice would get lost in that chaos. So, it becomes important to keep the inner mind very calm, so that we can listen. But how much is it possible to keep the mind calm and silent?
Will power: Here is where the will power comes into picture. The will of the being. Hope all have heard the phrase- If there is a will, there is a way. This will, I intuitively feel is not just from the mind. It is the agency of the being behind the mind. But mind as well as it's intellect are a big block in the way of the will power. The loud mind would overpower the inner realm, the being gets confused within the mind as well as the inner chatter. The will power of the being is never locked into place. The being just floats or coasts around through life.
The intellect also can bring scenarios of fear or confusion. Too many options, which one to choose? The being doesn't know, which is the correct or the optimum path?
The person lives many times their total life within this inner chatter of the mind, never to access the will power. So, the mind just plays and takes a toll on the person. The person without concentration or focus jumps from project to project, job to job and career to career. The monkey mind sits within and directs the person to do this and that. The small inner voice gets lost and the person dances with the monkey. Monkey dance!
Many times, this monkey mind and intellect brings so much of logic, the person is doing a logical trapeze dance without even knowing they are on a trapeze swinging from idea to idea, concept to concept and value to value. No core or solid substantive values of the heart. A person who is listening to that tiny voice has to first deeply go within and realize who they are and their inner truths. For this they have to very definitely quieten their mind. A loud trapeze jumping monkey of a mind, can it be quiet? Very tough. But without quietening it, how can one access the heart and the voice of the heart- Intuition? They cannot.
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| Too many options and chaos brings stress to the mind Image credits - Pixabay.com |
So, it becomes imperative to quieten the mind. But the mind and the subconscious wiring of the mind is deeply entrenched in behaviors, attitudes, mindsets and perspectives. It is not easy to change all that with the click of the fingers. They need deep dedication, determination and will power. This is why people find it tough to make a change in their behaviors or mindsets. The person has to use their will power to look within, what is not working for them, bring in a newer set of behaviors, keep on doing it again and again and rewire the subconscious mind to bring in the change.
Extremely tough and not easy for a person with weak will power. So, such a person has to access the agency of their inner being, need to have a deep desire for change, plug in the emotions for motivation and be determined to bring in the change. This is why without a person desiring it is pretty much impossible to bring in change into anyone's life. This is the struggle people who are helping addicts have. Without the addicted person itself deeply desiring for change, it is pretty much impossible.
Silent mind: Once the person deeply determines they need change, then, they have to use their will power and agency (action to bring in change) towards making the mind silent. Even if not fully silent, more of a quietude. Think of a garden with birds, bees, a small water fall, a creek and trees swaying gently in the wind. The garden is not totally silent. There are sounds of the birds, bees, wind, and water. But they are sounds, not noise.
Sounds are the way nature and life speak to us. It is said in Upanishads, the God Brahma first uttered the name "Da" and devas, humans and the asuras understood it according to their intelligence. The same way it seems the Vedas were realized by sages when the God Shiva uttered the words. This is mythology. But in deeper truths also it is the sounds that bring creation. This is not noise.
But the human world especially the modern world is filled with noise- chaotic, confusing, irritating, annoying and jarring. This noise is blared either from advertisements, news, politics, debates, arguments, campaign rallies or people shouting at each other. These sounds make the humans deeply confused as there are too many voices and sounds, which to look at and perceive.
Look at some news channel. There would be a ribbon scrolling through the bottom, another on top, a blaring small advertisement in a corner, split screen with six to eight people debating/ arguing at the top of their voice, a side panel with the current reality of the society on the side and then, some another three more things. What to look at and where to look at? The mind of the person becomes so confused, they slowly lose their own thoughts, viewpoints or ideas. The humans are being spoon fed what to think and what to perceive.
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| The calmness of a quiet or silent mind- peace! Image credits - Pixabay.com |
When the mind is confused like this and fed what to feel and think, where is our own mind, intelligence and intellect. We don't know what to accept and what to reject. Our own critical thought process and analysis goes missing, exactly what many leaders and politicians (at least those with not so good intentions, want). So, it is utmost necessary to quieten our mind and if possible, even to make it silent.
Because a very noisy, chaotic mind can