Conquer Impure Thoughts
When you are very busy in your daily work, you may not harbour any impure thought; but when you take rest and leave the mind blank, the impure thoughts will try to enter insidiously. You must be careful when the mind is relaxed.
Thoughts gain strength by repetition. If you entertain an impure thought or good thought once, this impure thought or good thought has a tendency to recur again.
Thoughts crowd together just as the birds of the same feather flock together. So also, if you entertain one impure thought all sorts of impure thoughts join together and attack you. If you entertain any good thought, all good thoughts join together to help you.
Subdue Negative Thoughts
Learn to subdue, to purify, to order all your thoughts. Fight against all negative thoughts and doubts. Let sublime divine thoughts come to you from every side.
Thoughts of depression, failure, weakness, darkness, doubts, fear, etc., are negative thoughts. Cultivate positive thoughts of strength, confidence, courage, cheerfulness. The negative thoughts will disappear.
Fill the mind with divine thoughts, by Japa, Prayer, Dhyana and study of holy books. Be indifferent to all negative and undivine thoughts. They will pass away. Do not struggle with them. Pray to God for strength. Read the lives of saints. Study the Bhagavata and the Ramayana. All devotees have passed through similar ordeals. So, take heart.
Triumph Over Unimportant Thoughts
Do not try to drive away the unimportant and irrelevant thoughts. The more you try, the more they will return, the more they will gain strength. You will tax your energy and will.
Become indifferent. Fill the mind with divine thoughts. They will gradually vanish. Get yourself established in Nirvikalpa Samadhi through constant meditation.
Removal of tension in the muscles of the body brings repose and calmness to the mind. By relaxation you give rest to the mind, tired nerves and the overworked muscles. You will get immense peace of mind, strength and vigour. When you practice relaxation of either body or mind, the brain should not be occupied with various sorts of loose extraneous thoughts. Anger, disappointment, failure, indisposition, misery, sorrow, quarrels cause internal mental strain. Expel them.
Transform Instinctive Thoughts
Thinking is of four kinds, viz., symbolic thinking, instinctive thinking, impulsive thinking and habitual thinking.
Thinking through words is symbolic thinking. Instincts are more powerful than impulses. Thoughts of body, food, drink, bath, etc., are habitual thinking.
You can stop easily symbolic thinking. It is difficult to stop instinctive and impulsive thinking.
Mental poise and calmness may be brought about by the eradication of worry and anger. Fear really underlies both worry and anger. Be careful and thoughtful. All unnecessary worries should be avoided. Think of courage, joy, bliss, peace and cheerfulness. Sit for fifteen minutes in a relaxed state in an easy comfortable position.
You can lie on an easy-chair. Close your eyes. Withdraw the mind from outside objects. Still the mind. Silence the bubbling thoughts.
Lessen the Number of Habitual Thoughts
Generally, in untrained persons, four or five kinds of thoughts occupy the mind at a time. Household thoughts, business thoughts, thoughts of office, thoughts of body, thoughts of food and drink, hope and anticipation, some kind of planning to get money, some kind of thoughts of revenge, some habitual thoughts of answering calls of nature, bathing, etc., occupy the mind at a time.
When you are studying a book with interest at 3.30 p.m. the idea of pleasure of witnessing a cricket match at 4 p.m. disturbs your study every now and then. It is only a Yogi with one-pointed mind, who can have only one thought at a time and can keep it as long as he likes.
If you watch the mind carefully, you will find that many thoughts are inconsistent. The mind wanders at random aimlessly. There will be some thoughts of the body and its wants, some thoughts of friends, some thoughts of acquiring money, some thoughts of eating and drinking, some thoughts of your boyhood, etc.
If you can study the mind and if you have consistent thoughts of one subject or one kind only to the exclusion of all other thoughts, this itself is a very great achievement, is a great step in advancement in thought-control. Do not be discouraged.
Right Thoughts for Wrong Thoughts
Thoughts of passion and lust, should be conquered by an earnest practice of Brahmacharya, by intense aspiration to realize the Truth, to know God, by meditating on the great advantages of purity.
Thoughts of hatred and anger should be controlled by generating thoughts of love, forgiveness, mercy, friendliness, peace, patience and non-violence.
Pride and thoughts connected with pride must be controlled by a systematic mental examination of the value of cultivating humility.
Thoughts of greed, grabbing and possessiveness should be dispelled by pursuit of honesty, disinterestedness, generosity, contentment and non-covetousness.
Nobility and magnanimity, complacency and greatness of heart, will help you get over all thoughts of narrowness, jealousy, meanness.
Delusion and infatuation are best conquered by the development of discrimination. Vanity is overcome by a many-sided simplicity, arrogance by politeness.
The Gamut of Thoughts
There are various kinds of thoughts. There are instinctive thoughts. There are visual thoughts. There are auditory thoughts (thinking in terms of hearing). There are symbolic thoughts (thinking in terms of symbols). Some thoughts are habitual.
There are kinesthetic thoughts (thinking in terms of movement, as in playing a game). There are emotional thoughts. Thoughts change from the visual stage to auditory stage and from auditory to kinesthetic.
There is intimate connection between thinking and respiration as there is close relation between mind and Prana. When the mind is concentrated, breathing becomes slow. If one thinks fast the respiration also becomes fast. There is a thought-reading machine known as psychograph which registers correctly the type of thoughts.
Mean Thoughts and Moral Development
Uncontrolled thoughts are the roots of all evils. Each thought by itself is extremely weak, because the mind is generally distracted by countless and ever-varying thoughts.
The more the thoughts are restrained, the more is the mind concentrated, and consequently the more does it gain in strength and power.
It demands patient work to destroy mean and base thoughts; but the entertainment of sublime thoughts is the easiest and rapid method of destroying base thoughts. Ignorant of the laws of thoughts, the worldly-minded individual falls a prey to all sorts of thoughts–thoughts of hatred, anger, revenge, lust–and grows weak-willed, deficient in powers of discernment, and slave of the adverse subtle workings of the mind.
The best method of gaining mental power is by entertaining sublime, noble and good thoughts and through their aid controlling the dissipative, distractive, diversifying, worldly and base thoughts.
When all evil thought harasses the mind, the best method of conquering it is by ignoring it. How can we ignore an evil thought? By forgetting it. How can we forget? By not indulging in it again, and also by not brooding over it.
How can we prevent the mind from indulging in it again or brooding over it? By thinking of something very interesting, something sublime and inspiring. Ignore, forget, think of something inspiring; these three constitute the great Sadhana for establishing mastery over evil thoughts.
Avoid Thoughts of Another Man’s Defects
The nature of the mind is such that it becomes that which it intensely thinks of. Thus if you think of the vices and defects of another man, your mind will be charged with these vices and defects at least for the time being.
He who knows this psychological law will never indulge in censuring others or in finding fault in the conduct of others, will see only the good in others, and will always praise others. This practice enables one to grow in concentration, Yoga and spirituality.
Get Over Gloomy Thoughts
Very carefully watch all your thoughts. Suppose you are assailed by gloomy thoughts. You experience depression. Take a small cup of milk or tea. Sit calmly. Close your eyes. Find out the cause for the depression and try to remove the cause.
The best method to overcome the gloomy thoughts and the consequent depression, is to think of inspiring thoughts and inspiring things. Remember again, positive overcomes negative. This is a grand effective law of nature.
Now think strongly of the opposite thoughts, the opposite of gloom. Think of those things that elevate your mind; think of cheerfulness. Imagine the advantage of cheerfulness. Feel that you are in actual possession of this quality.
Again and again repeat the formula: OM CHEERFULNES, mentally. Feel, “I am very cheerful.” Begin to smile and laugh several times.
Sing: sometimes this can elevate you quickly. Singing is very beneficial to drive off gloom. Chant OM loudly several times. Run in the open air. The depression will vanish soon. This is the Pratipaksha Bhavana method of Raja Yogins. This is the easiest method.
The method of driving gloom by force–by willing, by assertions, by command–taxes the ‘will’ very much although it is the most efficient. It demands great strength of will. Ordinary people will not succeed. The method of displacing or dislocating the negative feeling by substituting the opposite, positive feeling, is very easy. Within a very short time, the undesirable feeling vanishes. Practice this and feel. Even if you fail several times, continue. You will be successful after some sittings and some practice.
You can treat in the same manner other negative thoughts and feelings as well. If there is the feeling of anger think of love. If there are thoughts of jealousy, think of the advantages of charitableness and magnanimity. If there are thoughts of gloom, then think of some inspiring scenery that you saw sometime ago, or recall to mind some inspiring passage.
If there is harshness of heart, think of mercy. If there is lust, think of the advantage of celibacy. If there is dishonesty, think of honesty, integrity. If there is miserliness, think of generosity and generous persons.
If there is infatuation or Moha, think of discrimination and Atmic Vichara; if there is pride, think of humility. If there is hypocrisy, think of frankness and its invaluable advantages. If there is jealousy, think of nobility and magnanimity. If there is timidity, think of courage, and so on.
You will drive off the negative thoughts and feelings and will be established in a positive state. Practice of a continued type is essential. Be careful in the selection of your companions. Talk very little and that, too, on useful matters.
POSITIVE METHODS FOR THOUGHT-CONTROL
Thought-control by Practice of Concentration
Silence the bubbling thoughts. Calm the surging emotions. Concentrate on a concrete form in the beginning. Concentrate on a flower, on the form of Lord Buddha, on any dream picture, on the effulgent light of the heart, on the picture of any saint, or your Ishta Devata.
Have three or four sittings; early morning, 8 a.m., 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Devotees concentrate on the heart, Raja Yogins on Trikuti (the seat of the mind), Vedantins on the Absolute. Trikuti is the space between the eyebrows.
You can also concentrate on the tip of the nose, the naval, or the Muladhara (below the last vertebra of the spinal column).
When irrelevant thoughts enter the mind, be indifferent. They will pass away. Do not drive them forcibly. They will persist and resist. It will tax your will. They will enter with redoubled force. But substitute divine thoughts. Irrelevant thoughts will gradually fade out. Be slow and steady in the practice of concentration.
Concentration is practiced for stopping the modification of the mind. Concentration is holding the mind to one form or object for a long time. To remove the tossing of the mind and various other obstacles which stand in the way of one-pointedness, the practice of concentration on one thing alone should be made.
Concentration is opposed to sensuous thoughts and desires, bliss to flurry and worry, sustained thinking to perplexity, applied thinking to sloth and torpor, rapture to ill-will.
It is easy to concentrate the mind on external objects. The mind has a natural tendency to go outwards. Keep the picture of Sri Krishna, Rama, Narayana, Devi or Lord Jesus or any picture, in front of you. Look at it steadily without winking. Gaze at the head, then at the body, then at the legs. Repeat the same process again and again. When your mind calms down look at a particular spot only, then close the eyes and mentally visualize the picture.
You should be able to visualize the picture very clearly even in its absence. You will have to call up the mental picture at a moment’s notice. Keep it there steadily for sometime. This is concentration. You will have to practice this daily.
If you want to increase your power of concentration, you will have to reduce your worldly desires and activities. You will have to observe silence everyday for some hours. Then only can the mind concentrate very easily and without difficulty.
In concentration you will have only one thought or wave in the mind-lake. The mind assumes the form of only one object. All other operations of the mind are suspended.
Thought-control by a Positive Attitude
Try to acquire the power of closing yourself against detrimental or undesirable thoughts and influences by making yourself positive by a particular attitude of the mind. By so doing, you may be receptive to all higher impulses of the soul within and to all higher forces and influences from without. Make a suggestion to yourself, “I close myself; I make myself positive to all things below and open and receptive to all higher influences, to all things above.” By taking this attitude of the mind, consciously, now and then, it soon becomes a habit.
All the lower and undesirable influences from both the seen and the unseen sides of life are closed out while all higher influences are invited and, in the degree that they are invited, they will enter.
In the mind there is doubt; there is reality also. A doubt arises whether there is a God or not. This is termed Samsaya-Bhavana. Another doubt crops up whether I can realize Brahman or not. Then another voice tells: “God or Brahman is real. He is a solid, concrete Reality as an Amalaka fruit in my hand. He is a mass of knowledge and Ananda (Prajnanaghana, Chidghana, Anandaghana). I can realize!”
We have clearly understood something and these ideas are well-grounded and ingrained. Some ideas are hazy and not firm. They come and go. We will have to cultivate ideas and ground them till they are firmly fixed and implanted. Clarification of ideas will remove perplexity and confusion in the mind. When a doubt arises, “Whether there is God or not, whether I will succeed in Self-realization or not,” it must be dispelled by well-directed suggestions and affirmations such as: “It is true; I will succeed. There is no doubt of this.” “In my dictionary, in my vocabulary, there are no such words, as ‘can’t’, ‘impossible’, ‘difficult’, etc. Every thing is possible under the sun.” Nothing is difficult when you strongly make up your mind. Strong determination and firm resolution will bring sanguine success in every affair or undertaking, and particularly so in the conquest of mind.
Thought-control by Non-cooperation
Non-cooperate with the mind in its evil wanderings. Gradually the mind will come under your control. Here is the practical method to non-cooperate with the mind. If the mind says: “I must eat today sweetmeats,” say unto the mind: “I will not cooperate with you today. I will not eat sweetmeats. I will eat only bread and Dal.” If the mind says: “I must go to cinema,” say unto the mind: “I will attend the Satsanga of Swami Ramananda and hear his discourses on the Upanishads.” If the mind says: “I must wear a silk shirt,” say unto the mind: “I will not wear in future any silk clothing; I will wear only Khaddar.” This is the method to non-cooperate with the mind. Non-cooperation with the mind is swimming against the sensual currents. The mind will be thinned out and gradually it will become your obedient servant. You will gain mastery over the mind.
The self-controlled man, moving among the objects with senses under restraint and free from attraction and repulsion, attains to peace. The mind and the senses are naturally endowed with the two currents of attraction and repulsion. Therefore, the mind and the senses like certain objects and dislike certain other objects. But the disciplined man moves among the sense-objects with a mind and senses free from attraction and repulsion, mastered by Self, and attains the peace of the Eternal.
The disciplined self has a very strong will. Therefore, the senses and mind obey his will. The disciplined self takes only those objects which are quite necessary for the maintenance of the body without any love or hatred. He never takes those objects which are forbidden by the Sastras.
Art of Thinning Out Thoughts
In the rubber plantations, planters take recourse to the method of thinning out the rubber trees by cutting the small surplus trees which stand in the vicinity of big trees. By so doing they can tap more milk (rubber juice) from the big trees. Even so, you must thin out the thoughts by destroying them one by one in order to drink the ambrosial milk or nectar of immortality.
Just as you retain only the good fruits from the basket and discard the bad ones, so also, keep good thoughts in your mind and reject evil ones.
Just as the warrior chops off the heads of enemies, one by one, when they come out of a fortress through a trap door, so also, chop off the thoughts, one by one, when they emerge out through the trap door to the surface of the mind.
When the tail of a lizard is cut, the cut end will flutter about for sometime as there is still a little residual Prana in the tail. After one or two minutes all motion will cease. Even so, even after thinning and reducing the thoughts, some thoughts will move about like the tail of the lizard. But they are powerless. They cannot do any serious harm. There is no vitality in them.
Just as the drowning man tries to catch anything to save himself, so also, these lifeless thoughts try their level best to come back to their previous state of life and vigour. If you go on regularly with your daily practice of concentration and meditation, they will die by themselves like a gheeless lamp.
Passion, egoism, jealousy, pride and hatred are very deep-rooted. If you cut the branches of a tree, they grow again after sometime. Even so, these thoughts that are suppressed or thinned out for sometime, manifest again after sometime. They should be completely rooted out by strenuous efforts, Vichara, meditation, etc.
Thought-control by Napoleon’s Method
When you think on one subject, do not allow other thoughts to enter. When you think of a rose, think of the different kinds of roses only. Do not allow other thoughts to enter.
When you think of mercy, think of mercy and mercy only. Do not think of forgiveness and tolerance. When you study the Gita, do not think of tea or a cricket match. Be wholly occupied with the subject on hand.
Napoleon controlled his thoughts in this manner: “When I want to think of things more pleasant, I close the cupboards of my mind revealing the more unpleasant things of life, and open up the cupboards containing the more pleasant thoughts. If I want to sleep, I close up all the cupboards of mind!”
Arrest the Recurrence of Evil Thoughts
Suppose the evil thoughts stay in your mind for twelve hours and recur every third day. If you can make them stay for ten hours and recur once in a week by daily practice of concentration and meditation, that is a decided improvement. If you continue your practice, the period of stay and recurrences will be gradually lessened.
Eventually they will disappear altogether. Compare your present state of mind with that of last year or year before last. You will be able to find out your progress.
The progress will be very slow in the beginning. It will be difficult for you to gauge your growth and progress.
No comments:
Post a Comment