THIS THING CALLED MIND
 |
| meditation sant |
Sitting down and experiencing peace is one thing; actually using it
to transform my life is quite another. A great deal goes on between
the intention and the action, and sometimes I catch myself saying,
'I didn't want to do that, but...' or 'Sorry, I didn't mean to say that'.
To be in full control of my life I need not only to know, but also to
understand the process through which an intention becomes an
action.
For instance, a variety of raw materials goes into a car manufacturing plant: sheet metal, nuts and bolts, electrical wiring, paint and
so on. These raw materials can be compared to my experiences
and intentions. As the raw materials pass through the plant, they
are processed and eventually emerge as cars. However, imagine
that there is a consistent fault in the production process. I could set
about repairing each car as it comes off the production line, but
this would be time-consuming and hard work. It would also be very
frustrating, as I would consider that the factory had been built to
produce faulty cars.
Similarly, changing my actions superficially will not bring about
profound changes in my life. This can work to a limited extent but
I will be continually faced by 'faulty' actions from the 'production
line', and it will seem like very hard labour with not much reward.
Instead, I need to check the raw materials of my experience and
also become familiar with the 'production process' of my desires
and actions. It is not enough for the engineer only to know approximately what happens on the factory floor. To repair a fault he
needs a detailed working knowledge of everything that is going on.
The better he understands the machinery, the better he is at identifying and repairing the fault. So, the more I understand about how
I work, the easier it is for me to eliminate the actions which I don't
want. Through meditation I am checking the raw materials, ensuring that only the best quality is used and making sure that nothing
is in short supply.
So, what is the process of manufacture? The first and most obvious
thing that comes between an intention and an action is a thought.
Thoughts occur in the mind. In Raja Yoga the mind is not seen as a
physical thing but as a faculty of the soul, and therefore, non-physical. Through the mind I imagine, think and form ideas. This
thought process is the basis of all my emotions, desires and sensations. It is through this faculty that, in an instant, I can re-live a past
experience, produce happiness or sadness, or take myself to the
other side of the world.
When there is the thought, 'I want a cup of tea', the relevant
actions seem to follow automatically. However, is thought the only
link between intention and action? What about the expression,
'Think before you speak'? Undoubtedly there must be thought
before I open my mouth, or nothing would emerge; so, what is
meant here? There seem to be two aspects to thought The first is
the thought itself; the second is the awareness and understanding
of that thought. It is the intellect which is used to understand the
thoughts. Through this second faculty of the soul, I assess the value
of what emerges in the mind. In the expression, 'Think before you
speak', I am being asked to use my intellect and consider whether
my thoughts are worth uttering. Some other function of the intellect are reasoning, realisation, discrimination, judgement and the
exercise of will power.
The intellect is the most crucial faculty; through the intellect I exercise control over my mind and thus over myself. The purpose Of Meditation is to fill the intellect with power, so making me clearheaded and perceptive, as well as developing firm resolve. The
intellect is recognised by the effect that it has. For instance, some-
one explains something and I fail to understand it. So he tries
explaining it in three or four different ways, but still I don't under-
stand. Finally the fifth time, I 'see the light' or 'the penny drops',
that is, I realise what he means. This realisation is the working of
the intellect.
Another example might be the process through which I sort out a
plan of action to take, when faced with a choice of two or three
possibilities. I weigh up the advantages and disadvantages until my
power of judgement tells me which plan is the most suitable. Like
the mind, the intellect is a subtle non-physical entity and belongs
to the soul, not the body.
There is a third faculty of the soul which comprises the impressions left on the soul by actions we have performed. These impressions can be referred to by the Sanskrit word 'sanskaras', for which
there is no simple translation. Habits, emotional tendencies, temperament, personality traits are all built up by Sanskaras imprinted
on the soul through each action it has performed. Sanskaras create
the personality in the same way that individual frames on a feature
film make up a story. Every action is recorded, whether it is a physical movement, a word or even a thought. As I live my life, I am
making an imprint on the celluloid, the soul. All the thoughts that
occur in the mind are due to the sanskaras. Personality, the most
fundamental feature of each individual, unique soul, is determined
by these sanskaras.
The mind, intellect and sanskaras function together in a cyclic pat-
tern which determines how I behave, what thoughts I have and
even what mood I am in. Firstly, the mind produces thoughts, evidence, which the intellect judges. On the basis of that judgement
an action is performed or not performed. The action, or non-action creates a sanskara which. in turn, becomes part of the evidence
in the mind.
A good illustration of this is the formation of a habit such as smoking. The first time I am offered a cigarette, many thoughts, both
For and against, arise in the mind: 'It's bad for my health', 'I
wonder what it tastes like', 'It is very easy to get addicted',
'Everyone else does it' and so on. On the basis of these thoughts,
the intellect makes a decision. Let's suppose that it makes the
decision to try a cigarette. A sanskara is created by that action and
the next time I am offered a cigarette that previous action
becomes part of the evidence in the mind, as a memory: 'I
smoked one before'. If I decide to smoke one again, the repetition
deepens that sanskara, just like planning a groove in a piece of
wood, until eventually the evidence in the mind, urging me to
smoke, has become so overwhelming that no evidence for not
smoking remains. The intellect has now become very weak, even
defunct. There is no longer a choice or judgement to make. There
is just the strong thought rising in the mind: 'Have a cigarette!'
and I perform the action automatically. I am no longer in control;
my past actions In the form of sanskaras are ruling my present.
However, I can also use this mechanism to create peaceful,
positive sanskaras. As I sit in meditation, I experience myself as a
peaceful soul. This experience forms a sanskara. The next time I
am about to get angry, through force of habit, the mind will
present contrary evidence: 'I am a peaceful soul'. This forces the
intellect to make a decision. As the intellect gains strength of will
through meditation, it becomes easier to act on peaceful
sanskaras, as opposed to negative sanskaras. Thus the intellect
begins to control both the mind and actions. I, the soul, become
the master of the present. I am no longer the slave of my past.
Gradually I reach a position where I choose to put into action only
those thoughts which will lead me to experience permanent
happiness and contentment.
MEDITATION PRACTICE
Take one aspect of yourself which you want to change. A few
times a day create just one or two very powerful positive
thoughts which will help change that negative habit or character
trait. Do this with all the energy and enthusiasm you can muster
This will create a very powerful sanskara. When that positive
thought for change comes into your mind again, it will bring
With it the experience of enthusiasm. This will help you to put
that intention into action at the appropriate time. For example,
if you want to give up the habit of criticising people, throughout
the day keep creating the positive thought: 'I see all as peaceful
souls, Instead of criticising their weaknesses, I will only see their
Virtues or 'I must first change my own weaknesses before criticising the weaknesses of others.'
No comments:
Post a Comment