The Hindu : Direct the mind within

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 25, 2004

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous - Religion

Direct the mind within

CHENNAI, FEB.25. No one likes to face difficulties in life and wishes to enjoy comforts and wellbeing without any strenuous effort on his part. When a doctor advises a patient to walk everyday for an hour he will set out with gusto for a day or two and then allow lethargy to take over by attributing various reasons for not following it regularly. But, who is the loser? Not the doctor certainly. It is up to the patient to take his advice seriously in the interests of his wellbeing. This is true of spiritual life also. If a person worships God daily there will definitely be steady progress towards the goal of realising Him. In fact, he will gain enough confidence to even demand of God, "I have constantly been devoted to You but why have You not condescended to grant me Your vision?" Radha displayed such a devotional attitude towards Lord Krishna wherein she could take the liberty of chiding Him.

In his discourse, Swami Gautamananda said the Almighty had provided for all His creations and hence one should sincerely take to spiritual pursuits without worrying about his creature comforts. This requires implicit faith in divine dispensation. All the obstacles that one feels are preventing one from pursuing the spiritual goal will vanish when the desire for liberation becomes strong. Slowly the seeker will find that his interest in worldly engagements wanes on its own accord. Everyone must have experienced that the object one intensely desires becomes burdensome later so much so that the person desires to be relieved of it. Hence it is important to go beyond desires, which result in joy and sorrow. In the final stage a devotee loses interest in everything else except the longing for God and communion with Him.

Saints have indicated that spiritual life involves directing the mind within but the human mind is naturally drawn to the outer world. The reason for this must be understood. The mind has the tendency to be drawn towards what it thinks will give it joy. But both joys and sorrows are intrinsic to worldly life and only the acceptance of their inevitability will enable one to accept life situations. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to tell his devotees that spiritual life was not divorced from worldly life and it was God who directed worldly affairs also. Devotion to God is akin to watering the roots of the tree. Devotion will equip the devotee to face worldly situations with poise, as it will enable him to accept the vagaries of life with equanimity.

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