Miscellaneous - Religion   

Concentration of mind

CHENNAI: The mind can be man’s best friend and also his enemy. When a person is able to keep his mind under control it helps him to achieve what he wants but if he succumbs to its fancies then he can be totally led astray. A thorn stuck in one’s leg can be removed only with the help of another thorn; so also can an individual who is caught in the throes of bondage, due to ignorance, be liberated only with the aid of his mind.

In his discourse, Sri P.M.Vijayaraghava Sastrigal said the mind was responsible for both bondage and liberation. If control of the mind is the key to spiritual growth how can one achieve it?

The mind can be controlled through Yoga which prescribes retiring to a secluded place and practising meditation. One should be alert and watch the mind without getting distracted as thoughts rise and fall. So one does not have to search anywhere else or make any other effort but only learn to be watchful of the mind.

The Vivekachudamani of Sankara gives the example of a certain larva that was caught and kept imprisoned by a wasp in its nest. When the worm repeatedly tried to wriggle free from its captivity, the wasp stung it and pushed it back until out of fear it turned into a wasp. Such a transformation can be brought about with one-pointed concentration in the human mind.

A story is narrated in tradition about Sankara’s disciple Padmapada who went to a forest to perform meditation on Narasimha. After many days an old hunter, who had become curious, approached him to find out what he was doing.

The sage told him he wanted to see a person and when he offered to help described His man-lion form. The hunter who knew every inch of the forest replied he had never seen such a person there but promised to bring him by sunset.

He was so focused in his search that just as he was tiring the Lord revealed Himself to him. Scolding him for not appearing before the sage all these days, the hunter caught Narasimha and took Him to Padmapada thereby proving that nothing is impossible for the mind that is determined.

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