Articles for Saadhana

Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru. Jai Guru.

Many of you have come here and are here. Some people have come from Malaysia. Two of them are very young. I am very happy. I would like you to think about why you have come here and what you are supposed to do if at all when you are here. See, every child is born in a family from the parents. A child is born practically with zero of everything. Gradually the child undergoes a biological growth, gradually a psychological growth, also an intellectual growth spread over something like, how much shall I say, fifteen to eighteen years.

The body grows up to the age of maximum twenty one years. Then the body’s growth is completely arrested, not only that, it begins to decline thereafter. But that is the time every individual becomes an adult, means what? He begins to think, understand, arrive at his choices and selections, forms his own ideals, wants to strive for them. Till then, we are almost dependent. There is no independence, sovereignty in us. Adulthood means being responsible for oneself, given to thinking, introspection, understanding, evaluating.

Then when you make choices and try to realize them, achieve them, you find the body has completed its growth and it is declining. So a question arises. What in the remaining decades of our life is supposed to grow if the body has completed its growth? The answer naturally is what is within the body not as a physical part of the body but as something different, namely the mind by which we think, the intelligence by which we try to enquire into and understand, and we also have an ego to coordinate matters. The only growth, expansion, enrichment, empowerment and elevation can only be for the mento-intellectual part of our personality. That is perfectly in order because our body itself is an instrument in the hands of the inner personality, meaning mind and intelligence.

After you become an adult, if the growth is for the mind and intelligence, I would like you to think as to what will bring about mental growth and what will bring about intellectual growth and enrichment. It is a very simple proposition but most fundamental and absolutely ultimate in human life. You have come here to make use of your mind to think, examine your own thought processes and find out how far they are good, they are noble, they are elevating. Are there any depressing, self-defeating elements in them?

This examination of the mind processes is very, very important. Unless it becomes a concurrent part of your life, you cannot have any improvement as a human being. Then with the intelligence you should try to probe into, enquire into and understand. Quest is the nature of intelligence. Thoughtfulness and virtue are the nature of the mind. So, you have come here to understand that you have an inner personality consisting of mind and intelligence which really employs the body and bodily parts and senses. Every time, if you open your eyes, it is not the eyes that open but the mind that opens the eyes. If you move your finger, it is not the finger that moves, it is made to move.

Mind is constantly involved in every activity and interaction of the body. Are you aware of it? If so, are you trying to qualitatively enrich the mind, improve the mind, make it a better product? What is meant by improvement of the mind? From your mind always good, noble, expansive thoughts, not only that, thoughts which will give you joy and delight and expansion. Such thoughts should constantly arise from the mind. If any negative thought arises, it is not good for you.

So, how to make the mind so good and so beautiful that it will always give you stimulating, elevating and enriching thoughts? There is a secret, there is a process. How to make the intelligence efficient and consistent in its introspection? We call it vicara, vicara, enquiry. So, the intelligence should examine the functioning of the mind, the thought structure of the mind, evaluate it and find out how far it is good and how far it is bad. How to eliminate the bad and how to enrich and enhance the good?

Many people say, “I am negative in my thinking. What shall I do, my dear Swamiji?” So, the mind has got a habit of thinking in a negative and destructive manner. If it is so, what will you do with such a habit? You should not be frightened. The same mind which produces negative thoughts can be made to produce noble and positive thoughts also. This transition from negativity to positivity, this is what is meant by human inner growth and achievement. We are born for that.

Vasishta tell Sri Rama in his eighteen day dialogue. Every day he was conversing with Sri Rama from sunrise to sunset and it went on for eighteen days. Rama was only sixteen years old. Vasishta says, 

Rama, understand, if there is anybody who is not given to thinking and introspection, gacchatastiṣṭatho vāpi, whether he is walking or sitting, whether he is wakeful or sleeping, every time you should be thoughtful, thoughtful, thoughtful, thoughtful. Don’t become thoughtless. Just like the blood is circulating constantly, the heart is beating and the lungs are bellowing, your mind will always be thoughtful.

But, but, that ‘but’ is important. You should understand what kind of a thoughtfulness is there in the mind. Peep into it, get an entry into the mind arena and see that the mind thinks in a benevolent manner, in a confident manner, in a progressive manner, in an achievemental manner. The entire secret is mind and mental, mind and mental. Our bodily shape, bodily beauty, bodily vigor, these are all born, inborn. You can develop only your mind and intelligence in the manner you want. Your complexion you cannot change. Your features you cannot change. Your height you cannot increase. Maybe you can eat more and become more bulky, that’s all. Ugly.

The entire application of one’s own will and wish is inside the mind. Suppose a man is not given to thoughtfulness and introspection while walking, while sitting, while being wakeful, while sleeping, he is considered to be dead, he(Vasishta) says, yasyāsau mrita ucyate. Consider him that he is a dead man, he has become a carcass. So, this thoughtfulness, vicara is very important. This ashram is one where we are trying to instill and institute introspection, mento-intellectual processes and evaluation in the people who come here. This is called 'jnana sadhana'. This is a knowledge striving. Right from the beginning it is a knowing process, knowledge process, knowledge striving.

So my dear girls, you should understand you have come here to be watchful of your own mind and to build qualities into your mind and intelligence so that you will become a greater person. If you ask me, I would like you to become a towering personality. I would ask you to become a very delightful person. Not only that, you must be able to delight others also. So, you should be able to speak delightfully, act delightfully, interact delightfully and the delightfulness should be not merely for you, but for the others also.  How will you do it? By enriching and edifying your mento-intellectual inner personality.

Understand that you have an inner personality. It is consisting of the mind and intelligence. Mind is given to thoughtfulness, it is raising emotions, intelligence is supposed to look into the mind, examine the mind processes and if necessary improve the processes and this improvement consists of a twin process, eliminating the undesirable and incorporating the desirable. Mark my words. Eliminating, eliminating, tapering off, removing, thinning down the undesirable elements and incorporating the desirable elements. And this twin process can and should continue till the last breath of your life. It is a tireless, ceaseless, delightful, invigorating process. It is so good and so nice. Be thoughtful, be thoughtful, be introspectional, and improve every moment your own life. Every day should be a day of inner improvement and enrichment. Every week should be so. Every fortnight and month should be so. Every year and decade should be so. You have come here primarily and ultimately for this.

Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru. Jai Guru.