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Harih Om Tat Sat, Jai Guru !
It is a very simple truth, but nobody understands it and cares to care the understanding. What is that? Everything in our life proceeds from us, oneself, ourselves.
We are living in this world. In which world? I have any relationship with the Earth only in so far as I am standing, sitting, walking and lying on the Earth. If I were not doing all these what connection do I have with this Earth? Similarly, I have a connection with water only because I need, I drink water. Similarly I breathe air, I am basking in the sunshine, I am using the fire.
Again if you ask, which Earth? which water? which air? which fire? and which sky? It is these things that I see and interact with. So my connection with all these things, comes from me, me, me. That is why I say, everything in our life proceeds from us and is based upon us, based upon oneself. So a study of what is this oneself becomes imperative. Everyone has got a composite personality. In that compositeness you will find, there is one external counterpart that is gross, physical, consisting of matter and energy. That is our body. But the external counterpart is completely insentient or inert. It has got no power to sense, react to. Certainly not. This inert body has to be animated. That animation comes from the mind and the inteliigence.
This mind and intelligence put together, they become the inner personality, the inner counterpart. So we have two counterparts, the body is only an external, gross one and the internal inner one is the mind and the intelligence. We are caring the body, right from the beginning, our mother used to tend the body, nurse it, feed it, nourish it. When we become grown up we start nourishing the body ourselves by taking atleast three or four times food, water. Very good.
In the same manner, should you not equally care and nurse the inner personality? Do you take any time in the day to go into the nourishment of the mind and the intelligence. On the other hand, right from the time we wake up till we go to sleep we are using and employing our mind, our intelligence. Using the mind is one, nourishing the mind is another. Using the body for our activities is one, but to feed and nourish the body is different. If you accept this principle, while you are using your mind and intelligence through out the day, are you feeding, nourishing, your mind and the intelligence? I think you have to find an answer yourself, take it seriously. The answer will be that we are not doing it. Is it not a great fault, neglect and danger? Be concious of it. The next question is "Swamiji, you say feed and nourish the mind ... what is the food for the mind? what is the nourishment for the mind? and what is the food and nourishment for the intelligence?" What is the food for the mind and nourishment? and what is the food for the intelligence and its nourishment? This is the one question I would like you take up very seriously and answer.
Mind survives and thrives on thoughts, feelings and emotions. It has also a memory part. You must be able to nourish the mind with what? With good thoughts, good feelings and good emotions. which are progressive, expansive and elevating in character. Give a place for good, noble and elevating thoughts and cherish them and preserve them, cherish them and preserve them. A deliberate effort should be made everyday, to cherish, to spend some time, on good, noble and elevating thoughts. Similarly, feelings and emotions. Learn to love entire world, all people. Drop your hatred, try to be sympathetic to the others. Be considerate and sacrificing for the sake of others. These are simple qualities that will nourish the mind.
So far as the intelligence is concerned, it should always be engaged, in the matter of knowledge. So give some quest or the other to the intelligence and make it pursue the quest and arrive at knowledge. You should engage the intelligence in some kind of introspection or the other. Introspect on your own character, your own behaviour, the day's interactions - have I done well? Could I have improved? Could I have done better? What is meant by better? Why is it that I was constricted in my behaviour? Instead of responding to situations and persons, in a progressive manner, why is it that I become retrogressive ? Everyday you will find, if you examine your character, behaviour and interaction, which constitute our life. There will always be scope for introspection and improvement. Now this is the feed and fruition for the intelligence. Dont say I have nothing to think, you have everything to think. People are generally conscious of dressing themselves up when they go out, but please dress your mind properly, intelligence properly where ever you are. Read some books.
You know the treasure that we have is Ramayana, Mahabharata, Sreemad Bhāgavata and such other books. These are the books which can occupy the old people particularly, as much as they want. There is nobody in India who has completed all the books of knowledge, particularly Spirituo-philosophical books and texts (available) in India.
If you start reading Ramayana you will find, this Ramayana is not merely a foregone story. No! It is a living and vibrant narration. A man is very fortunate if he is able to read Ramayana interestingly (in an interested manner), deliciously, alluringly, fulfillingly. Especially if you can read the sanskrit part of it, it is an elixir, it is a panacea. Mahabharata is much more complex and comprehensive. Sreemad Bhāgavata is devotional nectar and that alone. Why dont you start reading these books?
So what I want to say is that, be conscious of inner personlity of yours, understand that mind and intelligence constitude this. Try to cherish, nourish, feed your mind. Equally feed and nourish your intelligence. Unless you do this, I dont think you will become a good personality and you will be able to function and live and achieve well in this world. I dont think anybody can oppose what I am saying. Are you conscious of the mind and its development? Are you conscious of the intelligence? and its full fold application? If you are conscious of it, ask what do you do for it? but you are conscious of your body and its nourishment. We eat too much to spoil it. But we do not eat at all and we starve the mind and the intelligence. This is not right. Let the imbalance and the disharmony be discovered, identified and set right as soon as possible.
Harih Om Tat Sat ! Jai Guru !