Articles for Saadhana

Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru. Jai Guru.

As you know yesterday I had been for a lecture program. By the time I returned, it was ten o’ clock. I had my bath, had my food, then I did not want to take rest right then, so I wanted to walk for a while. I got into the middle floor and started walking. Then I found 'B' sitting in the Prajnānadhām office meant for women and she was working. So I went there to find out what was she working. She was editing the Kathopanishad talk of Swamiji, Nutan Swamiji, she said. Then somehow or the other I was walking, she also got up and a little conversation took place. In the conversation she was telling me, “Swamiji.” I was asking her, “How is your mind. Is it peaceful? Is it clear?” Then she said, “It is peaceful but some of the traits in me they don’t go easily.”

See I always think about the mind and I want to give messages which will enable the mind owners, the owners of the mind to have a better mind and to have a better interaction in this world with a qualitative and refined mind. I think I am doing very good research in the subject. Because constantly the problem the people are facing is in my mind. So I spoke to her something, part of the conversation as far as I am able to remember I would like to present before all of you.

Let us understand very clearly that any human individual is a cumulative effect or outcome of a number of generations preceding him. Don’t think that you are just the child of your parents. Even in the physical and biological heredity you cannot be just what your parents are. You can be like your grandfather, great grandfather, or great grandmother and still great-great-grandparents, partly from there and partly from a next generation. So, even the biological heredity is actually a complex, cumulative outcome of the past. When you enter into the mind, the subtlety and complexity become greatly more. In the case of the body perhaps it is subject to biological, scientific, objective research. They may or may not be able to find out, but they can find out to a large extent because that experimentability is there. It is something we see physically and we can go into before the senses.

But when it comes to the question of the supra physical, the psycho-intellectual traits, no objective research can apply there. I am researching into it day in and day out. Our śastras excel only in this sphere. Whatever the śastras say in the other spheres of activity, they may not be true they will not say and we may have some other later findings which will govern us. But with regard to the non-experimental inner sphere of the mind, intelligence and ego, I think our śastras reign supreme even today, because the laboratory is one’s own personality and the instruments are the mind and the intelligence.

So about the traits what I want to tell you is that, everybody has got a certain mixture of traits. These traits have finally come from where? We are interacting with this world and to interact with the world we have a psycho-biological personality. Let the biological part remain there. We are using our eyes to see but what sees and processes the vision is not the eye. Ultimately it becomes deeper down in the supra physical layers called the mind and the intelligence. When you are born, you are a cumulative outcome lasting, extending up to say seven generations. Now, you are born with that. Let us call it inheritance. To this inheritance before you become an adult through your parents, their rearing you up, a lot of environmental influences are there over which you had no control. The manner in which your mother spoke to you, father spoke to you, the type of exchange they have at home, what are their tendencies, objectives, did they have any value, if so what? Did they speak lies? Did they encourage lying? Were there disciplined or undisciplined? Nobody can claim my family is the super family. They were all men and women. So they were subject to the complex nature and its effects. So inheritance 50 % and acquisition ranging over 15-16 years. How much is it you tell me? It is with this premise that we are going to improve ourselves after some time. In many cases, the improvement does not start even from sixteen. Many people are exposed to the ashram and what I speak, they say, “We are very late. We are old. Nothing can be done in our life. I wish I were exposed to it far earlier. Some fifteen or twenty years back.” Many people have written to me like this. So, you start becoming an adult and wanting to improve. So the traits are already established there.

So what should you do with the traits, I was telling, explaining yesterday. Let whatever traits are there be there. It is your mind that displays the traits. It is the same mind that tells you that these traits are undesirable. I want to get rid of it. Make an effort. So the mind not merely displays traits, it also provides you the discrimination or discretion to understand the desirable or undesirable nature of the traits. So your attitude towards undesirable traits right from the beginning should be one of elimination. It should not be a new decision. The moment you become discrete you are poised for self-improvement, you are a spiritual seeker. It is understood that the undesirable traits should be eliminated. It is only a question of taking how much time you will have for the purpose. So let us be very, very clear about it.

When you have the fundamental, basic and once and for all attitude of eliminating them, as the traits appear, the feeling that they should be eliminated should also appear. It is something like darkness trying to overcome you and you press the torch which you have. These traits are there. I don’t want them. I want to eliminate them. This solid position, definite position should be there and every time the trait comes, do not think in support of it. “Oh this is a trait, it has appeared again. I don’t like it.” Stop. Nothing more. But you should be wholesome in feeling and saying and thinking in this manner. So, I don’t want you to fight against these traits. I only want you to eliminate them and take a position of an eliminator. Every time they appear, your reaction should be that it has come, I want to eliminate it.

In front of an eliminating person what can the traits do? They will not overtake you and then leave them to themselves. Never bother when they have appeared. As long as you don’t act upon them you have nothing to do. You are not allowing them to come. They come by themselves. When they come by themselves they also tell you that this is something that you wanted to eliminate, it has come. So it has come by virtue of a law or a process. What is that process? Inheritance and acquisition. It was inherited by you at the time of birth and it has been acquired by you after birth maybe with knowledge or without knowledge. Now, in the background of this knowledge, the traits will not have an upper hand in you. Then just leave them.

Our śastras say, we also say, I also say that it will take twelve years so I asked 'B', “How many years have passed since you came here?”

'B': “Ten years.”

Swamiji: “Wait for at least two years. Is there any improvement?”

'B': “Yes. There is a lot of improvement. But sometimes these traits come and I feel sorry about.”

Swamiji: “Yes you may feel sorry but sorry also you need not feel.”

From that emotional level, you should rise to the knowledge and discretional level. From the discretional level you dislike them, disapprove of them, never permit them. Once this is done, the traits will become weaker and weaker, weaker and weaker, weaker and weaker, and they will just disappear. Even after they disappear don’t think that they may not come any time at all because we carry the memory of the past always. The world consists of bad and good. Our mind also will consist of bad and good. Our habits also will consist of bad and good. Because the world is so we are a product of the world. Let the traits be there. But you don’t act upon them. If the traits are there and you don’t act upon them it is as good as they are not coming and influencing you. Then why are you worried about it?

So my summary advice to all of you is that you have to be very discreet in this process. Understand that we are a complex individual consisting of inheritance and acquisition at every time in life. The inheritance is a constant factor. Acquisition is a variable factor. It takes about twelve years to reform oneself. It is not like today’s food is digested within four hours and it is converted into blood. In the case of the mind, it is not so at all. We don’t know where the mind is, where these traits are, you only know when they appear that I have this traits. Are you able to probe into and reach the place where it hides and works? No, no, not at all. The mind constantly will work from the past, in the present, to the future. So it connects you to past, present and future. It is a circle that goes on, goes on, goes on, goes on, goes on, allow it to go on. So never take a pro attitude.

Then I also told her, “See, always be loving people. When you find another inmate in the ashram is there who needs to be helped, a particular trait is there in that person. Recognize that it is there. Never resent or revolt. Everybody is a victim of his personality complex. So whatever you feel to help him, Oh this is something he may not be able to do. So let me do it. This is something where she is better. So let me allow her to do.”

And what can I do? What can I do? Speak good words, sweet words, nice words, and help, help, help, you know you will be the best lover of the world and you will be the best beloved of the world provided you have an all accepting attitude, all accepting attitude. When the children grow up, they get dejected from the parents. When the children grow up, the parents get dejected from the children, by or from the children. Where is that person who will always say, “No, it does not matter whatever you are. Don’t worry. There is a hope. There is a confidence.” I don’t think anybody does it. If you start doing it in the ashram towards the others, how great you will be! How beloved you will be! How honorable a person you can be!

She was telling me, “Swamiji, in my interactions with you sometimes I say this, I say this, but you don’t seem to be disliking anybody.”

“Is it so?”, I asked.

Why should you dislike anybody? Nobody is to be blamed for what he or she is! They are! Some people are miserly, some people are liberal, some people are harsh, some people are weak, some people are over sympathetic, some people are timid. I think all these traits are there. They are part of the world complex and if you have a certain measure of complexity, I don’t think we have to blame anybody. Suggest and try to help if at all. So you should be always a kind of an anchor and a sukhoor and a refuge for any type of person in this world. Feel at least well for others. In feeling, why should we become a bankrupt?

Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru.