Mind Management

 

Photo Credit:Shakhashree

Mind Management

In life we consider things as good or bad – this decision is made by the mind taking into account the fact that a certain result has taken place which is as per ‘my’ wish / expectation or not. Basically, it is the egoistic mind that takes the call on whether something is good or bad.

The mind is the key to everything. Without the mind, we cannot accomplish anything. All our sense organs need the mind to complete the process of gathering of information or knowledge from the outside world. The human mind is indeed a fine instrument. But this is only the positive side. When one tries to use the mind effectively to carry out the tasks necessary to evolve in human life, there comes an obstacle that is as powerful as the instrument with which the task is being done: the mind.

Many spiritual and philosophical traditions have found the answer to the problem of the mind, that the mind itself is the problem. Instead of waiting for it to display signs of illness, it is wise to make the mind incapable of displaying anything! It is because the mind displays imaginary projections onto the reality that is Brahman, that we suffer constantly; sometimes we call this outwardly as suffering, sometimes we fool ourselves to think that it is happiness.

This suffering is what leads a human being to pursue religion, to find a way out of all suffering. This, one does by the help of the mind, without realising that the mind is the root of all suffering. The key to understanding why the mind is the cause of all suffering is to first understand that the mind is the one that gives us false images of certainty and perfection in a mirage of the world, where there can never be either of those.

While René Descartes famously said, ‘I think, therefore I am’, the reality appears to be quite different: ‘I think, therefore I am not what I think myself to be’. 

To follow the spiritual path of yoga, one need not necessarily believe in the tenets of yoga philosophy. Since mind is the basic instrument to accomplish anything, it is needless to mention that it is imperative to have a trained mind for one’s spiritual life. And so, irrespective of the particular spiritual path a person is following, it is necessary to control the mind, for attaining excellence in that path. This is where the Patanjali’s ashtanga yoga plays a crucial role. So, whether you are a bhakta or a gyani, whether you follow the path of selfless work or that of psychic control, you have to necessarily have and excellent control of the mind; and naturally one has to follow ashtang yoga to attain that control.

Thus, the practice of yoga and meditation is a universal spiritual practice. One does not need to believe in any philosophy to practise this path. It is the perfect technology of mind management.