Sunday, June 20, 2010

MIND AND BODY-
The Mind is the internal Organ, and "Mind is surely made of food, vital force is made of water, and speech is made of fire"- "Of curd when it is churned, that which is its subtle part rises upward. That becomes clarified butter. In this very way, of food when it is eaten, those which is the subtle part, that rises upward, and that becomes mind" The mind and body is the fastest growing fields in medical research today. That there is a strong link has been firmly established.

Today we have two distinct branches of medical science. Doctors and Physicians tend to our body’s illness and organic defects by means of medicines and surgery and the second group, comprising Unavoidable mental stress causes the Body’s immune system to falter. Immunologists, Physiologists and Neuro-biologists now are sure that emotion and mental stress causes an abnormal imbalance in our bodies cardiovascular disorders, asthma, migraine headaches and kidney ailments and some of the other diseases are due to mental stress or runway emotions. Even certain forms of cancer may have their roots in the mind.

Cardiologists are now absolutely sure that a positive nexus exists between cardiovascular disorders and hypertension (High Blood Pressure) in the case of people having the so-called type-A personality. These individuals are aggressive, ambitious extremely goal-oriented and restless. They are always in a hurry and pressed for time. Psychologists have noted that type-A people are frequent visits cardiologists chambers much more than type-B people who are more relaxed and cheerful. Hormones released by the endocrine glands account for the increased rate of heart disorders.

Stress is something that only high ranking executives suffer from. Nothing could be more incorrect, we all suffer from it. However, in spite of the enormous amount of research done on it, the concept itself remains far from clear and different authorities continue to use the term to mean different things.

The mechanism by which the mind exerts its influence on bodily activities is not entirely clear but it is certain that it lies in the brain. Two glands situated there the Hypothalamus and the Pituitary act in close co-ordination to control the endocrine and the nervous system of the body.

Problems in life arise mainly due to lack of discipline. Our words should be measured. Our food habits clean and our senses kept under control. Some people question the statement of saints and the wise that life, which is the precious gift of God, ought to be utilized only to realize God. Their argument, based on the Hinduism is that life should be enjoyed to the brim and one should not close his eyes to worldly activities. These people do not realize that the pleasure they dream of are but purely fleeting in nature leading to misery. Their mind will be filled with filthy and base thoughts. But one who is ever vigilant, keeping the mind pure and impervious to evil thoughts can experience real happiness.

The penance that scriptures speak of is only intended to achiever discipline of the mind and the body. Virtuous men with properly attuned mind will experience Bliss with in. Mere offering of flowers and display of extravagance during worship or ostentatious ness in prayers are not the indices of sincere devotion. For one who checks his senses and mind there is no need for “ Mantras and Tantras” ( मंत्र और तंत्र ).

The mind is a largely uncharted world a system of unimaginable complexity and extraordinary powers. Despite the Neurologists and the Psychologists, it remains as much of a mystery today as ever. The Scientist themselves confess to be groping in the dark in this field of human knowledge.

But the way to Gyan ज्ञान is really simple. A child doesn’t know his mother, he just loves her completely. Fall in love with all Shrishti श्रृष्टि , Gyan ज्ञान will come itself.”

“The Fidayeen फिदायीन /Terrorist are brainwashed into believing the only way to attain heaven was to kill other people. But one of the terrorist who attained the knowledge through meditation in jail, he says he has attained heaven right here on earth, through meditation. He has written that given a chance, he would like to help others attain this knowledge.” “Now he finds it very hard to see god in his enemy despite his best efforts”.

Because Meditation is simple and inexpensive; it is well a healthy body, mind and soul. Meditation polishes the tarnished mind and helps it to think positively. Pursuing one’s professional commitment with sincerity while at the same time taking care not to give in to greed, corruption and exploitation will elevate one’s consciousness. Work then becomes worship. Healing therefore has to begin from within.

“Don’t cry to see God”. “Just see a human. We may not have devotion, but at least we can have compassion.” Inevitably, someone wants to know what he feels about disbelievers, as well as about followers who relapse into doubt, “all good things are doubted”. “Negativism is so inbuilt that if I say I have great affection for you, you will ask ‘really’? But if I say I hate you, you will immediately accept it.”

Can someone actually change his or her nature? Suppressing one’s Individuality is not changes. Without and awareness ad understanding of the needs of body, mind and soul, the concept of changes is no more than a hallucination. Every individual is like a deep, fathomless ocean with prince less treasures hidden within. These treasures may be likened to basic human qualities, which everyone possesses. But, bad experiences, unhealthy habits, negative thought processes, diverse conditioning, neglect and misconceptions born of misinformation are like previous sea weeds that tend to stifle and choke emotional areas, jeoparding the possibility of manifesting these basic qualities in a wholesome and fulfilling manner. Buried treasure becomes tarnished over time; the basic substance may become eroded, depending upon how much tamas तामस or regulation and indiscrimination, and rajas राजस or imbalanced hyperactivity are prevalent over sattva सात्विक or regulation and sanity. Under such circumstances, the change will be aware of this.

Only a qualified counselor can act as a deep sea diver, swimming expertly through all lurking dangers, to help retrieve lost treasure, bring it to the surface, and polish and restore to it its pristine, sparkling condition so that the owner might realise its true utility. Though this might be termed as change, it is not really change. Rather, it is a burnishing process or a catharsis. Purity in thought, word and deep is the potent forced that insulates one from disease. In short, change may be termed as purging oneself of all mental misconceptions and their corresponding physical activity. The spiritual counselor’s catalytic presence stimulates and speeds up the process. This kind of therapy, when combined with diet and exercise, has more enduring results and positive benefits than even psychiatric treatment which tends to make a patient dependent upon drugs that could encourage depression and pessimism in the long run.

The mind is the crucial conduit between body and soul. In fact experiencing a tangible rapport with the invisible spirit soul is utterly dependent upon the alert, subtle mind aided by analytical intelligence. The ten senses of information and action can, at the most, execute the mind’s instructions. Emotion is the external display of one’s mental status. From inner purification and change to external well being, the key is holistic healing and caring. Spirituality has, since time immemorial, provided answers to the most complex questions. So it has several tips to offer to tend to body, mind and soul. By carefully studying one’s diet, sleep and work schedules and recreational indulgences, the discerning counselor can safely detect what even sophisticated bio-medical gadgets and technicians may, at the most, merely suspect. Quality eating combined with reason and restraint cures; whereas quantity consumption just for gratification can prove to be eventually harmful to vital bodily organs. There’s truth in the saying, “you are what you eat”.


The nature of the mind is to accumulate. A gross mind wants to accumulate things; an evolved mind wants to accumulate knowledge. When emotion becomes dominant, it wants to accumulate people. The mind’s basic nature is to accumulate. The mind is a gatherer – always wanting to gather something. The mind of a person on the spiritual path starts accumulating ‘spiritual’ wisdom. May be it starts gathering the guru’s words but until one goes beyond the need to accumulate – whether it is food, things, people, knowledge or wisdom – it does not matter what we accumulate. The need to accumulate indicates a feeling of insufficiency, because somewhere, we got identified with limited things that we are not.

If we bring awareness and sadhana साधना into our life, slowly, the vessel becomes empty. Awareness empties the vessel. Sadhana साधना cleanses the vessel. When these two are sustained for a long period, then our vessel becomes empty and only then, grace descends upon us. Without grace nobody really gets anywhere. If we need to experience the grace, our vessel has to become totally empty. If we are living with a guru just to gather his words. Our life has been wasteful.

If we do not experience the grace, if we do not empty our self to bear the grace, then the spiritual path needs to be pursued for many life times to come. But if we become empty enough for the grace to descend, then, the ultimate nature is not far away. It is here to be experienced, to be realized, going beyond all dimensions of existence, into the exalted state. It becomes a living reality.

The Attitude that wherever we go, we must gather as much as we can, that has become part of our life. Our education gas always taught you how to gather more and more things in order to make a living. With this gathering, may be we can enhance the physical quality of life around us to some extent. But all this gathering is incapable take us even an inch closer to the ultimate nature. Only sadhana साधना or inner work can bring the awareness necessary to constantly cleanse our vessel. Innocence, too, enables absolute surrender. But surrendering is not something that we do; it happens when we are not. When we lose all will, when we have become absolutely willing, when there is nothing in our self, then also, grace descends upon but I would be advisable, stick to the path of awareness and sadhana साधना .

The web of bondage is constantly being created only by the way we think and feel. Whatever we are calling, as awareness is just to start creating a distance between it that we think, feel and our self. What we are referring to as sadhana साधना is an opportunity to raise our energies so that we can tide over these limitations or these mechanisms through which we have entangled our self to our thought and emotion.


Mind always has the tendency to waver and to be unsteady. As often as it inclines like a horse, to roam unrestrained over the pastureland of sense-objects, so often should be careful to bridle it down and bring it under control.

There are many solutions for a man to realize truth, has included in them the vital message pinpointing that mind is a person’s best friend. Equally true is the statement that it is also his worst enemy. Hence to be always happy it is necessary to “be friend” it by taming it. If the mind remains “stagnant” and “Empty” worldly desires will rush to fill it up and then keep agitating, till its demand are met. A mind with no such desires will not be in need of anything. On the other hand, it will always seek the grace of God. A spiritual soul will never relish material pleasures.

The soul, which has fallen into the foul sink of object worldliness, should be redeemed by a mind, which is absolutely free from all affinities. The mind will be friend of the soul that has full control over the “Self.”

A man who keeps check over the mind will not be perturbed by the mundane opposite love and hatred, heat & cold, happiness & misery honor and dishonor. He will be respected by all. Such control can be achieved by assiduous practice, when he will be steady and even while he faces worldly sufferings, he will not be impatient when there is delay of his success. He relinquishes his desires, regulates his sense, and attains complete dispassion. Being volatile, it is difficult to have pin-pointed ness of the mind.

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