There cannot be a measure for the
acuteness of the power of the mind. It goes faster than a thousand horse
powered engine or even than a rocket. If the mind's capabilities are properly
controlled and conditioned a man can hear quite distinctly every word of the
conversation being carried on between two persons thousands of miles apart, and
they can be seen as if sitting very near. Not only this, but it is possible to
know what goes on in the mind of persons thousands of miles away. Television
and tele-audition are the achievements of a controller mind. The great sage
Patanjali propounding the characteristics of Yoga has said:
"The meaning of Yoga is
nothing else but controlling the tendencies of the mind." A master yogi
can do anything. He can achieve the incomparable ecstasy of knowing God (Brahma)
or can overawe the people by displaying miraculous feats. Mesmerism and
Hypnotism, which are considered base psychic tricks, do not contribute to any
spiritual upliftment of him who practices them. For true upliftment, mind
should be directed towards spiritual quest. Even if this quest of the inner
self cannot be revealed in concrete results, a reasonable person by reading,
knowing and hearing about this wonderful power of the mind can surely endeavor
to develop in himself this heavenly mental capacity.
In Nepal, which is the home of
Yoga, one will never experience a dearth of miracles. The westerners are aware
of this fact. In this connection a western correspondent's experience is worth
nothing. He writes, "I was traveling by a river boat in India. As soon as
the boat toughed a port, an Indian dressed only in a loin cloth boarded the
boat with a bundle. He took a coil of rope lying there. Taking one end of it he
knotted it and threw it upwards to the sky with all his might. The knot was
going higher and higher and the coil below was being unwound of its own accord,
and in a short time the whole coil of rope vanished in the sky. A coconut shell
was lying nearby. He filled it with water, the amount of which was meager. Yet
pouring the water in a pail, he filled the pail to the brim. He repeated this
process and filled fifteen pails in a row. Then he chanted something and raised
up his hand, the coconut shell disappeared, and when he lowered his hand there
was a pail seen in it. Seeing all this we were so amazed, that we could not
make out what all that was?"
Paul Brunton wandered all over
India in search of such miracles and as a result of what he saw he wrote a book
in support of this secret lore. Louis Jackalion, a French magistrate of
Pondichery has also written a book on similar lines in which he has praised
very much this secret lore of India. What others look up as wonderful miracles
or displays of secret lore are considered by the Yogis as a little glimpse of
the power of the mind. Though the display of this power is attractive to
observe, it is a serious impediment to the ultimate goal of self-realization.
The aim of controlling the mind is to know the True self. By achieving this knowledge
man can experience freedom from life's bondage and enjoy bliss of heaven.
In "Ramottartapaniya
Upanishad", in the discussion of the capabilities of the mind, it si
stated; "The meeting place between the eyebrows and the nose is not only
heaven, but something higher than heaven, but it is controlled by nature. Thus
knowing Brahma one must worship this meeting point of achieving the
un-manifested Brahma is limited to the physical meeting point of the eyebrows
and the nose calls the point as spiritual Kashi.
Mind is the chief means of
achieving salvation. Lured by desires, man becomes a slave to passions.
Enjoyment of passions does not lead to diminishing the force of passions but on
the contrary to augmenting them. The powers of the mind are thus dissipated in
such loose worldly affairs. Hence for the realization of the Highest Essence,
it is desirable to discard all passions and desires of the mind and to
concentrate it on the inner self. The pivotal point of creation and
continuation is the mind.
Life is perennially new, but the
mind is old and ancient. The dust of the past goes on collecting on it and this
layer of dust covers the mirror of consciousness. Only the lure of material
things remains active. Thus the mind falls into bondage. For the true experience
of living, freedom from mind's bondage is essential.
No comments:
Post a Comment