Article sent from The Hindu on indiaserver.com

[Guest guest]

An excellent article stressing the role of Shraddha, enjoy!

=============================================================

This article is emailed to you by Ram Chandran ( rchandran )

=============================================================

Source: The Hindu (http://www.the-hindu.com)

 

Control of mind, key to spiritual growth

 

CHENNAI, NOV. 7. The foundation of the diverse manifestation of

insentient and sentient beings is the Supreme Being. He is the

indwelling consciousness who enables both the insentient matter

and living beings to manifest their individuality and existence.

When the integer one is removed, all the zeroes succeeding it

lose their value; without God who is the underlying

consciousness, all His creations cease to have an existence.

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to teach this profound truth by this

simple analogy.

 

Man must understand that he owes everything to God and try to

liberate himself from the shackles of bondage by asserting his

relationship with Him. But the worldly attractions will not allow

his mind to dwell on the Lord easily and they have to be overcome

only slowly. It is similar to a child's interest in a toy which

loses interest in it gradually as it grows up.

 

Spiritual evolution is also a gradual process of growth. In the

initial stage the aspirant has to make an effort to devote

sometime to spiritual activities to wean his mind from hankering

after worldly preoccupations. A stage will come eventually when

such distractions will cease altogether. This marks the

transition of the mind, which is normally drawn towards the

world, to introvertedness. Until this happens by regular and

repeated practices like meditation and prayer, effort must be

made to control the mind to dwell on God.

 

A thread cannot pass through the eye of a needle until all its

fibres are drawn together into one; so also the mind must be

trained to remain focussed without going astray for attaining the

final stage of envisioning God. So, practice (Sadhana) is the key

to disciplining the mind. Initially it is important to follow a

strict schedule by allotting a specific time for spiritual

practice because the mind will invent the slightest excuse to

skip the exercise. After the mind tastes the peace and bliss of

the spiritual experience it will automatically shun worldly

pulls.

 

In his discourse, Swami Gautamananda said that when a person took

stock of his life he would find that his sorrows and anxieties

were more than the joys he had experienced. Human nature is such

that when one desire is fulfilled more arise ultimately leading

to greed. If the desires are not fulfilled then it results in

frustration and sorrow. Either way man only deludes himself if he

thinks that he can find joy in this world and hence the mind is

always restless. The mind is both man's friend and enemy

according to how it is deployed. It becomes one's foe when one

yields to it and an ally when one masters it.

 

Copyrights: 2000 The Hindu & Tribeca Internet Initiatives Inc.

 

Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly

prohibited without the consent of The Hindu & Tribeca Internet Initiatives Inc.