Article sent from The Hindu

[Guest guest]

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

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

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

Source: The Hindu (http://www.hinduonnet.com)

 

Spiritual practices temper the mind

 

CHENNAI, OCT. 23. The sensory organs are by nature outward-bound

and hence man preoccupies himself mostly with worldly matters. It

is a rare person who turns his gaze within to fathom his own

nature. The veil of ignorance (Maya) hides the Self (Atman) and

hence human beings fail to see their true spiritual nature. Sri

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa uses the analogy of Sita walking in

between Rama and Lakshmana resulting in the latter unable to see

the Lord to explain this phenomenon. Only God's grace can enable

man to overcome Maya. It becomes imperative on man to understand

how divine grace manifests in human lives and take necessary

steps to elicit it. When one does not even have any thought about

God, how can one expect His grace to manifest?

 

A person embarking on the spiritual path is assailed by doubts

like whether there is God and anyone had seen Him. Such thoughts

are indicative of the inward turning of the mind which is the

turning point in man's spiritual evolution. Swami Vivekananda's

quest which ultimately led him to his Guru, Sri Ramakrishna

Paramahamsa, is well-known. The saint told him that he had not

only seen God but could make him also envision Him. Spiritual

progress was possible only when one came under the grace and

guidance of a spiritual master because he would not only say with

conviction that God could be realised but also show the path that

had to be traversed from his personal experience, said Swami

Gautamananda in his discourse.

 

In the case of the majority even the desire to realise God will

not sprout and even if it does, will be pursued half-heartedly or

postponed to the evening of life. When finally one makes an

attempt, the body and the mind will rebel because of the onset of

infirmities and also due to the fact that they have not been

disciplined. So restraining the mind from its outward-going

tendency must be practised right from young age by engaging in

devotional activities.

 

Saints have advocated various spiritual practices to suit

different temperaments and sometimes a combination of them also

because each individual's spiritual evolution is unique. Only a

competent Guru can chalk out a path for his disciple. A spiritual

aspirant merits the grace of a Guru by his intense desire to

realise God and under his guidance will develop mastery over his

senses and mind. Frontal attack on the baser mental traits like

anger and passion will be counterproductive; instead the mind

should be tempered by devotional pursuits when it will overcome

them without any effort.

 

Copyrights: 1995 - 2001 The Hindu

 

Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly

prohibited without the consent of The Hindu