The Hindu Article - Mind must be turned towards God

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Date:13/03/2003 URL:

http://www.thehindu.com/2003/03/13/stories/2003031300410900.htm

 

Miscellaneous - Religion

 

Mind must be turned towards God

 

CHENNAI MARCH 13. Man spends all his time worrying about tomorrow,

thereby making his life miserable. Weighed down by his problems, he

fails to come to grip with them and feels frustrated. Very often he

points out to those who, according to him, are ever happy and are

always prosperous, not aware of their struggles. "Why should I alone

be made to suffer", he says. Adi Sankara once told a grieving mother

to fetch a handful of grains from a house not stricken by sorrow.

Life is nothing but a game and everyone has to play his or her part

extremely well. Just as a superb actor is one who ensures a perfect

synchronisation of emoting, dialogue-delivery and timing, which win

him laurels, so too can a person go through his life surrounded by

happiness, if only he puts all his acts together. Since the human

mind is a repository of a constant ebb and flow of emotions, an

individual is upset by a fluctuation in fortunes, resulting in his

getting elated or dejected. At times, he may even give way to

negative thinking. Few will however gain mastery over such

situations. As Lord Krishna says: "Contacts between the senses and

their objects, which give rise to the feelings of heat and cold,

pleasure and pain are transitory." So a person should never give room

for defeatist mentality.

 

A prominent man was once injured in an accident and was paralysed but

he did not lose courage and led an active life with the help of a

wheelchair. On the other hand, another person, troubled by his

problems, lost his determination to survive and perished. The moral

is that true happiness lies in holding steadfast to virtues. By

mastering the mind, enslaving the senses, introspecting and raising

one's own inner core of understanding one can surely arrive at ways

and means of living well. In a lecture on how to face challenges in

life, Swami Sundarananda referred to the teachings of Swami

Sivananda, the great Himalayan saint, that mind has to be tamed to

make it turn towards God. Egoistic postures, constant obsession with

objects of desire and dwelling on material pleasures are all

obstacles to experience real happiness. Even as river Ganga flows

perennially expecting nothing in return man's actions should not be

governed by mere wants and needs. "Spiritualise all your activities",

Swami Sivananda adds.

 

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