j~nAna and bhakti - RamaNa maharShi

[Guest guest]

namaste.

 

I received the following saying by shri RamaNa maharShi from

another List that I belong to. This is relevant for our

discussions on jnAna and bhakti.

 

" Meditation and Mind control: "Meditation (dhyana) is a battle;

for it is the effort to keep hold of one thought to the exclusion

of all else; other thoughts arise and try to sink that thought;

when the latter gains strength the others are put to flight.

Breath-regulation (pranayama ) is for him that cannot directly

control his thoughts; it serves as a brake serves a car, but one

should not stop with breath-regulation; after its purpose is gained -

the quieting of the mind's restlessness - one should take up the

practice of concentration; in course of time it will become possible

to dispense with control of the breath; the mind will then become

quiet as soon as meditation is attempted. When meditation is well

established it can no more be given up; it will go on automatically

even during work, play and other activities. It will go on even

in sleep. The means for getting well-established in meditation

is meditation itself. Meditation extinguishes all thoughts and

then the Truth alone remains."

 

"People ask me how to control the mind. I reply: 'Show me the mind.'

The mind is no more than the series of thoughts. How can it be

controlled by one of those thoughts, namely the desire to control

the mind? It is foolish to seek to end the mind by the mind itself.

The only way is to find the mind's Source and keep hold of it. Then

the mind will fade away of itself. There are just two ways of

controlling the mind. Either seek its Source, or surrender it to

be struck down by the Supreme Power."

>From Maha Yoga, Chapter 12, titled 'Some More Sayings of the Sage'

 

 

Regards

Gummuluru Murthy

------

[Guest guest]

Namaste Murthyji,

 

"" Meditation and Mind control: "Meditation (dhyana) is a battle;

for it is the effort to keep hold of one thought to the exclusion

of all else; other thoughts arise and try to sink that thought;

when the latter gains strength the others are put to flight."

 

What I've read is that we cannot control the mind to keep hold of one particular

thought *excluding* all other thoughts. Exclusion means purposefully keeping a

thought aside and that *thought* (the thought of a particular thought excluded)

still exists in our mind !

If you tell someone not to think of a monkey while drinking milk, what will be

in his mind everytime when he drinks milk??

 

Om

ranjeet