Our mind creates our own personal heaven or hell. We may be in the best suite of a palatial hotel. But if our mind is discontent, the beauty of the rooms is a waste. We are restless, angry and frustrated despite being surrounded by endless luxuries and riches. We stand in front of Shri Panduranga (Sri Krishna) in Pandharpur and do not see His Beauty and Compassion. Our mind is full of hatred and irritation for the greedy priests and teeming crowds which surround us and we wish to rush out of the temple at the earliest. The divine vibrations of the holy sanctuary where countless saints sang the glory of the Lord and where He manifested Himself physically and performed many miracles are not felt by us as we live in our own ego ridden hells of our minds.
We are what we feel. We may be healthy and fine but if we feel depressed and down, we become sick. A physical beautiful face and flawless skin are of no use if the person is ill tempered and foul mouthed. Such a person looks beautiful, but is in fact ugly. A kind and loving heart shows on the face and such a person is admired and loved even if not beautiful. A happy smile makes the face glow. Our health and happiness depend greatly on what our minds dwell on most of the times.
Our ego controls our mind. When the ego is strong, the mind is full of vanity, anger, pride, greed, attachment, lustful and materialistic. When bhakti or love of God increases in us, the hold of the ego lessens, and wherever we are, our minds and thoughts are focussed on God and His Goodness. When the thoughts dwell on God at all times and the Holy Name of God, the mantra, vibrates in us continuously, we are in a place of bliss and peace of our own making. Sri Ramakrishna speaks of a story of two friends who made their own heaven and hell with their minds and feelings:
Once, two friends – Jagat and Jiva- went out for a day in town. On the way, they saw a tent erected outside the temple and there was a gathering and people were hearing the sacred story of Srimad Bhagwad. Jagat suggested they attend the reading and gain sacred knowledge and wisdom. Jiva was not ready and went away saying he wished to see dancing girls. Jagat sat at the temple hearing the stories of the Lord. Jiva wandered around and found a house of ill fame, where women were dancing and men were admiring them and drinking endless glasses of wine.
As he was drinking wine, Jiva felt disgust at himself and the dancing hall. He said to himself: Shame on me! I am such a fool. If I had listened to Jagat, I would have been at the holy place, listening to the stories of the Lord and His Leelas and gaining wisdom and grace. Jiva’s mind was full of remorse. Though he sat in front of the dancing girls, he was unable to drink or enjoy the dance. His mind was recounting the various Leelas of the Lord; of Sri Krishna’s birth, His miraculous escapes from the demons, the great love of His mother Yashoda for Him, the bhakti of the Gopis and the Lord’s Life in Vrindavan.
In meantime, his friend Jagat was sitting at the temple hearing the stories of the Lord. But within himself he was angry and fuming at himself. He thought: My friend is having a grand time and enjoying life. I am such a fool that I am sitting here. His mind was entirely focussed on the women at the dancing hall, the music, drinks and excitement there. In due course of time, both died. Jagat who sat at temple thinking of dancing girls went to hell and Jiva who was at the dancing hall thinking of the Lord and His leelas went to heaven. Man gets what he feels and thinks about. Divinity judges us by what is in our heart and not where we are sitting or where we live.
Everything depends on our mind. Let us beguile our mind, cleanse it and purify it by doing the SitaRam Mantra Japa and dhyana. Following the Guru’s teachings and obeying him helps to cleanse, charge and calm the turbulent mind. When SitaRam vibrates in our mind, we are always protected – from external dangers and from the dangers of our own mind! Let us feel only Divine Love at all times and live in that state.
