The mind has always been criticized and condemned as the cause of all our miseries and troubles. It is often called ‘monkey mind’ as it wanders aimlessly and leaps from topic to topic. It leaps to judgement and conclusions and rarely waits to understand the matter at hand. It is impatient and hears no voice but its own. It is full of self importance and likes and dislikes. The mind has its own likes and dislikes which are very dear to it and it will never give them up. Our mind, indeed, can be the cause of our downfall. It can also be the cause of transformation and living to our highest potential.
Our mind is an invisible organ which creates thoughts. It holds memories and emotions. Thoughts are only thoughts. Our particular likes and dislikes are colored by karma of past and karma of this life time. This makes the thoughts good or bad or unbearable. Some thought make us smile as they hold good associations and others make us sad as our ego is hurt or pained by them. When we hold on strongly to our memories or likes and dislikes, we start choking and seek help in order to survive. Most of us spend our entire lives with a sense of being suffocated by our own thoughts and memories and are unable to breathe and live in freedom.
Our mind can also be our best friend. It can help us to focus and concentrate on our work at hand. It can help us clarify our goals in life and prioritize them. Clarity of thinking makes us appreciative of our lives, the work we do, the gifts we are blessed with, the various relationships we have and the role they play in shaping us. A calm and clear mind reflects Divinity very well. When our mind is pure, the light of God within us shines brightly and can be seen by all.
We can purify our mind when we learn to overcome the dislikes and hatred in our mind. We need to ruthlessly throw out the ugliness and rejections we carry in our mind which create so much negative thoughts. When we learn to be independent of likes and dislikes and be dependent only on Divinity, we will stop getting hurt and stop hurting others. We will stop sulking and be cheerful and balanced at all times. We must recognize the ugliness within us and learn to let go of them.
Our mind enjoys controlling others and dictating their behavior. As long as we play this game of controlling and manipulating others, we will never be calm or peaceful. We must recognize the right of others to live their lives as they please and accept and live our lives as we please. We must be aware of what we want in life and work for it. We must not depend on anyone for helping us achieve our goals. The minute others recognize that we depend on them, they start manipulating us. And this causes endless pain to all. Our mind needs constant appreciation. We must learn to appreciate ourselves and not depend on others for appreciation as they use this dreadful need to force and coerce us into doing things as per their desires.
Mantra japa and meditation are the greatest tools we possess in order to befriend our mind and make our mind our best friend. The mantra japa fills us with vibrations and power of the Holy name of God. Meditation helps us to calm the mind and thoughts cease to exist during Samadhi. Regular japa and meditation help us to overcome the vices of our mind and live in constant love of God and His creation. We become appreciative of all that is given to us and all that is around us. We live in the present and let go of the past and the future. There is a fresh zeal and zest in us. We are able to work with focus and achieve our goals effortlessly. The fresh vision we have of life makes us take responsibility for our own lives and we stop blaming others for all things that happen to us. We truly enjoy life. Let us use the SitaRam Mantra, meditation and teachings of the Guru to make our mind our best friend!
