Our mind helps us to think, perceive, will, understand, judge, criticize and take decisions. Human beings have minds which help them to live in this material world and rise up to their true divine nature. All life forms, including plant and animal life have minds and use them to live and survive.
Our mind is a wonderful gift from God. It is said that God created the Universe from His Mind. When used well, it can create and gift us with anything that we wish for. A mind trained by meditation and mantra can lead us to self realization. When we are unable to master our mind, it propels us into many hells of our own making.
Our mind has tremendous multitasking capacity. It also has ability to totally focus on a single topic or area to the exclusion of all others. When we train our minds in both of these skills, we can complete great tasks and achieve many of our goals in life. When the mind is left alone and it wanders around aimlessly at its will, it creates desires and intensifies them. Greed, vengeance, lust, pride, attachment, anger are the results of a mind which is not in control. The thoughts that are produced in our mind demand our time and attention and dictate our behavior and reactions.
This story of the man and genie in the lamp illustrates how our mind can make or break us:
A poor man wandered about in the market. His sole wealth was a rupee. He was hungry and hoped to buy some fruits. At the market he met a merchant with a fancy waist coat and a magnificent turban. He had a tableful of wares for sale. There was beautiful oil lamp on it with a sign – One Rupee Only. The poor man could not believe what he saw. He asked the merchant why it was so cheap. The merchant explained that a genie lived in the lamp. This genie fulfilled all the desires of the owner. But he was very impatient and active. If the owner did not pay him attention or keep him occupied, he would take away all the gifts he bestowed on the owner.
The poor man thought over. He was far too poor and had nothing to lose. So he felt he could take a chance. He bought the lamp and took it to his hut. He rubbed the lamp and the genie appeared. The genie asked: O Master, how can I serve you? The starving man replied he wanted a good meal. The genie served him a 36 course meal fit for Gods. The man was delighted and ate his fill. As soon as he finished eating, the genie asked: What can I do for you now? The man commanded: Build me a magnificent palace suitable for a king! Within a few seconds, a truly beautiful palace with lush gardens was there in front of the poor man. The genie at once asked the man: What can I do for you now Master? The man immediately issued order after order. And the genie kept fulfilling them.
The man was tired and fed up. He went to the village sage and explained his problem. The sage gave him a wonderful solution. He went back to his palace and said: Genie, build me a large pole and stick it to the ground. The genie did it within a few seconds. Then the man said: Climb the pole and get down, then climb the pole, then get down ... and continue doing so till I ask you to stop! The man went in and enjoyed roaming in his palace and the gardens. He had enough wealth to last him many lifetimes. He planned a list of things to do for helping other. Then he went out and checked on the genie. The genie had fallen asleep next to the pole!
The man visited the wise sage and informed him of the success of the plan. The sage explained: Our mind is restless and active and wants to fulfill each and every desire we have. It is like the genie. The pole is a tool called mantra. By repeating the mantra over and over again, our restless mind is kept busy till it calms down and goes into a meditative state. Then our true self – our soul can enjoy this world and also perform actions to help others.
We are more than our mind. We are the immortal soul. But as long as the mind is restless and active, we cannot enjoy the joys of the material world or of the spiritual world. Let us do the SitaRam mantra, meditation and follow the teachings of the Guru so that our mind is calm and meditative and we can enjoy this world and also our divine state.
