Our mind is full of desires. It is always seeking for more and better things. It is rarely content. It is a bottomless cup and can never be fulfilled by any amount of power, name, fame or wealth. Even in meditation, our mind sets goals, seeks new things to be achieved and when these are not attained, it goes back to its discontented self and forces us to give up meditation.
When we do meditation, our mind goads us into goals – let us develop occult powers! Would it not be fantastic if we had perfumes ooze out of our hands at our command? Have metal bend when we focus on it? Or read someone’s mind? Produce sweets with a wave of a hand? Or travel astrally anywhere in the Universe without passport, visa, tickets or expenses? People would be in awe as we sit in deep meditation for hours and touch our feet in respect! We could speak for hours on spirituality and meditation and have an admiring crowd of followers!
Meditation has nothing to do with such goals. Meditation is watching the mind and thoughts passively and understanding that we are not our mind or thoughts. It is an act of going beyond the mind to know the reality of Soul and God. In meditation, we do not entertain the desires of mind, we do not chase desires. In fact, we actually stop identifying ourselves with our desires. When we chase goals in meditation, we are fooling ourselves and others.
Do not fall into the trap of mind. The mind cannot give us knowledge or wisdom. It is full of desires and lusts and can lead us only to falsehood. The mind leads us through endless cycles of ‘I want, I want more, I want what you have and I want all that he has!’ When we fall into the mind’s trap, we are caught in the endless cycle of wants and discontent, jealousy, envy and vengeance. The mind is never content and always wants more. This story of the man who pleased the Gods with his devotion brings home this important point:
Once upon a time, a man pleased the Gods with his devotion. So they blessed him with a wonderful boon. He was granted a magic conch shell which would grant him anything he wished for. He asked for a palace and a magnificent palace appeared in front of him. He asked for good food and a delicious banquet was laid out before him. He was very happy and content with what he had and enjoyed all good things that he desired.
The news of this man’s good fortune spread wide and far. A priest from a nearby village wanted this conch very badly. So he visited him and halted at his palace for a day. He brought with him a conch called Maha- Shankha or the Great Conch. He showed it to his host with great pride and said: Your conch is nothing compared to mine. Like you, I also did great tapas and pleased the Gods. So they granted me this Maha-Shankha. It is unique. When you ask one thing, it grants two.
The man’s greed was awakened. He asked the priest to show him the Maha- Shankha. The priest placed the Maha-Shankha in front of him and with folded hands said: O Great One, grant me a palace. The Maha- Shankha replied: Why one? Why not two? The man was impressed and begged the priest to exchange the conch with him. The priest graciously conceded and then soon left. As soon as the priest left, the man ran searching for him. The Maha- Shankha only spoke but did not perform. When asked for one, it responded -why not two and when asked for two, it asked - why not four!
The mind is a Maha-Shankha. Every time blessings pour on us from God, the mind will ask: Why only so much? Why not double? The mind produces only thoughts and words. There is no reality in the mind. It is all lies. It sets fire to our greed and other vices. Let us not fall into the trap of the mind. Let us understand what the mind is and overcome it by SitaRam Mantra, meditation and teachings of the Guru.
