Overcoming the mind
There was a great rishi, a former king, who gave up everything to go to a forest to meditate. There was also a king who had conquered many territories and peoples.
One day, the king set his heart on gaining power over the rishi to make him obey his commands. People thought it was strange that the king would focus on conquering a rishi who had neither property nor kingdom.
When the king failed to attract the attention of the rishi who was in deep meditation, he shouted, "Fight! I have come to challenge you." The rishi surveyed the scene calmly, saw the great army and said, "Fight? I ran away from my worldly life for fear of fighting my one great enemy. My soul shudders and heart quivers when I hear the sound of my enemy's name."
Finally, the king became angry and shouted, "Is your enemy stronger than I am?" The rishi replied, "Yes. Even the thought of this enemy destroys my soul. I left everything to escape from this enemy." The king said, "Tell me the name of this enemy of yours." The rishi said, "There is no use in telling you who it is. You will never be able to conquer him."
The king replied, "If I cannot conquer him, I will consider myself a failure." The rishi then told him, "This great enemy of whom I am speaking is the mind."
From that day on, the king tried everything to overcome the mind. He tried all kinds of techniques to gain control over his own mind. Years passed and still he could not conquer the mind. Finally, the king had to admit that he had failed and that the mind is truly the strongest enemy.
The only way to overpower the mind and still it is through the help of someone who has done so already. Such enlightened beings give us a lift to contact the Light and Sound within us; this helps uplift our soul beyond the realm of mind.
The rishi found that doing spiritual practices alone in the jungle did not help him overcome the mind. The mind still tempted him with the countless desires of the world. The mind ! knows th at contact with the soul will render it harmless. Thus, the mind will find all kinds of excuses to keep us from meditation. It will make us think of the past. It will make us think of the future. It will make us wiggle around instead of sitting still. It will make us feel sleepy just when we sit to meditate. It will make us feel hungry. It will make us feel jealous. It will make us feel depressed. It will make us feel like doing work instead of meditating. It will find a million excuses.
Use the tendency of the mind to form positive habits. The mind likes habits. If we tell our mind that we need to sit for meditation each day at the same time and place, a habit will form. Soon we will find ourselves compelled to sit for meditation at that time each day. If will miss meditation, we will start to feel like something is amiss. When we learn to concentrate fully, wholly, and solely into the Light and Sound, we will experience bliss, peace, and joy. We will want to repeat meditation again and again because of the wonderful experience we receive.
Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission, +91-11-2722 3333
skrm.sos.org
One day, the king set his heart on gaining power over the rishi to make him obey his commands. People thought it was strange that the king would focus on conquering a rishi who had neither property nor kingdom.
When the king failed to attract the attention of the rishi who was in deep meditation, he shouted, "Fight! I have come to challenge you." The rishi surveyed the scene calmly, saw the great army and said, "Fight? I ran away from my worldly life for fear of fighting my one great enemy. My soul shudders and heart quivers when I hear the sound of my enemy's name."
Finally, the king became angry and shouted, "Is your enemy stronger than I am?" The rishi replied, "Yes. Even the thought of this enemy destroys my soul. I left everything to escape from this enemy." The king said, "Tell me the name of this enemy of yours." The rishi said, "There is no use in telling you who it is. You will never be able to conquer him."
The king replied, "If I cannot conquer him, I will consider myself a failure." The rishi then told him, "This great enemy of whom I am speaking is the mind."
From that day on, the king tried everything to overcome the mind. He tried all kinds of techniques to gain control over his own mind. Years passed and still he could not conquer the mind. Finally, the king had to admit that he had failed and that the mind is truly the strongest enemy.
The only way to overpower the mind and still it is through the help of someone who has done so already. Such enlightened beings give us a lift to contact the Light and Sound within us; this helps uplift our soul beyond the realm of mind.
The rishi found that doing spiritual practices alone in the jungle did not help him overcome the mind. The mind still tempted him with the countless desires of the world. The mind ! knows th at contact with the soul will render it harmless. Thus, the mind will find all kinds of excuses to keep us from meditation. It will make us think of the past. It will make us think of the future. It will make us wiggle around instead of sitting still. It will make us feel sleepy just when we sit to meditate. It will make us feel hungry. It will make us feel jealous. It will make us feel depressed. It will make us feel like doing work instead of meditating. It will find a million excuses.
Use the tendency of the mind to form positive habits. The mind likes habits. If we tell our mind that we need to sit for meditation each day at the same time and place, a habit will form. Soon we will find ourselves compelled to sit for meditation at that time each day. If will miss meditation, we will start to feel like something is amiss. When we learn to concentrate fully, wholly, and solely into the Light and Sound, we will experience bliss, peace, and joy. We will want to repeat meditation again and again because of the wonderful experience we receive.
Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission, +91-11-2722 3333
skrm.sos.org
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