TREACHEROUS MIND

SWAMI SIVANANDA SARASWATI

Mind is very treacherous. It will hurl you down into the abyss of ignorance. It will say: "Pitva pitva punar pitva punar janma na vidyate". (Drink, drink again, there is no rebirth). It will say: "Give up sadhana (spiritual practice), you will not gain anything. There is no bliss beyond the senses. The world is real, there is nothing like sensual pleasure, enjoy it to your heart's content."

Hear not this voice of the mind. Swim against the mind-current. Mind is your bitter enemy. Disconnect your self from the mind - stand as its silent witness. Do not become one with the mind and the senses. Practise introspection and self-analysis. Thus will the mind gradually be tamed. It will become your obedient servant.

Sensual pleasures are nectar in the beginning but they are venom in the end. Here is a way to thin out the mind, a way to control it. If the mind says, "Eat eggs and meat", eat only spinach, fruits and milk. If the mind says, "Read novels and newspapers", read only the Gita, the Upanishads and practise karma yoga. If the mind says, "Gamble", practise vigil and do kirtan the whole night.

O truant mind: O mischievous imp: I am tired of giving you admonitions. You are like the shameless son-in law who sits idly in the house of his father in law, eating and drinking, and bearing all the rebukes and broom beatings. It is difficult to control the mind without the grace of the Lord. The prompter of thoughts alone can subjugate this wild mind. My prostrations and adorations to the prompter.

Listen O mind, to this piece of advice. Sink not in the mire of samsara (worldly life), in the perilous ocean of births and deaths. Mix thou not in mundane affairs. Eat not the fruits of pain and sorrow. Take not birth again and again. Wither not thyself in wicked deeds. Is not eternal bliss thy quest? Commune with the Lord of bliss now. Forget the body and its connections and rest peacefully in blissful joy. Abide in thy supreme abode. Now there will be an end of birth.

Desire not name, fame, prestige, position, title, honour, rank. Care not, O mind, for earthly affection, love and kind words, respect, nice clothes and dainty dishes, the company of damsels and their talk. Remain steadfast. Gaze on the Lord dwelling in the cave of thy heart - He who is thy refuge, thy solace, source and centre, the witness and the abode, the Lord and dissolution.
******************************