UPHILL TASK

UPHILL TASK

True freedom results from the disenthralment of the mind. He is a real potentate and ruler who has conquered the mind. He who has conquered desires, passions and the mind is the richest man. If the mind is under control, it matters little whether you stay in a palace or a cave in the Himalayas; whether you engage yourself in worldly activity or sit in silence. The mind can be controlled by untiring perseverance and great patience, equal to that of one engaged in emptying the ocean, drop by drop, with the tip of a blade of grass. To tame a lion or a tiger is far more easy than taming one's own mind. Tame your own mind first. Then you can tame the minds of others quite easily.

Constantly think of God. You can very easily control the mind. Constant thinking of God thins out the mind. The mind can very easily think of worldly objects. It is its nature. The mental force can easily flow in the old grooves and avenues of mundane thoughts. It finds it extremely hard to think of God and dwell on lofty thoughts.

The difficulty in weaning the mind from objects and fixing it on God is the same as in making the river Ganges flow uphill towards its source instead of its natural flow towards the ocean. Still, through strenuous efforts and renunciation, the mind must be trained to flow towards God, much against its will, if you want to free yourself from birth and death. There is no other way if you want to escape from worldly miseries and tribulations.

Introspect and always have an inner life. Let a portion of the mind and the hands do their work mechanically. A girl acrobat, while exhibiting her performances, has her attention riveted on the water-pot she bears on her head, although, all the time, she is dancing to various tunes. So does the truly pious man attend to all his business concerns, but has his mind's eye fixed upon the blissful feet of the Lord. This is balance and will lead to integral development.

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