Vedanta

Inner Silence (Continued to ~ Episode 5)

Inner Silence ~ Episode 5

We have spoken about silencing the body; now let’s talk about silencing the mind. An important requirement for silencing the mind is to have the mind under one’s control. This means not being overwhelmed by our emotions and feelings.

Emotions and feelings are a very powerful force. And I think it’s our emotions and feelings that guide us more in life, than our rationality or logic. That’s another paradox, which we all live in and move. Many of us, like to think of ourselves as very rationale creatures, very thinking beings. We think everything through because we think we are very logical. I think that’s the kind of way when you first like to think. But research has confirmed, “Just looking at our own lives, we might be able to realise that most of the decisions that we make in life, are not arrived at in a rational way. Most of the decisions, we take are really guided more by our emotions and feelings.”

So when there is something to be decided we use our emotions and feelings to decide what are we going to do? But the next step after we have already arrived at the decision is making use of logic to take us there. And then we convince ourselves, that we have thought it through very logically. But in reality, we are just using logic to take us where we have already decided to go and chosen so!

So, this is just to mention that feelings and emotions are a very powerful force. Now, if the powerful force in life is within our control, you can use it well. If it is not under our control, we do not know where it will take us. It is like when you get a very powerful car, which can go at 200 miles per hour. Well that’s a great car, if you want to go somewhere, provided there aren’t speed limits. If you have to go somewhere fast and the road is good and you are a good driver. The faster the car, the better it is. But what if you don’t have the car under your control? Then it is of no use. Then there are more chances of your, not reaching the destination at all!

So emotions and feelings are like that. As long as and until we are able to completely purify our emotions and feelings, it’s always good to keep them under control. We cannot fully trust them, until they have been cleared. So that’s an important part of silence in the mind. Some people think, “I have acquired ~ so much of junk in this life that there is no chance for me to gain ‘Mastery’ over my mind and body.” Well that is not true either. The Vedanta speaks and so does Swami Vivekananda leave a message for us,

“Every Saint had a past and every sinner has a future”

We do have a choice and we all can start our journey today.

A second requirement for silence in the mind is again, just as in the case of the body, eliminating all useless, pointless thinking. So much of our energy is lost, in just thinking, that takes us nowhere. Being anxious or worried is a form of useless thinking. Again it might seem as if we have no control over our anxiety, which is partly true, but partly not true.

Worrying is meditating on the wrong aspects of our lives. Meditating, on the other hand, is concentrating on the positive aspects of our life.

“You are what your deep, driving desire (thought) is. As your desire (thought) is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed (action). As your deed (action) is, so is your destiny.”Brihadaranakya Upanishad

If you try to just reflect a little bit on what you are anxious about, something would certainly happen? Your problem may not immediately be solved, but, atleast you will realise that being anxious about something, is not solving the problem. And if you have to solve a problem, you have to solve the issues causing the problem. Merely, being anxious about it doesn’t do any good to you or the problem!

So anxiety, it just takes away our energy, our capacity to work.

In one of the texts of Panchdarshi, one verse ‘compares anxiety to poison’. Just as a poison can eat away, the vitals within us, anxiety equally just eats away, sucks away all our energy. So we should try as much as possible, to eliminate anxiety and use that saved up energy, in actually trying to do something, about the problems and issues, that we are faced with, in life.

(To be continued in 1 more episode.)

Bibliography:

  • Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda ~ God Talks With Arjuna ~~ Bhagavad Gita ~ Published By Yogoda Satsanga Society of India.
  • Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda ~ Inner Silence ~~ Inner Peace ~ Published By Yogoda Satsanga Society of India
  • Swami Tyagananda ~ Monk of Ramakrishna Order ~ Ramakrishna Vedanta Society, Boston, USA
  • Swami Adiswarananda ~ Meditation & Its Practices ~ Published By Advaita Ashrama
  • Swami Vivekananda ~ Voice of Freedom ~ Published By Advaita Ashrama
  • Inner Voice & Reflection, as Guided By Divine Mother Through Robbin Ghosh

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