One who wants his mind to be peaceful, should get rid of desires, anger, hatred, jealousy, fear and doubt.
Desire is a mode of the emotive mind. It has got a power of externalising the mind. Desire is the fuel; thought is the fire. The thought-fire is kept up by the desire-fuel. If you withdraw the supply of fuel, the fire will be withdrawn into its womb.
It is only when the mind, being divested of all its desires, is indifferent to pleasures and pains and is not attracted by any object that it will be rendered pure, free from the grip of the great delusion like a bird freed from its cage and roaming freely in the sky.
Desire, thought and ego form one vicious circle. If you can destroy any one of them, the other two will die by themselves. These are the three pillars of the edifice of mind. They are the three links of the mind-chain. Destroy any one of the links; the whole chain will be broken.
Desire excites the mind and senses. When desire is gratified by enjoyment of the objects of desire, satisfaction comes in temporarily. When there is desire, then alone is there pleasure. The cause for pleasure is desire. When there is no desire, there cannot be any pleasure. When there is no hunger, delicious food can give you no pleasure. So, hunger is the best sauce. The first cup of hot milk gives pleasure. The second cup induces disgust. After the enjoyment is over, satisfaction comes. Hence, disgust arises when the second cup is taken. There is no real pleasure in milk. The happiness is inside you only. It is reflected in the object(milk) owing to ignorance, owing to illusion. If there were real happiness in milk, it should induce pleasure always and in every person. It is not the case.
A desire airses in the mind. There is a wave of thought now. This thought agitates your mind till you get satisfaction through enjoyment of the desired object. There is peace or happiness after the enjoyment is over. Another arises in the mind. Now, in the interval between the gratification of one desire and the manifestation of another, there is pure bliss, peace, happiness because there is no mind then. It is at rest. If you can prolong that period of happiness by not allowing another thought or desire to crop up, you will be at peace.
Mind plays havoc through desires. As soon as a desire arises, you think you will get all happiness by its realisation. You exert yourself to achieve the desired object. As soon as you get it, a little satisfaction (false gratification) is experienced for a short time. Again, mind becomes restless. It wants new sensations. Disgust and dissatisfaction come in.
Desires are innumerable, insatiable and unconquerable. Enjoyment cannot bring in satisfaction. It is a mistake to think so. Enjoyment fans the desire. It is like adding fuel to the fire. Enjoyment strengthens, increases and aggravates a desire.
Whenever a desire arises in the mind, consult always your power of discrimination.
Never accept gifts from anybody, even from your closest friends. It will produce slavish mentality, weak will and attachment. Asking is begging. Recommending is begging.
Just as you starve a plant by depriving it of water, so you may starve out obnoxious desires by allowing the mind not to dwell upon such desires. You have no desire for a thing till you know what it is like. It is only after you have seen it or heard of it or touched it that you get a longing for it.
It is desire in the mind that has created this body. Desire becomes the thought and the thought becomes the action. An evil desire sets up an evil thought which leads to evil action.
Pleasure and pain are the effects of virtue and vice. They are two kinds of emotions that pertain to the mind alone. It is the mind alone which brings pleasures and pains on itself and enjoys them through its excessive inclination towards objects. Mind contracts during pain and expands during pleasure.
There is neither pleasure nor pain in objects. It is all mental creation, mental perception, mental jugglery. It is only the mental attitude or certain kind of mental behaviour towards objects that brings joy or grief, pleasure and pain. Illusion has her powerful seat in the imagination of the mind.
All pains are not equally felt. There is no pain when you are asleep. It is only when the mind is connected with the body that pains arise. It is the identification with the mind and body, that causes pain.
When the mind is intensely fond of anything, there will be no perception of pain even if destruction awaits the body. When
the mind is completely drowned in any object, who else is there to observe and flee from the actions of the body?
Anger arises in him who thinks of his enemy. Even if you have forgotten the feeling of annoyance, it lurks in the mind in a dormant form. The effect is there for some time. If you renew a number of times the same kind of thought of jealousy, envy or hatred about the same person, the effect lasts longer. Repetition of angry feeling intensifies hatred. Mere ill-feeling develops into intense malice by repetition of anger.
On days when you have many troubles, vexations, worries from the morning to evening, a trifling causes much irritation in the mind. The balance of mind is upset by a paltry affair. A single harsh word throws you out of the balance, whereas when you are peaceful throughout the day, even a strong abuse and severe censure do not produce any effect whatsoever.
Anger spoils the brain, nervous system and blood. When a wave of anger arises in the mind, breath begins to vibrate rapidly. You are agitated and excited. Blood becomes hot. Many poisonous ingredients are formed in the blood. Even three minutes of violent hot temper may produce deleterious effects in the nervous system that it will take weeks or months for the repair of the injury.
Anger clouds understanding. When the mind is violently agitated, you cannot understand a passage of a book clearly. You cannot think properly and clearly. If you get anger, you will lose the battle of life.
Conquer passion. It will then be easy to subdue anger, which is only one of its followers.
When you become angry with your servant when he fails to supply your usual milk on a day, raise a question within yourself: "Why should I be a slave to milk?" Then the wave of anger will at once naturally subside. It will not arise on other occasions also, if you are careful and thoughtful.
Control anger by forgiveness, kindness, patience, tolerance, universal love, mildness and such other virtues. Forgive and pity the man who does you harm. When anger is subdued, rudeness, pride and envy will vanish of themselves. Prayer and devotion will root out anger.
When you become intensely angry, leave the place immediately for half an hour. Take a long walk. There is another method. When you get angry, count from one to thirty. The anger will subside.
When anger tries to exhibit itself, observe silence. Keep quiet. Never utter a harsh word or obscene speech. Try to nip it before it emerges out from the subconscious mind. Before anger manifests, there is an agitation in the mind. You must try to extirpate this very agitation in the mind before it assumes a very gross form in the shape of twitching of muscles of the face, clenching of teeth, red eyes, etc. You will have to punish the mind well. You will have to impose self-restraint and punishment on yourself by way of fasting for a day whenever agitation manifests in the mind.
Irritability is a weakness of the mind. If you are easily irritable, it is likely that you may do
injustice to many. Remove this by the practice of patience, tolerance, mercy, love etc. Meditate early in the
morning before you mix with people.
Hatred and malice are two formidable passions. They are so deeply implanted in our system that it is very difficult to root them out. Pride is not so fearful as hatred and malice. When a man is placed in a high position and earns much money and is thereby honoured and respected by all, he becomes very proud. When he loses that position and fails to earn money, his pride vanishes. But hatred and malice are two passions which are inverterate and need constant and diligent efforts for their eradication.
Prejudice, intolerance, ill-will, insolence, impertinence, scorn, contempt - these are all modifications of the emotion of hatred. Suspicion becomes prejudice by repetition. Prejudice develops into ill-will and intolerance. Ill-will is a mild form of hatred. When repeated, it develops into hatred. Hatred, by successive repetition, becomes malice or extreme enmity.
Prejudice is like an open sore on the physical body through which the will-power of the man is leaking. Be liberal in your views.
When thoughts of revenge and hatred arise in the mind, try to control the physical body and speech first. Do not utter evil and harsh words. Do not censure. Do not try to injure others.
Have no enemies. Do not entertain inimical thought against any person who might have done any wrong to you. If, while you are directing your mind towards your enemy, you recall the offences that have been committed against yourself and hatred arises in you, you should dispel it by repeatedly dwelling on love with him.
Do not anticipate anything. Anticipation fattens the mind and causes restlessness. Do not expect anything. It causes mental disturbance. If you do not expect, you would not have disappointment.
Do not entertain hopes. You will not have any disappointment. A contented mind is a continual feast.
Arrogance is a form of pride. It is undue assumption of self-importance. It is claiming too much.
Hypocrisy, falsehood, cheating, avarice and avidity are very closely related. They are members of one family. When there is craving for objects, greed for money comes in. Without money, there can be no enjoyment. To satisfy the hunger for money, persons have to put on hypocrisy, tell lies and cheat others. They don't want to work hard and earn the money. The root cause of all this is craving for enjoyment. Deceitful diplomacy and falsehood are old allies of greed and hatred.
Faultfinding, cavilling and scandalmongering are defects. Defects and weaknesses are two distinct qualities. Anger is a defect. Tea-habit is a weakness. To be over-sentimental is a weakness.
Some people can bravely face the shell or the shot on the battlefield. But they are afraid of public criticism and public opinion. Some can face a tiger fearlessly in the forest. But they are afraid of the surgeon's knife. You should get rid of fear of all sorts.
The power of imagination in the mind intensifies fear. Fear is due to delusion, attachment to the gross and physical body on account of ignorance. He who has conquered fear, has conquered everything, has gained mastery over the mind.
Calm mind means courage. Develop the positive virtue, namely, courage. Fear will slowly disappear.
Thoughts of worry and thoughts of fear are fearful forces within us. They poison the very sources of life and destroy the harmony, the running efficiency, the vitality and vigour; while the opposite thoughts of cheerfulness, joy and courage and heal, soothe, instead of irritating and immensely augment efficiency and multiply the mental power.
Your real enemy is your mind. If the mirror is dirty, you cannot see your face properly. Mind is like a mirror.
When there is fear, fill the mind with thoughts of courage. When there is irritability, meditate on the virtues of tolerance, patience and self-restraint. The negative thoughts will die of themselves. If you are depressed, fill the mind with the idea of joy and exhilaration. If you are sick, fill the mind with ideas of health, strength, power and vitality.
Every thought or emotion or mood produces a strong vibration in every cell of the body and leaves a strong impression there. If you know the method of raising an opposite thought or counter-thought, then only you can lead a happy, harmonious life of peace and power. A thought of love will at once neutralise a thought of hatred. A thought of courage will immediately serve as a powerful antidote against a thought of fear.
Idea creates the world. Idea brings one into existence. Idea develops the desires and excites the passions. So, a contrary idea of killing the desires and passions will counteract the former idea of satisfying the desires. So, when a man will be impressed with this, a contrary idea will help him to destroy his desires and passions.
How can you ignore an evil thought? By forgetting. How can you forget? By not indulging in it again. How can you prevent the mind from indulging in it again? By thinking of something else which is more interesting. IGNORE. FORGET. THINK OF SOMETHING INTERESTING.
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