Thought 84: Mind can expand infinitely or shrink infinitesimally as needed

One person known to me, who is 55 years in age, one day complained to me that his boss had asked him to do a three day software course. He lamented, “I am 55 years old and I do not think that I can learn these new and sophisticated technologies at this age”. Then I talked to him that he can do any thing he wished to at any age; what is needed is a strong will reinforced by positive enthusiasm. Then, I told him the following - to boost up his low morale and carry conviction to his despairing mind.

You are now in San Jose, California. Where is California? Clifornia is in USA. Where is USA? USA is on the North American continent. Where is this North American continent? The North American continent is on earth. Where is this earth? Earth is in the space – which is infinite. Where is this infinite space? This infinite space is in your awareness (whatever you are aware of - is in your awareness). This means that your Awareness is also infinite. Where is your infinite Awareness, which contains the infinite space? Your Awareness, which contains the infinite space, is in your mind only!

Mind can expand or shrink to take the outline or the form of the objects perceived by it; it can spread infinitely or shrink infinitesimally as needed. Here, it expands infinitely to take the outline of the infinite space! Thus this space and the awareness, which contains this space, are both in your mind only. Is it not amazing? Is it not mind boggling?

When God has created you with such an amazing capability, how can you think that you are a limited person with limited capabilities? Of course, you are not a limited person with limited capabilities. Not being aware of what mind boggling capability God has created in you, you falsely think that you are a limited being – which is totally unnecessary. When you think that you are a limited being, you will act like one. But, remember, you are not a limited being.

You can now appreciate what infinite and divine Sakti God has created within you. The entire universe is within you! What can you not achieve with the help of this kind of infinite and divine Sakti? What is this mere software course for you, my friend? You can do whatever you wish to. But you must first believe in yourself and in your God to be able to achieve whatever you wish to achieve. Here is what Napoleon Hill says on this topic (Think and Grow Rich).

If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don't;
If you like to win but if you think you can't
It is almost certain you won't;
If you think you will lose, you are lost;
If you think you are outclassed, you are;
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or the faster man,
But soon or late, the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can.

The next thought is about “Faith begins where logic ends”

Thought 83: The doubting mind never succeeds in anything

During my long service, I had to work with a strange colleague for some years. He used to look into his table drawers everyday without fail as soon as he entered the work place. One day I asked him why he does that. He looked at me suspiciously and said, “I look if any of my files are missing or if any one planted other peoples’ files in my drawer to cause trouble for me!” He used to carry an umbrella everyday, even in summer – because he thought that it might rain at any time. When I asked him why he expects rain in summer, he said, “Can you guarantee that it will never rain in summer? Has it not rained some times in summer also? Then, what is the meaning of the expression, “summer rains”? Any way, why are you concerned if I carry an umbrella? I wish that you do not pry into my affairs like this”

To be successful and happy, one has to have faith in oneself and in his God. The doubting mind doubts everything; it learns nothing. It doubts, for instance, if there is a God at all. Even if one accepts that there is a God, this person doubts if he really controls our destiny. He doubts if there are such things as Punyam and Paapam, Dharma and Adharma, etc. Where is the religion and spirituality for such a person? Bhagavaan Krishna, therefore, says in the Bhagavad Gita, “Naayam Loko Sti Na Paro Na Sukham Samsayaatmanah = to the doubting mind, there is no success or happiness in this world, nor is there Moksha”. (4.40)

A doubting mind is a pessimistic mind. A pessimist is one who sees a difficulty in every opportunity. An optimist is one who sees an opportunity in every difficulty. When you have faith, all doubts vanish and a positive attitude permeates your entire personality.

Faith is the key to success in any activity. When there is faith, there is a compelling urge internally to give the very best that you possibly can - in anything that you believe in.

The next thought is about “Mind can expand infinitely or shrink infinitesimally as needed

Thought 82: The learning mind

Life evolves on the principles of heredity and adaptation. In animals, the principle of heredity reigns supreme. The baby animal acquires all knowledge at birth. There is not much non-physical growth later. Man too is governed by the principles of heredity and adaptation. But unlike the animals, man learns through education and adaptation - and consequently acquires great powers. These powers, combined by the knowledge of Vedaanta, unfold the knowledge of the self in him. For this, he needs to have a learning mind. A closed mind never learns anything worthwhile. (Swami Tejomayananda).

Every person has likes and dislikes. Likes and dislikes do not make you see anything objectively. They give rise to prejudices and preconceived ideas. Knowledge would not unfold in a mind, which puts too many hurdles on its path. It is like setting up a dam like the Hoover dam, which stops the Colarado river waters flowing further.

Any mind which has the least amount of likes and dislikes is a learning mind. Do not be ashamed to learn – anything, at any age. The manner in which technology is changing rapidly these days, one has to be a student all his life – or else, one would be left behind, while the world moves forward. Learning is investing in future.

A learning mind is like a superconductor. It has no preconceived notions and prejudices - it has no resistance to learning. When there is no resistance, electricity keeps flowing freely - on and on and on. When there are no prejudices and preconceived notions in the mind, knowledge keeps flowing freely - on and on and on.

The next thought is about “The doubting mind never succeeds in anything”

Thought 81: Never be ashamed to learn

Do not be ashamed to learn – anything at any age. Learning is investing in future. A learning mind is like a superconductor. It has no preconceived notions and prejudices – it has no resistances. When there is no resistance, electricity keeps flowing freely – on and on and on. When there are no preconceived notions and prejudices in the mind, knowledge keeps flowing freely - on and on and on.

We can, for instance, learn from a child. While learning to walk, the child falls down, cries but gets up again to walk – and this happens any number of times. The adult also cries when he fails - but he rarely attempts to start his efforts once again, let alone trying till he succeeds. The British warrior Robert Bruce was once hiding in a cave in Scotland after he got defeated – abandoning all hoping of winning back his kingdom. Then he happened to observe in the cave a spider climbing up the wall; halfway through, it falls, climbs again and falls again - and the spider keeps trying to climb tirelessly, until in the end, it reached the top of the wall. Observing this, the king went back, gathered his army and finally won over his enemies.

The next thought is about “The learning mind”

Thought 80: Learn to present your views properly

If you want people to accept your ideas, you have to skillfully present them and get them accepted; you have to carry your conviction to your audience. Confidence and conviction must exude from every pore of your personality. The body language must be skillfully mixed with the spoken words.

People rarely accept, what you say, without offering counter-suggestions or punching holes in your proposals. Many a good idea gets buried because your marketing skills are underdeveloped. It is no use getting frustrated and angry - or resorting to the self pity mode saying, “no one understands me properly”. It is up to you to make them understand you properly. This requires good communication and marketing skills. Everyone has to be a salesman, if he wants to avoid becoming a piece of forgotten history.

Be a smart salesman and move forward in life. It is very easy – because, there is virtually no competition for a smart salesman.

The next thought is about “Never be ashamed to learn”

Thought 79: The choice is yours

Antahkarana (which means the internal instrument) essentially consists of the mind and the Buddhi. Man alone is gifted with a well developed Antahkarana (mind and intellect). Man alone has choice – in thinking and action. Every step in life involves choice. Do not be hasty in deciding the next step. Every decision has consequences - which are inevitable and inescapable. If you do not like the visualized consequences, do not take that decision. There is always a choice for you - a lot of choice indeed.

Vedaanta says that circumstances may appear to be the cause of your happiness or unhappiness but they are not the real cause; similarly, it says that people may appear to be the cause of your happiness or unhappiness but they are not the real cause. Your mind and Buddhi alone manufacture your happiness and unhappiness; and therefore, your mind and Buddhi alone are the real causes of your happiness or unhappiness. Your happiness or unhappiness are mere effects; and the causes of these effects are your mind and Buddhi. If you do not want unhappiness or frustration, you have to eliminate their cause – which means improving the quality of your mind and Buddhi. Treating symptoms to cure the disease is not a scientific way of managing a problem; it is not management; it is "running".

To sum up, since the quality of your mind and Buddhi determines the quality of your life, if you improve the quality of your mind and Buddhi, the quality of your life automatically improves.

You have two options to improve the quality of your mind (Antahkarana). One gives a short term solution and the other offers the long term remedy. The modern way of reprogramming your subconscious mind is the cheap and nasty method - the soft option. In this option, you will be able to remove some of your weaknesses and reinforce some of your strengths, selectively. This will help you to lead a better life and improve the quality of your mind (antahkarana) – but the improvement is not going to be substantial.

The spiritual techniques using the principles of Yoga (Karma-Yoga, Dhyana-Yoga or Bhakti-Yoga) give the long term, enduring solution - the hard option. Here, you are purifying your mind (Antahkarana) and disciplining it, as a first step to realizing who you are and ultimately realizing that you are the Aatma, the Awareness pervading your body-mind complex. As the mind (Antahkarana) becomes purer and purer, you will notice a remarkable improvement in the quality of your life.

You may perhaps want to start with the short term procedure immediately and see if you still have the motivation to attempt the long term answer. Or would you straight away prefer to plunge into the long term procedure? The choice is yours, of course.

Nothing improves by itself. There is very little element of chance in improving any thing. Improvement happens only when you make it happen - that is, when you manage it. In the management of any activity, you have to spend some resources. Without an input, no output can result. It is the resources, which produce for you whatever result you have as your goal. You convert your resources into an output. Since the output is always less than what you expend to get it, a lot of time, energy, effort and discipline are needed, if you aim at the improvement in the quality of your life. Nothing comes free to you. That is not Nature's way of dealing. Nature gives nothing away freely. Every thing has to be earned.

The next thought is about “Learn to present your views properly”

Thought 78: You encounter more and more subtlety as you penetrate inside your body-mind complex

You have a gross body, which is your outer personality. You have a subtle body (inside the gross body) which is your inner personality. You have the Aatma, which glows inside the subtle body.

Mind and Buddhi are subtle – they are not manifest to your Jnaanendriyas (which are the eyes, ears, nose, skin and tongue). These Jnaanendriyas are the windows through which the outside world enters your mind and Buddhi. There is no other way by which information about the outside world could enter your mind and Buddhi.

Mind and Buddhi comprise your inner personality – which portrays your individuality. You are what you are because of your inner personality, which is determined by your mind and Buddhi. Your physical body is only a vehicle, which carries your inner personality wherever you go. You employ the three equipments (body, mind and Buddhi) to interact with the world outside. If your mind and Buddhi are good, your thoughts and actions are good and vice versa. The human mind has a tremendous energy potential.

The mind and Buddhi are subtle instruments. Subtle instruments control the gross instruments such as the gross physical body. Nerves control the muscles; nerves are more subtle than muscles. Psyche controls the nerves; psyche is more subtle than the nerves. As the nerves break down, the muscles do not function. As the psyche breaks down, nerves and therefore, the muscles break down. Thus, as you penetrate inside, there is an increasing subtlety, immensity and inwardness. As you penetrate inside a human being, energy value also increases - more in terms of quality than in terms of quantity. (Swami Ranganadhananda)

Beyond the psyche is the self – which is the subject. You are the subject; you are never the object. Whatever is perceptible to the subject is an object. The subject, which is the Aatma, is an infinite source of energy. The inward penetration brings us to this infinite source of pure energy (Puruisham Mahaantam, which means that the Purusha (Awareness), which is the self, is infinite in its dimension). (Swami Ranganadhananda).

Muscular and intellectual energies are ordinary when compared to spiritual energies but they are extraordinary when dealing with the world. For instance, a small mahout sitting on top of a mighty elephant is able to control it. But, unfortunately, we cannot solve the human problems by intellectual energy only. The evil is spread in this world far and wide - and some of the great intellectuals are also great criminals.

It is essential, therefore that one has to grow internally; which means, mature internally. More books, more computers, more education, more research, more scholarship does not bring internal maturity because this internal maturity is beyond the intellect. (Swami Ranganadhananda).

The next thought is about “The choice is yours”

Thought 77: The mind and attention (Awareness)

When we think, our thoughts are mostly either irrelevant or wrong. Most people never try to control their thoughts. Frequently, you follow the mind instead of the mind following you. This is like the tail wagging the dog. Mind gets your attention riveted on it. No matter what you do, you will not be able to separate yourself from your mind. Thus, you are connected to your mind through this “attention”. People never seem to realize that following their thoughts helplessly, letting their attention wander hither and thither as dictated by the thoughts, unchecked is a tremendous waste of energy.

“Attention” implies Awareness. You are “aware of” whatever the mind is focused on or whatever passes through the mind or whatever topic to which the mind is connected to at any point in time. There is Awareness in this being “Aware of”. This “aware of” is the “Attention”. You are the “Awareness” - and “Awareness” is the Aatma.

Thus, mind is connected to you through the “Attention”. When the mind roams as it does frequently, your attention also roams along with the mind - because it is attached (focused) on the mind. Thus, one end of this attention is the mind and the other side is you or the Awareness. (Swami Vivekananda).

Awareness all pervading; it pervades the entire space-time dimension; it pervades every nook and cranny of it. Mind roams about all the time randomly - while the Awareness is stationary (it does not move). Where can Awareness move? One will be able to move to a place where one is not already present. Awareness is the Aatma, which is present everywhere and therefore, Awareness does not move. In other words, the locus of the attention is always the Awareness – no matter where it moves.

When some one tells you to control your mind, it is like controlling your shadow. Can you control your shadow? For instance, can you catch the neck of your shadow? No matter how well and how long you try, you will not be able to catch the neck of your shadow. The only way to do that is to catch your own neck! There is no other way to do that. What you can do however is to ignore your mind – that is, ignore the thoughts that arise in the mind. Where do thoughts originate, why do they originate and where will they end?

Thoughts arise in your mind because of the three Gunas of Prakriti (Maayaa). Generally, if you pay attention to them, they end up in actions. If you do not pay attention to them, they will simply disappear without leaving a trace behind. When you ignore the mind in this manner – that is by ignoring the thoughts that it generates – you can control the mind. Mind then will be helpless to take you with it. You refuse to go with it. That is Mind Control.

Breathing is the vehicle of the mind. Breath changes perceptibly with the state of the mind. Anger, peace, hatred, fear, love, greed, sexy feelings, ecstasy, walking, etc are all emotions/actions and each of these emotions/actions, which are connected to the mind, generate their own unique patterns of breathing. Even while dreaming, the rhythm of the breath changes depending of whether the dream is happy, fearful, exotic, meaningless or illogical. (Swami Vivekananda)

It is said that generally, 12 breaths a minute is normal to persons. As the number of breaths per minute decrease, you become calmer and vice versa. Five or less breaths a minute indicates a great state akin to Samadhi. When you change the rhythm of your breath, the state of your mind also changes. You say to the child when it is crying, “Take a deep breath” – in order to calm its mind. Breath, if done properly, gives you equanimity or tranquility. (Swami Vivekananda)

The next thought is about “You encounter more and more subtlety as you penetrate inside your body-mind complex”