http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-blogs/seekers/science-of-spirituality/meditation-is-not-to-achieve-peace-but-to-go-beyond-mind
Vedanta talks about two types of achievements. One is Apraptasya Prapti, to achieve that which I do not have and Praptasya Prapti, to achieve that which I already have. Let us first consider the achievement of that which I do not have. In this material world I do not possess everything and to have them I need to do some kind of action to get them. Suppose I have to buy a car I need to make money from my profession to achieve that. By having an undeterred vision and determination I can achieve that which I intended to achieve. However there are some hurdles also as that which I want in the world outside me is confined to time and space.
How much ever I might be ready to spend I cannot get the moon on to my rooftop, there has to be space between my roof and moon. How much ever I might be ready to spend I am not able to experience Sunshine at night, as there is some order in time. In other words, anything that I do not have and want to have is bound by Time and Space in this external world. Though the time and space permits there are chances that I might not get what I am yearning for then my deservance come to play. Now apart from Time and Space the Destiny also has a vital role to play for anything to be achieved. Destiny is something that is bound to happen to a particular person in his life span. Hence if I am destined to achieve something at some stipulated time of my life span I can achieve that when I require with my Will Power.
Now coming to the achievement of that which I have already have. This is quite amusing why should I achieve something which I already have? A few years ago there was a commercial that appeared on the television, the husband who had tucked his spectacles on his forehead forgets about it and asks his wife if she had seen it. He assumes he has misplaced it and frantically searches the entire house until his wife tells him to look at his forehead. Peace is such a thing which is searched everywhere not knowing that it has never left in the first place. This is due to ignorance.
Just as the person in the commercial forgot about his spectacles due to ignorance peace which is within is overlook because of the hectic activity of mind. Our mind has an immense capacity to think, to learn and to know. If the mind is let alone, it can make life unhappy and miserable. That is the negative ability of the mind. The mind is the most valuable asset we possess as human beings. Neglecting its welfare is like neglecting the potentials in our life.
If one negative thought creeps in it will have a domino effect and becomes hard to stop the flooding of hundreds more. This whirlpool of thoughts can lead to depressed moods, low energy, and a lack of motivation. What has to be done? Meditation will only help in reducing the flow of thoughts but it cannot change the detrimental thought process, unless there is purity in thought. With mind filled with lust, envy, gluttony, sloth, pride, anger and greed is it possible to have positive thoughts? Meditation is not which gets mental peace, but it is a process to go beyond the mind. But to go beyond mind it is necessary to have a mind without negative thoughts.
Just as crude oil is distilled and separated into fractions to get light distillates like L.P.G and Gasoline which burns immediately when brought near flame so should the mind be distilled to make it rediscover the peace within. When the peace within is the mind sticks to present without wavering to past and future it becomes pure. When the flame of knowledge is brought near such a mind, it burns off without residue marking the end of not only the lifespan but also the life cycle……..Am I right????
Vedanta talks about two types of achievements. One is Apraptasya Prapti, to achieve that which I do not have and Praptasya Prapti, to achieve that which I already have. Let us first consider the achievement of that which I do not have. In this material world I do not possess everything and to have them I need to do some kind of action to get them. Suppose I have to buy a car I need to make money from my profession to achieve that. By having an undeterred vision and determination I can achieve that which I intended to achieve. However there are some hurdles also as that which I want in the world outside me is confined to time and space.
How much ever I might be ready to spend I cannot get the moon on to my rooftop, there has to be space between my roof and moon. How much ever I might be ready to spend I am not able to experience Sunshine at night, as there is some order in time. In other words, anything that I do not have and want to have is bound by Time and Space in this external world. Though the time and space permits there are chances that I might not get what I am yearning for then my deservance come to play. Now apart from Time and Space the Destiny also has a vital role to play for anything to be achieved. Destiny is something that is bound to happen to a particular person in his life span. Hence if I am destined to achieve something at some stipulated time of my life span I can achieve that when I require with my Will Power.
Now coming to the achievement of that which I have already have. This is quite amusing why should I achieve something which I already have? A few years ago there was a commercial that appeared on the television, the husband who had tucked his spectacles on his forehead forgets about it and asks his wife if she had seen it. He assumes he has misplaced it and frantically searches the entire house until his wife tells him to look at his forehead. Peace is such a thing which is searched everywhere not knowing that it has never left in the first place. This is due to ignorance.
Just as the person in the commercial forgot about his spectacles due to ignorance peace which is within is overlook because of the hectic activity of mind. Our mind has an immense capacity to think, to learn and to know. If the mind is let alone, it can make life unhappy and miserable. That is the negative ability of the mind. The mind is the most valuable asset we possess as human beings. Neglecting its welfare is like neglecting the potentials in our life.
If one negative thought creeps in it will have a domino effect and becomes hard to stop the flooding of hundreds more. This whirlpool of thoughts can lead to depressed moods, low energy, and a lack of motivation. What has to be done? Meditation will only help in reducing the flow of thoughts but it cannot change the detrimental thought process, unless there is purity in thought. With mind filled with lust, envy, gluttony, sloth, pride, anger and greed is it possible to have positive thoughts? Meditation is not which gets mental peace, but it is a process to go beyond the mind. But to go beyond mind it is necessary to have a mind without negative thoughts.
Just as crude oil is distilled and separated into fractions to get light distillates like L.P.G and Gasoline which burns immediately when brought near flame so should the mind be distilled to make it rediscover the peace within. When the peace within is the mind sticks to present without wavering to past and future it becomes pure. When the flame of knowledge is brought near such a mind, it burns off without residue marking the end of not only the lifespan but also the life cycle……..Am I right????
It may be more correct to say that meditation is a tool to get below the mind, rather than beyond it.
ReplyDeletebelow or above or beyond it has to transcend it....... Thank you Sajjev ji
DeleteYours is a thought provoking blog on mind and meditation. I take the liberty of giving my views on it.
ReplyDeleteYes, meditation is not to achieve something, but to go beyond oneself, one’s mind and body – to transcend the mind. We all try to reach a place without knowing that we are already there. We seek peace, happiness, and joy without knowing that we are that peace, happiness and joy. Yes, time and space limit our chances of getting what we want to have and human mind had been working to cross this barrier in the physical world. It is trying to conquer time and space. Maybe, it will succeed one day. Rather than destiny, it might be a better idea to say that some invisible energy – we may call it GRACE – too is working on everything. Without GRACE, all our intentions and efforts may not bring results. So, we must seek GRACE by acknowledging its presence and remaining GRATEFUL. The very acknowledgement allows GRACE to flow into our life and GRATITUDE strengthens the flow. Finally, to have a mind free of negative thoughts may not be possible as mind is the sum total of all thoughts – positive and negative. It is for this very reason, we engage ourselves in practices like meditation – to go beyond the mind – when our thoughts lose their power over us. Then, any thought just comes and goes, not doing anything to us. We remain unaffected by them. We cannot stop thoughts, but we can make them lose their power. Positive or negative again is only in our perception and not a reality. There is no absolute, only relative – dependently arising and dependently ceasing.
T N Neelakantan
www.neel48.blogspot.com
Nice thoughts ...... Neelakantan Sir ..... thank you for the link i will read your blogs.... Pranam :):):):):)
Deleteमैं शरीर नही मैँ आत्मा हुँ का अभ्याश जीवनमें बढता रहे मेरी जो स्थिती है वह आत्मामें बनी रहे क्योकी मेरे शरीर बननेकी प्रक्रियाके वक्त मैं कहा था ये याद करता हुँ तो याद नही आता ये सभी कुछ्में मैँ कुदरतका एक हिश्साही शही पर कुदरतके साथ जुडा हुवा हुँ यही एहेशासही मेरे जीवनकी धरोहर है। जबभी मैं अपने मैं तक पहोचनेकी कोशिसकी वह मैं बडा छोटाही निकला एय परमात्मा तेरे इस जुठे जगतके खेलमें और जगतके सारेके सारे झूठे खेलमें जो यह खेल खेलरहा तुँ ही एक सच्चा निकला क्योके बिना १ के आगे चाहे जीतनेभी ००००००००००००००० जीरो हो पर शारे जगते के उपर जगतको चलाने वाला तूँ ही एक हीरो निकला।
ReplyDelete