Mind the Mentor

Mind the Mentor

What goes on between people is only the secondary play and is not of much consequence. On the other hand, what goes on in our minds is the primary play. It is this that determines how the outer play will be played out. Before anything takes a visible form it has first to be conceived in the mind. In spite of the fact that it is a self-evident truth, we seem to be giving greater weightage to the manifested reality. Our achievements seem to matter more than our potential to create. The achievements are in the past and are no guarantee of future or even present performance. The potential, on the other hand, is ever present. We get disappointed repeatedly by using past performance as a tool of selection, whether in professional selection or in making a personal choice. Yet we continue this mindless practice.

It is relatively easy to measure past performance. It is there for all to see, touch and feel. Potential is difficult to determine using the same tools. Human senses cannot measure it. The mind has to be employed directly to determine it. The trouble is that in choosing the easy way out, we have not even bothered to develop our mind. We don’t even know our mind well. We confuse it with our brain. We have a vague idea of what it is. We know it when it is agitated and disturbed, when it seems to undermine all our resolve. We plan something in great detail but are unable to execute it because the mind is following a different master. We then say,” man proposes and God disposes “Actually it is our mind that takes over. Why don’t we then take the trouble to study and develop our mind?

Once we have done this we would be able to enter with ease the domain of the immeasurable, the realm of thoughts and emotions and the world of attributes (gunas), like trustworthiness, dependability, reliability and so on. How do we know when we are happy or in love? Can these be determined by parameters that are measurable by human senses? For the mind these are self-evident truths. In modern world we dismiss self-evident truth as being subjective. But then life itself is subjective. All attempts to arrive at universal truths about the human situation through so-called scientific studies produce only comic dogma, which is overturned every now and then by further scientific findings (research) take for instance the question of existence. Can we give proof to satisfy all about our existence? The simple fact is that each one of knows for sure that we exist. To satisfy someone else we have to produce certificates of various kinds. The acceptance is still a subjective judgment.

Let us cut out this need to depend on verifiable proof. Let us get on with the process of living. Let us give our mind its rightful place and bring it into play in making living choices. To be able to do that after eons of abuse we need to begin meditating. We would then come to know what the mind is and what it is capable of. Even as we begin to meditate we will find peace and light (clarity). The rest will follow. I have no doubt about that.

Ganoba

Embracing Life

"The first step of handling anything is gaining the ability to face it".
This quote makes the simple act of living a matter of courage. What is the risk? What is there to lose?
The fear is based on misconceptions.

The first misconception is, that we have a face, i.e. an independent identity, that owns and thus has to control its environment.

Handling seems to indicate that a certain distance is being maintained from the "thing" out of fear that it will in some way hurt or contaminate us. There is also a lurking desire to retain control, like keeping the reins and whip in ones hands.

Can we really understand and enjoy a "thing" if we keep it at a distance?
Objective scientists and technologists are likely to say "yes".
Being a bhakt I freely embrace. It is easy as I have no face, no hands or legs and so on to call my own and hence I have no fear of losing.
It all belongs to PRABHU
Why only handle? Why not embrace?
After all I and my environment are really one and the same. The environment is an extension of me or I am a product of the environment. Either way we are inseparable.

Living in Love

In my wandering I met a sage. I kept complaining to him that it was very difficult to follow his advice, besides I was so busy just serviving that I had no time to act on his advice.
He asked me a rather blunt but pertinent question, "If you are offered delicious food and shit, which would you choose to partake?"
Obviously delicious food, unless you are a pig. Where is the question of difficulty or finding time?
It is a matter of choosing that which is good for you and letting the rest be.
If, for example, writing experiences brings insights and clarity, choose to write. Let other activities be, don't engage in them.If you must, then bring to them the same quality of attention that you bring to the writting.
It is as simple as that.
If being with me is good for you, then choose to be with me to the exclusion of other things.
It is as simple as that.
At all times and every time choose to do only that which is good for you (that which brings clarity and lightness)
That is living in love

Who is the I?

who is the I?
Many identify with the body. To them I represents the body.
For many others I represents the worldly possessions.
For a few others the mind is the real I.
Very few identify with the soul. Even for them this equation is mainly intellectual, based on their study of the scriptures. The soul even for these is a possession of the I.
To them I would ask,
"Me and my soul are they two different entities?"
If the answer is a yes then
that is the original mistake.
The soul is the real I.
All others are only manifestations, the play of Maya.
An actor plays many roles during his/her life. If he/she does not drop the role along with the make up, on going home, there is going to be nothing but trouble.
Ganoba