Excerpts Chapter 7
THE MEDITATION BOOK:
SILENCING THE MIND
Transforming the mind through meditation
Question: Why does the mind resist so much when one tries to meditate?
Sri Chinmoy: The mind by nature is restless, and restlessness is the opposite of peace. If the mind allows us to be peaceful, then the mind feels that it has lost in the battlefield of life. So when we try to bring down peace, the mind resists; it feels it will lose its supremacy if it does not resist. This is the human mind that I am speaking of. The human mind tries to bind others, and in binding others it thinks that it is increasing its own freedom. But this is not at all the case. The more we bind others, the more we lose our freedom. The mind resists because it is afraid of losing its freedom. It feels that by resisting, it can have poise and peace, which is absurd.
There is also a higher mind. In the higher mind there is no resistance. It is all peace and tranquillity. But the human mind constantly enjoys thought. This moment it enjoys a good thought, the next moment it enjoys a bad thought. Although it knows perfectly well that a particular thought is a bad thought, still the mind enjoys it. The human mind has no sense of discrimination. It is equally satisfied with the good and the bad. The heart, on the other hand, will always care only for the good things, the good experiences. Whereas the mind is very limited, the heart is unlimited. The mind feels that if it expands into a new territory, then it will be totally lost. But the heart feels that if it expands, at that time it will only exercise more freedom, which is absolutely true. The more we can expand, the more freedom we shall enjoy.
The mind is like a naughty boy. But how long can a naughty boy remain naughty? If the mother and father every day pray to God, “O God, grant my child some peace and light so that he will be freed from all his bad qualities”, then God is bound to listen to their hearts’ prayer and the child will become peaceful. If we pray for peace and light, then like a child who was naughty once upon a time, the mind will become calm, quiet and good. Instead of resisting, the mind will expand itself in meditation and become one with the Vast. It is by virtue of our prayer and meditation that one day we shall possess a simple, sincere, humble and aspiring mind, which will have the peace that it so badly needs.
The transformed mind
Question: What is the difference between an ordinary mind and heart and a mind and heart that have been transformed?
Sri Chinmoy: The difference between an ordinary mind and a transformed mind is very simple. If it is just an ordinary mind, then that mind is quite often assailed by fear, doubt, anxiety, worry and so forth. Also it is quite often a victim to limitation. But if it becomes transformed, then the mind becomes vast, vaster, vastest. It becomes an infinite sky, an infinite ocean. So here is the difference between the ordinary mind and the transformed mind. It is the difference between the limited and the unlimited. In the limited there is the dance of confusion, with conflicting ideas and negative forces; whereas in the unlimited only the children of Peace, Light and Bliss are singing and dancing.
Now with regard to the heart, if it is an ordinary, unaspiring heart, then it is bound to suffer from insecurity and a sense of separativity. That heart will not dare to unify itself with other people or other hearts, for it thinks that it will lose everything that it already has. An ordinary heart feels that the moment it shares something with others, it will lose a part of the reality. It feels that if it becomes one with the world, it will not be able to possess the whole world in its entirety. But the transformed spiritual heart feels that the more it identifies itself with other hearts, the sooner it will get Peace, Light and Bliss in abundant measure. A transformed heart is the heart that has established its inseparable and eternal oneness with all and sundry. It feels that the moment it becomes vast, it will have satisfaction and it will be able to claim the entire creation as its very own. Instead of losing, it feels that it will gain everything: the entire creation plus the Creator Himself.
Emptying the mind
Question: How do you go about emptying your mind in order to be able to meditate?
Sri Chinmoy: First, you have to aspire. Then, you have to make your mind vacant. You should not allow any thought to enter into your mind and take shape. Suppose a name comes. As soon as the first letter of the name appears, you kill the name. You have to make your mind vacant, as empty as possible.
Pierce a thought into pieces
Question: How do you do it?
Sri Chinmoy: With your power of concentration. Suppose a thought, or a vibration, or something else is coming. Immediately, shoot an arrow and pierce it into pieces. An idea comes, somebody’s name comes, or some thought comes. Immediately, just throw it out. It must not come and enter into your mind. Before it touches your mind you have to cut it into pieces. But if you already have thoughts and ideas within you, within your body, within your mind, then you have to meditate like this: be as relaxed as possible. Feel as if you were inside the ocean. Then absorb those thoughts and ideas so they do not have a separate existence. They are lost in the sea. If they are already within you, throw them into the sea. If they are coming from outside, then do not allow them to enter into you. After doing this your meditation is bound to be successful.