What compelled me to write this article was a weird thought that arose in my mind. I’ve observed my mind and know quite a few things that have gone on there. Once I heard my friend saying that he is very much worried about his mind and the thoughts that go on there and it makes him wonder whether it’s his own mind. Though a witness of the same phenomenon in my own mind, I was not a conscious observer of my mind then. But as years have gone by, I have no option but to take a serious look at my own mind. I’m sure it’s the case with most of us.
There’s a time in our lives where it is almost impossible to separate our thoughts from our actions. Our actions would have immediately proceeded or gone on with our thoughts with no discrimination whatsoever. It usually happens when we are children but such actions aren’t particularly harmful considering that children usually don’t think weird things. But as the body gets developed, it also becomes a channel for the expression of stronger thoughts – not just good and bad but also life defining.
Barring some extraordinary instances where a person is gifted with a great pure mind, in all other cases, the mind and the thoughts that originate there shouldn’t be followed blindly. There’s a great need to debate mental illness. We easily recognize the physical deformations and we sympathize with them and have found out some ways in which we can help them stand that challenge. But we have no such seriousness to address this mental deformations – the very reason behind 99% dangers faced by the mankind, both subjective and objective. Either we destroy ourselves or we destroy others.
So, it’s pretty clear that the cultivation of a proper mind is very essential for our own good and for the good of the world. It’s our mind that makes or breaks our destiny and no sane person can deny this truth. But now the question is how to train this mind and how to make this a channel for self and universal well being?
Being a prisoner of our own minds, we can’t expect to break the bonds by following it. It’s just not possible. There are only two ways – one, constant vigilance and merciless analysis of our thoughts, and two, seeking guidance of the one who has taken that rough road to perfection. Mind is, as it were, a chain which is as strong as we have made it over years and many lives that preceded this one. Though dead in itself, it has made us bound. The way has to be discovered by myself, the living spirit and/or by seeking the help and guidance of an evolved person who has understood the behavior of mind and can help us come out of that bond.
I feel there are two things – one, objective sympathy for people suffering from their mental problems and two, subjective pursuit of good. By all means the world should have a place for people with their own problems, but again, people have to take responsibility to set their minds and tendencies right. It’s not as easy as writing, training one’s mind and behavior requires a tremendous degree of self discipline and analysis. Now I understand what Swami Vivekananda meant when he said, “The road to good is the roughest and the steepest in the universe. It’s not a wonder that so many fail, it’s a wonder that so many succeed”