THE MIND IS A BUNDLE OF IMPRESSIONS
I have said many times to you that samskaras are impressions formed in the mind through the process of evolution over millions of years. All the experiences gained over ages of time are left in our minds, and those are called samskaras. The mind is not an outside entity but a collection of samskaras.
We are not talking about the brain; the brain is just an organ through which the mind can flow. So, if you ask what the mind is, you can very safely say that it is a bundle of impressions gained, not only in this lifetime but through many, many lifetimes, in many, many different forms of existence, right from the mineral to the plant to the animal and to man.
These experiences that we have gained and carry with us in the form of impressions have to be refined. Whatever experience or impression man has gained could never be annihilated or destroyed, for every thought or impression is indestructible. We have said in many lectures before that it is not a question of annihilation or getting rid of, but the answer lies in refinement, so that these impressions are gradually refined to such a level that they become integrated with your inner self, and that is the purpose of meditation.
SWITCH ON THE LIGHT, THE DARKNESS TAKE CARE OF ITSELF
The first thing that happens when a person starts meditating is that harmony and integration begin to take place between the mind, the body and the spirit. It must be remembered very well that these are not three different entities but three aspects of oneself. So even God, the body and the mind are but one. In other words, the mind and the body are contained within Divinity and are divine in themselves, and it is only when our perception is refined to the point where this divinity is perceived that the entirety of the mind, with all its impressions, and the body, with all its defects or strengths, are also accepted as divine. This can only take place through specialised meditational or spiritual practices, where we gradually release certain energies from within ourselves, from the Kingdom of Heaven within, which make the impressions of the mind expand and become refined. This, of course, also has its biological and physiological effects.
So, our method is based on the age-old principles of all theologies. Our methods are based upon what Buddha taught, what Krishna taught, and what Christ taught, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven within, then all else shall be added unto thee.”
Do not worry or be concerned about your samskaras. I always say do not be worried and concerned about the darkness; switch on the light, and the darkness takes care of itself. Do not worry about the impressions that are you, which is your mind, for even at our level of perception there could be good and evil – but at that level of the Absolute, it has transcended all good and evil, for being a mutual force it knows of no good or evil. Only the mind assumes things that are supposedly good and supposedly evil.
HARMONY BEGINS WITHIN
Any spiritual process begins from within and then allows those energies to filter outwards, for the first thing to gain is harmony within ourselves, and only then can it be harmonious with the environment. This, of course, is different from psychological processes, from forms of psychoanalysis, which begin from without.
Psychologists themselves admit that we have not touched the fringes of the mind; we know so little about it. All these various psychoanalytical processes that deal only at the mind level will do one thing; they will work on the surface of the mind, and it is possible, although not conclusively so, that a certain imbalance on the surface could be corrected. But it is also more likely that you are just transferring an imbalance from one end to the other, curing a headache and developing a toe ache, as I always say.
As in the other analogy, when you put pressure on one part of the balloon, the air shifts to the other end. It may seem that a person undergoing certain psychoanalytical processes might think, “Ah, I have got one problem resolved.” But has it really been resolved? Because the problem was not truly resolved, only pushed onto a different level, it will, after a while, re-manifest. It is like a cancer germ or a syphilitic condition, where, for a while, the problem may disappear through certain treatments, only to re-manifest again. It is like catching a cold or the flu. You feel well today, so you get out of bed because your mind says you are feeling well. Yet the germ is still there, and a week or two later it will erupt, and your flu may return in a more severe form.
GOD ONLY HELP THOSE THAT HELP THEMSELVES
These various processes, which are very common the world over, have certain values in them. There is good in them. They have their methods, and we do not condemn anyone’s method, for our movement always advocates mental freedom, or freedom for the man. If a man wants to practise something else, we do not stop the person. Sheep can stray but will always come home. Any teaching should be based on teachings that have been tried and proven over millennia, thousands of years up to today. Christ’s teachings cannot be disproved, neither can Krishna’s, nor Buddha’s, nor Mahavir’s. They cannot be disproved through the test of time.
Millions of people have benefited from these teachings, while psychoanalytical processes are something new that started yesterday and should offer only surface release, a little balm on a sore. Okay, nothing wrong with that relief, nothing wrong with that relief. It might aid you if you have a severe headache. Nothing wrong with taking a pain reliever, but also know one thing for sure, what is the cause of the headache? For the headache is nothing but an outer manifestation of perhaps a much deeper problem below the surface of the mind, which the mind itself cannot solve.
The mind is limited, and we know that man uses only 10% of it. It is so limited within itself that it cannot probe deeper than that 10%, yet some say we go to deeper levels. But what is the depth, and what has been proven about the level to which the mind goes? Rather than depend on divinity, through meditation, by diving deep within ourselves, we bring out that force, helping ourselves in daily life. As the old saying goes, “God only helps those that help themselves.” This is what is meant by self-help. Everyone knows what the immediate problem is. A man is unemployed and has no food to eat. What should he do? He should find a job, and it is not impossible to find one. It is possible, perhaps not the thing he likes at that moment, but he will still find something to provide him with his daily piece of bread, which we pray for every day, do we not?
YOU CANNOT DISSOLVE A SAMSKARA, BUT YOU CAN WASH THE DIRTY WINDOW
Only scratching the surface of the mind, the possibility that the problem might re-manifest itself is so great because it could be so deeply rooted within the mind. Today’s knowledge of psychology tackles only the surface level of the subconscious, but the strata are so vast. I have said this over and over and over again that the extent of the mind is as vast as the entire universe, and can your little analytical ability know all of existence, which is the universe? That alone goes to show that you are scratching the surface of the mind. As a sore, you put on a balm; as a headache, you take a pain reliever, and you are relieved, but what is the real symptom? It might go far, far beyond into so, so many different lifetimes, and man’s mind, up to today and in the present state of its evolution, cannot go so deep.
The great teachers and masters of the world view that man’s mind is incapable of analysing his problems entirely. Temporary benefits are fine; nobody denies them. But dissolving a samskara, dissolving an impression, is a different matter altogether, for you cannot dissolve a samskara; you can refine it and wash the dirty linen so that the sheet is clean. You can wash the window so the sun, the light of divinity, shines through in its full force, and that is why the masters of all the world’s religions, portrayed on our symbol here, always said, “Thy will be done, not my will.”
THE PATH OF LOVE, FAITH, SINCERITY, DEVOTION AND SURRENDER
In the practice of mantra techniques, you are actually exerting your personal ego. My will, I am going to cure this, I am going to help myself with this, and yet they do not realise that going to a doctor for help is actually putting your will in another man’s will, putting yourself in someone else’s hands.
That has some value; undeniably, it is needed, but how much greater and more powerful to put yourself in the hands of Divinity? This should not be on the basis of wishful thinking; this should be on the basis of practice, and practice means meditation and correcting the errors we see in our daily lives. The combination of spiritual practices and self-help automatically draws Gurushakti, or the power of Grace. That helps you to refine the samskaras. That helps you to wash away the dirt. Nothing that man does can be done by himself; he cannot even lift a finger. That is why, over and over and over, the great masters, not ordinary psychologists who spend a few years at universities, but real, self-realised masters, have always brought the message of love, of faith, of sincerity, of devotion, of surrender, and that is the message for the present age, that is the message much more applicable today than it was during the time of Christ.
Because of the technological processes and the technological progress that man has made, his own mind is now denying that which is divine. So, if a person really feels that he needs some kind of psychological aid, some do, by all means they are free to do that, oh they are free, but it will not be done under the auspices of this organisation. That is an individual’s own business. Someone might have gone to another group this morning before coming here to practise some psychological technique. What are we to know and why should we? Why should we? Man should exercise his free will. Under our auspices, he has been given the message of love and devotion. Under our auspices, the message is conveyed in a very systematic manner by deeds within, and here all that our meditators know is how they benefit by becoming closer and closer to Divinity.
You can see a meditator a mile away. There is that beautiful softness in the face, and that lovely devotion to an ideal. There is this love radiating from them, and those with eyes to see can see it. Thousands of letters pour into us, letters of gratitude that their lives have improved so much through the techniques. So, the proof of the pudding lies in the eating, that is what we always say. Has it not been said in all religions that do not serve false prophets, do not create graven images of divinity, do not, because it is all graven images? Anything that drives you away from the divine is a graven image.
THE GREATEST QUESTION EVER ASKED, “WHO AM I”
The first thing to remember is the values of your meditation, which, by diving within, automatically bring out that subtle, indefinable energy that brings harmony and smoothness to your life. This is not achieved overnight. If Divinity were to be attained overnight, or in a week or a month, then everyone in this world would be self-realised. Yes, everyone will be, but “Nothing for nothing and very little for six pence,” as I always say.
Self-realisation is a gradual process, and the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. Sincerity plays a part. The more sincere you are, the more honest you are, the greater your love and devotion become. At first, it might not be so much, but as meditation progresses, you automatically become more sincere, more open, more loving, more devoted, more surrendered. That is what meditation does. In the process of cultivating these great virtues, you become more and more integrated. You are being healed, and the real meaning of healed is to be whole.
That is the process. That is the way to truly find one’s Self, for the greatest question that could ever be asked, or will ever be asked, in the thought of man since man began is “Who am I?” It is through meditation that you will be able to answer that question and, in essence, realise that I am divine. But let not the mind tell you this; it is just a play of the mind. You have to experience it, feel it, live it, and meditation gives you the strength and awakens those energies so that you can live it.
WHEN WE DO OUR MEDITATIONS, WE BRING THE MIND TO A LEVEL OF QUIETUDE
If you have a headache, there is nothing wrong with taking an aspro. The simple chemicals in those aspros will be eliminated by the body on its own, but do not forget Divinity. Do not forget Divinity.
When we meditate, we are not putting pressure on samskaras or pushing them to the surface. Instead, we are bringing our minds to a level of quietude where we can assess or look at our faults objectively, for when the mind, as everyone knows, is in turmoil, you cannot look at a problem objectively because you are too involved in it.
… Gururaj Ananda Yogi: Satsang SA 1979 – 101
