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sumitsehrawat
May 9th, 2005, 09:49 AM
The mind is man's intimate friend or inveterate foe and hence, according to circumstances, he can swim or sink in the ocean of life. To him who has mastered the art of conforming himself to discipline, the mind can be a good companion. But if he becomes a slave to it and obeys its command, it will prove to be an enemy.
By meditation, abstraction and retraction, the mind can be made steady. All of us do realise how the mind behaves, but many of us find it difficult to control it and so fail to resist the temptations. To guard against getting involved in worldly enjoyments, it should be reined with great effort and chained to the intellect. For this, one should conduct himself in life properly, mould his character and learn the relationship of the soul and the body and the soul and the Supreme Being. A royal road has been laid by God Himself for the aspirant to reach His Kingdom, but man guided by the mind seeks to go through the by-lanes and incidentally gets lost.
In gaining true knowledge about the nature of God, the individual should seek clarifications from a qualified spiritual leader. Wh not acquire the same through the plethora of scriptural texts, one may ask. Knowldge so secured may end in a man getting confused, as the contents require proper commentary. The Kathopanishad hence, pleads with man to rise from his slumber and be ever awake till he reaches his journey's end.
One who has controlled his mind will see God everywhere and in everything and will not be perturbed by mundane opposited - love and hatred, heat or cold, happiness or misery, honour or dishonour and respect or disrespect. He will treat a clod of clay, a lump of potsherds and a brick of gold alike knowing that all are but variations of earth's form. By his surrender at God's feet and entrusting himself thus, he can win God's confidence and acquire the power to put his intellect to proper use. If one obeys God's commands, he will secure the release from bondage. With external purity and continence, one should resort to meditation; he will be able to get rid of the eveil of illusion that blurs his vision.

January 5, 1981
The Hindu