How does one control the mind? A question every practitioner has to find and answer to if he or she is to move forward in the attainment of self discovery. I have always maintained that the mind cannot be controlled, however the mind can be subdued through a thorough understanding of its workings and its functions and that there is no mind and really there is no one to control the mind to begin with. To arrive at this final stage of acceptance of the nature of the mind one has to take a long and deep look at what is the mind really and how it is related to the self. Most would say that the mind is the self and that without the mind there not be a self at least this was and perhaps still is how I look at it from time to time depending upon my own state of mind at any given time. In trying to understand the workings of the mind is analogous to the famous Chan or Zen image of the master looking for his lost buffalo while riding on its back. It is futile in other words to subdue or even understand the mind without using the mind and it is a puzzle, a riddle that man has been confronted with for as long as he was able to think. Sages and philosophers and now even scientists, perhaps even more so today are still figuring out this whole matter about the human mind, which at one time I had decide to simply call 'humind' so as no having to spend too much time writing the whole word. Off-course there is no such word as humind in the English dictionary and it is not a valid word to be used in a scrabble game, but it sounded good to me so much so that I had used it as a title to my first solo art exhibition in my hometown of Georgetown, Penang sometime in 2006.
In the school of Advaita Vedanta or perhaps the entire Vedic tradition, there is the cessation of mind and body as being the self; I am not the body, nor am I the mind is a mantra used to affirm this so that one does not forget. You breath in, I am not the body and you breath out I am not the mind. Thus the question arises immediately, if so, who or what am I? If you google it in the Internet or on You Tube, there will be numerous answers from so many spiritual, philosophical and psychological schools and they most probably will all sound sane and right, but what is my own take on this issue? Even as I am typing this own, I am using my mind, my thinking faculty in the effort to search for the right words and project the right thoughts so as not to confuse myself and others who are unfortunate enough to read my thoughts. Hence the need to silence the mind for it is only if and when the mind an be made to be silent can there be a clear insight into what is truly the mind and what is its relationship to who I am. I have to walk on my own two feet to look for my lost water buffalo.
Even if I claim myself not to be the body or the mind, I still need these as my tools, my instruments, my vehicle of expressing myself, my intentions and my manifestations as I exist in the realm of existence. The are a part of me that I take care of just as I would my car or my computer to make sure that they fully function without any hitch or glitch. One of the mantras or affirmations that often comes to my mind from the practice of Raja Yoga, yoga of the mind, is; I Am the Master of my Body, Speech and Mind. Yes it would have been much easier to just 'cut and paste', what I am trying to express from the myriads of wisdom and thoughts available on the Internet, however this plagiarism would defeat the purpose of my getting to the answer or the truth myself. It would be like posting a poster on every street corner for the return of my buffalo and hope that someone will find it and deliver it safely back to me. It would have been simple and made life easier, but I would have learned nothing for my own self discovery. I would never know where the animal had wandered off to and why and how it was that I lost it in the first place. I would also deprive myself of the pleasure of writing my own thoughts and improving my skills as a writer. If I keep quoting others no matter how profound and accurate they may be, it would be like counting someone else's sheep.
There are however thoughts that are handed down for posterity from the minds of great masters who in their own fields have excelled and awakened transcending the norm that are worth to quote from in order that what I am trying to say is made more clear and authentic. On the subject of the humind I am positive that there is no shortage of quotes, reflections, views and opinions that I would advice those seeking to understand better the subject and one of these great masters is Jedu Krishnamurti, whose works I have had the opportunity to study since the days I was in college and before the Internet. I feel that no man has influenced me more than this 'Speaker', in my thoughts and understanding of the workings of the humind. Although Krishnamurti is often not an easy mind to follow I feel till this day that he is one of those who had challenged if not opened my perception and my understanding of the workings of the humind to the deepest level where there is no doubt left and it is from this depth of understanding that I set about in my journey of self discovery. The humind is more elusive and slippery than an eel and if not held in good grasp it can and will slip away from one's hold on to one's clear perception of what it is that one is up against when dealing with the thoughts or mental formations that arises every second of one's life.
"When I stop thinking, I really am!"
Another source of information that is worth your time to listen to for added feed-backs on the subjects you are indulged in at the moment is TEDx TALKS on You Tube channels. I would often allow my mind to randomly browse these talks and more that often enough I would make the connection with great minds who are on the same road towards personal growth and self discovery in the own chosen fields. As an artist, a talk given by Alex Grey entitled "Cosmic Creativity - how art evolves Consciousness - given in Maui, was an eye opener and I did not looked for it specifically but as usual, stumbled upon it, like my mind wanted me to listen to this man and his artistic self -discovery journey.
"We shall not cease from exploration,
and the end of all our exploring
will be to arrive
where we started
and know the place for the first time. - T.S.Eliot.
#tseliotquotes #cosmiccreativity #tedxtalks #alexgrey #rajayoga #advaitavedanta #selfdiscovery
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