The third qualification (apart from viveka and vairagya), for yearning to know Brahman consists of six virtues: mind control, body and sense control, withdrawal from sensory objects, forbearance, unwavering faith, and equanimity (sama, dama, uparati, titiksha, sraddha, and sama-dana). Mind control (sama) is very hard to attain. The mind can cause bondage, but it can also confer liberation. It is an amalgam of passionate (rajasic) and ignorant (tamasic) attitudes. It is easily polluted. It relishes in hiding the real nature of things and casting on them forms and values that it desires. So, activities of the mind must be regulated. The mind has two characteristics. First, it runs helplessly after the senses. Whichever sense the mind follows, it is inviting disaster. When a pot of water becomes empty, we need not infer that it has leaked away through ten holes; one hole is enough to empty it. So too, even if one sense is not under control, one will be thrown into bondage. Therefore, every sense must be mastered to achieve mind control!
Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba
No comments:
Post a Comment