Chapter 6 - Guru Is The Way
Day 41
Some people go to temple, constantly chant mantras and chime the bells non-stop. However, they do not experience anything because their mind is not meditative and there is no spirit or feeling behind the chanting.
Each and every word becomes a mantra if it is full of meaning and feeling. A mantra is not only a word with some meaning.
It contains a feeling, and when we go beyond the feeling then we experience the strength and power of the mantras". The vedas will run after those people who have a meditative state of mind.
They will easily understand the Vedas. Guru Nanak said, "Knowledge of the Vedas and other spiritual knowledge come not just by reading books but naturally flow to those who follow God and act according to his wishes."
The Vedas sing the song of divine consciousness. There will not be any difference between mind and the mantra, both become one. You can control the mind by using a mantra.
With the help of a mantra, the mind loses its smallness and become vast, the mind that is dissatisfied becomes content and the mind that is constantly disturbed by desires is released from them and finds fulfillment.
Desires keep on arising in the mind. Desires, yearnings and animosity have overtaken the mind. Some people's minds are entirely filled with hatred. Their minds are like oases of hatred.
Some people's minds are only angry. You can see anger in their eyes, face and ears. Anger oozes out of their body. If you look at the faces of some people, you can see a mind full of worry.
They look as if the sky has fallen on their heads. Such a state of mind leads to misery. A mind in this state cannot swim, and it drowns. There will be no difference between mind and mantra.
All the behaviour and tendencies of the mind are in your consciousness, just as the essence of a tree is in the seed. Then what is a seed? It is a full tree in itself.
Similarly, what is a mantra? A mantra is also a full tree. The energy of life is in the mantra. In it, you can find the seed of your goal. Through this seed, life's aim is attainable.
The tree is the ultimate aim, but what is its root? Its root is the seed, in which the tree can already be seen. Similarly, with the help of a mantra the mind reaches its goal at the end of life.
Our mind does not wish to hold on to the high road and we become lazy. One learns pranayama, but there is too much laziness to actually practice.
Many times, those people who have learnt, practice, but the teachers do not. They teach yoga to everyone else, but they themselves do not practice.
This should not be the case. Some people ask, "Do I have to meditate twice a day? Is it not enough to meditate once a day?"
If they are told to come to the course and meditate, the immediate question is "How many times a day?" And if they are asked to come for four to five days, they will ask, "Is four days enough? I cannot come the fifth day."
If we agree to four days, they will ask, "Is it okay if I come only for three days?" If they are told to come for one day, they will come only for an hour.
Or they will make an excuse like, "My mother-in-law is coming from Mysore so I have to go to the railway station to pick her up." The point is where your priorities lie.
It is stupid to think that there is no time. This is only an excuse: "I don't have time," or "Who has the time?" Whether you ask a bank employee or a labourer, "Do you have time?" his reply is "Where is the time?
I work from morning to evening and no sooner do I come home than I fall asleep." Nobody, right from the prime minister to a labourer, has spare time. Yet they do different work.
How is it possible that some people are able to accomplish so much? It is only an excuse to say that there is no time. Why? It is to hide laziness.
We say there is no time and blame work. We have to get rid of laziness. We will be happy only when we drive out laziness. The misery that bothers you is due to your laziness.
That is why we have to put in effort and distance ourselves from laziness. We cannot even describe how far our laziness extends. We are lazy with everything.
We keep the light switch near the bed near the bed so we can turn it off while in bed. Tea is served while you are still in bed. As conveniences increase, diseases also increase.
Observe a person who has worked hard. He enjoys a good rest, while those who do not work hard are unable to sleep, but toss and turn in their bed.
One who is on the path, a sadhak, should put in good efforts. Make these efforts a sadhana. If less than our full effort is put in, the mind gets bored and frustrated, it will feel some lack.
We should put in full effort to get rid of this lack - we should put in 100% effort. Then the mind becomes quiet.
