Tuesday, October 22, 2013

137. Have an Indifferent Mind, not an Ignorant Mind!!!!!!!!


There is a subtle difference between acquiring an ignorant mind and an indifferent mind. An ignorant mind lets the person to live a life of carelessness and apathy; it encourages him not to worry about future. 

While the indifferent mind disciplines and controls the mind and helps him understand the ups and downs of life. Very often the ignorant mind fuels the fire of the desire, but the indifferent mind splashes water to subdue the fire of the desire. Ignorant mind is attached to the materialistic comforts that the body enjoys, in contrary an indifferent mind is aware of the consequences of the comforts that the material world provides and cautious the body not to fall into its whirlpool. 

To achieve an indifferent mind one should not make an effort to put pressure on the mind by trying to interfering with the thoughts it projects. The work of the mind is to project those thoughts that are embedded in it. If we apply external pressure it won't heed. It is wisdom to let the mind wander but the intellect (buddhi) has to just be an observer watch it with disinterest. It is just like a mother who is after the tiny tot which is running away from her. The moment the mother stops chasing the child and hides. The child gets frightened and rushes searching for the mother. Similarly if we are disinterested to the pranks of the mind and are indifferent to its draws and drives, then it will become obedient to the intellect. 

Watching the projections of mind is not a hard thing to do. But before that we have to learnt to be little unruffled to the events that are happening in our life. This is not becoming unconcern or irresponsible in life, but not taking the event too personal. One small story might help in understanding how the emotions are affected when one is concerned or not in an event. 

It so happened that a man who had gone out of his village comes back and finds his house on fire. His house was one of the best in the village many of them were ready to buy it for double the price. And now it was on fire and thousands had gathered to watch it burn. The fire was so fierce that even if the villagers had tried to put it out, nothing could be saved. The man was devastated and started crying. 

His second son came running and whispered, “Papa, don't worry yesterday I sold it to the rich merchant from the next village for three times the rate.... I could not resist the offer so I could not wait for your return. Beg pardon.” Hearing his son the man all of a sudden was relieved person and now he was a watcher, with other watching the house burn. 

Just a moment ago he was worried man not a watcher, he had identified with the burning house. It is the same house, the same fire, everything is the same -- but now he is not concerned. He is just watching the house burn as everybody else is. 

Now the first son comes running to the man and shouts at him, “Are you a mad man, you are just watching our house burn?” The man told him not to worry as the second son had made a deal yesterday with a rich merchant for three times the worth. The first son tells, “O Papa, the merchant has paid only ten percent of the deal amount” The man is again shattered and starts weeping again inconsolably. Now again he is identified with the house and no more a spectator. 

This is how an ignorant mind flips from the concerned and unconcerned state when the issue is personal or remote respectively. 

What is it that we have to mourn for? 
What is it that we brought into this world that we have lost? 

Whatever we gained had been from this world. Whatever we lost, we have lost it here in this world. What belongs to us today belonged to someone else yesterday and will belong to someone else tomorrow. This is the essence of Bhagavad-Gita and the indifferent mind understands this to every word. 

Ignorant Mind is attached and hence bonded; Indifferent Mind is detached and is liberated.

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