Questions answered
The Master receives from devotees queries on various aspects of Spirituality. These may be personal or academic, but the Master’s answers have universal appeal for Spiritual Aspirants. We reproduce here some of the questions and answers from the Master’s book, ‘Spiritual Elixir,’ for the benefit of our readers.
Question: What are the attributes of mind?
Answer: Mind has four facets or attributes; to wit,
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Chit – it may be likened to a lake in which countless streams of impressions are imperceptibly pouring in all the time.
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Manas – it is the thinking faculty of the mind which cogitates over such impressions as rise on to the surface of the lake in the form of ripples and waves just as the breeze of consciousness blows over the waters of the chit-lake and sets in motion an endless chain of thoughts one after the other.
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Buddhi or intellect – it is the faculty of reason, ratiocination, discrimination and finally decision, after considering the pros and cons as presented by the manas. It is the grand arbiter that tries to solve the problems of life which come before it.
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Ahankar or ego – it is the self-assertive faculty of the mind for it likes to assume credit for all the acts done, and thus prepares a rich harvest of karmas that keep one moving up and down in giant Wheel of Life.
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Question: Is there any good or helpful characteristic of mind?
Answer: Yes, mind like Janus, has another face as well. If it is trained properly by gentle persuasion and kindly words of advice, with a little patting now and then, it can be converted from a formidable foe into a valuable friend and a helping hand to the soul in its search for Truth. It is just a question of time and patience to bring about this conversions, and when it is done one can have no better helpmate than the mind. It has the capacity, chameleon like, to take on the colour of the ground where it squats and that indeed is a redeeming feature. When living on the circumference of life, it expands outwards, downward, but rooted as it is in the Gaggan. it is not impervious to the higher and holier influences of a Master-Soul to Whom it responds and He channelises it the other way about.
Like fire it is a very good servant but a bad master. Mind has helpful quality of running into the grooves of habit, and to relish acts of repetitive nature. We can benefit from this by inducing it towards good acts leading to Spiritual Discipline and progress.
A Saint has beautifully said:
My feet proceed farther and farther; the mind follows quite meekly and cheerfully.
If by careful and steady striving we could induce our mind to sit silently for meditations at the fixed time for a certain number of days, a good habit will be formed. It is a proven fact that when that hour of meditation will arrive, our attention will be drawn towards it, and we shall begin to relish to meditate by degrees. Similar is the case with attending Satsang regularly. We can develop this habit by regular going to see the Master and attending His discourses, full of Divine Knowledge. It is often noticed that persons with very poor Spiritual Background tend to grow spiritually by benefiting from the radiation of the Master-Power in the charged atmosphere.
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Question: What causes or how one can overcome the blankness after about thirty minutes of concentration?
Answer: Thought is the keynote to success. The inversion with the help of repetition of Charged Names makes for Inner Withdrawal of the sensory currents from the body below to the eye-focus; then starts the second phase of Dhyan – the contemplation. It can be attained by absorbing your attention into the Inner Divine Light so much so that you forget yourself entirely. The blankness after about thirty minutes, felt by you is due to your lack of sustained practice and absorption within. It is by hard effort and strict Spiritual Discipline that the human body is purified of the impurities of the mind and thus can remain attuned to the Holy Naam at the eye-centre.