I am not talking about the suffering ‘caused’ by the mind, but the suffering it endures from human beings. Next to the atman, and more than any other human psyche, the mind suffers the most through the necessity to be suppressed, disciplined, controlled, annihilated, eradicated, etc., by various sadhanas. Sometimes I feel sorry for the mind itself, as it is tortured by us—using the very same mind.
Here is another instance of such ‘mind torture,’ presented by another spiritual teacher. However, my aim is not to question or criticize him or any others who hold or follow such teachings. Yet, the way the subject is handled raises some questions—again, sorry to say, in my mind.
“When the mind merges totally in the Truth, it experiences the nirvikalpa state of spontaneous bliss of uninterrupted Self-knowledge,” says Avatar Meher Baba, whose 113th birth anniversary was celebrated on February 25, 2007. To provide a vivid example, Baba states, “This state of union with God is described by Jesus Christ: ‘I and my Father are One.’” (Avatar Meher Baba, “Nirvikalpa Samadhi is Knowledge of The Soul,” The Speaking Tree, The Times of India, Bangalore, February 26, 2007, p.16).
Let’s not delve into whether Jesus meant that when he said, “I and my Father are One.” We can leave that to theologians to clarify. For us, the question is, “Does our bhakti tradition discuss such ‘mind’ discipline where ‘The mind has to be annihilated through the mind itself’ (as Baba says) so that the soul ‘just knows itself to be God through effortless intuition’?”
If my understanding, based on my limited reading of bhakti literature, is correct, then the simplest and ultimate sadhana is total surrender to God without any reservation—which is termed ‘prapatti’ in Vaishnavite tradition. Of course, in this surrender, whether the atman becomes ‘one’ with God or ‘becomes God’ itself is a long theological debate within various bhakti schools of thought. However, merely taking some elements from the yoga tradition, blending them with bhakti, and ‘torturing’ the mind through various processes to ‘annihilate’ it, in order to make the soul ‘know itself to be God,’ evokes sympathy for the mind. No other psyche endures as much suffering at human hands. Nonetheless, since the mind never ‘minds’ such teachings, it continues to function as it is—without anyone prescribing the right way to handle it.
Revised on 26-7-2024
Dayanand
[Mathigiri, March 1, 2007]
I am not talking about the suffering ‘caused’ by the mind, but the suffering it endures from human beings. Next to the atman, and more than any other human psyche, the mind suffers the most through the necessity to be suppressed, disciplined, controlled, annihilated, eradicated, etc., by various sadhanas. Sometimes I feel sorry for the mind itself, as it is tortured by us—using the very same mind.
Here is another instance of such ‘mind torture,’ presented by another spiritual teacher. However, my aim is not to question or criticize him or any others who hold or follow such teachings. Yet, the way the subject is handled raises some questions—again, sorry to say, in my mind.
“When the mind merges totally in the Truth, it experiences the nirvikalpa state of spontaneous bliss of uninterrupted Self-knowledge,” says Avatar Meher Baba, whose 113th birth anniversary was celebrated on February 25, 2007. To provide a vivid example, Baba states, “This state of union with God is described by Jesus Christ: ‘I and my Father are One.’” (Avatar Meher Baba, “Nirvikalpa Samadhi is Knowledge of The Soul,” The Speaking Tree, The Times of India, Bangalore, February 26, 2007, p.16).
Let’s not delve into whether Jesus meant that when he said, “I and my Father are One.” We can leave that to theologians to clarify. For us, the question is, “Does our bhakti tradition discuss such ‘mind’ discipline where ‘The mind has to be annihilated through the mind itself’ (as Baba says) so that the soul ‘just knows itself to be God through effortless intuition’?”
If my understanding, based on my limited reading of bhakti literature, is correct, then the simplest and ultimate sadhana is total surrender to God without any reservation—which is termed ‘prapatti’ in Vaishnavite tradition. Of course, in this surrender, whether the atman becomes ‘one’ with God or ‘becomes God’ itself is a long theological debate within various bhakti schools of thought. However, merely taking some elements from the yoga tradition, blending them with bhakti, and ‘torturing’ the mind through various processes to ‘annihilate’ it, in order to make the soul ‘know itself to be God,’ evokes sympathy for the mind. No other psyche endures as much suffering at human hands. Nonetheless, since the mind never ‘minds’ such teachings, it continues to function as it is—without anyone prescribing the right way to handle it.
Revised on 26-7-2024
Dayanand
[Mathigiri, March 1, 2007]
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