Purify the intellect before you start a journey to mindfulness

यदा संहरते चायं कूर्मोऽङ्गानीव सर्वशः ।

इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता ॥Bhagvad Gita 2.58॥

yadā sanharate chāyaṁ kūrmo ’ṅgānīva sarvaśhaḥ
indriyāṇīndriyārthebhyas tasya prajñā pratiṣhṭhitā

When the seeker can completely withdraw the senses from the sense objects as a tortoise withdraws its limbs into the shell for protection from calamity, then the intellect of such a person is considered steady.

The intellect is one of the four functional aspects of mind. The thinking mind, intellect, ego and memory are four functional aspects of mind.

The Sanskrit word Buddhi means intellect and awareness. Without self-awareness, one cannot choose and decide. But when intellect is impure, it chooses what one likes, dislikes but not what is good. What is good is right. The right here means – real, eternal, inner peace, happiness, love and wisdom (that never changes in life i.e. our true nature). 

When intellect declares others (people, place, possession, event, and time) are responsible for miseries and suffering, the intellect is impure, mind is lazy, crazy, reactive and wandering and senses are deeply attached to objects outside.

The mind is crazy, lazy, reactive because of the desire. The intellect when pure chooses, what is good, real, eternal. the pure intellect purifies the thinking and right thinking perceives what is good.

This enables the brain to change, what science says, ‘fire the brain to rewire it’. It is important to know that eastern wisdom has clear concepts about the mind and science is progressively becoming clear about the gray matter. The masters of eastern wisdom declare that the knowledge from any source are welcome that leads to discovery of our true nature. 

I know everything, still I am suffering – not yet a seeker

कार्पण्यदोषोपहतस्वभाव:

पृच्छामि त्वां धर्मसम्मूढचेता: |

यच्छ्रेय: स्यान्निश्चितं ब्रूहि तन्मे

शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम् || Bhagvad Gita 2.7||

kārpaṇya-doṣhopahata-svabhāvaḥ

pṛichchhāmi tvāṁ dharma-sammūḍha-chetāḥ

yach-chhreyaḥ syānniśhchitaṁ brūhi tanme

śhiṣhyaste ’haṁ śhādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam

I am confused about my duty, am besieged with anxiety and faintheartedness. I am your disciple, and am surrendered to you. Please instruct me for certain what is best for me. 

Some people claim, they know what causes the miseries in their lives, still they are not ready to tread the path of inner peace and happiness. Some rare people recognize the confusion, fear, anxiety, helplessness in their nature (acquired by the mind) and ready to learn, educate the mind. The transition from a person to a student to a disciple to a seeker of peace, happiness, love, and wisdom.

The seeker has an intense desire. The intense desire keeps the mind on the steps that help succeed in mindfulness. These steps are: 

• Learning the principles aims at the discovery of subjective reality.
• Contemplation and reflection that results in conviction and removing the doubts and confusions of mind. 
• Regular practice with wisdom that translates the intellectual understanding to awakening. 

The above verse says the seeker never loses his focus to tread the path during many challenges in life i.e. anxiety, confusion, and suffering. Only the seeker cannot lose his/her faith in oneself and succeeds. The seeker is always looking for an answer, within oneself. 

We all have the same mind, still, its expressions are different. It is the mind with its impressions that makes us unique. But the same mind, follows the path of eastern wisdom, it recognizes the problems and seeks a solution within. It says, ‘I am responsible for suffering and happiness. How to help mind change to secure and discover happiness within’. The mind that blames, complains, reacts, regrets, projects worries is not ready for mindfulness. 

The mindfulness aims at knowing our true nature

Mind is objectified by default since birth. It is the animal mind that is working in us, always guided by fear, security, pleasure, food and pleasure. It is habitual and heavily conditioned that seeks pleasure, security and fear in the world outside in people, place, objects and events.

We cannot know the reality when mind is objectified. We are fooled by the mind because it claims that we are nothing but experiences of the mind.

When we were born, there was no I. As we grow, our identity with objects and experiences was established. Because mind found pleasure in objects outside, it forgets the other flow that moves inside, behind and above the mind.

Masters say that there are two flow of the mind. One flow moves by default in the world outside, and experiences it gathers to live life. the second flow of mind is complimentary opposite that flows inside. The inside flow of mind makes the mind subjective to discover the subjective reality.

We are beyond the mind i.e. subjective that knows the mind too. This subjective reality, according to masters of Eastern Wisdom, is our real nature. The real nature is full of inner peace and happiness.

The entire journey of mindfulness is moving the mind within by understanding the nature of reality so that mind merges into real self, naturally. The outside flow creates Mamata (passion, desires, cravings fears etc.) and inside flow creates Mindfulness, that purifies, drops and dissolve the mind itself.

To refuse sufferings in life, the mind should change its flow inside, and stop seeking and projecting happiness in the objects, people, place outside in the world. If the mind does know clearly, what is the flow inside and what is purpose of this flow, it can refuse sufferings. Mind should know the nature of real-self and at the same time remove wrong notion and thinking that creates suffering.

Mind is seeking others, it means it desires things, objects and people outside. Mind projects happiness, peace and love in things outside, it means it is seeking peace and happiness in the objects and people. But peace and happiness are not outside, still mind seeks and projects. This is ignorance.

The ignorance of seeking and projecting outside, creates trigger within the mind. This process in the mind prevents us to refuse suffering in life. By habit, mind gives birth to fears, greed, pain and sufferings. Mind continues to seek and project, creates a web. The web creates trigger and agitation in the mind. Trigger further demands mind to seek and project. we start living in ignorance and suffering. Mindfulness dissolves this web of suffering.

Mind works with two flow simultaneously in the journey of self-discovery or mindfulness

Masters declare that (Gita 2.25) the real-self is unmanifest, it is unthinkable, it is immutable, so it is described (by the Shrutis); therefore, knowing it as such, thou should not grieve.