For success happiness and peace
in life, the discipline of the mind or success, happiness, and peace is important. It is a famous saying that the mind is the greatest friend and the biggest foe. No opponent or enemy can defeat the person if the mind is controlled. But if the mind is not restrained, then no heartening of friends and well-wishers can protect the person from depression and falling in life. However, the mind can contribute to the success of a person beyond expectation, can become the greatest friend if its elemental nature is understood and restraint is practiced, and make a strong foundation for a joyous and peaceful life.
The discipline of the mind is regarded as the most difficult task in the world. In the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, the warrior Arjuna asked a question from Lord Krishna- ‘O Krishna! How can we control the mind, which has the velocity and fickle temperament of the air?’ The fact that a warrior like Arjuna has asked this question indicates that restraining the mind has been challenging at every time and age.
Control over the mind is possible, but it demands its full price. It becomes easy and interesting if this task is taken with a feeling of game and adventure. It is necessary to understand that the mind is elusive and deceitful, with many layers we are ignorant of. But the gradual and orderly unveiling of these layers is possible, as proved by many yogis, yatis, and enlightened people who have accomplished amazing feats by controlling the mind.
Following are some practical, psychological, and spiritual principles to discipline the mind easily and effectively.
1. Relation of mind and food
The saying goes ‘As is the food, so is the mind.’ The subtle impressions of food form the mind. Thus, it is important to focus on what we are eating. The complete concept of food includes not only the gross components but also the subtle ones, which have the mental and emotional vibrations absorbed by the mind. Thus, if the food is pure, the control of the mind becomes easy. It would be futile to accomplish the power of the mind while taking impure food.
2. Relation of mind and one’s company
It is said ‘One is recognized by the company he keeps.” So, from the point of view of one’s reputation and inner development, one should choose good friends. If one’s company is bad, the emotional and mental vibrations absorbed by the senses from others will increase the fickleness of the mind. Those who do not have access to a good company should prefer to live alone rather than go with a bad company. They can complement the requirement of a good company with the help of good
books.
An Empty mind is the devil’s workshop
If the mind is not kept busy, it is quite natural for it to wander around aimlessly. Keeping oneself busy focuses one’s attention on the present and keeps one from wandering unnecessarily into the past, future, and fantasies. To live in the present, one should be aware of responsibilities, duties, and goals in life. Therefore, the clarity of one’s purpose becomes important here, and a conscious sense of duty makes it possible.
*4. Life’s goal*
Setting high goals in life helps in controlling the mind. The higher the purpose, the more one’s body, mind, and energy are employed in it. When the ideals are high, we do not get entangled in life’s low and petty sides, and we always roam in higher thoughts and emotions.
*5. Give yourself some time*
Some decided moments should be given daily for self-introspection and regular evaluation and analysis of thoughts to control the mind. In these moments, the process of self-improvement and upliftment can be accelerated with new strategies and enthusiasm. In fact, awareness of every moment is necessary to control the mind, which is possible by delving into good thoughts. Reading good scriptures can play a very good role in achieving self-actualization. Along with this, the contemplation of the self places the seeker in the higher consciousness, and the seeker moves ahead with the worship of God.
*6. Visiting holy places*
Visiting holy places is another way of disciplining the mind. These are divine places where super-consciousness flows abundantly. It touches the human consciousness deeply; this process is helpful in the control of the mind. From time to time, a few days of intense introspection in such places can help expel accumulated negative thoughts and implant seeds of good thoughts.
*7. Prayer*
Finally, prayer from the heart is an infallible weapon for controlling the mind as reaches the deepest layers of the mind and taps the divine element present at the center of our existence. The seeker then receives the divine blessings of the Guru/teacher and God only at the peak of his spiritual efforts. True prayer leads to an inner refinement that paves the way to control the mind.
A sadhaka, who works along these lines with full determination, will certainly be successful in achieving inner purification, which will lead to the control of the mind.
