Swami Ji said…
The market, today, is flooded with glossy, luxury products displayed on shiny shelves, enticing us with mind – boggling promises of miraculous transformation— for our skin, hair, and nails— to name just a few. We are spoilt for choice. Most of us, being particular about cleansing our external being, do not hesitate to spend a small fortune on the most expensive and promising product that beckons us to indulge. We remind ourselves that appearances matter. When one product does not satisfy us, we readily shift to another, often unmindful of the expense, yet , eager for that elusive sense of fulfilment.
Since childhood, we were taught by our mothers about the importance of cleanliness: “अपने शरीर को साफ़-सुथरा रखना हमने बचपन से अपनी माँ से सीखा था…” She would lovingly remind us to use soap while bathing, and to wash our hands before and after meals, thereby encouraging us to develop habits of hygiene and neatness.
Thus, in our pursuit of presenting our ‘external’ being – in a manner most perfect – we do everything possible within our means. We seek to look well groomed, well turned out to smell fresh and pleasant. We reassure ourselves: “What is the harm in pampering ourselves? Are we not entitled to it? Our body is a temple that needs to be always clean and tidy.”
But, surely, the body alone is not enough. Just as we protect and purify our ‘तन’- it is even more essential to purify our ‘मन’.
It is only when we rid ourselves of many faults—cleansing the heart of jealousy and greed, and, removing the dirt of lustful thoughts and material worries from the mind—that we can become deserving of seeing God and His miracles around us. Do we make an honest effort to gradually reduce the burden that our heart bears by removing all the grudges, the ill- will and negativity that it holds for others ?
The spiritual seeker will often find that his heart is his most powerful foe in the journey towards God. At times it is in disarray; at times extremely jubilant—all because of issues related to his family, money, health, and so on. It is always on a roller coaster, distracting him from his focus on God. Some thoughts fuel anger towards others; others give rise to fear.
In such moments, it is the spiritual seeker’s duty to always remember ‘Guru’ and God. He must remind himself that these negative emotions almost always arise from things beyond his control—other people’s actions, the uncertainties of the future, or the weight of the past. But, he has to be firm in not accommodating any sullied emotion or thought in his heart but allow only love for God and others to grow in Him.
Only in this way does the spiritual seeker gradually learn to gain control over how the mind behaves. The mind then begins to focus on God and on his Guru’s teachings. Even in the most uncertain of times, it remains steadfast, recalling the Guru’s words. That is how purification of the mind begins. On directing his heart to respond to the pure thoughts of his mind – he succeeds in evicting hatred, greed and anger that he was holding within him and replaces it with love, magnanimity and
calmness – which makes him feel truly rich.
Acceptance to God’s will and complete surrender to Him, form the foundations of this cleansing. Slowly, the seeker begins to seek all that is pure and good. One wishes to be in noble company, to speak of all that is pleasing in God’s eyes, to adhere to the ‘truth’ and to be as dutiful as possible. In this way, the mind becomes purified.
Just as it is unhygienic to use a vessel that has not been cleaned inside first, and, just as it is difficult to clean a house that remains dirty within, so, too, it is tedious for the ‘soul ‘ to exist where the heart and mind are unclean. The ‘soul’ suffers where the mind lives under the भ्रम of ‘माया’. Just as the courtyards and inner rooms of a temple are washed and cleaned rigorously everyday, we must not only treat the ‘body’ – but also regard the ‘heart’ as a temple — and strive to cleanse it of all impure thoughts and emotions so that God may happily come to reside in it.
Dedicated to Swamiji Ajay Jain ji 