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THE ART OF POSITIVE THINKING
deep inside, whereas man tries to free himself from desire outwardly. He repudiates desire verbally, even forsakes it, but inner attachment continues. That is man's difficulty.
A man was smoking a cigarette. The cigarette was mounted on a long pipe, nearly a foot long. Someone asked, "Why do you use such a long pipe for smoking?" He replied, "I read in Health Care that one should keep away from narcotics. So I do as far as possible; I dare not keep the cigarette too ncar."
Similarly, a man wants to keep away from attachment. But he would use a pipe. There are innumerable pipes available, diverse ways of escape. When the inner attachment continues unchanged, one deceives oneself by outward denial. What is required is inner transformation. When there is an inward awakening, outer attractions would losc their appeal. Only this morning, after meditating on the psychic centres, a meditator approached me at the conclusion of the session. He said, "I'm experiencing great happiness. Words cannot contain it. I feel as if my whole being is inundated by bliss; every atom of my body is radiating a mighty sense of wellbeing." And as he said this, I saw his eyes filled with tears of joy. When delight awakens insight, when the throbbings of roused consciousness and the ecstatic pulsations of inner felicity are felt, man comes to know for himself that our material world is not everything, that there are within our bodies such elements and powers and they afford us such heavenly joys before which the pleasures of the material world pale into utter insignificance. However, this realization cannot be achieved without practice. One may spend a thousand ycars expatiating on the beauty of meditation, and yet never experience real joy. Only practice, and nothing but practice, may yield this invaluable treasure. Only that man who actually practises meditation, who has dived deep into the mysteries of the inner world, can know what rapture, what ineffable joy lies inside.
Until there is a revolution in the psyche, restlessness would continue. Why is there restlessness at all? Because of inner impulsions. The fan cannot but revolve as long as the current is there and the switch is on. The mind is a whirl, in great agitation. Material temptations are so strong that the mind cannot withstand them. The attraction of material objects is great. Now the mind cravcs this, now that. Such powerful allurements surround it that it stands quite bewildered, and knows not what to do.
There is an old tale about an acrobat called llaichi Kumar. He was very talented. Originally he came of a rich, aristocratic family, but allurement can do wonders. This young and rich aristocrat became fatally enamoured of a maid, the daughter of a performing acrobat. For her sake he gave up everything -- his house, his family,
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