Bondage and Freedom

Author(s): Chitrabhanu
Publisher: Divine Knowledge Society

Page 40

sions and still, their minds are a prey to worry. Just as vultures hover over a dead body, so does worry hover over the mind. No matter where such a man goes, worry goes with him; he can never shake it off. Then his existence becomes pitiable.
The reason for this state of life is that he is devoid of mental vigour, freshness and cheerfulness. His life lacks a sort of firm control over the mind; he is unable to enjoy the music and harmony of the spheres. He becomes restless and is full of worries.
To pull a train, an engine is needed, and the pulling power of the engine is its steam. The steam is a thin vapour which disappears in the air if let loose. But properly stored and used, it has the power to pull thousands of tons of weight easily.
What steam is to the engine, the mind is to the body. Just as we do not let steam escape unnecessarily, or put it to a wrong use, so must we control the mind and not allow it to wander. When the mind goes wandering, ask it, "Where have you been?"
Do we ever talk to our minds like that? We talk to our friends, we talk to strangers and different types of people, but do we ever hear of people talking to their minds? No. And the reason is that since the mind is an abstract thing, we have not thought of its strength. We take care of the body for we can see it with our eyes. We control and refine our speech; but we disregard our minds completely.
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