Harmony of All Religions

Author(s): Parmahans Maharaj, Veena Rani Howard
Publisher: USA Santmat Society of North America

Page 83

whosoever has tried to control this mind knows what a daunting
task it is.
Therefore, Sant Kabir says:
The mind is like the monkey of the magician. If the monkey obeys the magician, then the two succeed in their entertainment feat, otherwise they cannot make a living (because their customers will flee).
The mind is like a monkey. When the magician and the monkey perform in unison, they entertain the spectators and the magician earns money to sustain their livelihood. If the monkey acts mischievously, begins biting or is rough with patrons, the monkey is beaten with a staff, and the magician will lose money in his magic show. In the same way our mind is likened to that monkey. Then how are we to control this mind? Until we can bring the mind to a focus and train it to follow the prescribed techniques, we cannot control and subjugate the mind.
During meditation we should not be defeated in the exercise of pratyahara, literally, “bringing back”—bringing the wandering mind back to a focus. What is the other meaning of pratyahara? Prati (every) and ahara (consume) are the two components of this word thus it means "consume everything.” Whatever thought arises consume that thought. If you don't consume that thought, you will be consumed by it. Thus, the practice involves
74