Mysteries of Mind

Author(s): Mahapragna Acharya
Publisher: Today and Tomorrows Book Agency

Page 17

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SEARCH FOR EXISTENCE : RIGHT VISION
We have begun a pilgrimage today. We have also chosen a path for it. Every one walks on some path or the other. We too have been doing so. Every path is paved with footprints, but ours is a path which has no footprints. Footprints on a path suggest that someone has already walked on it and we are tempted to follow the footprints. The absence of footprints on our path means that we are not going to follow anybody. Ours is a path without footprints, and, therefore, there is no question of our following anybody.
Thoughts leave their traces on the mind. Actions which we had done in the past have also left their traces on our minds which assume the form of habits or predilections. Words which we speak or hear also do the same. Thoughts, actions and words disappear but the traces they leave on our minds remain active.
There is no possibility of our following or imitating anybody because we have chosen a path which has no footprints. Those who walk on other paths get attached to their own way of life, and, therefore, leave their traces and footprints behind them and others of the same nature imitate and follow them Their lives are lives of indulgence. On the other hand, those who walk on this path which we have chosen for ourselves are aspirants who have given up all kinds of attachments, and, therefore, have not and will not leave any traces or footprints behind for others to imitate. The pilgrim on this path will have to rely on his own resources and exertion. A path on which there are no footprints is the best path because it is free from all the traces of the past which might divert the attention of the pilgrim.
Our only aim in walking on this path is to gain insight.