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THE MYSTERIES OF MIND
A chain smoker once attended a sādhanā camp. He was advised to give up smoking because it produces diseases. He retorted: “What for are the cigarettes then made ? There are innumerable objects in the world to be enjoyed by man. If we gave them up, the industries which manufacture them will have to be wound up and this will result in unemployment on an unprecedent scale.” You can not make such people understand anything. This man attended the camp regularly and practised meditation. In the course of time a sudden change took place in his heart. He developed a strong aversion to smoking, so much so that he would feel uneasy if somebody smoked a cigarette in bis presence. This is an example of the change of heat which cannot be brought about by preaching Preaching is necessary so far as one has not become an adept. Once you have acquired the skill and have become a spectator (Dșştā), you need no sermons. Sermons, preaching and sayings are meant for the unadept, for those who do not possess insight and knowledge. Prèkşă meditation begins with an exercise in perception. The watch word of sādhanā is: "See your self”. We always see others, not ourselves. Prekşā meditation prepares us to see our own self.
Scientists speak of three dimensions, Length. Width and Height. A fourth dimension has now been added to them. It is Time. The human personality also has three dimensions, Memory, Thinking and Imagination. A fourth dimension may be added to them and that is Perception. It is man's nature to perceive. It is a natural process. Exercise in perceiving the centres of consciousness opens the fourth dimension in our personality. This results in the transformation of personality.
Sadhanå does not yield fruit in a short time. It is not a magic wand. It is only the beginning of a long process of spiritual transformation. As we progress in sādhanā the mind begins to become one-pointed and the area of our interests changes. A ten days' or a month's sādhanā does not make us detached from our impulses and cravings. Let us not live in the fool's paradise. Sadhana takes time to mature. In order to achive the fourth dimension, a lot of self-exertion is needed. Self-exertion, faith, time
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