Mysteries of Mind

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

Page 23

10
THE MYSTERIES OF MIND
system. Spiritual philosophies were perhaps not meant for changing the world, least of all the social system. And yet it cannot be asserted that spiritual philosophy is not capable of changing the life of the individual. It does bring about a new orientation in man's thinking which results in the transformation of his personality and nature. This transformation is so complete that the person transformed begins to wonder if he is the same person he was earlier or if his body has been possessed by a new spirit.
The distance we have to cover in our journey is a short one. The tail end of our journey is the state of being a seer and a knower. This state can be achieved by diverting the current of the vital force towards it. There is no other means of achieving this end. What we have to do during the journey is to understand the nature of vital energy and how to divert its course.
There are some who do not desire to achieve this end. It does not seem to be attractive to them. They desire to have health, longevity, joy and peace of mind. Every one who lives in a society desires to be healthy and to live a long life. He knows that he is going to die one day, but he would like to postpone death for so long as it is possible. At the same time he does not like to live a life of misery. He likes to live comfortably and peacefully. But can he have peace without being wise? Is it possible to live a long, healthy and comfortable life without the peace of mind ? No, it isn't. The path of such people is the reverse of what we have prescribed. The order of their preference is health, longevity comfort and peace. But they will have to reverse the order of their preference. Peace will come only through discernment, comfort through peace and longevity and health through comfort.
. Vivēka (discernment) means to analyse, to separate. It implies the rejection of the idea that everything is like everything else. We will have to understand the path we are treading carefully in order to understand discernment.
One of the stages we have to reach in our journey is the attainment of discernment. The order of the stages is : śravaņa (hearing), jñāna (knowledge), vijñāna (discernment), pratyākhyāna (renunciation), samyama (self-discipline),