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THE JOURNEY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
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Modesty and mildness cast a magical influence on every one. They make cows yield more milk, plants grow more fruit and creepers more flowers. A Christian lady performed an interesting experiment. She sowed a few seeds. When the seeds sprouted and became plants a creeper which grew nearly began to spread on the plants with the result that the growth of the latter was arrested. The lady mildly warned the creeper that because it had arrested the growth of the plants, she will be forced to cut it. She actually cut it. Then she suggested to the creeper, again mildly, that it should change the direction of its growth. In a few days the creeper grew but now it began to spread in a different direction. When even plants and creepers are amenable to polite advice, why can man not behave in the same way? Unfortunately we rigidly believe that we can not rule others without being stern. We take others to be aleins, nay even enmies.
Prekşā meditation brings about changes in human nature and in human and social relations. It is a powerful meditation. It is weak meditation which is ineffective.
Along with meditation it is necessary to sweep of the dirt which has accumulated in our mind. The dirt and dust which accumul te on our clothes, skin and body are to be washed off daily. Unfortunately we are unaware of the fact that dirt is daily deposited on our minds also. We never think of removing it. Human nature and social relations will never be changed unless this mental dirt has been removed. Purity of the mind and heart is basic factor in sādhanā. We should continuously dissociate ourselves from all the evil and undesirable deeds we had done in the past. We should also be careful not to allow any more dirt to accumulate in our minds any more.
It is our contact with sense objects which introduces impurity in heart. Sense objects and the false pleasure which they give are perishable and not eternal. We generally mistake them to be imperishable. This attitude keeps us in ignorance with the result that we become passionately attached to them. Even the loss of a needle makes us sad. We are not prepared to part company with our material possessions. If we break a glass cup, we lose our sleep. We have taken it for granted
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