________________
236
THE MYSTERIES OF MIND
replied “I have nothing to do with sädhanā. I am a simple merchant but when I weigh articles I keep an eye on the balance
he scales should be unevenly balanced. The balance has made my mind balanced."
Mental balance results in the concentration of the mind which ultimately enters into a state of samādhi (meditative absorption). The rsi came to realise that inspite of his long and exerting penances he had failed to gain mental balance. If his mind were balanced, he would not be so touchy. A balanced mind never feels distracted. There is no duality in it. Vested interets upset the mind. Fear of death, the sense of pride, the awaress of loss and gain, praise and censure etc. also upset the balance of the mind. He who keeps his mind balanced in favourable as well as unfavourable circumstances is a real spiritual practitioner.
Balanced conduct is the second principle of spiritual training. The third principle of spiritual training is consciously done actions and not reactions. Actions of the ordinary man are based on feeling. Knowledge and feeling are two different things. The first manifestation of consciousness takes place on the level of feeling, the next on the level of knowledge. Undeveloped living beings have feeling only. They feel and act. They have no knowledge to guide their actions. Plants and trees also act on the level of feeling. If a musical instrument is played before a tree, it will feel the vibrations of sound produced by the instrument and will begin to move its branches and leaves.
Feeling plays a great role in our behaviour towards our children. Behaviour based on knowledge does not become effective on children. The sense organs are often compared to children. Experience gained through the skin, tongue and nose is based on feeling. Experiences gained through the eyes and ears are based on knowledge. Feeling is often influenced by our likes and dislikes. The spiritul practitioner is not influenced by likes and dislikes. He takes sense feeling to be feeling only and does not join it with likes and dislikes. He knows what gives pleasure and what produces pain. He tries to know them rather than feel them to be pleasurable and painful. Feelings of pleasure and pain produce likes and dislikes in us. We
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
