Mysteries of Mind

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

Page 37

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THE MYSTERIES OF MIND
There is no sense in repeating sacred formulae. Repetition of formulae can be fruitful only if the repetition is accompanied by bhāvanā or suggestions. One may go on repeating the formula "This world and the body are transient" for years and years together, but it will produce no effect unless it is accompanied by the mood associated with the transience of the world or unless it acts as a suggestion which brings about the feeling of transience. This feeling or mood has got to be imbibed by one who repeats the formula.
Bhagavan Mahavira coined the word tanmurti. It may be explained in the following manner. When somebody moves or walks, there are two factors involved in it. One is the person who walks and the other is the movement. Mahāvīra insisted on removing this duality. The person who walks or moves should not be conscious of the fact that it is he who is moving or walking. He should be wholly and solely absorbed in the act of moving or walking and forget himself. In other words, he should become one with motion and be conscious of nothing else except the rhythm of his movements. This transplantation of consciousness from the ego to the rhythm of motion is called tanmurti. This is one way of arriving at our real (substantial) being.
There is another way, another experiment and that is to become an uncommitted spectator of one's tendencies. Do not try to stop your tendencies and inclinations. Leave them alone. Let the thought processes, whatever their contents, come and go. But instead of indulging in them be a mere spectator of them. The effects of our past actions and experiences accumulated in the subconscious mind must one day or the other find their expression. Let them express themselves. We need not try to repress them. There is no harm in their manifestation. This expression is called vipāka in ancient literature. This vipäka should be watched by us in a disinterested manner like a mere spectator instead of being repressed forcibly. The only thing needed on our part is that we should not indulge in it with any kind of attachment or aversion. Let anger, craving, greed, delusion, murderous thoughts, revenge etc. rise in your mind freely. But do not associate yourself with them and do not be influenced by them any more. Be neutral and disinterested. Watch them like a