Sambodhi 1982 Vol 11

Author(s): Dalsukh Malvania, H C Bhayani, Nagin J Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 19

10
M. P. Lakhani
In an Army organisation, there is a captain, General and the Chief Commander. Senses work as collectors of information, pass it on to the Captain (Mind) who passes it on to higher authorities and it finally reaches the Commander. The Commander issues necessary orders which descendingly reach the Captain who communicates them to the Jeana and Karma Indriyas for action. If however, the Captain usurps the authority of the Commander and instead of communicating the information to the higher ups and await orders from the top, he issues orders as he likes, being not so experienced and mature, as the Commander, he produces chaos. Something like this has happend in Man. The mind has become very powerful and does not await orders from above but issues orders itself which are immature and wrong resulting in evil character and bad destiny. Man, therefore, must learn to put the mind in its proper place and see that A'man and will exercise their proper authority over the mind.
How can this be done? During long periods of time and through the cycle of enumerable births and deaths, mind has become very powerful and Atman's voice weak. Although the voice is weak, it is there and needs to be strengthened. If one listens to this weak voice and allows it to prevail upon the mind, the voice will grow stronger and ultimately grow strong like a bell so that our character and the destiny will be determined by the Atman by the exercise of its free will and so save us, from the web of birth and death.
The dross cellected by man and his mind through ages acts as a veil around the A'man so that the brilliance of the Atman is greatly diminished and the man cannot see it and forgets that he is the Amin and identifies himself with his mind and the material world. Men isbe having like the lioncub who, at birth, was left behind in the forest. A herd of goats passing that way adopted the cub. The cub learnt bleeting, ate the food of goats. and, like goats, was afraid of hunting animals. He identified himself with the goats. One day a hungry lion, in search of food pounced upon this herd of agots. He spied the lion cub and wondered what it was doing there. He approached the cub. The cub started bleeting, was mighty afraid and wanted to run away. The lion seized the cub, asked him what he was doing there, that he that he was a lion, what had he to do with the the goats. But the cub only bleeted and wanted to run away. The lion told bim "you fool, know thyself" and forcibly dragged him to the river, showed him his image in the water of the river. The cub saw that it was a lion. The lion taught the cub to roar, to eat flesh and to hunt the goats. The cub realised his real self and became the king of the jungle. That is why Reis tell us know thyself" meaning realise that you are the Atman and not the mind or the body.