Self Awareness Through Meditation

Author(s): Ranjitsingh Kumat
Publisher: Ranjitsingh Kumat

Page 93

VIPASSANA MEDITATION THE WAY TO SUBLIMATION
Cleanliness is next to godliness. We, however, give superficial meaning to this concept. We are particular about cleanliness of body, clothes and outer environment but hardly care for the internal impurities or defilements of mind. We remove the dirt of our body as soon as it is noticed but are we equally particular or conscious about mental defilement? Godliness is related not so much to outer cleanliness as to inner purity.
Mind and Water
Impurities of mind cause uneasiness, worry and tension and these tensions, when continue for long, result in serious mental disorders like nervous breakdown, schizophrenia or insanity. When a man is angry, his mind is agitated. Anger has its effect on body also—heartbeat becomes faster, blood pressure rises, throbbing increases. Both, body and mind are affected by anger. In the same way, when we deceive others or are under the influence of greed, mind becomes restless. But many a time we ignore these symptoms and suppress the early symptoms of impurity of mind. Gradually, we become oblivious to the subtle sensations and directions of mind. Ultimately when the mental stress appears in the form of a disease then only we know that our mind has been ill. But even then we treat our body and not the mind. When external medicine fails to cure, then perhaps we are compelled to think about purifying our mind to make it healthy.
Importance of treating the psyche is realized only when impurities of mind assume serious proportion. Most of our body ailments are psychosomatic but the treatment is often limited to removing symptoms of the body, though the roots lie deep in the impurities of mind. Body ailments caused due to worry
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