Self Awareness Through Meditation

Author(s): Ranjitsingh Kumat
Publisher: Ranjitsingh Kumat

Page 97

SELF AWARENESS THROUGH MEDITATION
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agitated. Then why should one do that, which will cause agitation in one's mind? Instead one will do that which will bring peace and happiness to one's mind. There will be an automatic change in one's behavior. One now needs no preaching because oneself has begun to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong. Now one is the judge, and whatever decisions one will
are bound to be good. This is the path of man's internal change. Chage within is bound to bring about permanent change in the external behavior. When the change is only external without a simultaneous internal change, it is either temporary or just a superficial adornment.
Vipassana, through its initial training in observing physical body sensations and mental emotions, trains us to realize the relationship between mental impurities and their impact on our body. We soon realize that main cause of our unhappiness is our attachment to objects, persons, or views and ego. Vipassana teaches us to reduce our attachment as the things of this world are constantly changing and are impermanent. It teaches us to be a detached observer of our attachments, cravings and aversions. This detachment alone produces objectivity, relaxation and freedom from tension. This brings change in our attitude and behavior towards things and persons. Finally, it changes our mode of life that becomes happy and relaxed.
Now that we have got the means of purifying the mind, the question is how frequently we should do it. The answer is obvious. As we bathe in the morning and evening to clean our body, so we should purify our mind at least twice—in the morning and in the evening. In addition, as we specially clean our body when it becomes dirty, we should purify our mind whenever any negativity arises in it. If anger arises, let us begin to observe it then and there. The anger will vanish and mind will be rid of its negativity. There is, therefore, no restriction of time for it. The moment negativity arises, mind has to be purified. If negativity heaps up, it becomes difficult to clean it. If we remove it as soon as we get aware of it we shall prevent new negativity from arising and the old will hardly get time to cleanse the old ones. Therefore, if we stop new negativity from cropping up and annihilate the old one, our mind will become pure and tranquil. The mind will come into its own, meaning ‘Swastha’ (To be in the self) or healthy.
Social Aspects
Vipassana is important not merely from individual point of view but also from social point of view. If we are able to train people to be able to develop the detached view towards vicissitudes of life and a better understanding among