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The Mind: Part 1 of 3 Children, gems of my eyes, in this world we have to reflect. Children, gems of my eyes, this world is a great, expansive thing. In everyone’s life this world is the mind. This mind is the world. This mind is a huge world. This body is a secret, and this mind is a secret. For man to transcend and go beyond these is rare. However, you, we, everyone must reflect—this mind and this secret body are always liable to accidents. Everywhere we look, accidents are lurking. Everywhere we go, there are accidents. Wherever the eye and the body look, there is an accident. The mind is a thing that flies around the skies. The mind has tens of millions of qualities. The mind has tens of millions of shadows. The mind has tens of millions of shapes. The mind has tens of millions of colors. The mind has tens of millions of darknesses. The mind has tens of millions of vapors and winds. The mind has tens of millions of diseases. The mind has tens and tens of millions of potential qualities and pranks. The mind has tens of millions of monkey forms. The mind has 1,008 kinds of snake-like qualities. The mind has the quality of demons. The mind has the qualities of maya [illusion]. The mind has the qualities of ghosts. The mind has the qualities of angels. The mind has the qualities of darkness. The mind has the qualities of birds. (It flies around.) The mind has the qualities of shadows. The mind has the connection with ether or space. The mind flies around the ether and space. The mind has tens of millions of connections of rebirths. The mind has the ties of earth. The mind has the ties of fire. The mind has the ties of water. The mind has the ties of many births. The mind has tens of millions of dog-like connections. The mind has the ties of desires. The mind has the ties of craving. The mind has limitless ties of blood connections. The mind has the ties of sex. The mind has the ties of torpor. The mind has the ties of turmoils. The mind has the ties of differences. The mind has the ties of arrogance. The mind has the ties of ignorance. The mind has the ties of karma [the inherited properties formed at the time of conception]. The mind has the ties of maya. The mind has the ties of filth. Like this, the mind—our mind—has an infinite number of ties. This mind, this embryo, and these connections take shape when the body forms. The karmic ties of the qualities of the mother and father, the qualities of the earth, the qualities of the thoughts of our mother and father, the qualities of their blood and its ties, the ties of their arrogance, the ties of water, fire, and food, and many other such ties take shape. The connections that are transmitted from the mother and the father to the foetus are many. These connections did not exist in the original egg, but tens of millions of karmic connections have collected in the blood, in the lymph, and in the flesh. From their qualities and from the qualities of the minds of both parents come those ties such as happiness and sorrows, sadness and turmoils, torpor and darkness, fights and quarrels. Like this, there are many ties which exist as the ties of conception. And what was formed out of all these ties is the mind. The ties contained within the mind and its state are limitless. Many strengths exist within this mind. When this foetus was formed, good actions and bad actions, good and evil, hell and heaven, truth and falsehood, darkness and light, right and wrong, purity and impurity, love and sadness, patience and anger, sadness and happiness—all these qualities came and filled the mind. This mind, which contains all these strengths and saktis [forces or energies], is a baby—a baby mind, a monkey mind, a dark mind, an ether mind, a mind of the elements. Since it has all these states, it has a lot of might and strength. Therefore, no one can calm the mind. How can we control this mind and achieve tranquility and peace with these things that cannot cause peace? We must reflect on this a little. The world has taken over this mind and is in search of peace, but this can never be done. When the foetus is conceived and formed, the fertilized ovum is jailed in the prison of the tubes for the first three days. After that, for nine months it is imprisoned in the dark prison of the womb. After nine months, when the tenth month dawns, the infant now frees himself from that dark prison. Once he is freed from the dark cave of the womb, his parents and his relatives carry him, wash him, clean him, and keep him in the prison of their laps. They keep him enclosed in their laps, not giving him the freedom to go here or there. Later on he is imprisoned in the jail of his cot. Still later he is imprisoned in the lap of his nurse. So for one or two years he is in the jailhouse of his cot, the lap of his parents, and the lap of his nurse. After that he enters the prison of school. Each grade of study is a prison to him. When he leaves grade school he enters the jailhouse of college. He leaves that jailhouse and enters the jailhouse of jobs. Then he enters the jailhouse of marriage. Later he enters the jailhouse of his wife. Then he enters the jailhouse of his children. Later he enters the jailhouse of disease. Still later he enters the jailhouse of good and bad. Later he enters the jailhouse of wealth and poverty. During all of this, the jailhouse is his life. Finally he enters the jailhouse of death. And after death he enters the jailhouse of either good or bad actions. In this state the mind experiences sadness and happiness, richness or poverty, and one’s entire life is spent in this jail or prison house. Not for one day, not for one second, does he ever live free of a jailhouse, keeping himself in this state of continuous imprisonment. For the sake of our body or for the sake of our wealth, we have nurtured this thing which is liable to accidents. We are doing this for the sake of our body, for money, sex, and happiness. We are also trying to meditate without ever freeing ourselves from this prison. It is not possible for one who is in the jailhouse to reach the state of peace or tranquility. Is this not so? Please think. Our whole life is a prison. We have been in this prison from the time we appeared in the dark cave of the womb and throughout our entire life. Some, while living within these prisons, are trying to find peace. Some, by trying to accumulate money, are trying to find peace. Some, by getting married, are hoping to find peace. Some are taking drugs and trying to find peace. Some drink whiskey, beer, and brandy, and try to find peace. They are searching for peace of mind. Some are trying to reach peace by meditating. Some do yoga and try to reach peace. Some try to reach peace through gnanam [wisdom], by reciting mantras, or by this or that. Some do pujas [ritual offerings] and try to reach peace. Some donate their wealth and try to reach peace. Like this, in many ways they are searching for peace. But we have to reflect. Through what can we reach real Peace? What is that Treasure that can give us Peace? We must first search for the path of freedom to escape from the jailhouse where we are imprisoned. What is it that can bring about real Peace in our life? Without knowing this, the world has discovered a ‘new way’ to reach ‘peace of mind’. Since the end of the Second World War, for the sake of money and business, the world has discovered new forms of meditations. By meditation they have caught hold of ‘peace of mind’. The world, in these new and different ways of meditation, has a ‘new way’. God’s Laws, Human Conscience, Justice, Truthfulness, Patience, Serenity, Kindness, and Duty—these states have been forgotten, and man has discovered new ways of meditation, a new way of peace. While living in the prisons and the jailhouses, they still call it ‘peace’. You can never reach real Peace in this way. If you want to reach Peace, then you must reflect a little. If Peace is needed, then first free yourself from the jailhouse. Please think about this. If you want Peace, then you must think about what Treasure can give you that Peace. What is Peace? The one who wants to attain Peace of Mind must free himself from the jailhouse. Our life is fully immersed in accidents, in jail. Our thoughts, our sight, our sounds, our ears—all these form our prison. The prison of religion, the prison of race, the prison of castes, the prison of ties to blood relatives, the prison of wealth, the prison of desire, the prison of love, the prison of this body—all these are prisons. It is only when we free ourselves from these prisons that we will reach Peace or Shanti—Peace of Mind. The mind contains all these things. The one who keeps all this, who locks the doors, closes the house, climbs a tree, stands on the head and raises the feet above, closes the eyes, sits in cross-legged positions, holds the breath, closes the mouth, closes the eyes, and, like this, does so many forms of physical exercise, may do so. But to be imprisoned, and to reach Peace while still being imprisoned, is extremely difficult. Please reflect. The world is searching for peace. If you can reflect and think awhile about the ways to attain peace, there is a simple way. We must think about what this simple way is. To be continued…..The Mind: Part 2 & 3
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Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Guidebook Vol. 1. Philadelphia: Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, 1976. p. 29-44. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen- a Sufi mystic, can best be remembered for his efforts to bring unity through understanding to the faithful of all religions. If you would like articles on how to communicate with God, increase your faith, wisdom, improve your life and relationships, and more visit us at www.godarticles.com.
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