Sadguru Nannagaru narrates verse 7 and 11 of Aksharamanamala
Verse 7:
(a) Sit firmly in my mind, lest it elude Thee, Oh Arunachala!
Verse11:
b)Even when the thieves of the five senses break in upon me, art Thou not still in my heart, Oh Arunachala?
Our task is not just agriculture or business or constructing a house - even controlling the mind is also our task. All of us have forgotten this task. The Lord has mentioned in the Gita that it is the mind which either liberates us or binds us. Thus the Lord has given foremost position to the mind and further mentioned that 'amongst all the senses I am the mind'. As you are earning education or money or fame, you must learn to control the mind. Did you ever get this thought?
Bhagavan said: 'Oh! Arunachala, when I ask you to control my mind, Please dont say 'I am very busy. I have many tasks in hand'. My mind deceives not only me but will deceive you too. So sit firmly in my mind. Even when you sit firmly in my mind, it can still deceive you. So you must be very careful. You must be as careful as a person walking on the edge of a knife or as a person walking on a rope in a circus. Why? It is because we are not sure when the mind will deceive us'.
Did Bhagavan love Arunachala more or Arunachala loved Bhagavan more? I cannot answer this question. It is similar to the question: 'Did Krishna love Radha more or Radha loved Krishna more?' We cannot answer this.
Bhagavan's utterances here are similar to Prahlada's prayer in Bhagavata: 'Oh! Narayana, as an ignorant person intensely loves the worldly and sensual objects, Please give me the same amount of love towards your holy feet'.
If you have such love for God then he will sit firmly in your mind. Sadhana is needed to remember God and not for contemplating upon worldly things. Effort is needed to get rid of the cinema watching habit whereas no effort is needed to watch a cinema.
Bhagavan is asking Arunachala to sit firmly in the mind. What is the loss incurred if Lord Arunachala doesn't sit firmly in our mind? All of us have senses. They drag the mind outside whenever the mind is careless. Mind has a natural tendency to get extroverted. Not just the senses, even the mind and ego are related to nature. In Aksharamanamala, Bhagavan has referred to the senses as thieves. If I take the 5rs stored in my pocket, do I become a thief? No. Similarly when my mind is being extroverted by my senses, how can I call the senses as thieves? This is a dispute that has to be resolved in the court of law. The Lord has mentioned in the Gita that God is the owner of the mind and not the senses. The Lord said: 'The mind belongs to Me. The Jiva belongs to Me'.
Though the sunrays may touch the earth, they belong to sun only and not to the earth. Similarly the mind belongs to God. Self alone is the home of Jiva and not the senses. Therefore Ramana referred to the senses as thieves when they extrovert the mind. Bhagavan said: 'Oh! Arunachala, these senses are extroverting the mind. As you are the owner of this mind, please safeguard it'.
Source: 29th Sep 1985
No comments:
Post a Comment