| Discourses On Gita By Acharya Vinoba Bhave |
 |
| Discourses On Gita |
| CONTROLLING THE MIND |
Don't
whine -
"Brother, do not leave the beaten track;Don't dishonor your soul. The seeker can be steady only when he has wide imagination and self-confidence. Only by these can he sustain himself and grow. But give up the feeling that dharma is intended only for sadhus and sannyasis, that when you go to sadhus and sannyasis, it is only to get certificate from them that, situated as you are, you are doing the best you can. Do not bind yourself by thinking such self-stultifying thoughts. Without noble thoughts and aspiration you cannot advance one step. If you have this vision, this aspiration, this noble confidence, then it is necessary to alter and adjust the means; else, the whole thing comes to an end. To help outward action, the mental process, called vikarma was prescribed. To complete karma, vikarma is constantly necessary. We saw, in the Fifth Chapter the divine state of akarma reached with the help of these two, and its varieties. From this Sixth Chapter onwards are described the varieties of vikarma. The means of inward growth (sadhana) is described. But before explaining the sadhana, the Gita says, "Brother Soul, you can become one with God. Hold on to this divine aspiration. Set free the mind, and strengthen its wings." Of this sadhana or vikarma, there are many kinds, like bhakti-yoga (devotion), dhyana (meditation), jnana-vijnana (inquiry and analysis), guna-vikasa (the development of the personality), and atmaanaatma-viveka (discrimination between the Self and non-Self). In the Sixth Chapter is described the kind of sadhana called dhyana-yoga (the way of meditation). |
|
|
