There are many things that are lying hidden in the corners
of the mind, and when we begin stirring them up, they will arise and become
very troublesome. You will be astonished to find how much dirt has accumulated
in all the nooks and corners of your mind, and what a lot of cleaning is needed
before you can successfully proceed on your spiritual path.
Our mind may be likened to a gramophone record with all its
lines. Everything is recorded there. But see how small and insignificant the
lines look! You would never think that they produce such a noise, that every
single note of every single instrument is recorded in them and can be heard. It
is the same with our mind. When one comes to have fewer and fewer impressions
from outside, when one begins to avoid all dangerous outside stimuli, then this
nice music of old impressions goes on and on. But this is an unavoidable stage
and must be overcome. After having got rid of the outside stimulus, we should
control the inner stimulus, lying hidden in the mind, ever ready to come up. We
should stop all the wild thinking of wild thoughts. Very often, if we are not
sufficiently introspective, we find that these outside stimuli leave
impressions, and at some time or other these impressions which are unknown to
us are going to create some serious trouble for us. All these thoughts and
pictures arise especially during meditation, and then you must be able to bring
very strong and definite counter thoughts, thoughts that are clearer and
stronger, pictures that are more definite than those old impressions rising in
your mind. Very often this means tremendous struggle.
The semi-conscious thinking along impure, evil lines is a
very dangerous thing and may create great trouble, as it makes the impressions
all the more deep and lasting. One day you will realize how true all this is.
You should be very very careful about what impressions you allow yourself to
take in and what talks you indulge in or listen to. Never think there is no
danger in them because you do not feel that any impression is being made. The
impression will come up later, and then you will be at a loss what to do with
it.
Never dwell on old impressions, on old associations, on old
worldly company and thoughts, not even subconsciously or semi consciously. This
is one of the greatest dangers for the spiritual aspirant who really wants to
go through the necessary cleaning process. There must be a definite cut, and
then: thinking along new lines; new, good associations; new, good, pure
thoughts and ideas.
Be as wide awake as possible so as not to take in bad
impressions either through the eye, or through the ear; and if you do take them
in, root them out immediately. Use your utmost discrimination as to the company
you allow yourself to be in and the things you allow yourself to hear.
Our mind is very much like a photographic plate. If we could
project what lies hidden in it – one picture after the other — what a nice
cinema show that would make! Everything gets recorded, mercilessly, and very
often we would shudder if we could see all that lies hidden in the depths of
our mind, all the impressions that are unknown to us, that we have taken in
semi consciously or subconsciously, and that are bound to rise sooner or later
during our sadhana.
Purity is the sine qua non of all spiritual life, and real
bhakti (devotion) can never be had without perfect purity in body and mind. The
jnani purifies himself through tremendous self-control, the bhakta by directing
all his feelings and passions towards Bhagavan, making Bhagavan the only
thought of his mind.
You [the aspirants who are seriously committed to the
spiritual path] must not allow yourselves to have direct relations with others.
Your country and all others may only be loved through God and in God, never in
any other manner; otherwise you will entangle yourselves in the meshes of God’s
maya.
In time you will come to realize the extraordinary
usefulness of the personal ideal, the ishta, for your sadhana. The advantage of
the personal ideal, the ishta, is that when the heart longs after a personal
relationship, the devotee will not be allured and tempted to descend to the
animal plane and to take up false human relationships. Real devotion for the
ishta always acts as a brake. The ishta, as it were, says: ‘Look here, you
shouldn’t be allowed to go down any further!’
First, Bhagavan watches the aspirant, seeing what he is and what he does. Later, if he finds that the aspirant is worthy of serving as an instrument for his cause, he does everything else. He gets the necessary money and all that is needed for his work. But first the aspirant has to prove his sincerity, purity, and worth. Nobody is allowed to serve Sri Ramakrishna who is not perfectly pure in body and mind, nobody who has got any personal ambition to satisfy. And if he is not pleased, nothing happens — whatever the aspirant may do, or not do.