Mind--Its Mysteries and Control - The Divine Life Society

MIND—ITS MYSTERIES AND CONTROL
The Jiva or the individual soul with egoism wants power, name and fame. This is for
self-aggrandisement. Exploitation is greed. It is the act of using for selfish purposes. Domineering
is to command haughtily. The Jiva wants to exercise power over others. This is Jiva-Bhavana. The
rootcause for industries, business, commerce, etc., is greed and self-preservation. If you want to
have constant Brahma-Bhavana, you will have to give up exploitation and domineering.
There is another third instinct, viz., the herding instinct (the instinct for company). Woman
take delight in the company of men. Men take delight in the company of women. The rootcause for
this is reproductive instinct. Another reason is that a weak man gains strength in the company of a
strong man. But, a man who wants to realise God should shun ruthlessly company—particularly,
the company of women and worldly-minded persons. He should live alone. Then he will become
very powerful and strong. He will develop a strong individuality. One will find difficulty in the
beginning in the practice of living alone. Fear will come in. You will have to overcome all
difficulties, one by one, if you want to attain immortality (Amritatva). The reward is very great:
Brahmavit Paramapnoti (A Knower of Brahman gets the Highest); Amritamasnute (He drinks the
nectar of immortality).
IMPULSES
An impulse is a sudden propelling force. There are three kinds of impulses, viz., impulses of
thought, impulses of speech and impulses of action. Mouna (silence) checks the impulse of speech.
Meditation checks the impulse of wrong thinking and wrong action.
There are two important impulses. They are the sex-impulse and the impulse of speech.
There is an intimate relation between impulse and imagination. Imagination induces the impulse.
Impulses must be controlled by reason and will and meditation on God.
EMOTIONS
An emotion is a combination of thought and desire. Every idea is charged with emotion.
Emotions are desires which are penetrated by the thought element. In other words, emotion is desire
mingled with thought. The vibrations of emotions will arouse corresponding excitement in purely
mental matter and all the man’s thoughts will be disturbed and distorted.
There is emotion-desire. There is emotion-feeling also. If the desire element is
predominant, it is emotion-desire. If the pleasure element is predominant, it is emotion-feeling.
Raga and Dvesha (love and hatred) are the two important emotions of the mind and all the
different emotions can be classified under these two headings. Wonder is a compound emotion. It is
admiration and fear combined. Reverence is a compound emotion. It is awe and respect combined.
Amarsha is a compound emotion. It is anger and jealousy combined. As soon as the man is pulled
down to a lower level, the anger of the inferior man who was jealous vanishes.
Pleasure is a particular kind of emotion in the mind. The mind expands during pleasure.
Coolness prevails in the mind. What takes place of the mind when pleasure feeling arises is not
exactly understood by the western psychologists. It is incapable of being understood also by
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