Kundalini.Tantra.by.Satyananda.Saraswati

directly. Its practices are based on hatha yoga, which aims at controlling the prana. Mind
and prana interact with each other and thereby, by controlling the prana, we can gain
control of the mind.
Kriya yoga offers a unique approach
Kriya yoga means 'the yoga of practice, movement or action'. Unlike the various
religious, mystical or yogic practices which demand mental control, the special
instruction in the system of kriya yoga is, 'Do not worry about the mind.' If your mind is
dissipating or if there are distractions in your mind and you are not able to concentrate
even for one second, it does not matter. You have only to continue with your practices,
for even without confronting, controlling or trying to balance the mind, you can still
evolve.
This is an entirely new concept in spiritual life, and most people have probably never
even considered it. When they take to a religion, commence spiritual practices or go to
gurus, the first thing they are told is to control the mind. 'You should think like this. Don't
think like that. You should do like this. Don't do that. This is good. This is bad. That is
evil. Do not sin.' And so on.
People think that the mind is the greatest barrier in spiritual life, but this is a very
wrong and dangerous concept. The mind is a bridge between this and that, so how can it
be a barrier? An idiot thinks it is a barrier and he tries to destroy that bridge. Then when
he has destroyed it, he wonders how he'll get to the other side. This is the ironical fate of
most people, and unfortunately it is the religions, ethics and morality that are responsible.
The people who are less aware of ethics and morality have no mental problems. They are
very good, happy-go-lucky people.
The seers and rishis of kriya yoga have said, 'Control of mind is not necessary. Just go
on practising the kriyas and let the mind do what it wants. In the course of time, the
evolution of consciousness will take you to that point where the mind will no longer
trouble you.'
Dissipation of mind is not necessarily the fault of the mind. Distractions can be due to
hormonal imbalances, bad digestion, low influx of energy in the nervous system and so
many other things. Never blame the mind for its restlessness, and don't consider yourself
to be an impure, bad or inferior person because your mind jumps all over the place,
thinking negative things and what you consider to be evil thoughts, etc.
Everybody has negative thoughts and distractions of mind, even a compassionate and
charitable person, a peaceful man, a chaste and pure person. Dozens of factors could be
the cause of a distracted mind. Suppressing the mind and calling it back again and again
is not the way to concentrate the mind, it is a way to the mental hospital. After all, who
suppresses or calls back who? Are there two personalities or two minds in you? Is there