Simon G

Why is it that the mind is not at peace? Often, we get cheated by our own imaginations, presuming them all to be the truth. That’s why there is the phrase, “One man’s food is another man’s poison”, describing how we all see the same thing in different ways.

The problem is, when an imagination arises in the mind, we forget that it is there because we have imagined it. As Babaji says, “Instead, we get involved with that thought, considering it to be a fundamental reality, whereas the thought is not a reality”.

That is why in meditation we are told to ‘just watch’ and not get involved into any thought or imagination that crops up. The mind can then become more and more single-pointed and quiet. The more we practise this watching process in meditation the more the mind comes under our control. We would be able to restrain ourselves from jumping into our imaginations and presuming them to be real. We can remain composed, under control and at peace.

Watch Babaji talk about how we get involved into our thoughts in the short video below.
(click image)

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Meditation Master Babaji says,
“Always you be the master of your mind. Your mind is your conscious energy – and that is you.

Do not be a victim of the brain all the time. You should be using the brain. Don’t give rise to any negative thoughts, or any such depressions. You have nothing to miss. You are yourself, and you are that greatest wonder for which you are searching for. That peace, that Supreme Peace, that happiness – and that is in you only – it is nowhere else.

So that’s why first you need to quieten your mind, that is essential. Because when the mind is preoccupied with its own imaginations, it is unable to be aware of that peace, that happiness, that Self of yours – really who you are. It is as simple as that.”

It is possible to quieten this mind through the regular practice of this ancient technique of meditation.

Learn how on our online meditation course.

Meditation Master Shiva Rudra Balayogi (Babaji) explains in the clip below how it is only the mind that can control the mind.

In other words, it is not through an imagination that we can control the mind. The mind itself has to learn to control itself.

How can this control come? By not getting involved in the thoughts the mind generates. In meditation, whenever a thought crops up, we practice to just watch that thought and not get involved in it.

If we get involved in it, then another thought crops up, and another, and we get sucked in a whirlpool of thoughts; we lose control.

So we can break this cycle of thoughts by just watching and not thinking about that thought.

Then, the mind becomes purified of its thoughts, and becomes more and more quiet. Then it comes under our control again. Regular practice is necessary to learn how to do this. The more we practice with the proper technique, the more the mind is able to let go of its thoughts and settle down peacefully. Then eventually, as Babaji says, we can realise the truth of our own existence.

One minute video ‘Only the mind can control the mind’
(Click on image to play)

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Once the mind is cleansed of its chattering habits, then the truth of its own existence is revealed

Meditation Master Babaji talks about how the truth of existence can be revealed to us.

“Any human being, even atheist or theist, whoever it is, if they practice meditation they will definitely be benefited. Benefited in the sense, first, they can becomes masters of their minds, they can cleanse their minds – cleansing, or taking control, everything is the same. Once the mind is cleansed of its chattering habits, then the truth of its own existence is revealed.

Once you are able to take out the mind from its preoccupation to its own imaginations, then the truth about that mind or its connections to the ultimate truth is revealed. So, for any human being: it won’t ask, “Who are you, to which place you belong to, which culture?” – the truth is always like that. So thus, anybody who practices will definitely be benefited. When you put your hands in the fire, it will not ask “Should I burn you if you belong to this caste, should I not burn you if you belong to this religion, caste?” It will simply burn. Knowledge and wisdom are like that. It will come to anybody. It will not ask to where or who you belong to. That’s the beauty of the ultimate truth, the nature, the divinity. That’s why, one God, many names, one Truth, many names.”

There is one thing in the mind that is not a thought, it is the consciousness of existence

Babaji goes on to say,

“You have millions of thoughts in your mind. But one amongst them is not a thought – it is your consciousness of existence. It is not a thought, it is a reality. You remove all other thoughts and visions; it is possible – when you just watch, they will all dissolve and disappear. But this consciousness of existence will always be there, you cannot remove. Because it is a reality; it is not a thought, it is not an imagined substance. And that is you, yourself. That is what will take you towards Self-Realisation.”

~ Shiva Rudra Balayogi

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When we sit to meditate, we just need to jump into the practice. That is, we get into the action of ‘just watching’.

As Babaji says,

“Always an action has to happen into what you are supposed to do. Just like you stand on the banks of a river, ‘I have to jump, I have to jump, let me jump, how do I jump?’ You just jump! Stop these three things, ‘I have to jump, and how do I jump, and when do I jump?’ Stop these three things and just jump. 

So like that here, the technology is, you don’t have to keep asking yourself, ‘I should not recognize, I should not analyze’. Don’t think like that – just watch. If you are watching then you are not analyzing, then you are not thinking. 

So use the eyeballs to steadily watch the front portion [with eyes closed]. When you are watching, when the thoughts come, don’t think anything about that thought.”

Eventually as we go on practising in this way everyday, the mind can become purified and quiet.

Learn/remind yourself of the Jangama Meditation Technique here.

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Mental health is so important. Just like we take care of the physical health of the body, we need to take care of the mind also with proper exercises.

As Babaji says,
“It is through the mind that we can either be happy or unhappy, mature or immature, intelligent or an idiot”. So practicing to control this mind is vital. Then we can become mature in our behaviour, think of a larger cause, how others are affected by our actions rather than thinking selfishly, and also know the secrets of one’s own mind. Then we can always live happily.

Indeed, happiness is our ‘existence right’, as Babaji says. If we are losing happiness, then somewhere we are not doing something right. That needs to be rectified. Through a regular practice of meditation as we properly apply the technique to ‘just watch’,  all such wrong habits can be cleared up – we can become healthy and happy in mind.

Watch Babaji explain in this short video below:
(Click on image)

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In our daily lives, we go on making judgements about things. We conclude ‘this is it’, ‘this is bad’, or ‘this is good’, without trying to understand that it is simply an imagination in the mind. When we make a judgement, it gets absorbed in the mind as an imprint. For us, that is now the fundamental truth. The more we go on making judgements, the more imprints we acquire in the mind which shapes our behavioural structure; how we think and act in the world. So we have created a separate world inside our mind with these judgements that we go on making. We become stubborn in our thinking, and this can make the mind go out of our control.

Babaji recommends that with a regular meditation we can purify the mind of these imprints so that it comes under our control again. Peace and contentment can be regained naturally.

“Gradually you are able to control your mind.  You don’t let it go out of control.  You don’t allow it to go on imagining and making judgments as it wants.  You will wait and see always.  You are not in a rush to make a judgment. 

Those people who try to boast that they can judge immediately, often they become prejudicial. You can see in life, in society. They misjudge and try to create such circumstances of conflicts unnecessarily; a big conflict happens. One starts fighting with the other, one misunderstands the other and a big, huge conflict arises.

These types of things happen.  Sometimes countries also fight and go into conflict if there are misunderstandings.  So, both are unable to live peacefully.  So, that is what we need to avoid, need to be careful about.  This becomes possible for us if we practice spiritual sadhana.”

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In this technique of Jangama Meditation, the instruction is “Closing the eyes, focus the mind and sight inbetween the eyebrows”. Initially some may have a bit of trouble trying to keep the eyeballs on one point. That’s because the eyeballs tend to move parallelly always.

Babaji advises, “Remain relaxed, don’t get confused trying to locate this point.” “Even if both are at a distance, not coming immediately into the central point, no problem. First, steady the eyeballs so its movement stops for a while, that is more important.” When the eyeballs become steady they hold the mind there and the mind can stop.

This is important for the meditation to happen and the mind to become quiet and under control.

Making the eyeballs steady and keeping them still takes patience. If the mind runs off into thoughts, we gently bring it back, if it runs off, we gently bring it back. Slowly but surely, as we have that patience with ourselves, the mind starts to become more concentrated, steady and quiet.

Watch Babaji talk about keeping the eyeballs and mind steady in the short video below.
(Click image)

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Meditation Master Babaji explains how by analyzing and making a judgement about a thing, we absorb it as an imprint in the mind so that it stays in the mind and becomes a habit to stubbornly think in that way only.

“You learn to keep the mind quiet by the practice of meditation. Otherwise, it absorbs an imprint suddenly. When it makes an analyzation, it makes a judgment also. It ends up doing that. Then it can become stubbornly a little bit egoistic. That is what is known as the rajasic nature of a person’s mind (raja means king). That means, once it decides “This is a foe”, the mind becomes stubborn like a king. “This is a foe.” “Why is he a foe? He need not be a foe, maybe he is something else, maybe a friend, or maybe just nothing. Why are you thinking that?”  “Because I am saying he is a foe.  How dare you tell me that he is not a foe!”  Like that it becomes egoistic. So, that is how it absorbs all these things.

All this happens finally if we do not take care of the health of the mind and keep it under our control. Like I have told, a railway engine needs to be kept under our control. If we lose that control, it can be dangerous or disastrous for whoever is inside or outside. In the same way for the human mind also, it becomes violent and such a person can become dangerous to others and disastrous to one’s own self.“

Babaji advises if we can adopt the technique of meditation properly by just watching and not getting involved in any thought that comes up during meditation, we will be able to live in the world and execute whatever tasks we need to without absorbing imprints and becoming habitual in the mind.

 “Once the job is over, you will feel very peaceful and free and that thing won’t be sitting there, that won’t be playing in the mind.”

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“Happiness is not in the object. It is in your mind accepting and becoming quiet, getting satisfied for a while. That’s what gives you happiness actually.”

~ Shiva Rudra Balayogi

Meditation is the practice to make the mind quiet and achieve that real happiness. As we go on practising the technique of just watching, the mind becomes purified of all its habits. If we look for happiness in external objects all the time, our mind goes into cravings and thus we become unhappy. Through a daily practice of meditation we can enjoy the things of the world while at the same time knowing the limitations. Inner peace can come as the mind remains contented and happy in itself.

Click on the image below to watch Babaji talk about happiness. (1 minute short video)

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