We expect the mind to never get perturbed under any circumstance — and that expectation itself becomes the source of disturbance. For example, when you walk in the snow, you are bound to get wet. When
you walk through mud in the rainy season, you are bound to get dirty. When you work in the kitchen, you will carry its smell. But do you begin to worry about getting dirty? No — you simply clean yourself and move ahead.
In the same way, the mind very naturally gets influenced by time, place, the company we keep, and situations. Your mind is like water — it takes the shape of the vessel you pour it into. Put it in a cup or a jug; wherever you place water, it assumes that shape. So it is with your mind. Where you place your attention, the mind becomes that.
But instead of understanding this, we resist it. We say, “My mind should not be like this. I should not have gotten angry or jealous.” This resistance creates more agitation than the situation itself. Here, acceptance brings freedom. Acceptance simply means creating a little space for imperfection.
The mind goes up and down. Let it.
In fact, the more you try to get rid of disturbances in the mind, the stronger they appear. When you simply allow them to be, they begin to settle on their own. Just let them be — this is the secret to handling the mind.
You start brooding over things when you hold on to every passing thought. Thoughts come and go; emotions come and go. But when you turn inward, you discover a space that is silent, deep, and vast. Identification with passing thoughts, feelings, and emotions makes us feel stuck. The ‘real magnanimous you’ is that space within where you feel completely at peace. In such moments, you experience expansion — a sense of being boundless and limitless — and that is your true nature.
You don’t have to carry every thought with you.
Just as you wipe off your wet legs, wash away mud from your clothes, remove your apron, take a shower, spray some perfume, and move on, similarly, you can allow impressions to wash away from the mind. Sitting and brooding over them won’t help. Learning to keep moving forward is what matters.
At the level of the mind, there can be no perfection. The nature of the mind is to change. Trying to make it perfect is an unnecessary effort. Instead, recognise that you are not the fluctuations — you are the space in which they arise.
When you recognise this, a shift happens. You are no longer caught in every thought. You begin to rest in that silence.
This is meditation. A mind without agitation is meditation. A mind with no hesitation, no anticipation, is meditation. A mind that becomes ‘no mind’ is meditation.
This ‘no mind’, or thoughtless state, does not mean an absence of awareness. It means the mind has come back home — to its source — and is free from constant noise and movement.
And this is within your reach. Through meditation and simple spiritual practices, you can experience moments where the mind settles. So don’t fight the mind. Don’t label it. Don’t get caught in it.
Just let it be.
The author is a humanitarian leader, spiritual teacher and an ambassador of peace. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
