Darshan of Swami Krishnananda – 1997

by Swami Krishnananda

39. Handling the Mind

(Darshan given on August 1st, 1997)

A visitor: I want to seek that which is beyond death.

Swamiji: There was a boy called Nachiketas. He went to the God of Death and asked this question: “What is beyond death?” The God of Death answered, “You please go away from here. Don't put such questions.” Now, why did the God of Death give that answer?

Visitor: He wanted to assess the preparedness of Nachiketas.

Swamiji: He offered him all gifts – gold, silver, long life, and the wealth of the three worlds – but that boy rejected it all. If somebody offers you the wealth of the three worlds, will you reject them?

Visitor: I don't know, Swamiji.

Swamiji: Then what is the use of reading the Upanishads? So in one sentence you are defeated.

Visitor: I admit to my unsureness.

Swamiji: But it is a serious matter. It is not just a matter of thinking and throwing it away. Why is it that we are not prepared to accept that intriguing 'something'?

Visitor: I think it's a lack of viveka and vairagya.

Swamiji: It is a serious defect in our thinking process. The grandeur, glory and perfection of That cannot be contained by the human mind. The mind is able to contain the glory of the earth, the glory of an emperor of the whole world. The mind is jealous of such a person: “See an emperor of the whole world enjoying a throne of gold. What a wonderful thing! If I had the chance, what would…”

There is no person called the emperor of the world. It is not possible. But if such a thing is possible, what a glory, what a happy thing! This happiness one feels even by thinking such a possibility of being a king of the whole world, such happiness does not arise in the mind when you think of the Absolute. Why does it not arise?

Visitor: Lack of experience, lack of tasting the Beyond?

Swamiji: What happens is the idea of the Absolute is, at present at least, a conceptual phantasm. It doesn't satisfy. But the earthly glory is solid. You can touch it sensorily. That is, what is sensorily contactable immediately promises tangible satisfaction. But That is not contactable by the eyes or ears or anything, so whenever you talk about it, it looks like simply telling stories. So the mind cannot contact That.

But with tremendous effort, go on repeating to oneself: “Whatever glories these emperors have got, you will find there.” You don't say that you want to reject all these things. If you say that, the mind will not agree. It doesn't want to reject anything. You have to give it a little comforting teaching. “My dear mind, you do not want to contemplate on That because you are thinking the majesty and the beauty of an emperor of the world is more attractive than the glory of the Absolute. All right, we accept it. But you will get it there tenfold, a hundredfold.”

In the Upanishad this is mentioned: The glory of the whole world, the emperor, is one kind of happiness. There are seven planes of existence. In the next plane there are people whose happiness is a hundred times more than the happiness of the king of the whole world. Then there is a higher, third plane. There the happiness of people is a hundred times more than the happiness of the second world. It goes on like that a hundred times, a hundred times, a hundred times. Finally, many hundreds – hundred into hundred, hundred into hundred, hundred into hundred – it goes on like that for millions and millions of numbers. Many millions and millions and millions are computerised, right to the point of incalculable perfection. “So many times is the happiness of that Absolute in comparison with this drop which is the king of the whole earth,” you tell the mind.

“Oh, I see,” it will say. “Okay, now I understand. I am not going to lose anything. I am not going to lose the joy of the emperor of the world. I will get that also. Oh, I will get more than that, more than that, more than that, more than that, more than that.” If you go on telling that, it gives some positive suggestion. Don't tell the mind to renounce the world, and all that. If you say that, it will reject the whole idea. The mind doesn't want that. You should not give any negative teaching. “You will get whatever you want, all the enjoyments you want, all the honey and milk and glory and power and authority. Take it! I will not deny you. But more than that, you will get there.” You tell the mind every day. You go on telling like this, “Foolish mind, don't be idiotic. You will get everything. Go contemplate. You have to pay a heavy price to become the king of the world. You have to suffer hard. But here you need not have to suffer. You have only to think deeply, and immediately it comes. Do you understand?” Tell as if you are talking to a little child: “You are going to get everything. Think of it deeply. Don't think anything else. The whole world will come to you.” Tell this; then you will get it.

You should never tell the mind, “It is all stupid, the world is wretched, it is evil. Reject it!” The mind will not accept such things. “Okay, very beautiful, everything is good, nice, wonderful, glorious. But you will get it tenfold, a hundredfold, a millionfold.” Then it will agree, “Okay.” You must know the psychology of thinking. You must not thrust knowledge into the students. You must enter into the mind of the students before you teach them. The mind is a child. It is naughty, and so you must know how to handle naughty children. You must be careful.

Another visitor: Why is it that, in spite of hearing you, the mind…?

Swamiji: Because your mind is not accepting it. Your feeling says that you are a weak man. The intellect is understanding it, but the feeling says, “No, I cannot.” You should assert, “Now, from today onwards, I shall think like this only.” Day and night you think like this.

Visitor: So then again, it is effort.

Swamiji: When you become it, there is no effort. The effort leads to effortlessness, action leads to actionlessness, becoming becomes being, object becomes subject, outer becomes inner, and the particular becomes the universal automatically.