What's the news today?
It's just gone 7 in the morning. I'm sat comfortably on the couch in the lounge, looking out of the window which happens to be at my eye level. The road in front of the house is getting busy with passing cars carrying commuters to work. But what interest me more is the familiar figures going to and from the shop across the road. They are on their daily routine of fetching their daily papers. They always reappear in my view burying their head in the reading of the paper in their hands.
So, what could possibly be the news for today? Killing, murder, arresting, rumour of affairs or deaths of some celebrity, natural disaster in some distant land....?
For some people, reading the daily paper is probably the main activity/occupation of the morning. That's fair enough, it's a relatively cheap and effortless form of occupation/entertainment; it stops one from getting bored (to say the least) for an hour or so a day.
I don't buy papers; I'd rather get bored than being exposed to vibrations of negativity, greed, fear and lust carried by the papers. The mind is already clogged with colouring, modifications, conditioning from past experiences and impressions. Why would I want to fragment it, colour it and modify it even more? I'm half-way through my life's journey now and it seems to be a good point to start the return journey - going back to source to regain the pristine purity of mind long lost. A Taoist adept one said, ''Everyone is getting old through keeping themselves busy; who in the world is prepared to stop being busy before they're stopped by death?!''
Lao Tze, the ancient Chinese sage philosopher is quoted in saying, 'I'm no sage; I've attained to the Tao (meaning gained enlightenment) through watching my own mind (meditation)'. If one's mind is always occupied with some external object(s), one cannot watch it. If we compare the mind as a pond, you'll never be able to see what's at the bottom until the water becomes still and clear. If you keep stirring up the water with activities, you'll never be able to see the jewel at the bottom.
Ramana Haharshi, a spiritual teacher of Tamil Nadu of South India once said to one of the spiritual seekers, 'This world has got nothing to do with you.' Such an attitude doesn't imply a callous indifference to the sufferings in the world. Quite the opposite, it resonates with a deep compassion that comes from a mind imbued with indwelling cosmic intelligence. Such a mind is not coloured, modified or moved by the turbulence of worldly happenings.
Ma Dan-yang, a Taoist adept who lived during the 11th-12th century was once challenged by a group of Buddhists monks who were clever with pilosophical debating. He was bombarded with a series of philosophical and metaphysical questions. He patiently waited for the monks to finish their arguments and questioniong and then simply answered calmly ''I'm afraid I don't know anything apart from what's going on inside myself.'' which silenced the group of monks instantly.
I think everyone who is interested in the nature of mind and seeks to break free from the traps of worldly phenomena should study Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. Its concluding stanza sums up the mind state of an enlightened person with the following words:-
The qualities and the characteristics of a person have no goal nor motivation any more. They return to their cause, ignorance! There emerges creative independence. The undivided cosmic intelligence which is omnipotent regains as it were its own identity.
[translation taken from Enlightened Living by Swami Venkatesananda] (you may get your copy by clicking on the title; Swami Venkatesananda's website may be accessed here.)
So, what could possibly be the news for today? Killing, murder, arresting, rumour of affairs or deaths of some celebrity, natural disaster in some distant land....?
For some people, reading the daily paper is probably the main activity/occupation of the morning. That's fair enough, it's a relatively cheap and effortless form of occupation/entertainment; it stops one from getting bored (to say the least) for an hour or so a day.
I don't buy papers; I'd rather get bored than being exposed to vibrations of negativity, greed, fear and lust carried by the papers. The mind is already clogged with colouring, modifications, conditioning from past experiences and impressions. Why would I want to fragment it, colour it and modify it even more? I'm half-way through my life's journey now and it seems to be a good point to start the return journey - going back to source to regain the pristine purity of mind long lost. A Taoist adept one said, ''Everyone is getting old through keeping themselves busy; who in the world is prepared to stop being busy before they're stopped by death?!''
Lao Tze, the ancient Chinese sage philosopher is quoted in saying, 'I'm no sage; I've attained to the Tao (meaning gained enlightenment) through watching my own mind (meditation)'. If one's mind is always occupied with some external object(s), one cannot watch it. If we compare the mind as a pond, you'll never be able to see what's at the bottom until the water becomes still and clear. If you keep stirring up the water with activities, you'll never be able to see the jewel at the bottom.
Ramana Haharshi, a spiritual teacher of Tamil Nadu of South India once said to one of the spiritual seekers, 'This world has got nothing to do with you.' Such an attitude doesn't imply a callous indifference to the sufferings in the world. Quite the opposite, it resonates with a deep compassion that comes from a mind imbued with indwelling cosmic intelligence. Such a mind is not coloured, modified or moved by the turbulence of worldly happenings.
Ma Dan-yang, a Taoist adept who lived during the 11th-12th century was once challenged by a group of Buddhists monks who were clever with pilosophical debating. He was bombarded with a series of philosophical and metaphysical questions. He patiently waited for the monks to finish their arguments and questioniong and then simply answered calmly ''I'm afraid I don't know anything apart from what's going on inside myself.'' which silenced the group of monks instantly.
I think everyone who is interested in the nature of mind and seeks to break free from the traps of worldly phenomena should study Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. Its concluding stanza sums up the mind state of an enlightened person with the following words:-
The qualities and the characteristics of a person have no goal nor motivation any more. They return to their cause, ignorance! There emerges creative independence. The undivided cosmic intelligence which is omnipotent regains as it were its own identity.
[translation taken from Enlightened Living by Swami Venkatesananda] (you may get your copy by clicking on the title; Swami Venkatesananda's website may be accessed here.)
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