Methods of Contemplation

Q: What is the nature of the mind?

A: What is called ‘mind’ is a wondrous power residing in the Self. It causes all thoughts to arise.

Apart from thoughts, there is no such thing as mind. Therefore, thought is the nature of mind. Apart from thoughts, there is no independent entity called the world. In deep sleep there are no thoughts, and there is no world. In the states of waking and dream, there are thoughts, and there is a world also. Just as the spider emits the thread (of the web) out of itself and again withdraws it into itself, likewise the mind projects the world out of itself and again resolves it into itself. When the mind comes out of the Self, the world appears. Therefore, when the world appears (to be real), the Self does not appear; and when the Self appears (shines) the world does not appear. When one persistently inquires into the nature of the mind, the mind will end leaving the Self (as the residue).

What is referred to as the Self is the Atman. The mind always exists only in dependence on something gross; it cannot stay alone. It is the mind that is called the subtle body or the soul (jiva).

So there is nothing to accept or reject in the relative condition in a dualistic way. This is very important because some people think that in the primordial state all actions are blocked. That is a wrong idea. It is not like that.

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𝙒𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩, 𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮, 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨. ⁣
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𝗡𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗺, 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘁𝗶 𝘆𝗼𝗴𝗮, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗲𝗱ā𝗻𝘁𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘃𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗿ī𝘁𝗮 𝗯𝗵ā𝘃𝗮𝗻ā, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀. 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 Ś𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗮𝗿𝗮, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗼: 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. ⁣
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𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝘅𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗿𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗼𝗿 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱, 𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲—𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺. ⁣
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𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚, 𝙞𝙛 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡, 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨, 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨.

ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜɪs ɪs ᴍɪɴᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ʙɪɢ ᴏʟ’ ᴄᴀᴘɪᴛᴀʟ ᴍ. ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴀʜᴀʀᴀᴊ (ɴɪsᴀʀɢᴀᴅᴀᴛᴛᴀ) ᴄᴀʟʟs ᴄᴀɪᴛᴀɴʏᴀ. ᴀɴᴅ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʀᴇsᴛs ᴡɪᴛʜɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ sᴇʟғ. ⁣
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“ᴏᴋᴀʏ, sᴏ ᴡʜᴀᴛ?” ⁣
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ɪᴛ’s ᴀʟʟ ᴏᴋᴀʏ! ⁣
ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ’s ɢᴏɴɴᴀ ʜᴀʀᴍ ʏᴏᴜ. ⁣
ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ’s ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜ ʏᴏᴜ. ⁣
ᴀʟʟ ᴏғ ᴏᴜʀ ᴇғғᴏʀᴛs ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ᴛʜᴇ sᴇʟғ. ⁣
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“ᴡᴇʟʟ, ᴡʜʏ ᴀᴍ ɪ ᴅᴏɪɴ’ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪ ᴅᴏ?” ⁣
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ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ɪ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ᴍʏ sᴇʟғ ɴᴇᴇᴅs ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ, ᴏʀ ᴅᴇғᴇɴᴅᴇᴅ, ᴏʀ sᴇᴄᴜʀᴇᴅ, ᴏʀ ɪᴍᴘʀᴏᴠᴇᴅ. ᴀʟʟ ʙᴀsᴇᴅ ɪɴ ɪʟʟᴜsɪᴏɴ. ⁣
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ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴏɴ.. ⁣

𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹, 𝗮 𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙥𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝. ⁣
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𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗹, 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁? 𝗜𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵. ⁣
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𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗴𝘆𝗮𝗺 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗽𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱. 𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝗺. 𝗛𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘄 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹. 𝗔 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀— 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. ⁣
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𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙖.