| The
mind is fixed on nothing, or on too many things. Nowhere do we see
one-pointedness. What a slave to the senses is man! Once, someone
asked, "Why is it said that the eyes should be half-open and
half-shut?" I said, "The answer is easy. If you shut the
eyes completely, you fall asleep. If you keep them fully open, they
turn on all sides and prevent concentration. The sleep that comes to
closed eyes is tamas. The manifold activity of wide-open eyes
is rajas.
Therefore, the intermediate state is
prescribed."
It means that, till the mind changes, no concentration is possible.
The state of the mind should be pure and this can't be achieved by
assuming an erect posture. All our activity should be pure. To
purify activity, its motive should be transformed. Activity should
not be pursued for one's individual profit, for satisfying the
instincts, or for outward objects.
11. All day long we are engaged in
activities. What is the purpose of thus day-long labor?
"The purpose of all my effort?
Is to make my last day sweet."
All this running about, this endless effort
and toil, is it not because we want our final day on earth to be
happy? All the bitter sufferings of our life, what are they for? To
make the last moment, the moment of death, holy. Evening comes at
the end of the day. If we have done all the work of the day with the
pure heart, the evening prayer is sweet. If the last moment of the
day is sweet, the day's work has found its reward. Then the mind
easily becomes one-pointed. |
