How to gain Peace of MindHow do we gain peace of mind? Or more to the point why are our minds so turbulent, why are we always so agitated? It is because we are not the masters of the mind. The mind is our master. We do not use the mind; the mind uses us. This is the reason we are lacking peace of mind. The mind is a good servant, one which we cannot do without. But it is a very bad master. Osho Rajneesh tells the story of a king and his servant. The servant was a very loyal bodyguard who had served the king well, even saving his life many times. The king wished to reward this loyal servant of his. He asked the bodyguard to name his wish – anything that the king could do for him. At first the servant said that he had all that he wanted and these was no need. But the king insisted and at length the bodyguard said – “Let me be the king for 24 hours and you be the guard”. The king was a little apprehensive and afraid. But he was a man of his word and he made the guard the king for 24 hours. And what do you think was the first thing that the guard did? He immediately ordered the execution of the real king, who was at that time the guard. The king said “What are you doing?” The guard replied “You keep quiet. I am the king now. You are nothing more than a guard. This is my wish”. And so the real king was killed and the servant became the king forever. In Hindu philosophy – in the Bhagavad Gita – man has been compared to a charioteer. And he is driving a chariot pulled by 6 horses composed of the 5 sense organs and the mind. The Gita exhorts us to be a good charioteer; to keep control of the horses so that they will do our bidding. But we find in most people that they are ruled by their passions, instincts and lusts. The horses are running amok – the charioteer is not keeping a tight rein. And when this happens we will be taken – not to where we want to go – but somewhere else. This is no way to lead a responsible and happy life. And the way to be a master of the mind – to gain peace of mind – is to watch it. Watch it moment to moment, do not identify with it; remain detached. If you are the mind, if you are completely identified with it, then you cannot be its master. But you are more than just the mind – you are a witnessing presence. You are consciousness itself. The main benefit of meditation – of all types of meditation – is that, while we are meditating, we are forming the habit of detachment. We are learning to be just a witnessing presence and nothing more. This is the road to gaining peace of mind. I strongly advise you to start the practice of mediation, if you are not already doing do. I myself am doing Vipassana meditation and it suits me well although it is somewhat demanding. Further details may be found on this page on Vipassana meditation For those of you leading busy lives, with not much time for personal and spiritual growth I would recommend Transcendental Meditation as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Peace of mind is one of the many benefits of this type of meditation. Further details may be found on this page on Transcendental Meditation Osho Rajneesh compares our being captives to our mind to listening to a radio – all day and all night long. Imagine how you would feel if you had to listen to a radio for all the 24 hours – whether walking or sleeping. The same ads, the same songs, the same DJ’s repeated over and over. And there is no way for us to switch the radio off. This is our unfortunate position. We simply don’t know how to switch the mind off. We have not formed the habit of stopping thinking. It is no wonder then, that we are lacking peace of mind and are so tense and irritable. There are many other benefits to the practice of detachment, of watchfulness. A few of these are: - 1. We will be giving the mind a rest and will be less susceptible to mental fatigue. When we actually have to think, we will do a better job of it because our minds will be fresh. 2. We will be able to practice mindfulness better. We will be present in the Here and Now. The mind is a mechanism that is solely occupied with either the past or the future. We cannot think about the Present. Try it. It is impossible. If we switch off the mind when we don’t need it we will experience and be it touch with reality. This will enable us to be more intuitive and intelligent and less analytical. These then are some of the benefits of gaining peace of mind. I hop you enjoyed this article and that it will be useful to you. If you have any comments or questions, please visit the Eastern Philosophy Blog and post them. I visit the blog daily and promise to reply as quickly as I can. Stay tuned for more articles in this continuing series.
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