The Different Aspects of Mind
Dear friends,
Yogananda talked about the different parts of the mind. Without going into the Sanskrit words and definitions, how they operate is worth a look. As is often the case, an example is the best way to show these different facets.
Your mind sees an object and gets the perception "brown shape." That is just pure sense perception. The mind processes the input a bit further and realizes, "Hey! It's a horse." Correctly identified. The next level becomes more specific about the horse: "It's my horse." No problem—yet. It's just a neutral fact. The last and final level almost always proceeds to, "I like my horse. In fact I simply must have that horse forever!" It is the desire for the horse – the belief that only that horse can satisfy the hole in my heart – that introduces a problem. (The emotion triggered is just as strongly present when faced with things we strongly seek to avoid as well.)
So why does fulfilling desires feel so good? Imagine you are being pinched. It is somewhat painful, and fortunately the pinching suddenly stops. The moment it stops you feel quite happy. Desires work the same way. The heart is pinched with craving or distaste, and the pinching stops once the desire is fulfilled or the unpleasantness avoided.
Once you are pinched, there is no good solution. Repressing desires is often no better than fulfilling them. At least if you fulfill it you can cross it off the list. The goal is to be even-minded and cheerful regardless of circumstances. Yogananda talked about standing unshaken amidst the crash of breaking worlds. I myself am working on being completely unruffled when I cannot find a parking space! But life is about directional improvement, right?
There is a wonderful story about two monks who came upon a young woman who needed to cross a stream. She was hesitating due to her long dress. One of the monks picked her up and carried her across the stream. After a time the other monk exploded at him. "How could you break your vow that way? What is wrong with you!?" The first monk replied, "Ah, my friend. I put her down an hour ago, but I see you are still carrying her."
May we be ever even-minded and cheerful regardless of what we face in the world around us. May what we see never pinch our hearts, as it is desires and repulsions that prevents us from feeling Spirit at all times.
Blessings,
David G., manager
for the Gang at East West