SOCH VICHAR: What is the nature of our minds?

SOCH VICHAR: What is the nature of our minds?: "The mind is engaged in two activities: alochana or planning, andsambhashana or dialogue. Both these follow different lines. Planning is inte..."

What is the barometer of the path chosen by the intelligent?

Liberation is the realisation of awareness, achievement of oneness with the Divine. Each and every living being has to attain this consummation, this goal - the Brahman. That is its true destination. Some day or the other, the urge to win release from the shackles of grief and joy, and the bonds of “I” and “mine” will awaken and emerge. The path that is taken then inevitably leads to freedom (moksha). Seeking that path is the sign of the intelligent person.  Instead of this search, when one considers the objective world as all-important and feels drawn toward its charm, life is barren and is of no consequence.

 

How can we know if we are leading a true life?

Those who are intent on sensory pleasures spend their days in worry, anxiety, pain, grief and tears throughout a long period of life; they breed like birds and beasts. They eat good food and cast it away as waste. This is the purposeless life that most people lead. Can you call this the process of living? Enormous numbers of living beings exist on the earth. Living is not enough. It has no value by itself, for itself. One can be considered to be alive only if the motives, feelings, thoughts, and attitudes that prompt a person reveal the divine qualities within.

What is the foremost quality each one of us must have?

Each one of you require faith in yourselves, more than most other qualities. The absence of self-confidence marks the beginning of one’s decline. Today, the world is facing ruin and disaster because people have lost confidence in themselves. Self-confidence alone is capable of granting peace and prosperity to each and every person. If you cultivate self-confidence, you will receive kindness everywhere. You will be honoured in all places. Whatever you touch, will become gold!

How can we know if we are leading a true life?

When the person who is bound relies on the one who is not bound, he can get rid of his bonds and move about freely. The person who is deep in grief must seek refuge in the one who is floating on spiritual bliss (ananda)filled with joy. Bondage plunges one into sorrow; the Lord is Total Bliss Personified. Therefore, one can be completely cured of grief only by resorting to the inexhaustible spring of delight, the Lord. And what exactly is liberation (moksha)? It is release from grief, the absence of sorrow, and attainment of spiritual bliss (ananda-praapti). The supreme Self, the sovereign Lord, is the embodiment of indivisible sweetness (rasa), the treasure house of bliss (ananda nilaya). Hence, those who seek and secure His grace gain eternity itself.

What is the barometer for a good student and a teacher?

Teachers who teach with the salary paid to them in their minds, and students who learn with the jobs they may procure as their focus are both pursuing wrong paths. In fact, the task of the teacher is to discharge his duty of instructing and inspiring the students so that they develop their latent talents and advance in the perfection of their skills. The task of the student is to unfold the Divine in him and equip himself for serving society with his skill and knowledge.

What is the purpose of the Avatar?

The Supreme Sovereign Lord manifesting Himself asBrahma, Vishnu and Maheswara, through the prompting of Primal Will is engaged in creating, fostering and destroying the worlds. In what is thus created, there is always the principle of Dualism. There is difference and disparity between one and another. If these differences and disparities are harmonised wisely, the world will have happiness and peace. If, on the other hand, living beings behave wrongly, the world will be sunk in anxiety, misery and confusion. When these arise, the Lord assumes appropriate Forms and affords necessary protection and correction. He sets right the damaged world, removes the evil forces that caused the damage, and instructs mankind in the science of fostering the right and the good.