Skip to main content

Thought on Thoughts

The problem with many of us is that we have given way too much importance to our thoughts.

Just think about it. How many thoughts we have in a day? Hundreds or thousands. How many thoughts we have had in our life up until now? Millions or quadrillions. The irony is that the mind makes us believe that every thought is important and we foolishly subscribe to our mind. 

Just like in an ocean so many waves come and go, similarly we get so many thoughts. The problem is not the thought per se, but our attachment to our thoughts. 



Interesting thing is that thoughts are harmless - they come in awareness and pass away. Just like clouds pass through the clear sky.

Our thoughts can harm us only if we give importance to them and hold on to them.

That's why in the Bhagavad-Gita when Lord Krishna is explaining the flowchart of how a living entity suffers. The first step, He explains is contemplation of sense objects. Contemplation is nothing but holding on to our thoughts longer than required. 

Our reason to come to this material world is that we took our mind's proposal seriously. And if we continue to keep taking our thoughts seriously and strengthening it by giving our attention, we will continue to be enslaved by our mind and continue to suffer in this world. 

As the saying goes - Insanity, is doing the same thing again and again & expecting a different result.

So what to do? We need to snap out of our mental world of imagination to the real, true world of service to Krishna. 

We need to develop the conviction that only thoughts about Lord Krishna and service to Him are worth giving our attention to. Any other thought is not worth our energy....we should  surrender it as soon as it arises. That should be our plan of action.

- Achyut Gopal Das

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MAKE IT A POINT TO MAKE THE POINT

A few days ago, as I was traveling on the ferry that takes us to our ISKCON Center at Chodan island, a relatively young man approached me and started to talk to me. My Vaishnava (devotee) attire probably attracted him to me. He was asking me if I was a preist in a temple. To which I said "Yes". I asked him where he stays and what he does. He told me that he stays in Panjim and runs a chicken shop in Porvorim. I asked him his name and as I guessed, he happened to be a Muslim. I could see marks of dried up blood stains in different places in his shirt. I at once told him to try to switch his profession to one which involves less violence. I suggested to him to start a vegetable or a grocery shop.  He seemed to be taken a little aback by what might have appeared to him to be a stange suggestion by a stranger. I told him that killing innocent animals is not right. They too have life and feelings like us. He was hearing me out. He then asked me, if one can eat chicken ...
Post a Comment
Read more

MANEUVERING THROUGH DISTRACTIONS

"Attraction to distraction causes serious inhibition in one's devotion." When someone practices spiritual life sincerely, he or she is given all facilities for comfort and enjoyment. Why? For the simple reason that God wants to award the best of the best facilities for His sincere devotee.  But, it is the onus of the devotee to use these facilities carefully for rendering better and better service to the Lord and not get allured and strayed away from the path of unalloyed devotion to God because settling for anything other than service to God is settling for less than the best.  THE OCEAN OF DISTRACTION Therefore, it is so important for devotees to refocus on a daily basis by diligently reading scriptures, by sincerely offering heartfelt prayers, by rendering menial service and by humbly associating with saintly devotees and thus remind ourselves on, what is truly valuable and what is a mere distraction to achieve that which is truly valuable. The...
Post a Comment
Read more

HOLLYWOOD to HOLY WOOD

"One who experiences the real world in thier life, don't need the reel world experience to keep them alive." Man has always been crazy about movies ever since they came into being with Hollywood leading from the front. And the craze seems to  keep increasing more and more with the advancement of technology. The thinking, eating, dressing, talking and practically every aspect of the lives of people is influenced by movies in small or big ways. Hollywood of America has not only influenced film industries in Asia but also the world over. Most of the film industries have associated with Hollywood to promote and market their films both locally and abroad. Here is the list of the name of film industries across the world that are inspired by Hollywood. This list will leave you spellbound. Bollywood - Mumbai-based Hindi language film industry. Pollywood - Punjabi language film industry in India.  Lollywood - Urdu and Punjabi films of Pakistani film industry in Lahore. Chho...
Post a Comment
Read more