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CHANNELISING MIND'S CURIOSITY

We all have heard the saying "The grass looks greener on the other side". The mind by nature is never satisfied, always looking for "what others have that I don't have". It is always curious to find newer and newer ways of enjoyment and material nature seems to understand our mind by offering us unlimited varieties to enjoyment. There seems to be no end to the fascinations that are available in this world.

Why is the mind always looking for newer ways to enjoy? Because it soon gets bored of what it has. It looks for release from this boredom through newer experiences. But the problem is that as soon as we get the new experience that we are looking for, it's not a long till that also becomes old and boring.


The point we miss to understand is that "the newness that material nature provides in its variegated forms are all the same oldness packaged in new ways." As they say - Old wine in a new bottle. But we never really believe this fully. The mind keeps dangling the carrot of so called happiness in front of us - "One more thing, one more car, more one country to see, then I will be happy", that's what it promises us and we foolishly subscribe to its promise. But once you get that one, it will show you one more thing. There is never end to this "one more". In this way the mind keeps us endlessly stuck until we escape out of this loop. The mind over promises but under delivers.

Lord Krishna confirms this truth in the Bhagvat-gita 8.16, by saying - abrahma bhuvanal loka punar avartanio arjuna... "That right from the highest planet in the material world to the lowest all are the same, all are places of misery."

We inadvertently equate the quality of our life to the container we have, not to the content inside the container. We are hoping that by changing our container - by getting a better job, a better house, a better car, we will be happy. What we forget is how many ever containers we change, our experience will be the same until we change the content inside the containers. 

That's the reason all great saints and sages from all over the world advise us to look for happiness in spiritual life. Materially we can never be fully happy. Happiness is not an outside-in job as we think it to be, it is an inside-out job. We have been fascinated by God's energy for so long and have been cheated, so why not be try to be fascinated by God Himself. Just imagine if God's energy is so fascinating, how much fascinating God Himself will be.

Let's try to dovetail the curious nature of the mind from matter to spirit, from external to internal, from 'this worldly' to 'other worldly', from Maya to Krishna. Let's be curious to find out - what is happening in the spiritual world, what will be the consciousness of a pure devotee, what kind of love they will be experiencing, how will life be to look through the eyes of a pure devotee!

One tiny glimpse of true spiritual experience will make unlimited material experiences seem pale and insignificant, just like drinking one glass of water while awake is more satisfying than drinking liters of water in a dream.

- Achyut Gopal Das

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