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

REQUEST TO & FROM A MOTHER

  Today on the occasion of Mother's Day, I went to meet the cow, our mother to wish her for Mother's Day and make a request to her. I requested her to shower her blessings and mercy on her children who are suffering so badly due to the deadly covid virus. The good news for all of us is that, she mercifully agreed to shower her heartfelt blessings, prayers, mercy on all her children. After all, that's the heart of a mother - always wanting and desiring best for her children. I was elated, my mission accomplished - now, the suffering of humanity will reduce. As I was leaving, the cow also had one personal request. She requested me with tears in her eyes to request her children not to abuse, exploit and slaughter her mercilessly. I could literally feel her pain and suffering as she made this request. This was the pain of a mother. Tears swelled up in my eyes. I didn't know what to reply her. I did tell her that I will pass on her request to her other children and I walked ...
Post a Comment
Read more

TO HELL WITH LUST

Lust is something that is so much eulogized by the world and it is something that occupies all of one's mind space and heart space. It is a powerful energy that can potentially consume anyone and everyone in it's magical grip. Even though it is so much the goal of everyone in this world, the wise and the experienced see it as a peace sucking, hellish emotion. We may consider lust to be our best friend but the reality is that, lust is our worst enemy which will destroy our peace, our happiness, our sanity and our very life. Lord Krishna declares lust to be our greatest enemy in Bhagvat-gita 3.37 - "śrī-bhagavān uvāca kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ mahāśano mahā-pāpmā viddhy enam iha vairiṇam" "The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material mode of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring sinful enemy of this world." I...
Post a Comment
Read more

PRACTICAL TOOLS FOR DESIRE MANAGEMENT

“I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of, so they can see that it’s not the answer.” ― Jim Carrey, American - Canadian actor Long back, I heard this analogy to explain the nature of the unlimited desires in our hearts. It is explained in this analogy that, even if all the water bodies in earth are made into ink to fill a pen whose nib is as small as an atom and the sky is made into paper to write on; the ink will get exhausted, the nib will break and the paper will run-out but our list of desires will not get over - we will still have more left. Over these years of spiritual practices, I have realized the truth behind this analogy. I have become more aware of the dynamics of desires and it's working in life. Even though our hearts are filled with unlimited desires, luckily just a few jump into awareness every now and then, just like a few fish jump out of the surface of the ocean every now and then even though the ocean is filled with u...
1 comment
Read more