{"id":4044,"date":"2013-07-13T01:53:03","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=4044"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:53:03","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:53:03","slug":"44-the-mind-vol-03-questions-and-answers-volume-03","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/02-works-of-the-mother\/01-cwmce\/03-questions-and-answers-volume-03\/44-the-mind-vol-03-questions-and-answers-volume-03","title":{"rendered":"-44_The Mind.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n


\nThe Mind <\/font> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\n <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Just
\nas the arrow-maker straightens his arrows, so also the intelligent man
\nstraightens his thoughts, wavering and fickle, difficult to keep straight,
\ndifficult to master. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Just
\nas a fish cast out of the water, our mind quivers and gasps when it leaves
\nbehind the kingdom of Mara. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Difficult
\nto master and unstable is the mind, forever in search of pleasure. It is good
\nto govern it. A mind that is controlled brings happiness. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The
\nsage should remain master of his thoughts, for they are subtle and difficult to
\nseize and always in search of pleasure. A mind that is well guided brings
\nhappiness. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Wandering
\nafar, solitary, bodiless and hidden in the deep cave of the heart, such is the
\nmind. Whosoever succeeds in bringing it under control liberates himself from
\nthe fetters of Mara. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The
\nintelligence of one whose mind is unstable, who is ignorant of the true Law,
\nand whose faith is wavering will never be able to develop. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

If a
\nman’s thoughts are not agitated, if his mind is not troubled by desire, if he
\nno longer cares for good and evil, this man, wide awake, knows nothing of fear.
\n<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Observing
\nthat the body is as fragile as a jar, and fortifying the mind like a city at
\narms, one should attack Mara with the blade of intelligence and should guard  <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 210<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n

carefully
\nwhatever has been won.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Before
\nlong this body will be lying on the earth, abandoned, as lifeless as a piece of
\nold wood. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Whatever
\nan enemy may do to an enemy, whatever a hater may do to a hater, the harm
\ncaused by a misdirected mind is even greater still. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Neither
\nmother nor father nor any other kinsman can do so much good as a well-directed
\nmind. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>These few verses correspond
\nto all the needs of those whose mind has not been mastered. They point out the
\nattachment that one has to one’s old ways of being, thinking and reacting, even
\nwhen one is trying to get away from them. As soon as you emerge by your effort,
\nyou are like a fish out of water and you gasp for breath because you are no
\nlonger in your element of obscure desires. <\/span><\/p>\n

Even when you make a resolution, the mind
\nremains unstable. It is subtle, difficult to seize. Without seeming to do so,
\nit is continually seeking its own satisfaction; and its intentions are hidden
\nin the core of the heart so as not to show their true nature. <\/span><\/p>\n

And while not forgetting the weakness of
\nthe body, you must try to strengthen the mind against its own weakness; with
\nthe sword of wisdom, you must fight against the hostile forces and treasure the
\nprogress you have made so that these forces may not despoil you of your
\nprogress, for they are terrible thieves. <\/span><\/p>\n

And then there is a short couplet for
\nthose who are afraid of death, intended to liberate them from that fear.
\nFinally there is a last short couplet for those who are attached to their
\nfamily to show them the vanity of this attachment. <\/span><\/p>\n

In the end, a last warning: an
\nill-directed, ill-controlled thought does more harm than an enemy can do to an
\nenemy <\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 211<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n

or a hater to a hater. That is to say, even those who have the best
\nintentions in the world, if they do not have a wise control over their thought,
\nwill do more harm to themselves and to those whom they love than an enemy can
\ndo to an enemy or a hater to a hater. <\/span><\/p>\n

The mind has a power of deception in its
\nown regard which is incalculable. It clothes its desires and preferences with
\nall kinds of wonderful intentions and it hides its trickeries, resentments and
\ndisappointments under the most favourable appearances. <\/span><\/p>\n

To overcome all that, you must have the
\nfearlessness of a true warrior, and an honesty, a straightforwardness, a
\nsincerity that never fail.  <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>28 February 1958 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 212<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Mind   Just as the arrow-maker straightens his arrows, so also the intelligent man straightens his thoughts, wavering and fickle, difficult to keep straight,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-03-questions-and-answers-volume-03","wpcat-115-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4044\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}