The energy of the mind naturally moves outward, like a centrifugal force. It is constantly moving outward. It is difficult for the mind to be drawn inward.
You have all heard of the Big Bang theory? Before the Big Bang all was condensed energy, cosmic force, known as shakti in yoga. From the Big Bang the whole universe emerged. From that one outward moving cosmic explosion the whole universe came into being. In the devotional practices of yoga we prostrate to this power—adi divya jyoti maha kali ma namah. The whole universe is geared to move outward; the very cosmos is moving away from the centre. With the mind also, the centrifugal force or shakti moves outward constantly and forever. So also with the senses. The senses demand to go outwards towards sensual pleasures, manifesting as ice cream, pizza, perfume, Chan(n)el 5, Chan(n)el 6!! Each mind is moving outward, each sense moving constantly outward to sensual pleasures, centrifugally. By frequenting resorts, restaurants, bars, discotheques, movies, the senses move more and more outward. So also in business, in the stock market, everything is moving. The mind wants to move, move, move. It is easy to let the mind move. Anyone can do it. Is it difficult to go out for a pizza or to a nice restaurant? But to bring people here to the Ashram to meditate, that is more difficult. Here at the Yoga Camp, we are drawing that force inward.
While you were sitting here for a few minutes of silence, what were you actually doing? I asked you to listen to the silence and concentrate on the sound OM, to bring the outgoing force back to your centre, your Self, Atman or God, whatever name you wish to call it. This drawing inwards is the centripetal force. The mind moves outward; but the yogi uses his will to bring it back. The mind wants to enjoy; the senses crave the sense objects. Here at the Ashram you close your eyes; you pull the mind away from the objects. You tell yourself, “Don’t go there; there’s nothing there. It’s all illusion. Just colour. Just waves.” But the mind wants to hear beautiful music. We call it back. “Come on, there’s nothing there, come back, it’s just another thought wave.” Friends want to go out, all the senses are pulling us outward. Imagine telling the man in a five-star hotel, sitting in candlelight, with the rose and the girl and all those bird’s nest soups and grasshoppers, frogs legs, and gourmet delights, to stop all of it, that it is all nonsense. He’ll think you’re crazy. He can see nothing in life without these pleasures. Understand that we are doing something very difficult here. It is not easy to bring the mind inward, away from the centrifugal force to the centripetal.
Firstly you try to shut off the senses so the mind can withdraw from the outgoing thoughts. This itself is not easy. But then once the external senses are shut off, you start to experience the mind itself as a force. The eyes are closed, but the mind is used to engaging with the senses. So even when the senses are shut off, the mind finds a way to get out. The mind will devise various tricks to get out. It’ll start to think about twenty years ago when you lent two dollars to a friend. My God, twenty years ago, two dollars, and she never returned that money! What a person she is. And you start calculating the amount of interest for the two dollars over twenty years. Suppose you had invested the money in the stock market. The mind starts to imagine, calculate and scheme inside because the outward force has been shut off.
Not too long ago I lived in a cave with some older swamis. My neighbour was another swami; if you took a little water without his permission, he would be ready to kill you!! When you stay in a cave, if you are not ready, prepared, only the external senses shut off. Inside, the mind may be boiling, and there’s no opportunity for the mind to defuse. Merely by going into a cave and closing the eyes, your emotions may build up and you burst like an over-filled balloon. Some people become very irritable. They can spend eight hours meditating; but then what about the rest of the time? They sit on the river bank and look at the Ganges and throw pebbles. What will you do with your mind? There’s nothing else to do. I am not joking. I lived in a cave. I saw this with my own eyes.
By merely closing the eyes, it is not possible to prevent the mind from its scheming and cunningness. But with yoga you try to stop this wily, calculating mind. And so you do other practices to learn to control the mind, to bring the mind inward. You came this evening to satsang; you chanted. You not only sat silently, but you also repeated various sounds, mantras. These sounds are positive wavelengths. They lift the mind, bringing it inwards. Asana and pranayama also help. And here at the Ashram you have the opportunity to sublimate the energy of the mind by serving. At our Ashrams and Centres, we work up to fifteen hours a day taking care of our students. It is our duty. For us, the guest is God. Always see that you are here to serve.
Another way to stop the rollercoaster mind is to change emotion into devotion. Emotion is a very destructive force; devotion is positive. Devotion is love on a higher wavelength. Each day I offer flowers, light a lamp, do arati and offer prasad at the altar. And as I pray my mental vibration changes. Each day before I come to give a talk, I pray to Master and by praying I change my vibrations, “Don’t make me egoistic; don’t make me think that I know more than these people. Just let me speak as an instrument, as your instrument; please remove this ego.” Before I came to you today, I repeated that prayer, offered flowers at the altar and prostrated before you mentally. By doing this I am drawing the senses, mind and emotions inward. Always I try to come without ego. I offer this ego to God. Offer everything to God. This is devotion. I am trying to identify with I AM, the big I AM, the Self, not the small ego. The small ego identifies with the body. But the Self, the Atman is infinite. The whole of yoga is just that. Whether you live in a cave or in a city or at home with or without your family, to centre the mind is the purpose of devotion. It is impossible to control this mind through willpower alone. It is not possible to remove all the emotions without the help of devotional practices. Without devotion, you cannot move one step in the spiritual path no matter how much pranayama you do, no matter how many bandhas you perform.
The emotional ego may diminish, but then the ego of the intellect starts to inflate. This also must go. I constantly watch out for it—it is one of the great forces of the inner mind, and more difficult to control than those forces pulling the mind outward. You may have some intellectual knowledge, some scientific knowledge, but remember that the intellect is nothing; it is a small fragile thing. Don’t get inflated by your intellect. And don’t think that I know everything. I am still in school myself. Sometimes I wonder how I am going to give a talk. I remind myself that the listener is God and that the person who is going to speak also is God. Intellectually I draw inward. It is only possible with devotion; mere pranayama will not help you. Vedanta will not help you. No intellectual knowledge will help you. They will only make your ego bigger. You must be careful—the more pranayama you do, the more the ego will grow!!
It is only through God’s grace that you can progress. Remember the higher you go on the spiritual path, unless you are very, very careful the ego will pull you down. This has happened to so many swamis and yogis. Understand that the higher you go on the spiritual path, the humbler you must become through devotion.
Now dive deep into the silence. Pray to God to give you strength to remove this ego.
-Swami Vishnudevananda