It is our thoughts only which cause the round of birth and death known as samsara. So we should always strive to purify our thoughts.
“As a man feels in his heart, so does he become.” “All that we are is made up of our thoughts,” declared Buddha. When we sit near a sage, we feel a unique calmness; if we are in the company of a bad and selfish person, we feel uneasy. It is because the vibrations of peace and calmness emanate from the aura of the sage while the aura of the selfish person emanates vibrations of disquiet and unsettledness.
Just as by throwing a stone in a pond waves are produced, in the same way when we think, vibrations are formed in the astral and mental planes. Every thought produces a double effect, a radiating vibration and a floating form.
If we are thinking about a philosophical question or mathematical problem, the resulting vibration will be confined to the mental world. If the thought is of a spiritual nature, it will rise to a higher mental or intellectual plane. Thoughts of a lower nature, tinged with pride or selfishness, with jealousy or animal passions remain in the astral world. All these thought-vibrations produce in the other mental and astral bodies thoughts of the same type as those in the minds of the thinkers who sent forth the vibrations. A person sitting in meditation emanates vibrations of devotion, which will arouse in others a feeling of devotion; that same vibration will arouse in a Muslim devotion to Allah or in a Christian devotion to Christ.
The second effect of thought is the creation of a definite form. The quality and the nature of a thought determine the colour and the clearness of the thought form. A thought-form is a living entity and it has a strong tendency to carry out the intention of the thinker. Blue thought-forms denote devotion. The thought-form of self-renunciation is of the loveliest pale azure with a white light shining through it. Thought-forms of selfishness, pride and anger are of grey-brown, orange and red colour respectively.
We are always surrounded by these thought-forms and our minds are seriously affected by them. Not one-fourth of our thoughts are our own, but are simply picked up from the atmosphere. Mostly they are of a negative nature. So we should always utter God’s name mentally. It will always protect us from the bad influence of negative thought forms.
It is clear that every person who thinks sublime thoughts is doing selfless service even though they may be entirely unconscious of it. We can help our friends get rid of their weakness and negative habits. Our good wishes sent to our friends and relations will guard them against wrong. We not only further our own evolution but can help our fellow human beings if we use this power well. But an ordinary man foolishly wastes his force by worrying over trifles and unnecessary arguments, creating vibrations of unrest. Such a wonderful power is at our disposal. We should use it wisely. It will help us radiate peace, bliss and calmness.
-Swami Vishnudevananda