clearing your mind

A student asked me about clearing the mind. After all, she reasoned, isn't that what meditation is supposed to be all about?

My answer: yes and no.

If by clearing the mind, we mean turning it off, emptying it out, and becoming devoid of all thought... then no. First of all, it is nearly impossible to truthfully do; we usually end up thinking awfully hard about not thinking (quick -- don't think of a purple elephant!). Secondly, it is unnatural and, well, boring. Honestly... would you rather sit still and stare at a blank wall or watch the latest episode of Lost? Because the self is hard-wired to be active (to be, to love, to serve), the mind's got to do something. Starving it now will probably just cause it to freak out later.

Bhakti Yoga teaches that the mind can be positively engaged by focusing on the sacred sounds of the mantra. The great Bhakti mystic Sri Chaitanya wrote:

Chanting the Divine Names
allows one to clear away the dust
that is covering the mirror of the mind.

This is what we mean by clearing the mind. Right now, we peer into the mirror of our minds, but there is so much dust gathered there that we can't see much of anything else. A good mirror isn't one that is empty or reflects back nothingness; a good mirror is one which is clean and allows us to see ourselves as we are.

Mantra meditation is one practice that helps us to do some badly needed spring cleaning (from the inside out) by clearing away the layers of ignorance, selfishness, and materialism that prevent us from seeing our own potential and the beauty of the creation around us.

When we can do that, we will will be able to peer into the mirror of the mind, and see -- perhaps for the first time -- the true Self.

~ V.

my mind is like a 4-year-old

Yesterday, my sister and (almost) four-year-old nephew Rama came over for dinner. It was time for our evening worship, called puja, and so we all gathered around our home shrine to sing prayers and make offerings of incense and candles. Naturally, Rama wanted to be where all of the action is, so he joined us too. Actually, he is very sharp for his age and already has learned many of the prayers and is even learning how to play some traditional Indian instruments. In fact, he will occasionally even imitate us in our Mantra Yoga practice, chanting along to the sacred mantras on his own set of prayer beads!

But he is, after all, still basically a four-year-old.

And so, about five minutes into the twenty minute puja Rama began to get restless and fidgety. Seeing us focused on the worship and not on him (which is rare -- being a cute kind he usually is center stage wherever he goes), he started to hop around and demand our attention.

"I'm going to be four next month!" he declared. Seeing little reaction, he tried a different approach. "Guess what? Guess what? Guess what?" Seeing that his incessant questioning was getting him nowhere, he pulled out the big guns. Tugging on my shirt sleeve, he began to recite his favorite Winnie the Pooh story from memory. "It was a blistery cold winter day. 'Brr,' said Piglet..."

Mission accomplished. Distracted from my meditation, my heart melted, and I turned to face my nephew who was trying his hardest to look adorable.

"Rama, I will play with you in a few minutes, when we are done with puja, okay?" He paused as if to think it over for a minute, and then answered "Okay." Within a second, he was off skipping away, and we returned to our spiritual pursuits.

For those of you who were at the last Bhakti Club class you might recall that I said that the un-mastered mind is childish (easily distracted, craves intensity and demands instant gratification), whereas the mastered mind is child-like (open to possibilities, innocent, non-judgmental).

I really like thinking of mastering the mind in that way. I've seen many supposedly "spiritual" people just give in to the desires conjured up by their minds, or beat their minds up with guilt instead. Both extremes seem like bad parenting to me. Better to lovingly but firmly remind the mind who's in charge, stay focused, and help our minds to gradually mature and evolve.

- Vineet

PS: The mind always seems to have more energy than the rest of us!

Welcome!

Namaste,

This is the (semi-maybe-kind of-sometimes-updated) blog for the Rutgers Bhakti Club. What do we do? Good question?

We...

• ... explore the principles that underlie yoga practice generally, and bhakti yoga -- the yoga of loving service -- specifically.
• ... try to get in touch with our spiritual side, expand our horizons, and re-discover our connection with the Divine.
• ... offer meditation as a way of dealing with the stress that comes with being a Rutgers student.
• ... approach spiritual life with a sense of humor and joy.
• ... strive to lead a more compassionate, balanced, and constructive way of life.
  
• ... put theory into practice, seeking to apply ancient wisdom in a modern real-life context.
• ... create a community (sanga) based on trust, respect, and compassion, so that we can support and inspire one another in our spiritual paths.
• ... enjoy free vegetarian munchies, prepared with love and devotion.

Sound like fun? Drop by and check us out. Email rutgersbhakti [at] gmail [dot] com for more info, and search for "Rutgers Bhakti Club" on Facebook.

With Love,
The RU Bhakti Club Team