The way our mind is conditioned determines how we live our life. We think, interact, emote, relate and reflect through the mind. Our experiences, preferences, beliefs and convictions all have mind as the base. In a talk on ‘How to deal with Inferiority Complex’, revered master Anandmurti Gurumaa explains that though our bodies have a chronological age, mind is an age-old entity accompanying us in every birth. As is our mind, so we become. Interestingly, mind’s training – for better or worse - can begin right from the womb itself! The epic Mahabharata mentions how warrior Abhimanyu, while still in his mother’s womb, learnt the martial technique of the Chakravyuh formation as his father Arjuna was explaining it. Today, ultrasonograms of a foetus in the womb show that when classical music is played or heard by the mother, the foetus relaxes and seems to enjoy itself, whereas hard rock makes it grimace at the din!
A child at birth is a little god – he is just who he is, pristine and pure. He loves himself, is utterly absorbed with himself. As a toddler he imbibes things like a sponge, soaking up everything around - ideas, beliefs and values taught to him. Then ‘training’ begins, ostensibly to make him a responsible adult but actually to make him follow the herd, and slowly, his untainted mind starts getting polluted. Rather than guiding, parents often nag their children, comparing them with their friends, cousins, neighbours, just about everybody, in a vain bid to make them study and get good marks! The garbage of comparison thus sinks in deeper, day after day. By early teenage, society’s relentless indoctrination makes youngsters feel inadequate, incomplete and insufficient, rather than confident, self-assured and secure. No wonder then, that they start looking for objects and relationships - branded merchandise, cars, expensive jewelry, partners, maybe indulge in alcohol and drug abuse to numb the searing pain of emptiness, to fill the vacuum which deepens with time.
The right guidance can only come from the right person. Revered master Anandmurti Gurumaa teaches us how we can shift our perspective and start loving and respecting ourselves as we are. She reminds us that we are children of the divine, who have forgotten our source and wander hither and thither looking for happiness. This is because we have not taken the time to train our mind in the right way. An untrained mind creates havoc in one’s life, whereas a trained mind can become one’s best friend. If we don’t like our mind the way it is, the good news is that we can definitely change it! For this we need to stop looking at others all the time, let go of comparison and focus on our strengths and good qualities.
By the grace of the master, one trains the mind with the tools the master gives – yogasanas, pranayama, mantra jap and Yog Nidra. Then one starts coming closer to one’s reality. The inner explosion of awakening to one’s true identity can happen anytime, anywhere, to anybody. When the limited mind dissolves, one experiences integration, connectedness, fullness of being and realises oneself as an ocean of infinite bliss, indivisible absolute Existence itself.
