The limits of the mind and the liberation beyond it

We are forever taking shelter in ourselves and getting nowhere. We all have ideas about how to succeed in life, yet we achieve only partial success. We are never satisfied, barring a few exceptions. One of the greatest weaknesses we all share is a feeling of superiority, called ahankar (ego).

We have many ideas about how others can improve, but very few about improving ourselves. We are constantly criticising others and rarely appreciating them, except when it serves some advantage. Let us examine how we take shelter in ourselves. We have been given many faculties, which we turn to repeatedly. The first is desire, and we desire without limit. The sky becomes the limit in daydreaming, without considering what is actually possible.

We chase these desires like mirages and are repeatedly disappointed. The mind fully supports our desires: “My mind wants this and this.” In reality, all desires and actions are controlled by our personal nature; we are shaped by what our nature is.The intelligence given to us is meant to guide us sensibly, but instead it is often used to justify whatever the mind concocts.

We feel no need to consult others, believing that whatever we know is all there is to know. The question then arises: if we are as intelligent as we believe ourselves to be, why are we in so much trouble? As if this were not enough, we also fall prey to our senses.The eyes want to see certain things; the tongue insists on tasty food regardless of how much harm it causes the body, and so on. We identify ourselves with the body we are given, not with the soul.

Naturally, we fail to consider what the soul truly needs. Thus, we continue to enjoy and suffer throughout our lives while remaining under our own shelter. Are we not obsessed with our own importance and intellect despite repeated failures?

Now let us consider what taking shelter in God can do for us. The first and most important thing God does is ensure that we receive what we truly need and that what is dear to us is protected (Bhagavad Gita 9.22). This happens gradually, as our surrender becomes more serious and sincere.

Surely, we are rewarded with various opulences such as inner glow or aura, success or victory in appropriate endeavours, sufficient resources, and the highest morality (18.78). Suffering will still come, as it must, due to sinful acts committed in the past, including previous lives, but God helps us endure them in tolerable ways (18.58).God helps us control the mind, which is otherwise almost impossible to restrain (6.34). Rather, God grants supreme peace to His devotees (18.62).

The senses are brought under control and engage only with those sense objects that are necessary and beneficial (2.64).With God’s help, one does not fall under the control of the all-pervading maya (illusion) (7.14). Gradually, one becomes jeevan-mukta (liberated while still in the present body) and becomes qualified to receive final liberation from God (18.62). Thankfully, I am on the way.

The writer is a spiritual teacher; views are personal