𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱

 

Calm the Ripples of the Mind 

Ignorant people identify themselves with their body, mind and thought-waves. The mind and body are mere instruments. The real man is, of course, behind the mind. It is the eternal, immortal Atman or Soul.

If you identify yourself with the mind and its thought-waves, you get various kinds of miseries and sufferings. The whole universe is created by the thought-waves of the mind alone. If these mental waves subside you can attain the state of highest bliss and peace. Just as you can clearly see the bed of a lake when the ripples and waves on the surface subside, even so, you can cognize your real Self when the thought-waves that agitate the mind completely subside.

Swami Sivananda

Ignorance (अविद्या) is the mistaken identification of the Self with the body, mind, and thoughts. We say “I am sad,” “I am restless,” as though the changing mind were our true nature. But Vedānta teaches that the real “I” is the eternal, unattached Atman — the witness (साक्षी) of all mental modifications.

As declared in the Bhagavad Gita:

न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचिन्

नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः ।

अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो

न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे ॥

The Self is unborn, eternal, and unaffected by the body or mind.

The mind is only an instrument (अन्तःकरण). Its thought-waves (वृत्तियाँ) create agitation and project the world of duality. When we identify with these waves, we experience sorrow and limitation.

But when the thought-waves become calm, the Self shines by itself — just as the bottom of a lake becomes visible when the ripples subside.

As stated in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali:

योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः

Yoga is the cessation of the modifications of the mind.

Bondage is identification with the restless mind.

Liberation is abiding as the changeless Witness, where peace and bliss are natural and ever-present.