Dark clouds bring rain, but there can be clouds without rain. God’s grace is in drops like rain. They accumulate and then there is a torrent. If there is a strong desire for God, even bad thoughts just pass through the mind and are not held on to. Desire directed to God brings the discrimination. Intelligence, which is discrimination, is not mind, nor is it thoughts. Intelligence is a direct Atma Shakti, a direct force of the Atma. The way to overcome bad thoughts and impulses is by having thoughts of serving the Lord, good conversation with wise people, good actions and good words. The weight of good acts and thoughts will bury the seeds of bad actions and thoughts. Both good and bad thoughts are like seeds in the mind. If buried too deep in the earth, seeds rot and waste away. Good thoughts and deeds bury bad seeds so deeply that they rot and pass away and are no longer ready to spring forth. (CWBSSB, p. 68)
Thoughts go no place. Because thoughts do not flow through the mind, the mind goes out and grasps and gets engaged in thoughts. If the desire is for God, the mind does not go out, but the best way is to not have the problem of getting rid of thoughts. The best way is to see all thoughts as God. Then only God-thoughts will come. . (CWBSSB, p. 75)
‘We become what our thoughts are’. These thoughts on the validity of the objective world and the value of the joys derivable there from, though they emanate fromAjnana, do shape us from within. The reason why we are caught in this mould lies in the absence of four requisites: (1) attention towards Adhyatmic gain (spiritual progress); (2) steady faith; (3) devotion, and (4) the grace of God. Even if one of these four is absent, man cannot experience the highest Bliss of the Absolute. (SV, p. 163)
What is contained in your own heart as a clean thought and as supreme consciousness is itself God. He is God and you do not have to look for Him elsewhere. (SSB 1973, p. 31)
If you want to have good thoughts, you must resort to the spiritual path. The starting point for spiritual path is Satsanga, holy company. Thoughts are contagious. Hence the adage, ‘Tell me your company and I will tell you what you are’. You should, therefore, scrupulously eschew bad company. (ICS , p. 76)
If you want to reach the ultimate truth of your being and be immersed in the bliss of the Atma principle, you need to develop complete control over your desires. The moment any thought arises, you should inquire into the nature of this thought. Ask yourself, ‘Is this thought desirable or is it harmful for my spiritual progress?’ Devotees should be extremely careful, right from the very beginning, to see to it that bad thoughts do not remain in their minds. For most people, it is impossible to remain without any thoughts at all; but at least, when bad thoughts arise you can do something about it. Do not harbour them. Give them no shelter. Immediately transform any bad thoughts into good ones. In the same way, see to it that you undertake any good actions, and take every opportunity to transform these actions into worship by consecrating them to the lord. By transforming all thoughts into noble thoughts and all work into worship, you will naturally progress in the sacred path. By controlling your thoughts in this way, you will be able to control any anger that might arise. Quite a few people worry about this, wondering what is the best way to control anger when it comes on and tries to overwhelm them. (DBG, p. 57)
If one thinks that God is separate from him, it may be so for him, but if anyone totally gives up his thoughts, he then becomes God Himself. All thoughts are illusions, so, if you give them up, you yourself become God. Therefore, all of you give up all thoughts. Come forward and enjoy the Divinity that you are! (P1 - p. 244)
Developing good thoughts fosters the Iccha-shakti (Will-power). Iccha shakti fosters Prana Shakti (Life Principle), Medhashakti (Intellectual power), Grahana Shakti (Power of understanding), Nirnaya Shakti (Power of determination) and Vak Shakti (Power of Speech). One who uses one’s will power in the right manner shines as a virtuous person, but one who uses it in the wrong direction becomes wicked. The will power increases as and when one reduces desires. When excessive desires are entertained, the will power declines. By reducing just one of your several habits like smoking or coffee addiction, you can experience an increase in your will power and intellectual ability. When the will power is weak, even one sits in meditation he cannot steady his mind and it will only be a waste of time. One should reduce desires to progress in spiritual sadhana. (SSS Vol.26, pp. 128-129)
The mind can run faster than light. Just as you are able to hear a broadcast of music from a radio station in Delhi simultaneously in Whitefield, the mind also operates like radio waves. Thought waves emanating from the mind have also got properties of radio waves. There is no end to the waves arising from the ocean of the mind. The power of thought is immense. Thoughts outlast the human body. Thought waves radiate very much like heart waves, radio waves and light waves. The thought waves are the cause of man’s joy or sorrow, health or disease, birth or death. The potency of these waves has to be understood by man and his conduct has to be based on this awareness.
The whole cosmos is made up of thought waves; hence, the scripture declares: ‘The mind is at the root of the cosmos.’ There is no place, or form or action wherein the mind is absent. Hence, all thoughts of man should be turned in the right direction.
When good thoughts, good feelings and good intentions are developed, the mind becomes pure. Only when the mind is pure, can the action be pure and the fruits thereof be pure. Today we sow the seed of thought, karma and reap the fruit of action. From the seed of karma arises svabhava (the fruit of behaviour). Out of the seed of behaviour comes the fruit of character. The seed of character yields the fruit of adhrishtam (fortune). Thus, from thought to fortune, the chain of human progress can be perceived. Our good and bad luck are thus linked to our thoughts. The mind immerses man in impenetrable darkness through bad thoughts. The same mind can lift man to sublime heights by good thoughts. Thus, thoughts are supremely important for man. They constitute his very life-breath. Without understanding this truth, man allows evil tendencies like anger, envy, hatred and conceit to fill his mind and thereby courts disaster.
A man seeking to harm others nourishes many evil thoughts in his mind. But these thoughts cause him ten times the harm he does to others. He is not aware of this truth. Consequently, he indulges in abuse of others and in doing harm to them. But there are no ‘others,’ but only manifestations of the Divine. Not realising the divinity in others, man tries to harm them. But whoever wields the sword against others, will perish by the sword. The harm which he does to others will be the undoing of himself. Whoever abuses others, will also be the target of abuse by others. As are the thoughts, so is the outcome. The entire human existence is based upon thoughts and their results.
Man perpetually tries to conceal his faults like the ostrich, which buries its head in the sand hoping that thereby the hunter will not see it. In fact, the ostrich becomes an easy target for the hunter. Likewise, a man filled with ego and wickedness imagines that his thoughts are not known to anyone else. But a man’s mind is like a gramophone record. His good and bad thoughts are reflected in his face, though he does not notice it but any outside observer can observe it well. The face of a man filled with thoughts appears like that of a man with pimples. The face becomes like a board indicating what goes on in the mind.
As thoughts lead to actions, man’s behaviour, speech and conduct affect the tendencies of the mind and give rise to good or bad impulses. Man imagines that no one can know his thoughts. While entertaining evil thoughts about others, he acts as if he rejoices in their company. But in fact, he is not deceiving others, but deceiving himself. He is only nourishing evil thoughts and degrading himself. The natural state of a man’s heart is pure. But by letting in the poisonous snakes in the form of evil thoughts, he is inviting trouble.
How can a man have peace in his home if there is a snake in it? Bad thoughts in the mind are worse than poisonous reptiles in the house. Absolutely no room should be given for bad thoughts. (SSS Vol.26)
By our thoughts we can even cure the ills of others. When the friendship of good persons is acquired through good thoughts, the union of the good leads to the realisation of the Divine. One’s thoughts determine the kind of people with whom one associates. A drunkard seeks the company of drunkards; a thief joins the company of thieves, a lawyer with lawyers, and so on. So, good-intentioned persons should associate only with like-minded persons. If they get into the company of evil-minded persons, even their good thoughts may get polluted.
Men do not realise today to prodigious powers of the mind. The five elements, the five life breaths, the five sense organs, the five sheaths are all based on the mind. It is because the immense power of the mind is not recognised, human life is ruined. By belittling the mind, man is dehumanising himself and behaving either like an animal or as a demon. When man broadens his mental vision, he can realise his Divinity.
If the nation has to improve and progress, if you want to experience the Divine that pervades the cosmos, you have to cultivate good thoughts. Do not treat thoughts as trifles. A giant banyan tree grows out of a small seed. There is a saying in Telugu that even a small serpent has to be beaten with a long stick. In the same manner, even bad thought has to be rigorously eschewed. (SSS Vol.26, pp. 203-206)
Good and evil depend on one’s thoughts and feelings. The true colour of any object is not perceivable. Equally, the true form is not apparent. Electrical energy is generated from a hydroelectric power station. The electric current is not visible to us, though the different uses to which the energy is put are obvious. Likewise, all beings, all living creatures, emerge form the Atmic Principle . But this Principle is not apparent. We can see the beings arising from this Principle and their behaviour, good and bad. (SSS Vol.29, p. 325)
How one should keep one’s thoughts under check? In Adi Sankara’s ashram there was a disciple who would go around the premises with a large stick repeating: ‘Be Careful, Be Careful’.
Mata nasti, pita nasti nasti bandhu sahodaraha
artham nasti gruham nasti tasmat jagrita jagritah!
Janma duhkham, jara duhkham jaya duhkha punah punaha
samsara sagaram duhkham tasmat jagrita jagritah!
Kama krodhascha lobhascha deehee tishthamti taskaraha
jnana ratna apahara arthaya tasmat jagrita jagritah!
At that time, Sankara was sitting alone in theashram. All the people would come to him, and all matters would be referred to him. He felt a little proud as the founder president of an organization that had grown. When his thoughts were running along these directions he heard the voice ‘.....tasmat jagrita jagritah!’ and checked his thoughts.
In one’s youth, one may get bad thoughts due to the monkey mind. One should not be shaken by such bad thoughts. We should sit at a quite place and repeat to ourselves very firmly, ‘I am not a monkey, I am man,’ ten times. By doing this all the bad thoughts will vanish and one develops self-confidence. If one gets angry, one should repeat, ‘I am not a street dog, I am man,’ with conviction. A street dog gets very angry fast even for small things. It barks even at its own shadow.
One should not waste even a minute. The youth should always keep themselves busy with some activity and thus spend their time usefully. If we are idle at any time, the devil of bad thoughts would sneak into our mind, so we should never be idle. (M, p. 235)
When we focus our thoughts on the evil that others do, our mind gets polluted by the evil. When, on the contrary, we fix our mind on the virtues of others, our mind is cleansed of wrong thoughts and will be filled with good thoughts. No evil thought can penetrate the mind of a person wholly given to love and compassion. (SSSm Vol.6, p. 407)