A Quiet Mind

Normally the mind is something of a chaotic marketplace. Sensations come in, feelings, emotions, ideas, all kinds of distractions arise and the mind reacts and follows them willy-nilly until the next impulse moves it in another direction. The past arises as we review things that have occurred to us and ruminate over what that means. In some cases, we obsess over something someone has said or done and we repeat thoughts over and over again. The future enters our minds as we focus on something we would like to do, intend to do, or on some possible outcome that we fear or hope for. The present impinges on us with the constant flow of sensations and impressions that demand our mind’s attention. Even when we are relatively focused on a project or task, oftentimes thoughts intervene to reflect on something in the past, or we may get distracted by sounds or sights in our environment, or we may experience a pang of hunger or feeling of thirst and interrupt our concentration on the task to attend to these feelings. We may be carrying with us the residue of a discussion or argument we had with someone earlier, the remembrance of a dream we had while sleeping, or a fantasy we build about something we would like to see happen in the future.

We do not normally even pay attention to all the mind’s activity because it is just the normal way things function. For the seeker, however, when he attempts to sit for meditation, he becomes acutely aware of these things. This can lead to considerable discouragement and a sense that one cannot succeed in quieting the mind. Many simply believe that these distractions only arise when one tries to meditate, but the underlying reality is that they are always present, but the individual does not pay attention to them.

Another issues arises when the seeker begins to grapple with physical and vital impediments that need to be addressed in the spiritual development process, and sees that they are not changing quickly or easily. This can lead to mental perturbations and can act as a further source of anxiety, worry or constant mental processing as he tries to solve the embedded issues and habits of human nature in what turn out to be unrealistic time-frames and methods.

Eventually the seeker can, through repeated attempts, bring a measure of quietness to the mental process. There are a number of different methods that have been tried and it is up to the seeker to determine which method is suitable for him. Swami Vivekananda in Raja Yoga describes the link between the breath and the flow of mental ripples in the ‘mind-stuff’. Sri Aurobindo describes in various places the shifting of the standpoint to the witness awareness and the rejection of the thoughts before they enter the being; as well as describing the psychic aspiration and corresponding receptivity to the higher Force that can bring the mind to a state of quiet awareness.

Seekers also find that the Force can bring with it a state of solid peace, even a state of silence of the mind. The experience of the spiritual Force descending, and overriding the normal mental process is reported by many who practice the integral yoga. While this experience does not generally last indefinitely, it shows the practitioner that such a state of awareness is possible.

Sri Aurobindo notes: “Silence is always good; but I do not mean by quietness of mind entire silence. I mean a mind free from disturbance and trouble, steady, light and glad so as to open to the Force that will change the nature. The important thing is to get rid of the habit of the invasion of troubling thoughts, wrong feelings, confusion of ideas, unhappy movements. These disturb the nature and cloud it and make it difficult for the Force to work; when the mind is quet and at peace, the Force can work more easily. It should be possible to see things that have to be changed in you without being upset or depressed; the change is the more easily done.”

Sri Aurobindo, Bases of Yoga, Chapter 1, Calm — Peace — Equality, pg. 2