Conquest of Mind

Rating:

I find it remarkable that no one in the world has ever reviewed this book, among the most valuable ever written. Perhaps, because it's not read in a few sittings, or an easy subject for casual conversation. No. Control of our monkey-restless-mind is not a subject for small talk, a form of discourse in which Sivananda, one of the most exalted spirits in history, never engages. But the conquest of mind is the very root, the foundation of self discovery, self knowledge, without which we are utterly lost. According to Sivananda, the mind exercises two functions: imagination and discrimination.

'The nature of the mind is to create distinctions and differences. It separates, divides, and limits.
It is a storehouse of errors, cravings, doubts, delusions and the primordial ignorance."

The mind teams up with the senses (located in the body) to deceive and bind us to our worst inclinations. Then we have to face the music of the mistakes we inevitably make (karma). To be human is to err. One cannot deny this truth. We always, in the end, find ourselves to be wrong. These days, many do not even get that far.

"...the chief of man's enemy is within himself. It is egoism. Ego co-exists with mind. When the mind perishes, ego also perishes".

"If there is no egoism, if the mind is free from desires and likes and dislikes, you will not again enter into this world of birth and death".

"A worldly-minded person is a prey to sexual thoughts and thoughts of hatred, anger, and revenge. These two types of thoughts actually take possession of his mind. He is a slave of these two sets of thoughts. He does not know how to divert his mind and fix it on some other good, noble thought. He does not know the laws of thought. He is quite unaware of the nature and subtle workings of the mind".

"The mind is a blessing of God. Because without mind, you cannot think of God".

"The root of all evil is the sense of "I" and "mine". If you destroy the Ahamkara or egoism and conquer the foes of the senses, the Vasanas or subtle desires will vanish. Slay egoism which appears in the forms of fear, hate, envy, doubt, deception and anger. When ego perishes God reveals Himself'.