Question:

JGD Ekta Ji, I am of the mindset that there will always be thoughts in the mind but by staying in knowledge and other techniques you can control your mind so that you are not attached to these thoughts. This way you are still performing actions but these actions are not filling your karma bag as you are not attached to actions (action is synonymous to thoughts). I am finding it hard to imagine how we will do daily worldly actions without any thoughts in the mind.

Answer:

What do you mean by “by staying in knowledge and other techniques you can control your mind so that you are not attached to these thoughts.” What does control mean? Who is controlling? What are you controlling? It is the Self that had lost all control of itself on account of Maaya and started thinking itself to be the Body/Mind/Intellect/Memory/Ego complex. When you identified with the mind, you had developed a wrong understanding that you cannot exist without thoughts. You feel that thoughts are running your day to day activities, you feel that without thoughts/mind, nothing will move, but this understanding is incorrect. It is limited. It is called doership. It is the product of the “I”.

Until the doership exists you will be body bound [means you will keep taking rebirth because the mind still exists]. You must realize that there is a state [that is very much reachable for you] where the mind does not exist. That is the state where you are pure Self. The first “I” that had come up, was the baby mind. This baby has become old now and must die. When this mind dies, Love dawns, Self dawns, Silence dawns, Light dawns.

Actually saying that ‘it dawns’ is incorrect. You are the Self which is just covered by the grey clouds of thoughts. When these thoughts diminish, then you see the bright light that you are, the silence that you are, the Love that you are.

You can reach a state of “no-mind” or “mind-less” or “thought-less” state only by your own Purushartha.

Vasishtha, Ashtavakra, Patanjali etc just pave the way for us, we must walk on it. Vasishtha’s way is like walking on the razors edge. It’s not easy but it’s not impossible. You must have the strength to throw aside all such excuses of the mind that “daily routine cannot be carried out without thoughts”.

Daily routine can be carried out without thoughts because in reality thoughts are also a dream. A dream is unreal. A dream is an obstacle in your path. In Zen ashrams, the monks are made to practice thoughtlessness. This practice itself is a sadhana. They just sit all day with eyes closed and observe the mind until it is empty of thoughts and then just dissolve in the silence. This dissolving is like a rebirth.

When you drop the mind, you will be born. So do not suppress your own birth! It is a possibility.

Follow this step wise process:

1] Clear away any doubts that it is difficult to be without thoughts. Mind is fooling you with this statement.

2] You just be! Watch everything, do not indulge. Indulging happens with thought. Thoughts are only about seeking. Just be!

3] When you separate yourself from the mind and observe you will realize that everything is happening anyways. This entire samsara is being run on its own.

4] Your life is a part of that samsara and will continue to move without your inputs of thoughts.

5] I understand it is difficult for you to understand this with your intellect, that’s why Faith is required. Because Vasishtha is telling you to step beyond the mind by being thought-less/ mindless. How can you comprehend with your mind that which is ‘beyond the mind.’ Thus have Faith and just walk the path earnestly – stop talking to yourself!