Desires are the cause of most disturbances of the mind. Mind has the capacity to be wavering or stable – the two extremes of mind. Desires keep cropping up to disturb the tranquillity of even established minds. So, understanding the mind and its influences are of great importance. Learn to cultivate the factors that are conducive to attaining an undisturbed state of mind. Stabilise the mind in such a manner that it remains undisturbed no matter what…. The main blocks that lie in the path of spirituality are an overactive, wavering mind and the endless desires.

The original mind is as pure as a mirror. But it has gathered layers and layers of spiritual dirt which needs to be wiped off. Take the example of a traveller who sets off on a long journey in freshly ironed, clean clothes, but in the course of his travels he accumulates dust and dirt all over himself. It is only when he has an opportunity to wash himself and change his clothes that he is able to restore himself to his original fresh state of appearance.

So is the case with our minds. For many, many lifetimes, we have been travellers and have gathered innumerable impressions or dirt on our minds. These impressions are so deeply embedded that it is difficult for us to have clear vision. So, the first step to take is – free our minds from accumulating any further dirt or impressions. The next step to take is – discard past memories, impressions, hurts etc. – discard all those matters that obstruct the purity of our mind, and stops us from living in the present. When we live in the moment we remain pure, and free of any wavering of the mind. The various techniques taught at our Ashram are essentially methods that help us live in the present – in the here and now.

If you wish to discard the past that weighs so heavily on your mind, which does not allow you to live in the present, then you must make dedicated efforts towards cleansing the accumulated dirt of the mind. When you regularly engage in spiritual practices that have been taught to you at the Ashram – you will observe that even the accumulated impressions tend to get wiped away. You will then find yourself light and purposeful, with a mind devoid of any burden. To achieve this, you must have complete dedication towards any of the spiritual practices that have been taught to you, and towards which you may find a natural orientation.

Unless you are free from your accumulated impressions, you will remain in bondage of the past which is burdensome. The Past is no more, and the Future is yet to be; only the Present matters. When you let go of the Past and the Future, living in the Present becomes easy.

Try a technique to uncover yourself from the accumulated impressions of the past, and to look at the mirror of your mind. Develop a deep understanding of the situation you are in. For example: let us examine your feeling of ‘anger’. Let’s say: Something has happened to make you intensely angry; and that your anger has taken complete control over you, and you are no longer in your senses. Immediately, take a deep breath, and remind yourself that you must watch your anger, and that you must be undisturbed.

Try to develop a deep understanding of your present situation. As you start observing … watching the source of your anger, you will find yourself getting calmer and calmer. Ask yourself about the source of your anger. By and by, you will find that you no longer identify with your anger. Instead, you become a witness to the ‘anger happening’ and you start regaining your lost composure.

Practice this method whenever you find yourself identifying with any emotion that affects you. For example, when intense grief affects you, start observing the ‘grief happening’. Start moving towards the source of your grief – where did this emotion come from? Is it something permanent? or is it temporary? Become a witness to the ‘grief’ that is consuming you. As you become a witness, you no longer identify yourself with the “grief”. You are instead led towards your original mind – the one which is pure and without any past accumulations – which can never be disturbed. Just witness your present state of mind. So, when you live in the witness mode, only the original mind functions – none of the past accumulations are disturbed, and you are able to function from an undisturbed state of mind.

Just as in a cyclone, there is a centre that is undisturbed, so also in any emotion that grips you, you must be able to locate the centre that is undisturbed. Practice this method of detaching yourself from all emotions that threaten to take over. Slowly, you will discard your old habit of living in the past or living in the future, and instead you will start living in the present. So, no more collection of impressions, just go on living from moment to moment, in a ‘witness’ mode. Also, all of us have scars or past impressions in our minds from accumulated, unhealed emotional wounds. It is important to cleanse these from our minds so that they do not have the power to create any disturbances in our minds.

Our minds are like recording devices that record the intense emotions that make us suffer. If you are suffering an agony, then the incident gets recorded in your mind in the same sequence as it happened. Thereafter if you give energy to it, the agony will start replaying. You will behave in exactly the same manner that you had behaved the last time such an emotion occurred. So, the best way to cleanse the mind is to recall such agonising events and relive them in a ‘witness’ mode.

Relive the agony by just witnessing the entire scene without getting disturbed. By practising this reliving of desires and situations in a ‘witness’ mode, you are capable of cleansing the mind of all accumulated impressions, and you will succeed in developing an undisturbed state of mind. Once you know how to remain undisturbed, the world becomes a wonderful place to live in. Nothing is difficult anymore. Nothing can create any confusion in you, nor can anything hurt you or create any suffering for you.

Life is meant to be lived with joy. Whatever situation you may be placed in, do not take life seriously, just live it – moment by moment- with the ‘witness’ attitude. If you manage to become unhappy, be very sure that you have dropped your ‘witness’ attitude towards life and its events. Unhappiness comes when you become too serious towards life. Drop your serious attitude, adopt the ‘witness’ attitude, and you shall once again become happy. Do not pay any attention to either joy or sorrow. Learn to witness all things and events without any involvement. Do your duty and move on, do not expect anything, you shall then achieve an undisturbed state of mind, always. Even when happiness prevails and you begin to feel ecstatic, do not cling to it. Just remain a witness always.

May each one of you achieve a tranquil and undisturbed state of mind.