Man is what his mind is

abracad, June 18, 2012 · Categories: externally authored, spirituality

By: Lt Col R K Langar

Introduction

Man is what his mind is. Man is what he thinks. As the mind so is man. If mind is disturbed, man is disturbed. Thoughts which are continuously produced by our mind areÂ our constant companions and we have no choice but to accept it. Man should be the master of his thoughts but if he does not check his thinking process, he becomes a slave of his thoughts which produce substandard words and acts. Again as we think so is the world. If you think positively the world looks beautiful and you become a well wisher of the world. And if you think negatively, your own state of personality sinks low. It is rightly said that thoughts produced by our mind hold the key for our evolution. That is why the Gita says that mind can be oneâ€™s best friend as well as oneâ€™s worst enemy. In other words we are makers of ourselves.Â Human mind is described as a public place open from all sides. Any thing can enter our mind and settle there which may not, in most cases, be good there by affecting our personality. Therefore we should not allow negative and useless ideas to enter our mind. This requires our complete self control over our mind and senses. Manâ€™s character is sum total of his thoughts. The reason is that our speech and actions are based on our thought process.

Source of our thought

The source of our thoughts is based on our belief system, our past experiences, the quality of information which we Â receive and accept, our Samskars and most importantly on the values and virtues that we have imbibed within us. All the sources of our thoughts contribute towards our belief system. Our belief system give rise to our thoughts, thoughts give rise to our feelings, feelings give shape to our attitude and our attitude leads to our actions. Constantly acting in a similar way becomes our habit which gives shape to our personality and subsequently our fate. Thus we see that there is a direct relationship between our thoughts and fate. Our Samskars(karmic load) or past thoughts, words and actions of our previous life has determined our present as per the Karmic law and our present thoughts words and actions will determine our future. Our present good thoughts shall also settle our past Samskars. It is believed that 80% of our daily routine work is carried out as per our habits involving onlyÂ our mind without making full use of our intellect. It must be clearly understood that intellect acts like a filter which has the ability to eliminate negative and waste thoughts of the mind before these are put into our speech and action.

Types of our thoughts

Mind being the source of our thoughts mainly produces four types of thoughts. These are positive thoughts, negative thoughts, waste thoughts and elevated thoughts. Mind is only one which can be pure as well as impure depending on our state of consciousness. When it is pure it would produce positive and elevating thoughts while when it is impure it would produce negative and waste thoughts. It is quite obvious that the quality of our mind will decide the quality of our thoughts. As air is used to light the fire, the same air is used to extinguish the fire. Similarly pure mind can take you to the highest state of evolution and the same mind can bring you down to the lowest state of existence. In both cases it is the quality of mind which moulds personality. Mind is the king of senses and sense oriented and therefore it is absolutely essential that we do not permit the mind to function on its own but always keep it under the strict control of our intellectÂ so that it does not misbehave.

Positive thoughts

Positive thoughts are based on our positive belief system which fills our attitude with positivity. Positive thoughts not only conserve our energy but they also enhance it. A man with positive state of mind finds goodness in all people. A positive mind sends positive vibrations all around and draws back positive vibrations. He sends pious vibrations to all who are suffering. Some example of positive thoughts are as detailed below. I have the potential to do something good in whatever conditions. I am placed in. I am a store house of divine virtues which I make use of them in my day to day conduct. I am getting power and more knowledge day by day. I love the virtues which I possess and on the basis of this I love and respect everyone. The world is one world family and no one is a stranger to me. I strongly believe that love can melt all blockages in life. I think with kindness about others including thoseÂ who are not good Â to me. I have compassion and concern for humanity. I have a noble desire to alleviate the suffering of all. I do not blame others and take full responsibility of my life. I love to give and share my virtues and knowledge with others. I have high self esteem about myself devoid of any ego.

Negative thoughts

Negative thoughts move faster than positive thoughts since no effort is required to create them. Negative thoughts are based on our negative belief system which fills our attitude with negativity. Negative thoughts not only reduce our energy level but they also limit our inner growth. Negative thoughts are based on our likes and dislikes. Some examples of negative thoughts are as under. I am not getting popular as I should be with my state of knowledge. This feeling leads me to a low self esteem. I think too much about my body problems. I am of little use to the society. My relationship with others is not constant and is sometime good sometime not so good. I lack enthusiasm due to my low self esteem. I expect from others and when people do not come up to my expectation, I get hurt. I have no real friend with whom I can share my problems.

Waste thoughts

Waste thoughts are those thoughts which are of no use for our self evolution. They are neither positive nor negative. Â Waste thoughts come when we are lonely and not engaged in any work. The most common waste thoughts are when we either think about our past or think about future in order to draw some happiness out of our past good deeds. Thinking about our future we imagine things will happen the way I want which would give me happiness. It has to be clearly understood that happiness lies within us which can only be experienced in the present. Waste thoughts are compared to a pitcher which has a leak at the bottom through which our energy leaks out.

Elevated thoughts

Elevated thoughts are those thoughts when we focus our mind in the present and work out our self evolution and at the same time. Those are elevated thoughts when we Â find ways and means to contribute towards betterment of society. You cannot change others but certainly you can inspire others with your words and actions which emanate firm our elevated thoughts. Elevated thoughts are our noble desires which are always for the good of others. Holy, noble and divine thoughts keep us joyful at all times

Collective world that we are building is dependent on individual behavior. If all individual in a family are positive thinkers, the society shall become good and so on. Positive thinking helps in making the world peaceful. Positive and elevated thoughts help us to change our faulty belief system. If our thoughts are elevated based on ethics and morality, we shall Â ever be positive thinkers. Life analysis can help us to confront negative and waste thoughts and eliminate them with a firm conviction that I can create a positive belief system and in the process we conserve our energy which can be usefully employed to shape our noble desires.Â A person who lives in the thought of doing food to the world attains fruits of good works out of sheer power to his thoughts.

Conclusion

Thoughts and feelings are our own creations through our mind and so we should develop the ability to direct our mind to produce useful thoughts. Thoughts of malice, envy, discomfort and despondency robs the body of health and vigour whereasÂ with glad and beautiful thoughts body acquires youthfulness and beauty. We should start the day by telling our mind to move on the right track. We must acquire the confidence to say â€˜I can create positive thoughtsâ€™. Positive and elevated thoughts emerged from a peaceful mind.