His alcoholism became a quotidian habit. Dharmendra (name changed) was making a last-ditch effort as he boarded a flight from Jaipur to the Art of Living Ashram at Bangalore. Fortuitously, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had given him an appointment at 4pm that evening. Stinking of liquor, reeking of stale cigarettes, with an unsteady gait he landed at Bangalore airport.
He needed a physical, mental, spiritual, emotional and financial parachute. Only a “Master” through grace, can provide such a life support system. But the monkey mind was conjuring ways to defer the appointment and on the way to the Ashram, Dharmendra had a quick swig and a smoke.
For some time, my friend was trying to seek redemption from the lethal disease of alcoholism. My inventory list was prepared: join a rehab, attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and undertake the Happiness Programme of the Art of Living. This was my road to sobriety.
Gurudev, (as all Master’s do) advanced the appointment to 11am, and on one glance asked my friend to get admitted to the Ayurveda Hospital in the Ashram for a complete detoxification of body, mind and soul, and after a 15-day rehab to undergo the Happiness Programme.
In an interesting turn of events the administrator of the hospital also happened to be the neighbour of Dharmendra at Jaipur. Such coincidences happen when we feel the presence of the Master and permit the mind to make subtle changes, by surrendering our ego and self to a much superior power.
- Harvekar, a psychologist writes, “If we challenge our minds and ourselves and make our container larger, we will watch the universe rush in to fill in the space.” The Guru had scripted a change in the life of Dharmendra, it was for his mind to grab the opportunity.
But the monkey mind invented an excuse and Dharmendra left the Ayurveda Hospital and once again indulged in brinkmanship.
He could not draw the redlines and flag the issues confronting his mind and succumbed to temptation. This typifies a weak and a fragmented mind.
While the brain is an organ that serves as the centre of the nervous system, the mind is the faculty of consciousness and thoughts. It is an individual’s intellect, memory or the attention span and will, whose potential needs to be enhanced.
Buddha said, “We are shaped by our thoughts, we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”
It is said that vultures feed on the carcass of history. Similarly, my friend was not living in the present moment and feeding on the past with no window of opportunity to escape the conundrum.
Buddha further said, “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” This gentleman’s mind was only fixated on the bottle (his past).
Such individuals are unable to break the patterns and barriers of the comfort zone. Their prana levels are exceedingly low and the pendulum of their minds swings to the past. They carry the burden of the past and attempt a course correction without any professional help(guru) displaying false bravado in their imaginary worlds. They unfailingly try to also change the behavioural patterns of those close to them, essentially to market their point of view. Such minds invariably resort to short cuts in life, trying to please everyone without any success. Ignoring the larger picture, this is a cunning and selfish mind, which does not trust anyone: basically, short of confidence and haunted by fear.
The human mind is an enigma. It has enormous potential and is a reservoir of energy. The moot question is how we use this enormous energy. If we look at the brighter aspects of life, such mental imagery works miraculously. Over a period of time the mind feels blessed, gains in abundance and becomes grateful and thankful. Positive thoughts beget positivity and have a spiralling effect. The jigsaw puzzle of life gets sorted out. This is what Masters refer to as the Law of Attraction.
The Law of Attraction remains an illusion, if it is not in conjunction with the Law of Gratitude. Both these laws operate in tandem.
Reading inspirational literature can help to an extent, but the presence of a guru in life provides the cutting edge. Humans tend to cling to the coattails of negativity and the mind is shrouded by darkness. In the process, whatever nature has planned fails to materialize and we rail at our situation. However, contrast it with say the mind of Yuvaraj Singh, who, with the blessings and grace of his Guru was able to conquer a life-threatening cancer and wielded the willow once again. He had a positive frame of mind, which was trusting and faithful.
“Try to live one wonderful day. Then enjoy another day like it. If you continue, you will turn this into a habit,” writes Remez Sassar.
Through meditation, practicing proper breathing techniques (like Sudarshan Kriya), yoga and pranayama, we can make a 360-degree change in our lives.
Meeting Guruji a couple of times transformed the life of Dharmendra. He joined AA and turned sober. Today he is helps alcoholics and nature is blessing his efforts. This is the Law of Spiralling Effect. But this works only when we are not attached to our actions and do not crave doership.
The power of the mind is beyond ‘Maya’ or illusion. It is the power of intuition, says Albert Einstein. The quality of intuition needs to be developed so that our minds grow beyond the comfort zone.
-Taken from my book, ‘Make the Mind Mt.Kailasa’
ravivalluri 