Training the Seeker’s Mind

GVB जुलाई 17, 2022

Training the Seeker’s Mind explains the Vedantic path of desirelessness, showing how mastery of the mind leads to health, clarity, and liberation.

The Amritabindu Upanishad acknowledges that freeing the mind from desire is extremely difficult. A great deal of effort is required to overcome the ingrained tendencies that enslave us to the mind and its cravings. Yet every sincere effort leaves a positive imprint on our life. Gradually, it loosens our attachment to sense objects and prepares us for the direct path to God.

What is this direct path? At this point, the great modern sage Sri Ramana Maharshi would simply tell his disciples that the mind itself is unreal—that it does not truly exist. Such instruction, however, is meant for highly advanced seekers, not for the majority of aspirants. A similar exceptional case was Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj of Mumbai, who was instantly freed from identification with the mind when his Guru told him that he was not the mind. These are rare phenomena in spiritual history.

The Amritabindu Upanishad adopts a more moderate and practical approach, addressing the common seeker who is sincerely struggling to free himself from desire.

Our task, therefore, is to do everything within our capacity to prevent the growth and multiplication of desires in the mind, and to keep it as pure as possible from their contamination. Acharyaji once referred to modern scientific attempts to free humanity from desire. These efforts are based on the theory that mental states arise from chemical reactions in the body, which then influence the mind. Consequently, scientists search for a “pill” that could adjust body chemistry and eliminate desire.

In theory, this seems reasonable. In practice, however, it has led to pills that only intensify desire! Very few people are genuinely interested in reducing their desires. The pill that would truly eliminate desire does not sell—it is bad for business. The pill that increases desire dominates the market and is famously known simply as “the Pill.”

Vedanta, on the other hand, proposes the reverse view: it is the thoughts we entertain in the mind that produce chemical changes in the body, not the other way around. For example, a person nervous before a public speech may sweat or feel his palms grow moist. Fear can make the face pale, anger increases body heat, and sudden shock can freeze all action. Clearly, the state of the mind directly affects the body.

Vedanta’s “magic pill” for this condition is DESIRELESSNESS. It not only promises better physical well-being, but also liberation from spiritual bondage. As Acharyaji humorously remarked,
“We get two for the price of one!”