Going Beyond The Mind

Going Beyond the Mind

By Anandmurti Gurumaa

Copyright 2011 Gurumaa Vani

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About the Author

Anandmurti Gurumaa

Her Holiness Anandmurti Gurumaa is a contemporary, enlightened Master working relentlessly for the spiritual upliftment of mankind. Although Gurumaa herself does not bear any allegiance to any one particular religion, she is beyond that but nevertheless expounds so fluently on all major religions. Her erudite commentaries on Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Sufi scriptures are immensely beautiful, profound yet lucid and easy to understand. She has devised numerous techniques to aid meditation, written several books of immense wisdom and given remarkably in depth eloquent discourses on saints from different backgrounds; from Kabir, Guru Nanak, Meerabai, Sahajobai to Rumi…and the list goes on! Gautama Buddha had said, The greatest gift is to give people your enlightenment, to dispel their ignorance. And indeed, Anandmurti Gurumaa has been unceasingly, tirelessly endeavouring to share this light of wisdom with one and all.

An embodiment of sheer love and compassion, she has been assiduously striving to teach people the art of living in bliss, in peace, breaking all the shackles of bondage, misery and suffering.

There are many facets to her truly well-rounded personality. Her mesmerising persona, a bedazzling smile enthrals and captivates one's attention completely. A brilliant musician, her mellifluous singing and chanting is totally enrapturing. A sparkling sense of humour and wit complements her razor sharp intellect perfectly. It is amazing to see people of all ages and background, men, women and children, relate to her so readily.

Furthermore, given her contemporary, modern outlook, she is especially endearing to the youth.

The main aspect of her teaching is aimed at spiritual upliftment of the masses, guiding the seeker to take steps from the darkness of ignorance to the illumination of enlightenment and freedom from all bondages and miseries of life. Moreover, amazingly Anandmurti Gurumaa is one of the rare enlightened Masters, who is able to adeptly guide all true seekers no matter which spiritual path they want to pursue (margas like gyana yoga, bhakti yoga, karma yoga or raja yoga).

Anandmurti Gurumaa puts emphasis on the art of healthy living and this book is aimed at imparting invaluable information on achieving a state of complete physical and mental well-being, a state of complete harmony. She reiterates that just because one is not sick does not mean that one is healthy! And a state of complete health can be achieved only by addressing the body and mind as one unit. An old adage says, From the bitterness of disease man learns the sweetness of health. There is no wisdom in waiting to fall ill in order to understand the importance of good health. Hence, one ought to take adequate preventive measures.

And in this book, Anandmurti Gurumaa expounds all these measures in great depth. She says, 'Human body is a temple within which Godliness (God is neither He nor She!) resides'. Thus one has to learn means and ways to keep this body healthy and energetic. A healthy body is crucial in becoming a tool for spiritual evolution and attainment of higher wisdom. Yoga asanas, pranayama and appropriate nutritious diet are quintessential in achieving total health. An important aspect of this book is the elaborate description of the cleansing techniques which are powerful means of energising the body which in turn aids immensely in enhancing the effects of the spiritual practices.

She is based at her ashram in Gannaur (Sonepat, Haryana). There are various camps held at the ashram wherein retreats and workshops are conducted on meditation and yoga. In addition, Gurumaa does a lot of globe-trotting holding discourses and meditation camps all over India and the world. The discourses, meditation camps and workshops are open to every earnest seeker irrespective of their religious or socio-economic background. It is with great compassion that she looks after all the disciples dwelling in the ashram and all seekers in general. It is indeed apt, that given the combination of her infinite higher wisdom and compassion that she is befittingly referred to as 'Guru-Maa'!

Mission Shakti

Another important cause spearheaded by Anandmurti Gurumaa is Mission Shakti - dedicated to empowering underprivileged girls so that they can lead a wholesome, dignified life with financial independence and actuate their inherent potential. This organization is non-sectarian, non-profit making and non-discriminatory. The stimulus for forming this came from Gurumaa's compassion towards the pathetic plight of girl children, especially in north India where female foeticide is rampant and prevalent age old customs and patriarchal society leads to suppression and exploitation of females on an alarmingly large scale. The core belief of Shakti is that education is pivotal in accomplishing the mission of female empowerment and changing the prevalent misguided mindset of Indian society towards the girl child and women in general. Focusing on education and vocational training is the key, as this will also address the underlying issues of illiteracy and poverty. Moreover, an educated and financially independent girl will not only support and look after her family but this will eventually lead to a better and balanced society.

For more details, logon to http://www.gurumaa.com

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Foreword

Mind is a very complex phenomenon. Neurophysicians and neuroscientists recognize the brain to be the master controller of the body. But when we talk about mind, we are not referring to the brain. Mind is a much, much bigger entity than the brain. Western Scientists are still researching the mind, trying to understand its recondite nature. But the East recognized this entity a long time ago.

Our Rishis, hermits, mystics not only understood the mechanism of mind but also discovered various ways of going beyond it. They concluded that understanding the mind is more of an inward journey rather than any outward investigation. Once a thing is known, it can be transcended. If you know that by swimming or by using a boat or by walking over a bridge one can cross a river then what do you do? You simply use any of the above methods to cross it. Similarly, knowing the mind is the way of going beyond it.

Mind you, this book will not provide you with any knowledge. Your mind already has enough of it! In fact it has become burdened by it. This discourse-based book will offer you a totally different perspective; it will offer you the opportunity of ‘knowing’ rather than mere accumulation of word-based knowledge.

These series of talks are not based upon some kind of passively acquired knowledge but it is in fact, the direct experience of the one who has herself gone beyond all boundaries of the mind. It is the vision of a master who has transcended all dualities. Our mind lives in duality. It perpetually lives in conflict of either this or that, always in some kind of a dilemma.

This book offers you the sutras of a master whose vision stands undivided because the duality of mind has ceased to exist; where the vision has become so transparent that in its pristine clarity, it will clearly guide you towards the ultimate freedom.

Deep inside we all want to understand the phenomenon of mind. And we may have tried many ways to know it and in the process have ended up exhausting ourselves. The one who has known the mind in its totality; he or she alone can show us the way to go beyond it.

This book, which is a compilation of a series of discourses delivered at a meditation retreat, gives you the perfect opportunity to understand the entity called mind. Gurumaa’s deep insight and sagacity will open up new avenues for you. It will tap your dormant potentiality; it will uncover your capability to understand, to really ‘know’. You may have read a lot but these sutras will not add on to your bookish learning. Instead, they will allow you to see beyond the confines of the mind. They will reveal a totally new world - a world without chaos, a world of no-conflict, a world of clear understanding.

Contents

1 Come Alone

2 Introspection is the Key

3 Woes of Conflict

4 Where O Where is this Mind!

5 Mind to No-Mind

6 Breath and Mind: The Integral Link

7 Freedom from the Mind

8 Too far to Go, Too little Time

9 Renounce Attachment

10 Unconsciousness: The Only Sin

1.

Come Alone

The attainment of everything else is comparatively easy; but attaining the state of what is known as lagan (deep longing) is a very tough task indeed. Going on a pilgrimage is not difficult, nor is japa or incantation difficult; giving alms is not difficult and neither is anushthan or religious activity difficult. It is also not difficult to do akhand paaths (non-stop recitation of a scripture) and neither is ceremonial sacrifice difficult. We become accustomed to all such practices after a while and thus with time it gets easy to do that which we earlier found hard to perform.

Just as when a person initially sits down for meditation or incantation, he finds it tough to do it even for a few minutes. But gradually, with the passage of time, he gets used to sitting for longer periods. Earlier when he would sit cross-legged, his feet would go numb after a while, the posture would hurt him, he would need to shift his weight from one foot to another. But gradually, with time, as consistency brings maturity into the practice, it becomes easier to sit in the asana (yogic posture) with ease, without moving or shuffling.

If someone learns to sit in padmasana (lotus posture) today, he will perhaps find it tough to stay in that pose even for two seconds. But if his resolve is strong, if he is determined that come what may, he will continue with the practice, then after a while a time will come when he will be able to sit comfortably in padmasana without any aches or pains. See, you cannot practice anything without possessing a degree of tenacity and fortitude. And there is certainly nothing wrong in being stubborn or obstinate for a good cause.

Raj hath (royal obstinacy), baal hath (a child’s obstinacy), stree hath (a woman’s obstinacy) are the three well recognized examples of obstinacy or stubbornness. If a King or someone weilding power decides to turn intransigent, you will have no choice but to accept their intractable command. Likewise if a woman gets adamant about something, is there a man in this world who can stand up to her obstinacy and deny her demands?! Leave others—look at our own Lord Sri Rama. When Sitaji declared, "I have seen a golden deer and I just want it’, could Sri Rama reason with her? Did she listen to his rationale? Sri Rama had no choice but to go after the deer and fetch it for Sitaji.

Another prime example of a woman’s obstinacy is Kaykeyi. She stubbornly demanded that Sri Rama be exiled to a forest for 14 years and that her son, Bharat, should get enthroned. This was her obdurate stand and she moved heaven and earth through her dramatic histrionics, forcing King Dasratha to give in to her inexorable demands. The King knew very well that she was abusing the two boons that he had once granted her. But he had to bow down before her Stree hath.

And who is not versed with a child’s obstinacy i.e. baal hath! When a child raises the roof through an obstinate tantrum wanting something or the other, the whole family will get together if need be, to fulfill that demand. So, although obstinacy is generally regarded as an unbecoming trait, but when a child is being obstinate, we tend to give in saying, Never mind; after all, he is only a child.

Similalry, if a woman obstinately wants to get her own way, then her husband generally accedes to her demands, but this is out of sheer helplessness. In his heart, he doesn’t really approve of it and is not pleased with being manipulated or forced to give in to his wife’s stubbornness. But what about Raj hath or royal obduracy! If a King decides to be dogged about something, it is even tougher to stand up to him. One can still think of warning a woman, threatening her by saying something like: I’ll send you back to your parents’ home, I’ll divorce you, or I’m leaving this house, and thus, getting her to abandon her pigheaded demands.

But facing royal obstinacy is altogether another ball game! You simply have to give in to it; you have to bow down before it. All in all, if you look at it from the point of view of society, obstinacy is far from being a virtue. It is regarded as an unbecoming, inappropriate behaviour. But let me introduce you to a situation wherein doggedness, stubbornness is indeed a virtue.

And this situation is sadhana or spiritual practice because if there is no tenacity, no determined perseverance, then we cannot attain excellence in our spiritual practice. I will get up in the morning at 4:00 a.m. to do my meditation, my bhajans…, if this doggedness is not within you, your mind will come up with hundreds of reasons: "Where is the need for me to wake up that early in the morning? How does it matter if I