Sri Sathya Sai expounds on Tantra for Mind-Control – Part 1

Pure thoughts hold the key for purity of mind. Thoughts have an objective reality of their own. They deal with six characteristics associated with physical objects: weight, form, quality, size, force and colour. If a man has a Champak flower in his hand, the fragrance of that flower is carried by him wherever he goes. Likewise, he would be carrying foul smell too wherever he goes. It is the same with good or bad thoughts. They radiate their good or bad vibrations around them. Thoughts have so much power that when they are directed towards great objectives they can be used to influence the world. When the mind is filled with good thoughts, such as truth, love, forbearance and compassion, one's life is filled with peace and serenity. If, on the other hand, one allows thoughts of hatred, envy, anger and conceit to grow, life becomes a perpetual misery. 

The Power of the Thoughts and Words 

The face is the index of the mind. When you bear ill-will towards anyone, your enmity alters your face and manners. When you entertain good and loving thoughts, your heart is filled with joy and you experience an upsurge of happiness. If you fill your heart with love, your entire life becomes a saga of love. If you fill it with hatred, envy and pride, life becomes a dreary desert. A tree that has roots deep in the ground cannot .be destroyed when its branches or leaves are cut off. Likewise, when evil qualities like hatred and envy have struck deep roots for the tree of life, they cannot be got rid off by striking at some branches. By suppressing bad thoughts intermittently, these evil tendencies cannot be eradicated. The mind has to be completely emptied of all bad thoughts to achieve real peace. Every bad thought must be rooted out the moment it arises in the mind. The war against bad thoughts is like the war against enemy hordes who attempt to get behind a fort through a subterranean tunnel. As each one of the enemy emerges from the tunnel, he should be struck down. Each one of the sense organs – the eyes, the tongue or the ears, when influenced by a bad thought, is led astray and behaves improperly. When they are influenced by good thoughts and impulses, they act in a manner which produces joy and contentment. When the eye sees someone who is regarded as an enemy, there is an upsurge of ill-will in the mind. On the other hand, when one sees a dear friend the reaction is one of love and affection. 

As in the case of things seen, what we hear can also have bad or good effects. The power of words to influence the mind is even more. Great Vedic pronouncements like “Aham Brahmasmi” (I am Brahman), “Tat Twam Asi” (That Thou Art) and “Ayam Atma Brahma” (The Self is Brahman) provide inspiration to aim at the highest goal. They should not be construed or used in a manner to inflate one’s ego. Every expression is charged with a power of its own. When the words used are sacred, they generate a sanctifying and elevating power. When the words are abusive and vulgar, they arouse excitement, anger or depression. 

Do not aspire for Trivialities 

The joy or distress experienced by the mind is the result of the impressions conveyed by the senses. All experiences are products of the mind. The world itself is the projection of the mind. The mind can bring remote things near or send near things afar. It is the source of pleasure or pain. The sages have declared: “Mano Moolam Idam Jagat” (This universe is based on the mind). The mind seeks to acquire something with much effort in the hope that its possession will give pleasure. But the pleasure derived from it does not last long. And the sorrow caused by its loss is considerable. There is trouble during the process of acquisition. Possession confers only temporary pleasure. The loss of the object leaves a trail of misery. Very often the pain from loss exceeds the pleasure from gain. It is a futile waste of one's life to go after such transient pleasures. 

The Technique of Tantra 

Realising the meaninglessness of such pursuits, the sages practiced self-control as the means to enduring happiness. They evolved the technique of turning the senses and the mind inward to seek the source of lasting bliss. This technique is described as Tantra. It consists of a variety of practices called Mudras: Khechari Mudra; Bhuchari Mudra; Madhyama Mudra; Shanmukha Mudra and Saambhavi Mudra. By practising these Mudras, the sages tried to turn the senses and the mind inwards. 

Khechari Mudra: 
It consists in concentrating the two eyes on the mid-point between the eyebrows during meditation. This exercise enables the integration of vision by which one’s Reality is experienced. This Mudra can also be practiced by closing the eyes, but concentrating the look inwardly on the midpoint between the brows. Performing the Mudra with open eyes is an ordeal. Hence concentration with closed eyes is preferred. 

Bhuchari Mudra: 
In this, meditation is done with the eyes and the mind concentrated upon the tip of the nose. When the Divine is meditated upon in this manner, a unique kind of joy is experienced. 

Madhyama Mudra: 
In this, the eyes are concentrated on the middle of the nose between the tip and the mid-point of the brows. Unlike the Bhuchari Mudra, in which the eyes may be fully open, in this the eyes are only half-open. This Mudra becomes easier after practicing the Bhuchari Mudra. 

Continued in Part 2…

Source: Tantra for Mind-Control, Discourse 24, My Dear Students Volume 5, Divine Discourse delivered on July 31, 1986 at the Prasanthi Nilayam Campus Auditorium, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning