CHENNAI: Human beings suffer because they have no control over their mind. They will not be affected if they know how to control their mind. The sadhana to tame the mind is called Dhyana. The Yoga Sastra describes eight limbs of yoga. Dhyana is the seventh stage. The six earlier steps of Yama, Niyama, and so on must also be practised. Dhyana then comes easily to the one who has followed all the previous steps.Lord Krishna has spoken elaborately on Dhyana Yoga in the sixth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. He said, "For those who practise Dhyana, the vow of purity (brahmacharya) is specially necessary. A person, who controls the mind by Dhyana, gets an unusual bliss that has no parallel. Dhyana must be practised under the guidance of a guru. If you learn it from the books, you will not get the desired results. Guru is, thus, very important. Also, a serene place must be sought for practising it. There should be no room for distractions."Adi Sankara, Sadasiva Brahmendra and Swami Chandrasekhara Bharati are among the Mahatmas who attained siddhi in Dhyana Yoga. Such is the greatness of Dhyana. May the people learn it properly from the guru and practise it in their daily lives to attain well being.Human birth — An invaluable assetAmong the countless creations, human beings rank the highest. That is why it is difficult to be born as a human being, according to Sastras. It would be foolish for a person if he/she does not make the best use of this birth.This statement makes it clear that if a person fails to attain Jnana (knowledge) in this life, it is worse than being born an animal. The reason is simple: An animal cannot go down in evolution, but a person, who fails to get knowledge, can commit a sin. Thus, a man should strive for knowledge as there is nothing equal to it.That is what Lord Krishna has said in the Gita, "It is necessary to realise that knowledge does not mean knowledge of worldly things. It refers to the knowledge of the real nature of atma. On acquiring this, man has nothing else to do or achieve." Again, knowledge manifests itself when ajnana or ignorance is removed. Therefore, a person should aim to get rid of it. But this ignorance is developed over many lifetimes. And it is not easy to destroy it. Therefore, a person should first try to purify the mind by performing good deeds. Without this purity, a person cannot grasp the fundamental truth even if he is instructed a number of times. For a pure mind, wisdom will dawn even with a single instruction from the guru.How does one purify the mind? It happens only when the person performs actions without an eye on results. If actions are done for results, the latter may happen, but not purity of mind.It is my wish that everyone understands this and acts without caring for the reward. This ensures chitta suddhi or purity of mind, which makes you eligible for jnana.
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