On Thinking II
Normally the mind gets attached by seeing or hearing something. It is mainly through the eyes and ears that the mind goes out and gathers things to satisfy its desires. Before the mind is attracted to something it sees or hears, you should have discrimination to see whether that object is good for you or not. The mind should not just go and grasp as it wants.
Non-attachment should not be misunderstood to be indifference.Vairagya (non-attachment) literally means “colorless.” Vi is “without;” raga is “color.” Every desire brings its own color to the mind. The moment you color the mind, a ripple is formed, just as when a stone is thrown into a clam lake it creates waves in the water. When the mind is tossed by these desires one after the other, there won’t be peace or rest in the mind. And with a restless mind you can’t have steady practice. When you do something constantly, your mind should not be distracted by other desires. That’s why this sort of dispassion or non-attachment must always go with the practice. Any practice without this non-attachment can never be fulfilled…
The Vedantic scriptures say: “Even the desire for liberation is a bondage.” “Mokshabheksho bandhaha.” Even if you desire liberation you are binding yourself. Every desire binds you and brings restlessness, To get the liberation you have to be completely desireless.
Is it possible to be desireless? No. Actually, it is not possible. As long as the mind is there, its duty is to desire. It seems to be contradictory. But the secret is that any desire without any personal or selfish motive will never bind you. Why” Because the pure, selfless desire has no expectation whatsoever, so it knows no disappointment no matter what the result. But thought it expects nothing, it has its own reward. When you make someone happy, you see his happy face and feel happy yourself. If you have really experienced the joy of just giving something for the sake of giving, you will wait greedily to get that joy again and again.
