regarded as something which is the intention of the mind. The mind’s intention is
something different—namely, contact with objects and activity in terms of the
fulfilment of its wishes. So, this dharana and dhyana, the concentration-meditation
process, may come like a deathblow—a fatal blow that is dealt at the very intention of
the mind—and therefore there is a disinclination towards it, a kind of sorrow which
will work from within and prevent progress.
The inclination of the mind towards meditation is important. We cannot compel even
a servant to work against his inclination. It is a very undesirable attitude if such a
pressure is to be exerted where inclination is not present, because it will produce a
reaction which is most disadvantageous. We cannot have concentration of mind
against the wishes of the mind. This is a very important thing to remember. The
practice of yoga, which is a gradual movement towards the aim of meditation, is not
merely a forceful exercise of the will against the emotional attitudes or the feelings of
the mind, but something different—namely, a healthful bringing into alignment of
the very forces of emotion and feeling which otherwise have their own directions
chosen. There is no parallel movement between the aims of yoga and the emotions of
the mind. That is the reason why there is mostly a difficulty in bringing the mind
round to the point of concentration. If we carefully probe into ourselves—very rarely
do we find time to do that, but if we could succeed in doing it—we can discover the
little foibles that are in our nature which will make us unfit for this endeavour known
as dharana or dhyana, concentration or meditation, because the little weaknesses
that may come later on as large mountains in front of us have become a part of what
we are. This is something very important to remember and most difficult to
understand, because what is a part of our nature cannot become an object of
observation, so nobody can study it, much less study one’s own self, and the little
mistakes in the attitudes of thought are going to be the terrible impediments that we
have to encounter in the future.
We have been trying to conduct a little bit of analysis in this direction since some
time, and what we have discovered is that it is very easy to be complacent in one’s
attitude under the impression that one is ready for yoga—which is not at all the case.
A simple question may be put to one’s own self which will give a peculiar answer, to
our own surprise and astonishment. Our attitudes and judgements about things
around us, human as well as non-human, will give us an idea of the purification of
mind that we have arrived at and the extent of understanding we have about the
things around us. A person who is prone to sudden reaction to a stimulus from
outside cannot be regarded as fit for yoga—whatever that stimulus be, whatever that
reaction be, whatever be the extent of the justification behind it or the rationalisation
that can try to substantiate this reaction. All these tricks will not work here, because
these are the peculiar circumventing attitudes of the mind which will somehow or the
other, by hook or by crook, see to it that our objective is not reached.
Again we come to the need for a proper guide, especially now that we are
approaching very dangerous realms, if we could put it that way, because of the fact
that we are entering realms which are unknown, unseen, unheard of and
unthinkable—indefinable in every respect. We do not know what sort of environment
we are going to enter, what reactions will be produced by this environment, and how
we will be able to face them or withstand them. All these things are hard for the mind
at the present level to understand; and so, the requisition of a proper guide. There
were many cases of yogis who were held up, stuck, and got involved in a whirlwind of