The wandering monkey!

vijayacmouli · Nov 18, 2007

Your article was indeed amusing but very reflective of our lives today.Our minds are never at rest and we keep on ' traversing ' and jumping restlessly.
I recall my son Aditya asking me a question when he was just 4 years old - (he is now 27) Amma - how can I make my mind thoughtless? We were very amused and surprised at this query .

And this is the eternal question - were we able to do this then we would we not all become MAHARISHIS and RISHIPATHNIS ?????And in the course not suffer from BP and other ensuing health problems.

Positive Visualisation is one way to alleviate stress , following a good and healthy eating routine along with moderate exercise like walking combined with YOGASANAMS will benefit.
Eating raw garlic early in the morning is also believed to lower high BP.

Lastly and not the least is to take each day as it comes -remembering to dedicate each and every thought,word and deed to NAARAAYANAA - KRISHNAARPANAM keeping the GEETOPADESAM as THE BEACON OF LIGHT FOR OUR LIVES.

Cheeniya · Nov 19, 2007

vijayacmouli said: ↑

Your article was indeed amusing but very reflective of our lives today.Our minds are never at rest and we keep on ' traversing ' and jumping restlessly.
I recall my son Aditya asking me a question when he was just 4 years old - (he is now 27) Amma - how can I make my mind thoughtless? We were very amused and surprised at this query .

And this is the eternal question - were we able to do this then we would we not all become MAHARISHIS and RISHIPATHNIS ?????And in the course not suffer from BP and other ensuing health problems.

Positive Visualisation is one way to alleviate stress , following a good and healthy eating routine along with moderate exercise like walking combined with YOGASANAMS will benefit.
Eating raw garlic early in the morning is also believed to lower high BP.

Lastly and not the least is to take each day as it comes -remembering to dedicate each and every thought,word and deed to NAARAAYANAA - KRISHNAARPANAM keeping the GEETOPADESAM as THE BEACON OF LIGHT FOR OUR LIVES.
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Dear Vijaya
Your son asking such a profound question at the age of 4 is indeed amazing. I too wonder what could have prompted him to ask that question at such a tender age. Is he inclined towards spiritualism?
Sarvam Krishnaarpanam is a golden rule. When we develop detachment from our actions as the Lord teaches us in Gita all would be Peace, Eternal Peace!
On the lighter side, I was on garlic therapy for a while and found it to be extremely effective in keeping my BP under control but soon I became friendless and that started increasing my pressure!
Sri

knbg · Jan 9, 2012

Res Sri Sir,
An awe some post Sir...:thumbsup.that reminded me of our Bharathidasan's poem about a monkey climbing a banyan tree.....

Cheeniya · Jan 11, 2012

My dear Bhargavi
What is that song by Bharathidasan? Can you send me that song?
Sri

Srama · Jan 22, 2012

Dear Cheeniya sir,

What a sense of humor sir what a sense! Absolutely loved it!

I tried an intricate yogic pose and needed external help to restore myself to my original shape,
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I so understand this - if I manage to get into a pose, I do need help to get out of it and so now I very smartly, do only so much and not more and when I do see people getting into all these poses I have learnt to say "kim-api" (whatever) in my mind and continue with tangling/untangling myself from my own simple pose with the calmness of a very advanced yogi.

Anyways coming to your meditation practice, let me as a beginner and hopefully aspiring (as my teacher puts it) student hasten to assure you that the 'experiences' you have had indeed indicate the right progress I believe. Yes, that is what I have heard - that your mind will bring forward all the emotions from the past recent and not so recent, and will invariably force you to react till you exhaust all those incidences and then it is time for 'self - realization' and I personally think that would mean a lifetime if not more for most of us! If you had continued Cheeniya sir, assuming you haven't, forget just anger, you would have seen your self cry, laugh and what not and trust me, making you wonder about the memories you have carried not only from your childhood but from may be other life times and you would have been way ahead on the path ....or may be you are there already, I am not assuming anything!

Now as a very young and a novice meditator, imagine my mind doing the dance with the knowledge that "my mind is just not a wandering monkey but a drunken monkey stung by a scorpion" - as my teacher puts it! It is fun watching it and come to think of it, I have not had any experiences like yourself or my teachers and now makes me wonder if that monkey mind is so drunk that it has no idea that it has been stung by a scorpion! I now need to work on this sir, seriously to figure out if my mind is indeed just a jumping monkey or drunk or stung by this scorpion!!!

Finally in all seriousness sir, I think reading and responding to this rambling has given me an insight to a thought I have been ruminating on for a long time. In all sincerity, thank you so much for that!

Viswamitra · Jan 22, 2012

One famous Guru in India explained the mind/body complex as "a monkey playing with water bubble" meaning this body is a water bubble that would burst at anytime and the mind is a monkey. I could not stop laughing what you said about seeking external help to unfold yourself from a Yogic pose.

It is just a letter difference between meditation and medication but one is easy to do while the other is not. Sometimes, I feel that the body is a disciplined soldier that undergoes the punishment we give whether it is indulging in tasty food or bitter medication. The mind is a rebel and does not go down that easily. It resists any punishment you give leave alone teaching disciplines. Things it happily takes are hours and hours of entertainment, words of appreciation, etc. when you try to discipline the mind, it worked because it brought out the most difficult experiences you had undergone that affected your mind giving peace and tranquility at the end. I feel what medication is to the body is what meditation is to the mind. It makes the mind clear off all unwanted things keeping only what is necessary for a happy life. Our body understands that it had to take medication for a prolonged period to reduce BP but the mind wants a solution instantly to get rid of all problems right away. That is the only difference.

Viswa

Cheeniya · Jan 22, 2012

My dear Srama
Let alone intricate yogic postures, I now need external help to resume my normal stance even from a seemingly simple sitting posture. This is a blessing that has been bestowed on me by my advancing years. But you must admit that nothing can bring out the wisdom in a person better than an appropriate physical image. If you see the photos that Chitvish has posted in ‘Faces behind the names’ Forum yesterday, you’ll know what I mean!

I feel nice to hear you term my grappling with my past as ‘meditation practice’. I often use to wonder at the sight of a cow chewing the cud if it is meditating. If it is, then you can call my chewing the cud too as meditation practice. The term meditation is used to camouflage a half asleep stage that we normally reach to help digestion of a massive meal we may have just consumed. But seriously, I run the same gamut of emotions whenever I revisit a past incident but in much lesser intensity. I may not indulge in such manifestations of acute anger like grinding my teeth and in any case, my teeth have lost their bite and may not withstand such hard labour!

A wandering monkey is the one that is most likely to get drunk like the long distance truck drivers and also most likely to get stung by a scorpion. That’s the reason that we want to make it stay put in a given spot. I guess that the purpose of meditation is to keep the monkey reined in. I have not succeeded in it yet but on the plus side, my wandering monkey keeps me fed with stories which I can share with you all!
Sri

Cheeniya · Jan 22, 2012

Dear Viswa
"a monkey playing with water bubble" is a clever summing up of the mind-body interaction. It is very difficult to say which controls what in a normal human being. A sick mind eventually ruins the physical health of a person and a sick body finds it tough to nurse a healthy mind. Both need to be healthy or both will perish.

I agree that meditation is for the mind and medication is for the body. Unfortunately we have reached a stage when we resort to medication to keep the mind calm which is the job of meditation. And the body wants to meditate without the mind helping it and the result is long hours of purposeless sleep! People are more concerned with putting a stop to abuse of the body. We look for organic food and other good health recipes to keep ourselves physically fit as a fiddle. But no one attaches any importance to abuse of the mind. No conscious effort is taken to prevent this abuse!

If only a man spends a fraction of his time that he spends on developing a six-pack body for making his mind stronger, this world will become a better place to live in!
Sri

BHAVNAM6 · May 24, 2013

My dear Cheeniya Sir,

I tried an intricate yogic pose and needed external help to restore myself to my original shape, I ruled it out firmly and decided to try meditation
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This is the height of your sense of humor.....Absolutely hysterical...

I loved the way you declared your defeat against the mischievous monkey. I could still envision the monkey dancing with joy and pride.

Love,
Bhavna

Cheeniya · May 24, 2013

My dear Bhavna
Thanks a lot for your visit to one of my early Snippets and I am happy that you enjoyed it. Monkey tricks make everyone happy you know! This was written about six years back. Since then I have found meditation very useful and handy. Whenever I doze off in the middle of a conversation due to this beastly Chennai heat and my age, I tell the offended friend that I had just gone into a meditative state thanks to his profound statement. That way I find meditation a very handy tool to escape embarrassing situations. What I like most about meditation is that nobody could ever make out if you have fallen asleep or gone into meditation!
Sri