The Mind and Heart
Talks with Babaji
You have written that “God is love.” How can I generate more love in myself? When I feel fear or other negative qualities, I feel I can rid myself of them if I could only generate more love.
Love is a state of mind where self interests are removed. The mind dwells in its natural state of sat-chit-ananda - existence, consciousness, bliss. Love is not created; it is a mental state which develops by living a disciplined life and developing positive qualities. Human ego is very attracted to negative qualities, so it needs much austerity to develop positive qualities.
How is it possible to live in a marriage in a sacred way?
1) common aim, 2) spirit of compromise, 3) mutual love. Then the marriage will be two equal wheels of the chariot that roll together to the destination.
How can we learn to differentiate between our monkey mind thoughts and the reflection of the divine mind of the Self?
All thoughts appear in the mind to support our ego existence by creating self interest. When the mind doesn’t dwell in self-interest, it is divine thought.
How can you tell which is which and discriminate between the two?
By knowing the self-interest in our thoughts and actions, we know those are ego-centered thoughts.
Could the same be said for love? If the love doesn’t involve self-interest, it is divine love?
Yes.
Why does my mind enjoy and desire love instead of hatred?
Love in our worldly terms is a state which is enjoyed by the mind. Enjoyments, pleasures are called love, but it is not the real definition of love. “I love to eat candy:” what kind of love is there? It is a love which simply brings pleasure to the mind and senses.
What is it that attracts the mind toward the pure form of love? What draws us toward pure love rather than the pure hatred?
In pure love, the ego remains unattached. In hatred, the ego is completely involved and expresses anger, fear, violence, etc. That is why we do not accept hatred, anger, violence, etc. We want to achieve pure love because it brings peace, contentment and happiness
You said real love exists when all the mental modifications stop. Could you speak more about that?
When the mind doesn’t seek its self-interest. The mind starts going inward. It is a state of peace or love. All pain and miseries arise when the mind identifies the world outside.
I have a question about developing a connection between the head and heart. Sometimes I have a difficult time keeping that connection going and staying too much in the head. How would you advise building that bridge between the heart and the head?
The head is full of self-interest. The heart is full of love. Together they keep a balance. When self-interest increases too much, the person is only into his or her head and the heart becomes hollow. So ... watch your self-interest when you are too much in your head.
That seems to be one of the fundamental aims of Yoga: to remove one’s self-interest.
Self-interest = the ego functioning in the world. Our existence, needs, demands, emotions, etc.: all are based on the ego. The ego has two functions: 1) to function in the world selfishly, 2) to seek inner peace by renouncing self-interest.
Are there yogic techniques to snap the ego back from its self-interest in the world? Like Thich Nhat Hanh suggests mindfulness of the breath and smiling.
Anything that works should be used. Philosophies don’t work. Only practice works. Yoga means withdrawing the mind from outer world. The ego expresses its power in the outer world. By meditation the expression of the ego in the outer world gradually reduces.
What do you recommend?
Watch yourself. If you start watching yourself, you will understand that the mind changes from moment to moment. Anger, greed, fear, violence in thoughts, love, compassion, happiness, etc.: they are always appearing and disappearing. So because we live in forgetful state, we don’t notice it. We notice only what we want. The method of inhaling and remembering is all right. It can be done by various methods. Meditation includes prayers, chanting a mantra, and devotional rituals. All these methods are used to internalize the mind.
The verse we chanted today (Bhagavad Gita XVII: 23), for example, suggests always keeping the thought of Om Tat Sat in the mind. What happens if any thought comes in the mind?
We take the form of that thought. If anger comes, we become a different person. If compassion comes, we become different. Om Tat Sat is a designation of the absolute God. By uttering Om Tat Sat, the mind will dwell on it and we will become that.
Is it really that easy?
Yes. It is easy and extremely difficult. If the mind accepts something, it is easy to become that thing. But the problem is the mind doesn’t accept so easily.
Earlier you said that the mind is the thing that is changing all the time. Who is it that watches the mind? You said “watch yourself; watch the mind.”
The mind is changing and the mind is watching itself. The human mind has that capability.
I have a question about the teachings of the Gita and teachings of the Buddha in connection with the realization of the Self. Buddha says there is no Self.
Buddha was a yogi who became enlightened but says there is no Self. Buddha was a great God incarnate because he introduced the idea of universal love. In his research of universal love, he found how that universal love and rituals of the Vedas are confusing and separate the humanity. So he removed those things and said “mind and nature: there are two realities.” Whenever people asked is there God, he did not answer. He taught the dharma, virtuous life, as a uniting force. The way he used the term dharma, sometimes it meant God, sometimes the Self. Buddha did not use the term Self. But he used the term higher mind or enlightened mind.