Advaitam and Science

OM, Purnamata purnamitam purnat purnamutachyate, purnasya purnamataye purnamevavasishyate – Bri.Up V.i.1

THOUGHTS AND DESTINY

THOUGHTS AND DESTINY

 

Thought is energy.  It creates vibration and radiates it in all directions.  When we change a thought, its energy and vibration changes along with it.  Each one of us is floating in an ocean of thoughts.  When thought crosses a mind, it creates vibration in that mind.  When a thought is created, it never goes wasted without creating its effect.  Thought exists in Akasa (ether) as subtle vibrations.  Thoughts of great Rishis still exist in the Akasa as subtle vibrations.  When we meditate on the Rishis, their thoughts influence that person.  We are surrounded by our own thought vibration, as well as the thought vibration of others.  When we think about a person, our thoughts will reach them, regardless of the time and distance.

Vedanta reveals the fact that world exists in the mind.  If there are no thoughts, then the world will have least impact on us.  Thoughts create diversities.  Problem and situations both exists in thoughts.  “We always absorb some thoughts from the universe and repel some thoughts to the universe”, Swami Sivananda.  Only strong thoughts result in an action.  Many thoughts fade away, without manifesting in to an action.  A main thought is always accompanied by many sub-thoughts.  Sometimes the sub-thoughts will be weak; this weakens the main thought.  Any thought when repeated gains strength.  Thought energy has the power to penetrate the mind of others.  Thoughts can do incredible things.  Swami Sivananda says, “A person with pure thought speaks powerfully and creates deep impression in the mind of the listeners”.

Thoughts are created by the vibration of the prana in the mind.  The mind has already registered many impressions.  When the Prana strikes the impressions, a thought is generated.  There is direct connection between the breath and the thought.  When the breath is fast, there will be many thoughts.  When the breath slows down, the thoughts will be fewer.  In deep meditation, there will be neither thoughts nor breath; the body survives by the inner energy.

Thoughts affect each cell and hormone in the body.  If the thoughts are negative, the cells lose their immune power.  Negative emotions like anger and anxiety destroy the brain cells.  Vibration of the positive thought helps the cells to grow.  Thoughts have color.  Thoughts of anger are in red color, thoughts of jealous and selfishness are in brown color, spiritual thoughts are in pale yellow color and so on.  Physical body is an outward manifestation of the thoughts.

Positive and Negative thoughts

Thoughts are generally differentiated as positive thoughts and negative thoughts.  Positive thoughts are thoughts of love, peace, compassion, etc.  Negative thoughts are thoughts of anger, fear, jealous etc.  Positive thoughts are always helpful to the body.  Negative thoughts are dangerous.  Problems and suffering in life are created by the negative thoughts.  Negative thoughts create poisonous chemicals in the body.  As long as the chemicals are present in the body, they affect the emotions and hormones of the body adversely.  Negative thoughts radiate negative vibration to the surroundings.  Thoughts form a subtle aura around a person.  A person’s mental power is known by the aura.  Thoughts of same wave length attract each other.  Thoughts are responsible for our feelings and emotions.  Negative thoughts drain the energy.  A thought by repeated thinking and proper effort leads to an action.  Our thoughts define our destiny.

Mind is limitless.  When we meditate, we realize its vastness.  An emotional mind with thoughts of fear, anxiety and anger, always rests in the past or future and this weakens the mind.  When the thoughts are clear, the emotions will decrease.

Atma and thoughts

The inherent nature of the Atma is pure, powerful, and intelligent (the power to understand). Thoughts cover the inherent nature.  When the thoughts are removed, the inherent powerful nature is realized.  The reflection of the Atma on the individual consciousness is called Jiva.  The Jiva is pure, because of its close affinity with the body and mind it forgets its original nature and thinks that it is the body and mind.  The Jiva expresses its thoughts through the body.  By knowledge, we detach from the individual consciousness and realize the universal nature of the pure Atma.  It is a thought less deep silent state.  We become conscious of the deep silence in meditation.

The Jiva though pure, forgets its purity and generates thoughts.  It always creates thought vibration, either within or outside the body.  If it has a body, it expresses its thoughts through the body.  If the Jiva is in the transition stage (left the old body and before taking a new body), then also it emits thought vibrations, but it cannot express it.  Until the Jiva identifies itself with the Atma, (till the individual consciousness merges with the universal consciousness) the Jiva will be constantly emitting thought vibrations.  In fact, we are only a silent witness of the thoughts running on our mental screen.

Thought is a conscious energy in a different form.  The infinite Atma is limited by thoughts.  Mantras and poojas are the finite expression of that infinite energy.  The infinite energy is expressed as deep silence.  Intelligence is silence and knowledge is the expression of that silence.  Silent meditation reveals the intelligence and reduces the accumulated impressions.

A Jiva is always accompanied by the impressions of the past and present karmas (actions).  When the Jiva leaves the body, it carries these impressions with it.  Our thoughts and karmas are our real property; we are unable to carry the other properties, we have to leave it behind.  It belongs to our family and friends; who will carry our own karmic property?  According to the karmic impressions, the Jiva takes its next birth.  The often repeated strong thoughts (either positive or negative), becomes the tendency and behavior in the next birth.  Sri Krishna says in Baghavad Gita that ” Whosever, at the end, leaves the body, thinking of any being, to that being only he goes, O Kaunteya, because of his constant thought of that being”, (8, 6).  The Jiva takes repeated births till it becomes desire less.  Birth is the continuation of thoughts.

Thoughts and attitude of an action are more important than the real action.  Action is only an outward expression of the thought and attitude.  The overall attitude of a person in the past life determines the overall situation of life in his present birth.  Body and situations may change with each birth, but the mind remains the same.  Lord Krishna explains in Baghavad Gita that everyone takes repeated births, but none of us remembers about it except lord Krishna.

Thoughts and destiny

“Our every thought, word and action is the energy we create and radiate – this is our Karma.  Situations and people’s behavior are the energy we receive – this is our destiny”, Sister Shivani, Brahmakumaris.  Thoughts that we create vibrate in the universe and return back to us with the same intensity.  The time it takes to return depends on the intensity of the created thought.  Sometimes, it may take births to return, but it will surely return.  When we create a thought, we feel the energy of it.  If it is a negative thought, we feel a disturbance in the mind.  If it is a positive thought, we feel peace and comfort.  The same is felt by others surrounding us.  We are unaware of the importance of the thoughts.  The truth is thoughts creates destiny.  Thoughts are very subtle energy which shapes our life in a silent way.

Facing the Karmas

Only when we face the negative situations, we become aware of the intensity and influence of the karma in life.  We must take care of the thoughts, because it defines our destiny.  We experience success by the effect of the positive karmas.  While experiencing success, one should not generate negative karmas by hurting or insulting others in the name of success, because in future, these negative reactions will give its effect.  This is the reason why spirituality emphasis humbleness and respect for all, even at the peak of success.

Negative karmas will bring failures and challenging situations.  While facing the effect of the negative karmas, one has to maintain mental stability.  Failures and suffering will definitely shake the root of a person.  In spite of this, one has to be calm and serene; else he will have to suffer more.  A person should not go into depression or create negative thoughts like jealousy, hurting or blaming others etc, because this will multiply the suffering and its effect will become the destiny.  Strong positive attitudes like determination, will power, self confidence, restless effort without thinking about the success or failure, will help us to gradually overcome the effect of the negative karmas.  At one stage, the present positive thoughts and actions will exceed the past negative effects.  “Sin in not an action in itself, but it is the tendency to live and think negatively,which is left over in our mind as the result of our own wrong actions.  These sinful tendencies become weak, when we practice self-control over the period of time”, Swami Chimayananda.  Suffering is more difficult than facing the situation.  Present positive qualities reduce the sufferings and paves way for a bright future.  Destiny is the right mixture of the past and present karmas. If the present karmas and thoughts are very positive, then the destiny will be bright.  Instead, if we spend the present in thinking about the past, in depression, and in worries, the future cannot be bright.  We have to be careful about the thoughts and karmas of every moment because every moment takes us to the future.  Every negative situation and failures are created by the influence of our past karmas.  Failure cannot be considered as completely unsuitable because failure teaches a lot; it makes a person wise.  As far as we are ready to transform, no experience either positive or negative is considered as unsuitable or bad.

Each person we meet either as a friend, relative, competitor, enemy or as someone very close to us are strongly related to our past karmas.  We cannot deny it.  Sometimes, we might have experienced that in spite of our good karmas, people will hit us back in a bad way.  We may not know the reason now, but it is definitely the return of our past negative karmas.  In such situations, we may go for a right action, but without holding any personal grudge towards that person.  When we hold personal grudge, the karmic sequence will not break, it will continue in another form in the future.

Others comments and opinion about us will never become our life, instead, what we think about ourselves will become our life.  Others positive remarks will help us to grow, but we have to be a level headed person.  We must not get influenced or stimulated by the negative remarks or insults from others.  Even when the whole world thinks negative about us, when we have confidence, we will succeed.  When a person is in low self esteem or low self confidence, he cares for the external remarks.  We become strong and weak by our own thoughts.  Others can only stimulate us; they are not responsible for our nature.  When we think about the insult or negative remarks from others just once, it will become an impression in the mind.  Till then it is others opinion, by thinking we have made it our own.  When it becomes an impression in our mind, it keeps repeating and makes us weak.  It drags us away from our inherent intelligent nature.  When we do mistake, we have to correct it, but we must not accept the negative insults and comments from others.  Intelligence is not created by man.  It is divine and it already exists, we have to realize it.  Positive thinking reveals the full power of the Atma.  Never ever accept weakness, because it is not the truth.

Conclusion

Thoughts and karma become our destiny.  Inner feeling for the Atma must be always higher than the external feelings.  Life is in the mind and not in the external factors.  Our energy must be always positive.  This helps to face any negative situations and take us to a bright future.  “Identify yourself with the innermost self and become the silent witness”, Swami Sivananda.  Our destiny is shaped by our thoughts and not by any external factors.  Our thoughts become our destiny.

References

Bhagavad Gita, (Trans, Swami Sivananda), Shivanandanagar, The Divine Life Society, 2003.

The Essence of Yogavaasishtha, (Trans, Samvid), Chennai, Samata Books, 2002.

Thought Power, Swami Sivananda, Shivanandanagar, The Divine Life Society, 2002.

Miin-Its Mysteries And Control, Swami Sivananda, Shivanandanagar, The Divine Life Society, 2001.

Awakening with Brahmakumaris, Sister Shivani.

2 Comments

  1. shubhangi parsekar

    How to get rid of karma

    Reply
    • Sangeeta

      Karma will never get rid of us . If you have accumulated good karma , you will get it back . If you have accumulated bad karma , you will get back same . As long as life is there in this world , you keep building your good/bad karma and the result will be based on that .

      Reply

Leave a Reply to shubhangi parsekar Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *