THE NATURE OF THOUGHTS

 

“FIRST WAS THE WORD AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD, AND THE WORD IS GOD”

That which we know as evolution was created at the time of the big bang when billions and billions of articles flew through this vastness of the universe. The neutral energy or the impersonal God manifested itself, not by will but by its nature, like the nature of a flower giving fragrance or fire giving off heat. Without will and by its natural Self, the Manifestor manifested, so the unmanifest became manifested. The primal manifestation of the Manifestor was nothing else but vibration.

Therefore, in the Scriptures, we discuss, “First was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word is God.” That Word is the primal manifestation described in different ways in all different theologies and Scriptures. When this manifestation took about or form, it had to become more condensed. That primal manifestation condensed itself into what we could call the mind. So that universal mind with the excellent currents of manifestation started activating itself. It woke up from that stillness, and the very process of manifestation started producing motion in the Universal Mind.

When motion was produced in the Universal Mind, it had to concretise itself more. Although the essence that permeates it has always remained the same, like water vapour, water and a block of ice still have the principle of H2O. So, this Universal Mind was permeated by the unmanifest, and yet the unmanifest took on manifestation. We call it the Manifestor and his manifestation. When this motion occurs in the Universal Mind, it has to become further concretised. In the process of concretisation, the intermixing and the permutations of these various currents arise. That process creates a primal thought, and, most necessarily, the primal thought would have a will.

When we say “God’s will”, it is true, but it is not a direct will of the impersonal God; it is the will of the manifestation, and the totality of that manifestation is the personal God and, therefore, what we worship is the personal God that willed. Will could never stay apart from thought, for wherever there is a will, there is a direction of energy and that very energy, that very direction is thought. So, the primal mind produced the primal will, and the primal will produced primal thought. That is where thought began. It goes right back to the Godhead.

BEHIND THE SYMBOLISM IN THE SCRIPTURES IS DEEP MEANING

Further condensations take place. This very well formed what creation is. When the Scriptures say that God created the universe in seven days, six days, it is true, but it has not been adequately understood. It could have been six seconds, as these cosmic explosions prove, where entire universes collapse within a matter of seconds and from which entire universes are recreated in a matter of seconds. So, all these things we read in the Scriptures are necessarily symbolic. But behind the symbolism, there is deep thought, deep meaning.

When I say this universe, I mean our universe, for there are millions and millions and billions of universes that at this very moment are collapsing, and others are being recreated. So, in the entire scheme of things which is infinite, all these billions of universes are finding creation, and they are sustained, and then they are dissolved.

The Hindus believe in the same thing; it is very symbolic as Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the dissolver. This process is taking place; it is going on all the time, even in the human body, where cells are being created and serve their purpose, are preserved for a while and then dissolved. This is the scheme of creation. But underlying this creation, that primal will still exist, and that primal will, which could also be called Life Force, is forever there to keep on the continuity or the eternity of this universe.

ORIGINALLY THERE WAS ONLY ONE THOUGHT; ONE WILL

When this incredible explosion took place, these particles could duplicate and replicate themselves and further intermingled with other particles, and there were a lot of permutations. Like that, the process went on for millions of years, and that very primal atom or sub-atomic matter or just that concretised will, now fragmented by itself, by the process of creation, for that very well recreates itself too. In that explosion of innovation and re-creation, it becomes fragmented. So here you have the individual sub-atomic particles which go through the process of the plant kingdom, animal kingdom and then, at last, we come to man. We say man is made in the image of God because man has the mechanism built in him to cognise that will or the primal thought, which is why we do meditation and spiritual practices.

Because of the experiences that man has gone through, through this long process of evolution, thoughts differ from man to man. In this process of evolution, with the various individual experiences gained, man’s mind has become conditioned, and it is the very conditioning that has taken the primal thought or will. Man started interpreting it according to his conditioned mind.

Initially, there was only one thought, the one will, like the sun reflected in millions of bubbles in this large pond of the universe. Every thought you think, be it positive or negative, is still propelled and still contains within itself the essence of that Divinity, that primal will. That is the true nature of thought, although, for each individual, the processes differ. Suppose something is happening, and you have five witnesses to describe the happening. In that case, each one will give his interpretation, and the interpretations might even be contrary to each other because of these various experiences man has gained, so he is interpreting through his experiences.

In reality, the mind is a collection of all the impressions or samskaras, all the impressions gained over many lifetimes, and these impressions can only be expressed as thought. Thoughts are nothing else but words which are not made audible. There is very little difference between thought and word, and the main reason is that thought contains within itself the primal word or the primal vibration in seed form.

All impressions are thoughts, and the mind is nothing else but a collection of thoughts. So, when the mind becomes associated with a similar object, man can dig within the storehouse, within the memory box that contains all the memories of all these experiences through thousands of lifetimes, and he is able to associate a physical happening with a past thought.

THERE IS ONLY ONE MIND

There is no new thought in this universe. The Universal Mind also has its limitations because it is a manifestation; it is a reflection. With his limited mind and limitations imposed upon man, man cannot think clearly. I have always said that a man thinks that he thinks; in reality, he does not think, but he takes several thoughts that are in seed form in his mind and synthesises them and thinks that he has thought a new thought.

This happens in painting, music, and writing. We call it creative writing, and it is not creative writing. That creation was done a long time ago, an eternity ago. But when man refines his mind to a certain level, he can tune in with all the thoughts floating around in the universe. For, in reality, there is only one mind, and in this universe, nothing is ever destroyed; every thought one thinks will forever be there because thought is an energy and energy can never be destroyed.

There is only one mind, and when the individualised mind is more an illusion than reality, it refines itself and tunes itself to the existing thoughts in the universe, like the man sitting down to write a poem. He feels inspired; he is adjusting his radio to the various broadcasts that are present in this room at this moment. Currently, there are broadcasts from Germany, France, Spain, and America everywhere. Some radios can only pick up local; some can pick up overseas. When he tunes his radio to a particular station that his radio is capable of, he draws those thoughts floating around to him, writes the poem, and says, “I have created a poem.” No, created perhaps because he has taken different thoughts and synthesised them into another form and shape.

THE INDIVIDUAL MIND CONTAINS THE TOTALITY OF THE UNIVERSAL MIND

There is no new thought. The primal thought contained within itself all its permutations, all its combinations or all the combinations that it is capable of, and that is why man thinks that he thinks. In reality, it is an illusion. It is like a seed containing the totality of the tree. That which we regard as the individual mind contains the totality of the Universal Mind, for minds could never be separated. But just because of the veils that cover us through our experiences, we assume that we have a separate individual mind. Through meditational practices, we attune the individual mind, removing the veils that have covered it up, removing the dirt so that the individual mind can become one with the Universal Mind and then you know the universe. As one of the Upanishads says, “What is there to be known by which all else is known.” So, by understanding oneself, one knows all. One knows all the clay in the universe by knowing one piece of clay, says another Scripture.

EVERYTHING WANTS TO EXPRESS ITSELF

So, the nature of thought is that primal thought which the Manifestor brought about by its own very natural self-manifestation, which in turn condensed itself into a mind, or grossified itself into a mind, and to propel itself that mind with its constituent little fine currents became thought. That thought was expression, expression, expression. That primal thought wanted to express itself, and to find expression, it had to grossify itself more, and that is why you and I are here because of that one primal thought. That is why it is in our nature also want to express ourselves. Every person without exception tries to express himself in some way or another, some in art, some in music, some in literature, some in just looking after the home, and some in the children. In so many different ways, it is nothing else but expression, and the origin of that expression is the primal expression, which constitutes thought.

For man being created in the image of God, the personal God who had to express himself, so man is the image also has to express himself, and the way he can do it is through thought.

THE BRAIN HAS TWO SECTIONS

We have the two sections of the brain, and with the twelve billion cells that constitute this two-and-a-half-pound brain, we are only using one-millionth part of it; the rest is lying dormant.

There is a deep connection between one side of the brain to the other side of the brain.

The brain’s left hemisphere is forever analysing, verbalising, and symbolising. Man uses symbols because all the expression he needs, all the thoughts he has, cannot be verbalised, for language is inadequate. So, he uses symbols.

The right hemisphere of the brain is connected to our intuitional faculties. In other words, that side of the brain connects one more to the Heart, to the core of the human personality, and that too wants to find expression.

But man utilises the thinking, analytical, rationalistic part of his brain more and thus subdues the intuitional sector of his brain, of his mind. Through meditation, the connection is strengthened so that he would think as he usually would. Still, that thought would be empowered by the Spiritual Force that the right hemisphere of the brain could impart to the left hemisphere, which is one of the products of meditation.

THE NATURE OF THOUGHTS

To repeat, the nature of thought is but a fine current that came from the primal manifestation of this universe. Because of its various permutations, it has become more and more grossified, and the reason for its grossification is because of the experiences that man has put his mind through. The lower kingdoms, the mineral kingdom, the plant kingdom or the animal kingdom, flow within the confines of nature. They act instinctually, by instinct, which is why they do not need to push in evolution. They flow naturally. But as soon as that very particle became man, the trouble began because man, for self-preservation, started thinking of me and mine, and that is where thought started interfering with pure consciousness.

That very primal will is still pure consciousness. But the propulsion the pure consciousness received made it into will because even pure consciousness requires expression and uses the medium of will. So, when man started computing his thoughts, he covered the pure consciousness or the pure will within him, and this individual will man could be called free will. Despite all the dirt that has been gathered in the sub-conscious level of the mind, we have been given the tool of free will whereby we could attune our free wills to the Divine will, which is the primal thought, which is the purpose of life, the purpose of meditation. So, man has everything he requires. Every tool is at his disposal, but he has to use it. That is the nature of thought.

CONTEMPLATION COMES ABOUT THROUGH A CONCENTRATED MIND

We can only talk about thought. Perhaps we can describe it, but in reality, we can only experience thought, and that experience of the present thought in your mind is influenced by the past thoughts you have stored in your memory box. As we are sitting here, many minds just slip away from what I am saying, and their thoughts wander away to something else, “What am I going to get for lunch tomorrow or what about the contract that I have to complete tomorrow.” The mind is fickle; it slips away. Despite the great Force behind it, it has conditioned itself to be fragmented and not concentrated. And that is to our detriment.

When the mind, through spiritual practices, becomes concentrated, that concentrated state of mind brings you to contemplation. Contemplation means starting a thought from A to Z without a break, without anything coming in between. As the analogy given in some Scriptures, it is like pouring oil from one vessel into another without a break. That is, contemplation and contemplation come about through a concentrated mind, where all thoughts disappear, and only the thought at issue remains. That is why those meditators here know the value of the practice of Tratak and other spiritual practices, where all the energies of the mind are focused on a central point. And with practice, the individual mind can become so concentrated that it could use the universal mind’s forces as a laser beam.

PURITY IS OUR NATURE

You are what you think you are, as the saying goes. You are your thoughts. We have seen the origin of thought and how that primal thought could get so muddled up and cover the purity within us, the pure consciousness that has to be expressed, for it is our nature. Purity is our nature. Divinity is our real nature, and reaching back to it is our goal. One can put a system in one’s thoughts. One can rationalise as far as the mind can be used, but that is not enough. One has to go beyond rationalisation to experience the origin of ourselves, and when we experience that deep Spirit within, the Kingdom of God within, when we experience that, then we know the meaning of thought or what thought is. We become that thought, the primal thought. We become the entirety of manifestation, and the Manifestor and manifestation are not apart.

WE WANT THE PEACE THAT PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING

Manifestation is assuming individuality or the Atman, as they would say in Sanskrit. And universality is Brahman, where the Atman merges into the Brahman, and this is noted in all Scriptures. Jesus reached that stage where “I and my Father are one.” Where the Atman and Brahman are identical, the individual and the Universal are, but one, and thought processes can be used to reach certain levels where some understanding is gained. But we do not want to understand. We want the peace that passeth all understanding and that is achieved in the region beyond thought. So thought influences everything in one’s life. Thought influences even the shape of your face. If you look at a person’s face very carefully, you will soon discover the totality of the person, depending on how deep your perception is. You can very soon see if that person is in deep turmoil, confusion, or at peace, and conviviality or joviality can be seen. That is surface.

But that real peace that passeth all understanding is beyond the area of thought, which can be perceived by a person who can go beyond thought and this is achieved through meditation and spiritual practices.

THE ORIGINAL NATURE OF THOUGHT IS DIVINE

The original nature of thought is Divine. Every thought you think is Divine; just distortion has taken place. It is the same gold made into just a lump created into a beautiful ornament, the same energy, for there is nothing else. You, as you and I, as the manifestation of the Manifestor, is nothing else but thought, firstly as mind and with the more significant condensation of the mind, this body is created, for that body, that mind, that soul has started since conception, for there are millions and billions of souls in this room, in a different dimension. We work on the third-dimension level, but there are far greater dimensions. You think that we are so solid, but we are so porous, and these souls, which comprise the mind in their subtle state empowered by the Spirit, are floating through us all the time. We are permeable, floating around, floating in and out, and those that float round a particular person would be souls who are of a like nature, of a like kind to that person. So, when a woman conceives, that soul is already there. It is not going to enter the physical entity afterwards. The very sperm is alive, the same ovum is alive, that Life Force, that thought of God called Life Force, is everywhere, omnipresent in its individualised form until the individuality through the process of evolution merges away consciously in universality. Like a drop of water dropped into the ocean becomes one with the sea or like a block of ice thrown into a glass of water becomes water, indistinguishable, inseparable, and that is reaching home, going back to one’s Maker.

You see, the extent of thought, for all, is the creation of thought, even the building of this mike is nothing else but thought, thought solidified in a particular form, and if this applies to very gross material things, how much more does it not apply to us.

THERE IS A GREAT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN UNDERSTANDING AND REALISING

Of course, understanding these realisations to a certain extent with the mind is something, but realising them is different. There is a significant difference between understanding and realising. Understanding is like eating the food in the stomach, and realisation is the assimilation of that food, which becomes flesh, bone and blood, then that food is assimilated. It is not just acquired knowledge, which is also thought, but to allow that thought to dive so deep that it becomes one with that real you, the big “I”, and no separation is felt between the small “I” and the Big “I”, and then all thoughts vanish. The thought merges away into the thinker, and the thinker merges away into the region where there is no thought. Beautiful circle.

That is what we want, and I urge you to meditate for those of you who are not meditators. I encourage you to reach back to where you came from. I urge you to find that Divinity that is within you. I urge you to know, in the sense of knowingness of the higher power that is far greater than this bag of bones and blood. Your reward will be harmony within yourself, the experience of pure joy transcending the polarities of pain and pleasure and experiencing that which you are, that bliss, that which you are. Then you can go and sit on the right-hand side of God.

… Gururaj Ananda Yogi: Satsang UK 1980 – 19