The Empty Mind is needed to fill in the teachings. Swami Hriyananda was doing a satsang yesterday and he emphasized these words to the congregation.
Let us see how that can be explained. If there is already a soft drink in the glass, can you pour water in it? You can, no doubt, yet, it contaminated the drink as well as the water. Nothing remains pure.
Now if there already exists some thoughts in your mind, then how can anyone teaching you anything become solid or fructify into knowledge? Nothing will ever enter the head if some other thoughts already exist.
Let us say, you have had a fight with your spouse before you entered the office. You are carrying umpteen thoughts and the anger with you. Your behavior with others is going to be tainted just like the water and the soft drink. You will not be able to do justice to anyone or anything at all. On the contrary, you will be under performing and destroying the progress that has to happen.
In spiritual too, when you carry your material world with you to attend satsangs or prayers to the divine, you are burdened with disturbances from that world. It could be either the money problems, intellectual issues, emotional distractions or whatever. You are affected by these disturbances. So the Master puts you under strict spiritual procedures of cleansing.
These are methods like yoga or meditation. He may tell you to go to sit quietly in one secluded place. He may instruct you in jaap or introduce you to some sort of activity which will empty your mind.
The Masters methods might not be conventional or they might be also. Whatever technique he uses, know that there is a very tough work involved which means you can never shy from doing it. He instructs you in the ancient time tested methods of cleansing. Following the instructions is extremely important for your spiritual progress. Do not even for a minute doubt the power of his instructions. He may even hang you upside down, make you eat dog meat, slap or hammer you, make you go hungry till you fall down famished. These methods have been employed with various disciples or devotees of the Masters. The above cases are of the Masters themselves before they became the Supreme Masters themselves. They are Saibaba, Naropa, Vivekananda, Chinmayananda, Jesus and so on. Only when one is able to cross the river of attachments, anger, greed, lust, etc., can they be eligible for emancipation.
In the material world, it is said,”Empty mind is a devils workshop!” The reason is when the material worldly people have nothing to occupy their mind, they think of all the wrong things to do.
In spiritual too the mind is the worst enemy where Maya rules. The only way out of the clutches of Maya is to surrender at the feet of the Guru.
When we completely surrender with absolute faith at the Masters feet then it is possible for one to go on the path of spiritual without hitch.
So learn to empty the mind from your spiritual Master and surrendering to His will you will be able to achieve your spiritual goal. Empty that mind and fill it with the wonderful teachings of the Master.
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