|
"Of him, by whom has been conquered his mind, his mind is the friend. But, for one who has not conquered his mind, his mind acts inimically like an enemy." Bhagavadgita 6.6.
This book presents a brief attempt to explain certain phenomena originating in the human mind. I have attempted to summarise them simply and logically, primarily trying to address the phenomena connected to one's spiritual path, that is the endeavour to understand oneself.
One's spirituality, the spiritual life of an individual, is the subject of constant study of many teachings, including religion, psychology, and philosophy. The questions are obvious. Is the spirit the leading force of man, or is it only subordinate to the needs of the material body? Each of the scholars has their own opinion and it is difficult, if not impossible, to unite such an opinion with somebody else's. Everybody builds on different assumptions, reaching different results.
Practical materialism has taken the most straightforward of positions, believing the world to be material, the beings to be material bodies equipped with senses and minds for navigation in the material world. There are then various, more idealist schools of philosophy, culminating in religious thought which takes the existence of an immortal soul for the fundamental basis of a living being.
I shall try, briefly and simply, to outline the origin of the quoted religious opinion since philosophical views have a) been treated in a number of extensive works of writing, and b) represent various degrees of the scale spanning from clear materialism to mystical religious idealism.
The principal objective of this book is to point out the neglected and mostly ignored phenomena which, in fact, influence the quality of human beings' lives quite essentially. I shall try to give an entirely logical explanation of what is normally labelled as mysterious, mystical and magical. Nevertheless, no logic can explain what lies outside of the faculties of our mind and the imaginations created within it. One cannot describe the feelings when liberation is achieved, or the states of mind which accompany the cessation of the stream of thought - samadhi. Those are internal experiences escaping every description and comparison with the objective outside world.
The entire presented text examines internal subjective experiences, not outside objective views. However, that does not imply, that it is of no interest to the reader. The opposite is true. Every human being dwells in their own world of subjective opinions that they have created based on objective observations. The rules of the objective world have been formulated very well, while the rules of subjective observation and experience are at the edge as they are not easy to research. If they are studied at all, it is for commercial interests which certainly do not seek ways of living a happy life. Not even is the modern medical science capable of finding the roots of mental difficulties and, like the rest of our medicine, it only treats the symptoms or consequences of disease, not its causes. Fortunately, there were times in the past when even this course of study was given due attention, and the unique outcomes of the research done by the ancient as well as contemporary scholars are available to us. 
Previous chapter Next chapter
1
1) , 2005-01-09 15:25:07
Why is a swastika in the cover of the book?
For the cover of the book I chose one of many patterns called Kolam. These patterns are painted by Indian women by spilling the flour at the ground at entrance of their houses. The line is difficult just to trace and it is more difficult to reproduce to the picture on the ground. This is reason for this symbol is on the cover.
I noticed later that in the middle of the specific picture will appear a swastika. I was pleased, when I first see it. In Sanskrit the swasti means auspicious and swastika protect against the evil in all forms. Further swastika is used as symbol of the Sum or the God Vishnu and represents wheel of the world around firm constant point - the God. By this is the picture much more better symbolise the mood of this book.
|