Reprogram your mind

Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Inside your head you have the most remarkable computer ever devised. It is a bio-computer that is so complex that we cannot even imagine its complexity. According to scientists, it consists of something in the region of ten to thirteen billion neurones which analyse, interpret, compare, store and transmit information that comes from the outside world, including our own body. It is capable of handling millions of bits of information in the form of audible and visual sensations, together with sense data from every part of the body, every second. Remember, every hair has a connection to the brain. Every square inch of the body has a vast number of connections to the brain.

Yet you are never aware of most of this activity; it happens in subconscious realms of the mind. This unawareness is absolutely necessary, other wise we would be aware of so much that we would become completely overpowered by the continual flow of information. In this context, it is imperative that we are totally unaware of most of the activity of the brain so that our consciousness is left free to follow things other than body sense data and so on. The human mind is in a way similar to a modern electronic computer. If a computer programmer wants a solution to a problem, he is interested in the answer, not the immediate calculations. The programmer will only become interested in the intermediate workings if something goes wrong, i.e. the output is not in an acceptable form, or the program will not pass through the computer. In this case either the program or the computer itself is wrong. This is the topic of this section.

Most of us live a life that is like a faulty computer output. Now, it is not the brain itself that is wrong, apart from a few cases; it is the program in the mind. In other words, if we are to live meaningful lives we have to reprogram our minds. It is the incorrect mental program that we have slowly developed since birth that is causing us all our unhappiness and anguish in life. Reprogram the mind and you will start to live a life that has deep meaning and that is happy. A well programmed mind can make this world a veritable heaven on earth. A badly programmed mind can make this world a hell on earth.

The reason for our unhappiness is our mental programming. This makes us seek happiness through making money, obtaining a nice new car that is bigger and better than any other, obtaining status, drinking and chasing after so many other things that give a flush of transitory pleasure. In short, we can say that we try to gain happiness through satisfying or boosting the ego. What's the result of this method of seeking happiness? It makes us use other people for our own selfish ends. If they get in our way we use all kinds of gross or subtle ways of bypassing or pushing them out of our way. The result is hatred, fear, jealousy, anxiety, tension and so on. Our continual chase after these ways of attaining happiness actually causes the opposite result; we become mentally tense and thus unhappy. If we don't obtain our objectives, our objects of desire, then we suffer mental tension, boredom and unhappiness.

Though these things don't give us happiness, we continue to chase after them. Why? The answer is that we are following the program that we have constructed for ourselves. We have programmed ourselves to chase after these things, even though they don't bring any kind of lasting happiness. Now a computer program can be changed. In the same way, the mind program can be changed if we make the necessary effort. We can reprogram ourselves so that we react in a different way to our environment, so we don't depend on 'ego trips' and desires for happiness.

Meditation is almost impossible when we are continually fighting life and the people who surround us. Meditation will occur almost spontaneously if we flow with life instead of fighting it. If we can reprogram our mind, we will start to tune in with our environment and meditation will take place automatically, without effort. Our consciousness will start to expand. When we harmonize our mind with the pattern of our surroundings, then we will automatically become happy. Happiness lies in the mind, not in manipulating the world to suit our desires. By reprogramming our mind we will be able to find permanent happiness in our own being.

It is our present likes and dislikes, hatreds, jealousies etc., which distort our interpretation of the outside world and also ourselves. Our mind accepts and acts on only that information which is compatible with our present programming. In other words, if we now feel, if our mental program dictates, that everyone outside hates us, then our mind will only accept and give access to information that reinforces this attitude. Other information will be suppressed. If we feel that our mental program dictates that everyone loves us, then again our mind will interpret information to reinforce this belief. This is a gross oversimplification, but it illustrates how our mind colours the outside world to suit our programmed mind. The outside world and other people are never seen as they really are because of our conditioning, because of our desires, attachments and so on.

We are not saying that desires are bad. All we are saying is that they are blocking your spiritual evolution and path towards meditational experience. Indescribable happiness and a higher awareness are waiting for us, all we have to do is reprogram our minds and meditate.

Points to note

The first point to remember is that we do not want you to change your lifestyle in any way. What we want you to change is your relationship with the outside world by reprogramming your mind.

Secondly, you must realize that the chase after outside happiness is futile. If, even after years of experience of trying to find happiness from the outside world, you have not come to this conclusion, then you will have no incentive to change your mind. You will only try to change your mind when you have realized the impossibility of getting happiness and peace from the external world. One only needs to look at people who have gone to extremes in seeking happiness though outside interests, they never seem to find what they want. In fact they tend to become despondent and cynical; they start to believe that permanent happiness and peace is a myth.

The third point to note is that the mind can be reprogrammed. There is a saying: as we think, so we become. Our present programmed mind is no more than the result of our previous thinking. The mind is like a piece of wax, it moulds itself to suit the impression imposed on it. If we start to try to think in a new way, then the mind will gradually but surely reprogram itself. Let's take an example of how the mind has already programmed itself, so that we are now forced to follow its dictates. A child might live in a home where the husband gets everything his own way by acting almost like a tyrant. At the same time, the child might find that he is always at the mercy of the whims of others. For example, he wants to go and play with his friends, but his father says no. His mind starts to program itself so that he thinks that power is the way to do what you want to do in life. When he becomes older he therefore seeks power as a means to attaining happiness.

It is the same with nearly all our external motivations in life; they start in essentially the same manner. At the same time we have the ability to remove this existing program so that we no longer have to follow its commands, and to replace it with a program which allows us a harmonious way of life and allows us to expand our consciousness. We can build a future that is consciousness orientated, positive and awake, merely by altering the mind that we now have. We can eventually aim at experiencing the hidden truth and beauty that exists inside us.

Autosuggestion

All people have phobias, complexes, emotional stresses and so on which make the mind continually tense, whether consciously or unconsciously. All these prevent the mind from becoming tranquil and peaceful, and act as obstructions to meditation. We should remember the cliché, as you think, so you become, for this tells us the way to remove these mental symptoms. The power of suggestion is very great. If we think negatively in life, then our life will become negative. If we think positively, then we will surely become positively inclined. If we think that we will suffer from cancer with sufficient intensity and belief, then surely we will eventually suffer from cancer, such is the power of suggestions or belief.

These suggestions don't only come from the mind; they also come from the external environment. In fact they occur almost continuously. Our mind is continually influenced by outside events. We read a book and it suggests ideas to us which influence our behaviour. We talk with someone and though we are not always conscious of it, we are constantly being given suggestions. Everything comes to the mind in the form of suggestions. Suggestions come from the way people look at you, the way they move their hands, the way they speak and in so many other subtle ways. Using this power of suggestion in the form of autosuggestion is the simplest way to remove all the aspects that keep our mind tense, and to prevent negative outside influences from disturbing the mind further.

At the same time we should use autosuggestion to prepare ourselves immediately before meditational practices. The essential requirement for effective autosuggestion is the deep need to see the aims and suggestion translated into the desired results. Without a strong need or will, the object of the autosuggestion is unlikely to succeed or materialize. One must want to make a change. If the need is only half-hearted, it can be built up to a higher level of intensity by continually dwelling on the subject. As the reader treads the spiritual path, he will become more and more aware of things that cause him mental disturbance. The more he progresses, the more they will manifest and rise to the field of consciousness. As soon as they show themselves, they should be negated by replacing them with their opposite or else by autosuggesting that they are not really so very important.

As each individual will always have different problems, the reader must work out for himself and should develop his own technique for removing them. For example, consider a person who has a fear of the dark. Since he must spend much of his life in darkness, this is bound to cause mental disturbance. His mind will always be tense, consciously or unconsciously. The way to remove the phobia is to realize how ridiculous this fear really is; to realize that darkness is only the opposite of light; to realize that many other people are not afraid of the dark, so therefore why should he have a fear of the dark, and so on. Constant autosuggestion in this way will surely remove the fear. These kinds of suggestions are most powerful when the individual is in a state of relaxation. Even a deep-rooted fear is amenable to this type of treatment, providing the individual devotes himself wholeheartedly to its removal. Eventually a new, indifferent attitude, to the dark in this example, will penetrate the subconscious and the fear will disappear.

Autosuggestion can work for all types of complexes, conflicts and phobias. All that is required is the need to remove the problem. Now how can a person find out the deeper problems that adversely influence his life, that cause him unhappiness and tension, the ones that he doesn't even know about? The practitioner will find that his or her problems, phobias, fears, etc., slowly show themselves as more awareness is developed through yoga and meditation. A particularly good method of exposing these deep-rooted emotional and mental tensions is to regularly perform the meditational technique antar mouna, and to make a mental or written record of what is revealed during practice periods.

The next thing to be practiced in the attempt to remove mental and emotional problems is to prevent outside occurrences and crises from having adverse repercussions on the mind. In other words, the mind must be made stronger so that it is not greatly influenced by external events. The method is to slowly develop detachment (vairagya) to everything and every person. This does not mean that you should become a vegetable or not involve yourself with the ups and downs of life and with personal relationships. It means that though you react to external activities in the form of love, hate, argument, etc., these should not influence you in a deeper sense. On a human level they must influence you, but in a deeper way they should have no effect.

It is a matter of identification; if you see yourself as the body or the mind, then painful or undesirable physical and mental manifestations will greatly influence your life. In a similar way, on the other hand, if you don't identify yourself with the body-mind, but with the centre of consciousness, then the physical and mental sorrows of life will have little effect on you. We can compare external stimuli to ripples on a pond. Ripples disturb the surface of the pond, but they have relatively little influence on the bottom of the pond. The same should apply to the spiritual seeker; negative mental vibrations and physical ailments ideally should not disturb his being. This is easier said than done, but with continuos practice of self awareness one can attain the state where one is calm and tranquil among the tumultuous events of the outside world.

Another important usage of autosuggestion is in the cure and prevention of disease and bodily upsets. By consciously willing the body to become whole, strong and balanced, even the most serious terminal diseases such as cancer or leukaemia can and have been remedied by aspirants with strong willpower. The best times to make the autosuggestions are after meditational practices, or when just waking up in the morning and just before going to sleep at night. At these times the mind is particularly receptive to suggestion. Repeat the autosuggestion with intensity and feeling for a few minutes. Believe wholeheartedly that the autosuggestions will bring about the desired change. If this is done then the suggestion can only be successful. Half-hearted suggestions will surely fail.

Self-identification

This is intended to show the reader that a process of re-identification is necessary with regard to ourselves and to our surroundings. Much unhappiness in life arises because we identify ourselves with our body, our mind, our job or any other role in life. We identify ourselves with transitory facets of existence, instead of with that in us which is permanent and unchangeable, namely, the very core of our existence. If and when we can disassociate ourselves from our role in life, our body and mind, and accept these as merely manifestations of our inner being, the self, then meditation will almost be a constant and spontaneous process. Even a limited degree of detachment from our manifested aspects: mind and body, etc., will greatly help us to attain meditational experience because we will be released from the meditational impediments of bodily disturbances, mental disturbances and emotional disturbances. When all the physical, mental and emotional aspects of our being are calmed, then meditation will become a natural, simple and automatic process.

It is strange that if someone is asked what they are they will reply, ''I am a doctor'' or ''I am a plumber'' or ''I am a housewife'' or "I am a footballer'. They will answer in various ways, depending on what they consider their main role in life. They might give various answers, a woman might say that she is a mother, a wife and also a typist during the daytime. Yet really these things are not what they are, but what they do.

Let's take an extreme example of how this kind of identification can lead to much unhappiness. Consider an actor. He sees himself as an actor, an actor with a fine physique, a handsome face and a manly voice. He takes great care to keep himself in good physical shape. Yet as the years pass he will progressively and very critically notice that he is becoming older. His handsome features start to fade, his body loses its strength and his voice loses depth. He might even spend many hours every day despondently looking at himself in a mirror. He becomes depressed and unhappy because his conception of himself is disappearing. His self-identification with a transitory phenomenon is taking its toll. In many cases, especially with actors, this crisis has often led to an emotional breakdown or even suicide.

The situation exists with a mother; eventually her children will leave her. Again much unhappiness can result because of her self-identification as a mother. It is the same with a doctor, a plumber, a housewife, a typist. They are not permanent realities. Over identification with them by the individuals will surely lead to much strife and emotional upset. Identification with our body, mind and emotions is so common and widespread that we automatically assume its truth. For example, someone says, "I am thirsty''. This statement is said with no thought of its significance. It is not realized that the 'I' signifies our self-identification, and the 'I' refers to a temporary phenomenon, the physical body. A more realistic statement should be, ''My body is thirsty''. In this way it will be implied that the body is merely a temporary manifestation of the permanent self, the inner core of existence.

The same applies to our emotions and thoughts. We say ''I am angry'' or ''I am depressed'' and so on. Yet it is really the emotional system of the mind that feels these things. These are temporary emotional states which disappear as quickly as they arise; one moment there is friendship and then later there is a feeling of enmity. They are not permanent, even though we habitually identify ourselves with these states. We say "I think this'' or ''I think the sky is blue'' or ''I think that one plus one equals two''. Yet it is not really ''I'' that thinks, it is the mind, and the mind is changing from day to day. It is also not permanent, so how can it be the permanent reality that is ''I''? One day our mind can think one thing and the next day it can think something else. It is in a state of flux. How can we really identify ourselves with it? What we should say is ''my mind thinks'' or ''my mind feels'', for the mind is not the real 'I'.

We have the ability to watch the activities of the mind and the body. How can something that we watch possibly be our true identity? There must be something that is watching. The body and the mind are only instruments of action, of perception, of thought. Nothing else. Our real identity, the real 'I' is the centre of our consciousness. It is that which illuminates and witnesses everything that we do in life, the self. Though this is our core of existence, the essence of our being, very few of us operate from or identify ourselves with it. As we have already explained, most people identify with its manifestations and instruments, the mind and the body. If we operated from the self, if we knew the self to be our true identity, then we would be able to use our body and mind to their fullest capacity. Our mind and body would be able to work at peak efficiency. We would be healthy, for we would not impede the operation of our mind-body by our complexes and prejudices. From this viewpoint of identification, meditation would be a spontaneous activity.

How does one start to operate from the centre of consciousness, the real 'I'? This is the whole aim of the spiritual path. It is a long and arduous path, yet the following is a great help in itself. Also, as already explained, even partial identification with the self and dissociation with the body-mind and roles in daily life are great assets in attaining meditational experiences. And meditation is itself a powerful tool in eventually reaching the centre of one's being.

The first point you must realize is that the actions in life are only roles which you are fulfilling. They in no way represent your being or your true identity. They are merely a manifestation. This does not mean that you will cease to perform your roles; you will still do them, but you will now see yourself in the position of an actor. You will be able to witness yourself performing and acting your roles. You will see your true self as being in the audience, and the body-mind acting out its role.

The next point you have to realize that you are not the body and its sensations, you are not your emotions, you are not your intellect, you are not your mind in any way whatsoever. At first this will have to be done intellectually but after some practice you will cease to identify with all these manifested aspects of yourself, and you will know yourself as your true inner being, a part of the whole, the manifest and unmanifest existences which we know as God.

The experience of dhyana

During meditation one experiences a feeling of no anxiety. One's normal self-interest seems to disappear and one feels the same, if not more, for other people as for oneself. Life no longer seems fragmented by opposing ideas and opinions. Everything merges into one composite whole. External events enter the mind, are absorbed, yet without causing the usual disturbances or reverberations. All things take their normal course of action, without any unnecessary hustle or bustle. Fear, the biggest troublemaker in life, no longer exists. Even fear of death disappears, and the idea of death seems almost superficial, non-existent and unimportant. The usual ups and downs of life are replaced by a continual and elevating feeling of the joyfulness of life. Everything seems to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Even normally opposing religious, philosophical and cultural ideas seem to be in unison with one another. Everything fits. The past and future seem to be unimportant. They lack meaning. What is important is the eternal now. Living and experiencing the totality of the present seems to be the only important thing to do.

The present is so absorbing that the mind automatically fixes itself on the work or action being done. Efficiency and perfection become the natural course of life's events. The normal impediments to efficiency, such as worry or anger, no longer block the total absorption of the mind. Under these conditions work becomes play and play becomes work. There is no differentiation. Life becomes so joyful so that it needs no ambition, no justification, no reason; it is sufficient just to be. Remember that it is through frustration, dissatisfaction and unhappiness that we try to find a reason for life, or follow modes of life that are unnatural or contrary to our very being.

One does not lose one's zest, nor does one lose one's interest in the activities of the world. One merely ceases to worry about things. There may be superficial worry, but internally there is perfect peace. All the preliminaries associated with preparing oneself for meditational experiences no longer seem important or necessary. In other words, all the rules laid down in the yamas and niyamas (see the chapter on Raja yoga), for example, detachment, renunciation and so on, are no longer necessary. The experience of meditation stands way above these rules. The rules no longer apply. These rules are designed to eliminate the mental disturbances. But now the individual can do anything: exciting activities, be angry, be happy, all the multifarious actions in life. These actions no longer adversely affect his inner being. He goes through life as a witness. Sense enjoyments are not diminished; in fact they are heightened.

Everything unites to become one. The faculty of intuition is the medium of knowledge. Objects show their deeper and essential characteristic. Everything assumes an attitude of friendliness and the universe assumes a state of helpfulness; opposition to one's nature no longer exists. Every atom shimmers with life and vitality. The progress of time and immensity of space lose their fixed meaning; they are seen as nothing more than a manifestation of the universe. Time begins to stand still and the outer depths of space no longer seem so far away. The stars come within grasping distance. Infinity and eternity become almost tangible. Existence is seen as the permanent aspect of everything. One realizes that one's being is intimately bound up with everything that is. As such, the ego no longer seems important or even a reality.

One normally sees oneself as a small insignificant part of the universe, as a small cog in a large wheel, a small particle in unending space and time. One often feels completely isolated and often alienated from other parts of existence. One feels alone, and very mortal. One never even suspects that one can overcome this situation. Most people merely shrug there shoulders and fatalistically accept their fate. Meditation changes all this. One realizes through meditation that one is a necessary, intimate and important part of the universe. One starts to relate deeply to everything that exists. They are no longer separate entities. You are That. This is a mystical state of meditation.

There will be different descriptions of the experiences depending on the depth or height of the meditation. Also each person will use his own language, religious terms, symbolism and personal feelings in an attempt to express the inexpressible. One doesn't suddenly experience the highest stage of meditation. It is a progressive intensification of spiritual experience that shows itself in small ways in the beginning. It might initially show itself in visions, in various tangible and intangible ways. Most of these visions will seem strange at first, for they don't seem to relate to everyday life. You may wonder how such weird and wonderful visions can come from your being. One may see dazzling visions of Buddha or psychedelic, multicoloured energy patterns. One may experience intensification of feelings and emotions. One may hear various sounds which come from the very depths of one's being.

Finally, let us take an example where a transcendental experience has almost flashed into existence, given illumination of an intense form for a very short time. The following is an extract from The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James: ''All at once I, without wrapping of any kind, found myself wrapped in a flame coloured cloud. For an instant I thought of fire, an immense conflagration somewhere close by in that great city: the next instant I knew that fire was in myself. Directly afterwards there came upon me a sense of exultation, immense joyousness, accompanied or immediately followed by, an intellectual illumination quite impossible to describe. Among other things, I did not merely come to believe, I saw the universe is not composed of dead matter, but is on the contrary a living presence; I became conscious in myself of eternal life. It was not a conviction that I would have eternal life, but a consciousness that I possessed eternal life. Then I saw that all men are immortal; that the cosmic order is such that without any peradventure all things work together for the good of each and all; that the founding principle of the world, of all the worlds, is what we call love, and that happiness of each and all is in the long run certain. The vision lasted a few seconds and was gone, but the memory of it and the sense of reality of it has remained during a quarter of a century which has since elapsed. I knew that what the vision showed me was true. That view, that conviction, I may say that consciousness has never, even during periods of deepest depression, been lost.''

Large numbers of classical books have been written which attempt to show spiritual growth and experiences in symbolic or allegorical terms. The writers have realized the futility of trying to describe the spiritual experience directly. They therefore use indirect methods which will only be understood by those people who have already started to have some kind of experiences. Other people will understand the contents of the books in a literal sense. Examples are the Ramayana and Srimad Bhagavatam giving the life stories of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna, Dante's Divine Comedy, Goethe's Faust and numerous other books and poems. They all try to appeal to people on a deeper level than the rational mind. In the same line of thought we therefore ask the reader to try meditation for himself and not get attached to reading about other people's experiences and spiritual paths.