Question: How can we surrender the mind?

Sri Chinmoy: Here in the West we exercise the freedom and power of the mind. Although the heart and the soul have surrendered to the Inner Pilot, the mind continues to doubt. The mind even doubts its own existence and its own formulation of thought. Now, what should my disciples do about this? Each disciple of mine must feel that his path is the path of love, devotion and surrender. On this path the physical mind either has to be totally illumined or it has to be totally ignored. The intellectual mind also is poisonous. If one wants to enter into the highest spiritual life, the intellectual mind, too, has to be transcended. Either we have to transform the mind or discard it by placing it in the Lap of the Supreme.

If we have a lump of clay which is soft, we should try to mould it. But if our lump of clay has become hard and cannot be moulded, then we should discard it. Likewise, if the mind is beyond repair, we should discard it. But if it is still plastic and adaptable, then we should transform it with the soul's light and our heart's deepest feeling of oneness with the Master. This is the easiest way to bring the mind under control. The light of the soul and the oneness of the heart have to enter into the mind and make it feel that, instead of being totally ruined, it will be illumined and fulfilled. Then, there is every possibility that the mind will become one with the heart and soul. As spiritual aspirants, we can easily live on earth without using the gross physical mind and the sophisticated, intellectual mind. We will not act like an imbecile or an animal; we will act like a pure and simple child. And the intuitive mind still remains for us to use. If we can remain with intuition, we are safe. Intuition will automatically bring forward our divine faith.

We can, however, freely utilise the physical mind in areas which do not conflict with the Master's utterances or way of action. In our day-to-day life we do many, many things in the physical world which have nothing at all to do with our Master's spiritual teachings. We remember not to touch the hot stove with our hand. If it is chilly, we remember to wear a coat. We count our change when we buy something. Our physical mind is operating harmlessly in all these things. But in the matter of our inner life, when the mind wants to enter into our purest aspiration, we immediately have to offer the physical mind at the Feet of the Supreme. When the gross, ordinary human mind leaves us and the divine, illumined mind replaces it, we become the richest person in the spiritual life.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Mind-confusion and heart-illumination, part 1, Agni Press, 1974
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