Question: How does one stop the mind?¹²⁷

Sri Chinmoy: There are quite a few ways to stop the mind. One way is to repeat the Name of God or a particular mantra, which is a sacred word or incantation. When we repeat a mantra or God’s Name, there is a continuous flow. If what we are repeating is “God, God, God,” then inside the repetition itself we will forget ourselves and lose ourselves. Then the mind stops.

Another way is to see the mind as a material object. We can take a material object and put it anywhere we want, or throw it the farthest possible distance, according to our strength. So either we can grab the mind like a material object and throw it far away, or we can put the mind in a place where it will not bother us. If a mischievous child is bothering us, we can put him into a corner and warn him not to move. We can do that to the mind also.

A third way is to totally forget about the existence of the mind and feel that we are only the heart. It is not enough to say, “I have a heart.” We have to say, “I am the heart, I am the heart!” Then the qualities of the heart will permeate the entire being and automatically the mind will stop. There are many more ways to stop the mind, but these three ways are quite enough for any individual.

From:Sri Chinmoy,My meditation-service at the United Nations for twenty-five years, Agni Press, 1995
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