Books and Me: Conquering the Mind
Book Title: Conquering the Mind
Author: Eknath Easwaran
I got introduced to Easwaran through a cousin of mine. During a particularly difficult patch in her life, she seemed to have leaned on his works for support. His eight point program appealed to me during my very first satsang. His passage meditation thinking, is an interesting one too.
Being a person who learns more by reading , I requested the Easwaran India meditation group for suggestions of his works. While I received many, two titles seem to come up more frequently. The first one was titled meditation which explains the eight point program in detail as well as the passage meditation technique. You can find my feedback on this book here. The other title was conquering the mind.
The title is very incisive. Isn’t that what we all want to achieve, even for worldly success? The mind’s qualities make it monkey like. But it is these very same qualities that make us evolve as well. So a lot depends on who controls whom. Is it the mind over us or us over the mind?
This is the perennial battle in which most of the time, the mind emerges victorious. In this context, suggestions on how we can battle and win the control over the mind is, what this book is all about. The book is filled with daily references, day to day situations that most of us face. The author after explaining what typically happens provides suggestions on how to change them.
The teachings of Buddha, seems to have influenced the author’s thinking considerably with respect to the topic. References to Buddha and his works are sprinkled all over. The book provides interesting thoughts on developing three spiritual strengths: determination / detachment and discrimination. I enjoyed that part the most. The book is an easy read filled with simple and easy to implement tips and techniques.
While I started seeing the benefit of passage meditation I realised very quickly why Easwaran insists on all the eight aspects of his program. The more we attempt to control the mind during the day the better it is during meditation. The more regular your meditation, the easier it is to attempt conquering the mind!
Happy Mindful Reading!
