In the previous episode, we had emphasized and re-emphasized on the important point that we need to go through a Spiritual Master or a Mahatma en-route Moksha. The main purpose of doing so, is to obtain absolute control of our mind and to follow the correct path as per the guidance of the Spiritual Master. We had witnessed the answer for an important question as to why we shouldn’t directly approach Bhagawan for this cause. We witnessed an interesting answer for this question and with this, we shall move on to the next point.
Rishabha Deva continues further with the next level of mid control now. We’ve so far seen two levels now. The first level is where there is absolutely no control over our mind and we’re at a state wherein the mind is wandering here and there into all possible worldly affairs. The second state is where we try and bring our mind under control by offering ourselves to the service of Bhagawan. That is not going to work either. If we’re going in that path, as we’ve witnessed before, our ego is going to get boosted up and we do not have that level of maturity to bring down our ego to a balanced state. Thus, this level is also not a very good state. Now, we’ve witnessed the third level of mind control wherein the Mahatma (Spiritual Master) comes into the picture. By offering ourselves in the service of a Mahatma, we shall bring our mind under control. However, Rishabha Deva is not fully satisfied with this also and he goes on to the next level here – He says that the best possible way to control our mind is to be of service to living beings other than humans. That is, we should devote our services to animals, plants, etc. and ensure that they live happily in this world. Once we start doing this, Rishabha Deva explains that we’re bringing our mind under complete control.
Now we might wonder from this above explanation as to why is Rishabha Deva saying this. Why should we be of service to animals? Are animals a step higher than even Mahatmas? What are we going to gain by serving animals? Here is where the important point comes – By offering ourselves in service to a Mahatma, we still have that small component of ego that might stick to our mind. For instance, if we proclaim ourselves that we’re ardent devotees of Spiritual Masters like Kaanchi Shankaraacharachaarya, Shirdi Sai Baba, Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, etc., immediately people around us might get curious and might start giving more importance to us. The moment this happens, our ego starts rising, isn’t it? We start getting some sort of a “social status” and this in turn, would boost our ego! Whereas, if we are of service to animals like cows, deer, etc. and if we’re able to clean the cows, wash them with water everyday, serve them with grass, draw milk from them, clean the dung, irrespective of innumerable flies and mosquitoes around it, etc. this is where our real test is!
Now how many of us would be instantly ready to offer our services like this? The moment we come across a herd of cows, we would immediately close our nose, because of the pungent smell that emulates from the dung. We would distance ourselves from that place because there are innumerable mosquitoes, flies, etc. and we fear the spread of diseases from them! However, if one is able to penetrate through all of these and ensure that these cows are well-cleaned and well-fed, this is real control of mind! In other words, we are absolutely care-free of what might happen to our physical body, in terms of diseases, dirt, etc. and are completely devoting ourselves to these animals! This is where the real mind control lies!
Thus, according to Rishabha Deva, this is the fourth level of mind control, and is the toughest of all. We can perhaps try until level 3, but we’ve to push ourselves a bit further to enter level 4. In that way, we’re slowly removing off our ego that blocks our mind from thinking about Bhagawan and Moksha. We should note here that all of these four different levels that Rishabha Deva is explaining here are four different ways through which we can thrash our mental ego. The moment our ego is thrashed 100%, we can be rest-assured that we’re en-route to Moksha!
So for today, let us spend some time in recollecting all the four levels that we’ve discussed so far. I’m trying to go very slow on this point, with multiple episodes, only because we should understand this very deeply within us. To recollect in a nutshell, the first level is where we do not have any control over our mind and we’re in a state of worldly desires. The second level is where we understand certain things and try taking initiatives to control our mind. In that, we directly approach Bhagawan, but in vain! Our ego gets boosted up further! Meeting a dead end thus, we turn our attention to the third level, wherein we encounter a Mahatma or a Spiritual Master. Under His / Her guidance, we try and achieve a reasonable control over our mind. However, since the Spiritual Master is also a human being like us, and is a renowned person, being associated with such a person also can bring lot of awe amongst others, which might again boost our ego! This is where, we enter the fourth level of mind control wherein we’re of service to living beings other than humans. The moment we’re able to tolerate the difficulties in serving animals and ensuring their happiness, we’re gaining absolute control over our mind. Thus, once we reach this highest state of mind control, we can be rest assured that we’re on the right track to Moksha!
Hence, let us think on these four levels today and we shall wait till the next episode to take this discussion of Rishabha Deva even further! Stay tuned! 😊
The Indian Dharma 