The Power of Thought – Part One
According to the Biblical book of John, Jesus responded to the Jews by saying:”And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free“. (John 8:32) Although this is one of the most widely quoted passages in the Bible, it is likely that only a handful of people alive today understand the full meaning of these words. For Jesus was not talking about the freedom of the body, he was referring to freedom from the body.
The freedom that Jesus was talking about is the inherent destiny of every person who is alive today. For it is our latent destiny to finally come to know who we really are. And in that culminating moment of revelation, each one of us will discover the truth that we are not the limited bodies that we believe ourselves to be. We are in fact Immortal Beings, ever free from the limitations of matter, energy, space and time. We will never die, because in truth we were never born.
The reward of this Supreme Truth is everlasting freedom. Just as a ripened fruit falls from the tree, never to return, so the enlightened soul escapes forever from the limitations of the body and of the mind. With this freedom comes the power to change the world. For the universe itself waits on those who have gained the keys to the kingdom of life and an understanding of the true nature of mind.
As we have seen in the last instalment, our world is mind-made, and mind is nothing more or less than the sum total of our thoughts. The universe is not some giant cosmic stage that exists outside of ourselves and upon which we play out our puny lives. Nor is it a vast creation that runs according to the whims of some Supreme Being. Because the universe is actually a projection of the mind which consists of thoughts, then as these thoughts change, so the universe changes as well.
The corollary is equally valid. If we wish to change the universe, we need only change our thoughts! For as the sage Sri Dattatreya has pointed out in the Hindu classic Tripura Rahasya, “The world becomes for one whatever one is accustomed to think of it“. These words are echoed in the opening stanza of the Dhammapada, the summation of the teachings of the Buddha: “What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind“.
Everything that happens to us in our lives is ultimately the result of what we ourselves have thought. Our thoughts are projected in the form of an outer universe, which then interacts with us in the form of events that happen to us. The link between this interaction of thought and circumstance is known as desire. Desire is the chain which binds the observer to that which is observed. It is the cause of the entire manifestation of the universe.
This power of desire is both mysterious and miraculous. As Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj explains: “Your mind projects a structure and you identify yourself with it. It is the nature of desire to prompt the mind to create a world for its fulfilment. Even a small desire can start a long line of action; what about a strong desire? A desire can produce a universe; its powers are miraculous“. (I Am That)
Life is nothing more or less than the universal pageant created by the desire to experience. The universe dances to the cosmic sound expressed within each individual soul. Within the universe, which is the arena we have built for the realization of our desires, we are free to desire anything we can imagine. Whatever we wish for can be achieved. Anything in life is possible if we desire it strongly enough. The universe automatically works to manifest it for us.
The plain fact, to which sages of every generation have attested, is that there is no limit to what we may desire, just as there is no limit to the ability of the universe to grant us our desire. We truly are the Gods of our own creation. Through the miracle of creative thought we are free to stamp our wills upon the cosmos. We are not pawns ground remorselessly down by an uncaring universe.
The universe is alive, and it dances to the melody of our pipes. We are free to dance the cosmic dance, and to drink deeply from the cup of desire, until at last we grow weary of its charms. We have the assurance of Maharaj that we can attain whatever our hearts desire.
“When you work for something whole-heartedly and steadily, it happens, for it is the function of the mind to make things happen“. (I Am That)
