Change yourself first

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj:

Q: What is the right use of mind?

M: Fear and greed cause misuse of the mind. The right use of mind is in the service of love, of life, of truth, of beauty.

Q: Easier said than done. We need plenty of it to set it right, but who will provide?

M: You can spend an eternity looking elsewhere for truth and love, intelligence and good will, imploring God and man - all in vain. You must begin in yourself, with yourself -- this is the inexorable law. You cannot change the image without changing the face. First realize that your world is only a reflection of yourself and stop finding fault with the reflection. Attend to yourself, set yourself right -- mentally and emotionally. The physical will follow automatically. You talk so much of reforms: social, economic, political. Leave alone the reforms and mind the reformer. What kind of a world can a man create who is stupid, greedy, heartless?

You cannot change the world before changing yourself. I did not say -- before changing everybody. It is neither necessary, nor possible to change others. But if you can change yourself you will find that no other change is needed. To change the picture you merely change the film, you do not attack the cinema screen.

All you need is to stop searching outside what can be found only within. Set your vision right before you operate. You are suffering from acute misapprehension. Clarify your mind, purify your heart, sanctify your life -- this is the quickest way to a change of your world.