It is the mind that is dull, not you!

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Q. You are not a learned man. You have not read much and what you read, heard did perhaps not contradict itself. I am fairly well educated and have read a lot and I found that books and teachers contradict each other hopelessly. Hence whatever I read or hear, I take it in a state of doubt. 'It may be so, it may not be so' is my first reaction. And as my mind is unable to decide what is true and what is not, I am left high and dry with my doubts. In yoga a doubting mind is at a tremendous disadvantage.

M. I am glad to hear it; but my Guru too taught me to doubt - everything and absolutely. He said, 'Deny existence to everything except your self.' Through desire you have created the world with its pains and pleasures.

Must it also be painful?

What else? By its very nature pleasure is limited and transitory. Out of pain desire is born, in pain it seeks fulfillment, and it ends in the pain of frustration and despair. Pain is the background of pleasure, all seeking of pleasure is born in pain and ends in pain.

All you say is clear to me. But when some physical or mental trouble comes, my mind goes dull and grey, or seeks frantically for relief.

What does it matter? It is the mind that is dull or restless, not you. Look, all kinds of things happen in this room. Do I cause them to happen? They just happen. So it is with you - the roll of destiny unfolds itself and actualizes the inevitable. You cannot change the course of events, but you can change your attitude and what really matters is the attitude and not the bare event. The world is the abode of desires and fears. You cannot find peace in it. For peace you must go beyond the world. The root-cause of the world is self-love. Because of it we seek pleasure and avoid pain. Replace self-love by love of the Self and the picture changes. Brahma the creator is the sum total of all desires. The world is the instrument for their fulfillment. Souls take whatever pleasure they desire and pay for them in tears. Times squares all accounts. The law of balance reigns supreme.