24th November 2009
Cleanliness is indeed next to godliness.
John Wesley
We clean up our car, our house, our garden and the living environment. If we do not maintain these things neatly, dust will accumulate and destroy the object. If the item under reference is made of steel, rust will erode the article. We realize the same and so do cleaning up periodically. Just imagine what will happen if the roads are not cleaned up. Government passes pollution control legislation to keep the environment clean. Under this legislation, excessive smoke, dust, effluents etc are controlled.
The same principle is valid for our mind also. Our mind is also capable of becoming `dirty'. The only difference is that we may not be able to notice the same since it is internal. The mind is polluted by bad thoughts, negative emotions and unproductive thoughts. If we do not clean up our mind, this mental pollution will affect our output. The quality of the cleanliness of our mind will decide the quality of our thinking process and ultimately our actions. Our actions cannot be clean if the mind is not clean.
We need to be conscious about what type of thoughts enter and occupy our mind. If we are not conscious about it, the mental pollution will increase. Negative feelings such as greed, anger, jealousy, fear, etc pollute our mind. If we do not notice and clean up our mind, the same will affect out thought process and we will indulge in actions reflective of this state of mind.
The first step in any cleaning operation is noticing. We have to notice dust and rubbish in order that we remove the same. Similarly, we have to notice what is in our mind. Today, you set aside some thirty minutes and do some soul searching and honestly list the negative feelings and emotions that are in your mind. Then think about the consequences if you do nothing about the same. This process itself will trigger an appropriate action plan to clean up your mind.
N C Sridharan
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