In a garden, various types of people keep coming and going, at random. Some visit only once, while some come back repeatedly, some stay for a long time, while some make a fleeting appearance. Some enhance the beauty of the garden and bring in joy and happiness, whereas some bring with them damage and defilement, causing pain and suffering to everyone.
Similar is the case with our mind too. Various types of thoughts keep coming and going, at random. There are some that bring waves of positivity and happiness, while some that are negative and hurtful. And as much as we try to allow only positive thoughts to enter our minds, the negative ones, some way or the other, find their way into our mind-garden.
Why does it happen so?
Negative thoughts generally arise when our feelings or our ego is hurt. This happens when either:
•our expectations are not met, or
•we feel hurt by someone, who we think is insulting or ignoring us, or
•things do not happen according to our wish, or
•we cannot find a way to deal with present circumstances, etc.
Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan, an enlightened being says, the thoughts that come to our mind are not quite in our control. According to the theory of karma, our mind, body and speech of this life is an enactment of the script written by us in our past lives. It means whatever we do, think or speak is already programmed by us in previous births. If we have programmed negativity, we will experience negativity, and if we have sown positivity, we shall reap positivity. The recurrence of negative thoughts despite our efforts to stop them implies that this is the kind of stock we have filled in previously, and which is now coming out.
How do we deal with such a situation?
Pujya Dadashri explains:
1.Before we work towards eliminating negative thoughts from our mind, we must first be able to honestly confirm with ourselves that:
•we definitely do not like such thoughts, and
•we indeed want to make a genuine effort to replace our negative thoughts with the positive.
2.To make this happen, whenever we find ourselves thinking negatively, we must redirect our attention to the positive aspect of that situation. All situations have some or the other positive aspect.
3.We must repeatedly do the above exercise until the negative thought that has arisen in our mind becomes very weak and feeble. This will help loosen the grip of negativity in our thinking process.
4.Next, we must ensure that whenever a negative thought arises, we oppose it with all our strength.
5.And must seek forgiveness from the Soul of the person for whom the negative thoughts come in our mind, by saying, “Oh pure Soul, I have made a mistake by thinking negatively about you. Please forgive me and give me strength not to repeat this mistake ever again.” This process of seeking forgiveness is called Pratikraman. It helps get rid of the negative thoughts with equanimity and ensures that we do not sow new seeds of negative thoughts.
6.If the negative thoughts are not aimed at a particular person or group of people, but are in relation to a particular situation, one could pray to one’s own pure Soul within.
Thus, while negative thoughts may not stop coming to our mind totally, since it is not entirely in our control, we can work towards diffusing their strength as stated above, and simultaneously ensure that we do not sow new seeds of negativity anymore.
To know more please click on https://www.dadabhagwan.org/path-to-happiness/self-help/positive-thinking/
Ambalal M. Patel was a civil contractor by profession. In June 1958, spontaneous Self-Realization occurred within Ambalal M. Patel. From this point on, Ambalal became a Gnani Purush, and the Lord that manifest within him became known as Dada Bhagwan. A Gnani Purush is One who has realized the Self and is able help others do the same. Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan used to go from town to town and country-to-country to give satsang (spiritual discourse) and impart the knowledge of the Self, as well as knowledge of harmonious worldly interactions to everyone who came to meet him. This spiritual science, known as Akram Vignan, is the step-less path to Self-realization.