Acharya Mahaprajna
Deccan Herald
When a man changes from within, he also changes outwardly. Let us thoroughly grasp the fact that no change can occur in man at the level of thought. If he could change through intellectual understanding, a man would undergo a transformation alter listening to one discourse. But it does not come to pass. The question arises, why? The, reason is that we are too much dependent on thought, on ideas, and have little inner faith.
Intellectual understanding is never very deep. Until we break through to the consciousness within, no real change can be wrought. Character is formed by inner urges. Violence, untruth, and duplicity - all arise from within.
Here’s an instance from the life of President Abraham Lincoln. When he was practising as a lawyer, a client approached him and told him about his case in detail. After studying the case, Lincoln returned the file to the client. The client wanted to know why he was returning the file. He wanted Lincoln to accept his case. But Lincoln said, “May be I can win this case on some point of law, but it is a false case in point of fact. When I stand up in the court to speak, my conscience would reproach me, You’re telling a lie, Lincoln!’, it would say. It might even impel me to admit that the case was false!”
We have before us two levels - the intellectual level at which the case might be won, and the level of inner consciousness at which the case cannot be fought. There are two levels - the level of thought and the level of inward consciousness. Until these are purified, there can be no purification of character.
Man is a social animal. He lives in society. How many emotional changes he undergoes every day! Now joy, now grief, at times hatred, at other times fear and sometimes anger - all these passions manifest themselves. In the terminology of preksha meditation, these are known as the Centre of Enlightenment and the Centre of Intuition; in that of anatomy as the pineal and the pituitary glands.
These are the centres, which can be used for bringing about a transformation of character. The pineal gland controls the urges and passions. Let us utilise this governing centre fully. Thus we would come to realise how inner consciousness can be purified, and it would also establish the utility of practising perception of psychic centres.