Mind, a beautiful servant but a dangerous master – Osho

Brain as an organ belongs to nature while the mind is personal, belonging to an individual with all the unique learnings and conditionings. Mind is a powerful tool and like any tool, we must use the tool when it is needed and leave it aside when there is no need. What happens if the tools starts to control the user?

In one of his discourses, Osho baba made a brilliant analogy to drive this point. Imagine a class full of kindergarten students playing and running around when there is no teacher in the class but as soon as the teacher steps in to the class, children quietly go back and settle down in their seats (of course barring one or two that need to be specifically told to sit down). In other words, when the teacher walks in, in some sense an authority has walked in and thus kids settle down recognizing that authority. The same applies to our mind and our thoughts, the moment our being or our consciousness evolves, it becomes the authority and the mind quietly settles down.

When that point arises when we become the masters, then in true sense mind becomes a tool at the control of the user. Most of us use the car as a means of transit but once we reach our destination, the car is left at the parking lot and we don’t drag it around everywhere go. The same happens to the mind, once the master takes control. We use it when needed and not get used by it.

George Gurdjieff in his teachings also used the reference to a Classic Indian painting that shows a house in a mess because the house has no master and all the servants have created a chaos, due to lack of authority. This painting is precisely the state of man today with mind, thoughts, fears and desires creating the state of utter chaos.

Can the mind be brought under control? Can an authority emerge from within us? The answer is a resounding yes. There are many methods to get there, and meditation is one of such tools to rise above the mind and use it the way you want.