Page 49 - NAMAH-Apr-2023

Namah Self-forgetfulness and its beauty

The Mother. One dissociates oneself from the “I have told you this because the anxiety you
surface storylines/roles/sense of separate speak of comes from the fact that you are far
self, sensory inputs and mental, emotional too concerned about yourself. It would be
chatter, and one just immerses the mind better for you to pay more attention to what
into a quietude attained by repeating the you are doing and to do it well (painting or
Divine name or bringing the mind to an open music), to develop your mind, which is still
spacious awareness via breath. very uncultivated, and to learn the elements of
knowledge which are indispensable to a man if
he does not want to be ignorant and uncultured.

“If you worked regularly eight to nine hours
a day, you would be hungry and you would
eat well, you would feel sleepy and sleep
peacefully, and you would have no time to
The Mother talks about her own childhood, wonder whether you are in a good or a bad mood.
and how focusing on the thing one is doing
and being concentrated in wanting to know “I am telling you these things with all my
and understand things, keeps one away from affection, and I hope that you will understand
self-obsession, and the darkness associated them (4).”
with it.
Often it happens that the pain of the separate
“You see, my child, the unfortunate thing is self is too much to bear, owing to some
that you are too preoccupied with yourself. old resistant patterns. Something on such
At your age I was exclusively occupied with cases — when we remain in the same roles,
my studies — finding things out, learning, same outer situations, same family, same
understanding, knowing. That was my interest, people and workplace, etc. which is really
even my passion. My mother, who loved us not suiting well at the moment, owing to
very much — my brother and myself — never the identification with the thoughts and
allowed us to be ill tempered or discontented storylines around them, it often helps to
or lazy. If we went to complain to her about take some time-off. There are many things
one thing or another, to tell her that we were which are relatively easy to let go, and
discontented, she would make fun of us or hence keep offering ourselves to the Divine,
scold us and say, ‘What is this nonsense? Don’t every moment, and walk the path, without
be ridiculous. Quick! Off you go and work, and radically altering much outer situations.
never mind whether you are in a good or a bad But there are times, when one is not able to
mood! That is of no interest at all.’ let go, or be self-forgetful, while remaining
immersed in the same family, relationships,
“My mother was perfectly right and I have workplace, etc. Then, one needs to take some
always been very grateful to her for having time-off. When we step away from our blood
taught me the discipline and the necessity of or intimate relations, or our past routines for
self-forgetfulness through concentration on some time, it does help in giving the sensory
what one is doing. input and mental interpretations a sort of

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