Reading thoughts in Manas.

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READING THOUGHTS in MANAS...

Are the thoughts cognizable?  Are these readable? One's own thoughts, difficult but Yes. By rigorous and continuous practice, the chaotic, turbulent top layers of mind are silenced. And then the thoughts, even those hidden deep inside become cognizable.

Is it possible to read and know the thoughts in others' minds?  The God can. As the Antaryaami, seated within us all, He can read the subtlest of thoughts in minds of all lives. Yogis are said to read and respond to thoughts in others' minds. Their own state of mind, rather mindlessness (Mano-Nasham), total absence of any selfish interests, hatreds, prejudices, desires, compulsions etc. is the factor responsible for this ability in them. Psycho-analysts with proper training are able to unravel thoughts buried deep inside the hearts of their patients. We, the ordinary guys, can also develop this ability, at least with respect to a couple of persons around us.. For that, we will have to rid ourselves of anxieties about self and develop real Love for them. The mother usually reads minute changes in moods of her sons.

The animals, the insects and even plants seem to have this ability as a Natural Gift. I observe that whenever I raise my hand to crush a flying mosquito, it starts flying faster and in a haphazard way. While in South Africa, I was on the lunch table with a host family. One fly appeared there. (Flies are not common there). The head of the family, with the insect-killer bat in hand, started his chase, which turned out to be a marathon chase. The fly made him him run all around. After fifteen minutes of hectic chase, he returned to the table, exhausted and defeated. I have heard in my childhood days that trees tremble when the woodcutter comes near. One may argue that this is mere survival instinct and not ability to read thoughts.

Let me quote few more instances, which may clarify my point. I met a Sadhu in Nagpur. He is a wandering Sadhu from Karnataka. He appeared to me as one of perfect "Aparigraha" type. (Non possessive) He shared his experiences as a wandering Sadhu. He stayed at a 'small temple town' in western Karnataka. The localites had put up a hut for him, in a coconut farm. He used to be involved in his Sadhana in the mornings and meet people in the evenings. One full length cobra entered the hut and curled itself in a corner. He remained silent only to avoid panic and bitter reactions from the villagers. Everything went on as usual. He spent three days and nights with the cobra at an arm's distance. On the fourth day, he folded his hands and prayed to the cobra to silently go away. And it happened. Is that possible? This incident encouraged me to deal in a similar way when a smaller snake appeared in my house in early hours. I merely closed my eyes and requested the snake to "go away before my wife and the town wakes up". " Otherwise, you are putting your life at stake", I said. I won't say I was not afraid, but forced myself to do this experiment. After a minute or so, I opened eyes to find that the snake was gone. It never reappeared. I remember a boy in Durban, South Africa, who had two snakes as pets.  I have a friend, Shri Murugesan, (also the Secretary of our trust Niraamaya Yoga Vidya Kendram,) in a village near Dharapuram. Two snakes live in his farm, but he is never perturbed. He is so used to their presence that he can exactly predict the location where they could be spotted, at any time of the day. He says 'he has never been harmed by those in over two decades of co-existence.

There is one Kural in the Tirukkural.

Kollaanai Pulaal Maruththaanai Kai Kooppi Ellaa Uyirum Thozhum".  (All lives worship with folded hands the one who does neither kill nor eats flesh.)

What about plants? One of my friends, Sangha Pracharak Shri Gopalswamy has an interesting experience. He observes Shashti Vratham. On every Shashti, the sixth day after full moon and new moon, he goes out for for routine work and returns at noon to Karyalayam. There is one guava tree in the backyard of Karyalayam. For almost ten years now, this tree has been giving him one fruit on every Shashti. I should rather say, it hides one fruit for him. Karyalayam is a public place and boys come. They raid the garden and pluck every fruit, even the unripe ones. But, every Shashti, Shri Gopalswamy finds a fruit for breaking his fast. What is the special relation? He spends a few minutes every morning. He affectionately taps the tree, removes dry bark and leaves over its trunk, waters its roots by washing his hands and feet near the tree. And the tree probably understands and responds to his affectionate thoughts.

Once, I stayed in a coconut farm in Pollachi. The farm owner wanted answer from me for a peculiar phenomenon in his farm. There were rows of trees in the farm The average yield of a tree was around 200 coconuts. There were two rows with trees yielding more than 300 nuts and two more adjacent rows with trees yielding more than 250 nuts. Soil was same, watering system was same. Then, why this difference? he wanted to know. I found a foot path in the gap between the two (special) rows and asked him its destination. He said this is the path taken by villagers while walking to the temple on foot of a nearby hill. While a few walked daily to the temple, many more walked on full moon days. Man may have many negativities, but his mind definitely is calmer, more contended, nobler while he walks to a temple for worship and walks from a temple after worship.  The nobility, collective one, is received joyously and responded to by the trees. The intensity is enough only to affect the nearest trees. If it was more intense, the effect could be more. I could not find any other reason for the phenomenon.

In Pollachi again I visited a school and talked with KG teachers. One of the teachers had a very nice experience to narrate. She wanted the children to know and love Nature. So, she asked them to bring a tin container. She pasted name of the respective child on the container. She made them fill up the containers with a fistful of soil daily. Then she asked the children to bring a sapling each and helped them plant those in their respective containers. The children were trained to water the saplings daily after lunch. One of the children had brought a rose stem. The child's joy knew no bounds when the the plant gave its first rose. The child eagerly went to touch the flower. The plant does not have only flower but also the thorn. The child was hurt by a thorn. It bitterly protested, started crying and wanted to reject the plant. The teacher diverted her thoughts by suggesting that she should request the plant to be thorn less. Children, innocent as they are, do not doubt. This child too would stand before the plant and say loudly "do not have thorn. Give only flower". In a few months, an additional stem sprouted in the plant, smooth and thorn-less. The teacher showed me the plant. Our 'scientific' mind may refuse to accept this.

"Other aspects of Nature, like the wind, earth, etc, also read respond to thoughts," say our shastra. There is a saying in Tamizh. "Nallaar Oruvar Ularel, Avar Poruttu, Ellorkkum Peyyum Mazhai". (Even one person with noble thoughts would cause the the skies to shower rains for all.)

This is in interesting field of study and needs unprejudiced students.