‘The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.’
— John Milton, ‘Paradise Lost’
It is only when we create a beautiful mind, from fully accessing our inner qualities, attributes, and resources, that we begin to experience life as more beautiful, not just for ourselves but we also help others to do the same. We can make a heaven out of any hell.
Aristotle said that there are three transcendental values – the true, the good, and the beautiful. Edgar Allan Poe said that the experience of beauty is something that actually touches the level of the soul; that beauty can transport us, it can uplift the soul. So, a mind that is beautiful will touch the soul. The intellect will deal with truth, and it is the heart that deals with what is good.
At a talk held at Cambridge University, with Dadi Janki, the late administrative head of the Brahma Kumaris, someone asked a very academic question, in a very complicated and convoluted way, and I waited with interest to see what Dadi Janki’s response would be. Her response was very simple, and caused much laughter, though delivered kindly. She said, ‘The trouble with you westerners is that you think too much.’ What she was pointing out was that the mind is very deep, the inner world of the self is very deep, and it requires a depth of silence of the mind to access that deep inner world. The kind of thinking that is done more often in the west, is that we have ended up in a situation where unless we can come up with some theory and we can demonstrate it scientifically, then we deny that something is real. Yet, there are many things in life, like falling in love, that cannot really be analysed scientifically, but those who have had that experience would certainly know it to be a truth, irrespective of scientific proof.
We start to access the capacity to cultivate a beautiful mind, at the level of soul. This is one of the core teachings of the Brahma Kumaris, to know oneself as a soul, occupying the body as a costume, in order to play a part and experience life. As Shakespeare said in ‘As You Like It’, ‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players…’.
When we explore the inner world of the self, of the soul, then we access the core qualities of the soul. A mind that is beautiful, experiences and expresses the intrinsic values of peace, love, wisdom, joy, purity, and power. The question is, how do we really cultivate those qualities, and bring the identity of being a soul to the forefront, rather than it being somehow hidden away in the background of our state of being? For this, one thing becomes really important, and that is the recognition and understanding of the nature of God.
At a further meeting in Cambridge University, Dad Janki spent a great deal of her address talking of God. I felt a little uneasy as most westerners do not really feel that comfortable, or even like, talking about God. When Dadi asked if anyone had any questions, I put up my hand and asked: ‘Dadi, what would you say to people who are less happy about the word God, and find it difficult to relate to that word?’ She looked across at me, and said, in a loving yet powerful way, ‘That is because your meditation is not good!’.
There are many concepts of God. Yet if we put aside the word ‘God’ and consider what it would be like to encounter a being who is an ocean of the qualities of peace, joy, wisdom, and purity, and of unending silence, unending stillness, and an ocean of love, that would be the way to tap into and connect with The Supreme Soul. This connection is one of the most powerful meditations we can do – and encounter through thought this perfectly benevolent Being. This encounter will enable us to be more loving, caring, and joyful in our interactions with others, and there is nothing that will do more to create a beautiful mind.
Geoff Marlow is an organisational consultant and Rajyoga practitioner based in Cambridge, UK.