It is said that to master any art, it takes more than 10,000 hours of the right practice. 10,000 hours is approximately 417 days or 1.1408 years. However, it would seem quite a feat to practise for 24 hours a day for 417 days. If more reasonably, three hours a day were spent perfecting the mastery of anything, on these calculations, it would take approximately nine years to become a master.
Rajyoga is perfecting the art of being a master of my own inner world, the world of the mind; being a master of the state of mind and not being compelled by any old ways of thinking that are no longer serving their purpose because, otherwise, if I am not the master, I am a slave. Compelled and influenced by not only my old ways of thinking but also at the mercy of the ebb and flow of all that is happening around me.
The soul is conscient, vibrant energy, the light behind the eyes, the infinitesimal concentrated point of spiritual light driving the physical body. The soul has five core master qualities: love, peace, happiness, power, and purity. Whichever energy is filling my mind, will be visible on my face, in my eyes, through my words and tone of voice and my body language. These core qualities, when complete, are the truth of who I am. The mind that is always set in truth expe-riences respect—the master. Spiritually speaking, if I am not always set in this truth, I am not complete, I will experience emptiness and be subservient to lower and vicious energies—a slave. When I am not full of love, I will substitute with attachment. When I am devoid of peace, I will substitute with anger. When I feel powerless, my ego or arrogance will take con-trol. When I am unhappy, I will substitute with greed for acquiring more and more. When I have no pure feelings then I will lust after objects and people.
When I fully experience my master qualities, nothing and no one can deceive me. I need to feed these beautiful core qualities. How is this done? I need to create a boundary around the inner world of my mind. Then I must monitor and check it on a regular basis. An easy way to remember this, and to reclaim mastery, is to use a formula that we see almost every day on our computers—.com. In other words, first of all, put a full stop to all thoughts and go into silent meditation. Then, check what energy owns my mind at this moment and reset. In this way, day by day, I become the master of the self.
Judy Johnson coordinates the activities of Brahma Kumaris meditation centres in Atlantic Canada.