DIVINE THOUGHT

Thoughts generate in the mind and travel from one mind to another. Mānas, or mind-substance, fills all space like ether, and it serves as the vehicle for thoughts, as Prāna (life force) is the vehicle for feeling, as ether is the vehicle for heat, light, and electricity, and as air is the vehicle for sound, so says Swami Sivananda. Divine thought involves the alignment and conformity of our thought process to realise the Supreme Consciousness. It also involves thoughts or insights originating from a higher or divine source through śruti or that which is heard (vedas), and śmriti, or remembrance (Puranas, Itihasas, Bhagavad Gita, Dharmaśāstra and Dharmasūtra). Srutis are revealed to sages and rishis, and that way they descend down to other beings in this universe. It suggests that certain thoughts or inspirations are not solely products of our own but are influenced or guided by a transcendent or spiritual power. In the śruti tradition, sages, rishis, prophets, and messengers are often considered to receive divine revelation and inspiration to communicate divine thoughts to humanity.

1. Outline

Thoughts are a powerful force that can impact the toughest of the tough. However, thoughts need to be sublime and pure. The divinity and serenity of thought processes are inbuilt in an austere mind. An austere mind evolves from virtues of steadfastness, equanimity, gentleness, silence, self-control, and purity of purpose. Swami Sivananda says that thought is a finer force. This is supplied to us by food. If food is pure, thought also becomes pure. He who has pure thoughts speaks very powerfully and produces a deep impression on the minds of the hearers with his speech. He influences thousands of people through his pure thoughts. A pure thought is sharper than the edge of a razor. Entertain always pure, sublime thoughts. Thought culture is an exact science.

Thought that is full of divine consciousness or supra-essential essence is the only harbinger in this space-time frame and beyond. Divine thought may also be seen as a connection to a broader Supreme Consciousness or Supreme Intelligence. It is an elevating experience towards the realisation of divine consciousness and ultimate supreme consciousness, or Brahman (the Supreme Being) consciousness.

It signifies that there is always a higher level of consciousness or wisdom in other beings that can be realised through deep contemplation or meditation. One can tap into this divine realm and receive insights or guidance. It is based on steadfastness and equanimity. Equanimity, or samatva, refers to the state of being even-minded, calm, and composed in any circumstance. The true nature of the self is not limited to the individual ego based on body-mind-intellect mechanisms but rather is a universal consciousness that underlies all of existence. The pertinent issue is how to cultivate equanimity or a steady disposition. The answer is to imbibe virtuosity in all of our thoughts, actions, and deeds. Virtuosity nurtures the right habits and the right character, necessary pre-requisites for equanimity and steadfastness.

2. Scriptures 

Srimad Bhagavad Gita says that by restraining their senses and being even-minded everywhere, such persons, engaged in the welfare of all beings, also realise the Supreme Consciousness.

ye tv akṣharam anirdeśhyam avyaktaṁ paryupāsate

sarvatra-gam achintyañcha kūṭa-stham achalandhruvam

sanniyamyendriya-grāmaṁ sarvatra sama-buddhayaḥ

te prāpnuvanti mām eva sarva-bhūta-hite ratāḥ

Those who worship the formless aspect of the Absolute Truth—the imperishable, the indefinable, the unmanifest, the all-pervading, the unthinkable, the unchanging, the eternal, and the immoveable—by restraining their senses and being even-minded everywhere, such persons, engaged in the welfare of all beings, also attain Me.

In the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, wherein Sri Krishna stresses on Humbleness; freedom from hypocrisy; non-violence; forgiveness; simplicity; service of the Guru; cleanliness of body and mind; steadfastness; and self-control; dispassion towards the objects of the senses; absence of egotism; keeping in mind the evils of birth, disease, old age, and death; non-attachment; absence of clinging to spouse, children, home, and so on; even-mindedness amidst desired and undesired events in life; constant and exclusive devotion towards Me; an inclination for solitary places and an aversion for mundane society; constancy in spiritual knowledge; and philosophical pursuit of the Absolute Truth—all these I declare to be knowledge, and what is contrary to it, I call ignorance.

In the same vein, Sri Krishna observes in the Srimad Bhagavad Gita that thought culture is to raise divine consciousness, which is imbibed by saintly virtuous persons. They cultivate fearlessness, purity of mind, steadfastness in spiritual knowledge, charity, control of the senses, sacrifice, study of the sacred books, austerity, and straightforwardness; non-violence, truthfulness, absence of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, restraint from fault-finding, compassion towards all living beings, absence of covetousness, gentleness, modesty, and lack of fickleness; vigour, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, bearing enmity towards none, and absence of vanity.

abhayaṁ sattva-sanśhuddhir jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ

dānaṁ damaśh cha yajñaśh cha svādhyāyas tapa ārjavam

ahinsā satyam akrodhas tyāgaḥ śhāntir apaiśhunam

dayā bhūteṣhv aloluptvaṁ mārdavaṁ hrīr achāpalam

tejaḥ kṣhamā dhṛitiḥ śhaucham adroho nāti-mānitā

bhavanti sampadaṁ daivīm abhijātasya bhārata

In the Vivekchudamani, Sri Shankaracharya puts emphasis on the application of Vivek (discrimination between the real and the unreal) to discriminate between the inner and outer selves. The outer self gives sensual gratification, whereas the inner self gives Sat-Chit-Anand (Eternal Truth-Eternal Consciousness-Eternal Bliss).

Swami Krishnananda eloquently says on this aspect that throughout life one should live as if the last day is today. So right from the beginning of your life, throughout the tenure of your existence in this world, entertain divine thoughts. Let unselfish motives be on your mind. Never be greedy. Never be possessive. Never harm others. Never talk ill of others and cause no kind of inconvenience to other people, as far as it is possible. Treat others as you would treat yourself. Be a good person. What is goodness? Are you not good to yourself? Are you harsh and hard on yourself at any time? How kindly you treat yourself! Why not be kind to others, because what is the difference between you and another person? The embodiment, the desires, the structure of personality, and the aspiration are the same; birth and death are the same.

Ramana Maharsi says: To all deep-thinking minds, the inquiry about the "I" and its nature has an irresistible fascination. Self-enquiry is the only infallible and direct means to realise the unconditioned, absolute being that you really are.

Swami Krishnananda says: It has been said that man's future life depends on the path he follows in the course of his present life, and it is also held that the last thought determines the trans-empirical future of the individual. No one can say exactly when this last thought will occur, as no one knows when the last moment will come. It is so because the future is severed by the present attachment to the local body and its relations. There would, then, be no point in postponing the spiritual ideal of the meditation of consciousness to a future moment—the point of dying—since the future is unknown. The undecided future would instill enough caution in our minds to be prepared for the last moment, as if it were every moment of the day. The conduct of man, the way in which he has lived through his life here, will decide the nature of the last thought. As the fruit of a tree is the culmination of the growth of the tree, one's last thought can be said to be the fruit that has ripened through the maturity of the tree of one's life.

3. Remarks

Divine thought is always to raise the conscious level to realise divine consciousness. It develops selfless, exclusive, and incessant devotion towards the realisation of Supreme Consciousness.

-Asutosh Satpathy