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MounaaFastFortheMind

MounaaFastFortheMind
SwamiPrabodhanandaSaraswati
Haveyoueverstoppedtothinkaboutthesuperabundanceofstimulation,ideasandobjectswhich
accostourmindseveryday?Wecollectbeautifulcarpets,booksandevenotherpeople,andthensuffer
frommentalindigestion.Yogaprovidesanopportunitytounloadthemindofalltheuselessitemsithas
accumulated.Throughthepracticeofyogawecanfastthemindjustaswefastthebody,andinthe
processpurifyourentirebeing.Thisisoneofthegreatestbenefitsofyoga.
Inthephysicalbodythereisacontinualaccumulationoftoxinsandwastematerialsformedasby
productsofdigestion,metabolismandinfection.Whenwefast,werelievethebodyoftheburdenof
digestion,sothatitcandevotemoreenergytothepurificationprocess.Ageneralhousecleaning
ensues,andalloftheunused,decayingcellsandtissuesofthebodyarebrokendownandeliminated,
alongwiththepoisons.
Thesamethinghappensinthemind.Millionsofimpressionsaccumulateatdifferentlevelsofthemind.
Thesedeeplyrootedimpressionsareknownassamskaras.Theyformanunmoveablewallaroundour
ownSelf.Yogicpracticesgentlychipawayatthiswall,breakingdowntheencrustedsamskarassothat
theycanbeeliminatedandthetrueSelfrevealed.
Oneofthebestpracticesforpurifyingthemindismouna,orsilence.Duringmouna,onefaststhe
mindfromitsusualheavydietofcontinualconversation,interactionandstimulation.Inthisway
mentalenergyisfreed,andcanbeappliedtoselfinvestigationandinnercommunication.Observance
ofmounaisalsoadiscipline,asadhana,whichincreasesselfcontrolandwillpower.Controlofthe
tongueisamajorsteptowardscontrolofthemind.
Inspirituallifetherearemanyexamplesofpeoplepractisingmouna.IntheCatholicreligionthereisa
sectcalledtheTrappistOrder,whichobservescompletesilence.Mounahasbeenawellknownpractice
inIndiafromtimeimmemorialthesadhuswhopractiseit,oftenforyearsatatime,arecalled
mounis.
Therearevaryingdegreesofmouna.Inkarnamouna,orcontrolofspeech,otherformsof
communication,suchasnotewriting,gesturingandeyecontact,arestillpermitted.However,when
thereistotalwithdrawalfromallexternalcommunication,thisiskasthamouna.Eventuallyalldoubts
areclearedfromthemind,andtheillusorycharacteroftheworldwithallitsgunasisrealized.This
stateisknownassusuptimounaThehighestformofmouna,whenallthoughtsarecompletely
annihilated,iscalledmahamouna.
Mounaisaveryflexibletechnique.Youdon'tneedtosityoudon'tneedaspecialplacetopractiseit
youdon'tevenneedtostopyournormalactivities.Itisanexperiencethatyoucantryeitherby
yourselforinthepresenceofothers.Atfirstyoumaywishtotryitforonedayduringaweekend,and
thencontinueonaregularbasis,onceaweekoronceamonth.Youshouldfeelfreshandrelaxedat
theendoftheday.Yourrelaxedmindwillbeabletofulfilthetasksoftheweekwithaccuracyand
speed,inanaturalspontaneousway.
Mounashouldbeapproachedwithapositiveattitudeandaclearsenseofpurpose.Onlytensionand
frustrationwillresultifitisdoneoutofforceorcompulsion.However,ifyouexperiencesometurmoil
arisingduringthepractice,don'tworry.Itisanaturalprocessofpurificationtakingplaceonthe
mentalplane.
Asthenegativesamskaraswithinusarebeingexhausted,theyrisetothesurfaceofthemind,
creatingmomentarydisturbances.Whenthisoccurs,weshouldtrytomaintainsomeselfawareness
anddisciplineinordertopreventthesedisturbancesfromthrowingusoffbalance.However,inthe
beginning,ifwegetveryangry,nervousordepressedduringmouna,itiswisetolimitthepracticeto
onlyhalfaday.
Mounaisalsoveryusefulfortransmutingnegativeexpressionintodivinequalities.Oncetherewasa
manintheashramwithaveryviolenttemper.Swamijitoldhimtopractisemouna.Afterspendinga
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MounaaFastFortheMind

fewmonthsinsilence,hebecameashiningpersonality,emanatingloveandworkingveryhard.
Throughthepracticeofmounahewasabletoredirecttheenergylostinangerinmorepositive
directions.
Theregularpracticeofmounachangesaperson'swholepatternofcommunication.Hisspeech
becomesmoredirect,concentratedandclear.Whenhedoeschoosetospeak,hisbriefwordscarry
greatpowerandmeaning.Heisabletocommandthetotalattentionofhislisteners,andtheyareable
tohearthedeepertruthsunderlyinghiswords.
Ifyoufindthepracticeofmounaagreeable,onceayearyoucanarrangeamoreextremerestforthe
mindandembarkonatendaysilentretreat,Thebenefitsofsuchalongerretreataretruly
remarkable.However,duringalongretreat,itisimportanttokeepagoodbalanceofphysicalwork,
meditation,alittlestudyandrelaxation.Ofcourse,thebestideawouldbetojoinashramlifefora
periodoftime.Inthiswayyougettheopportunitytopractisekarmayogaandsimpleliving,andall
theuselessmentalbaggageoverloadingyourmindwillspontaneouslyfallaway.

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