Hello and welcome to episode 27 of The Ask Sri Vishwanath Show. Today I want to talk about the voice in your head and how to silence it.
Today’s question comes from Gina who lives in Australia. She says “I am having a hard time silencing the voice in my head. If something bad happens my thoughts just take over me and I don’t know what to do. It’s very depressing.”
That’s a great question Gina. There are many things that you can do to quieten this voice in your head. So let’s see what Krishna says about this.
This voice that people talk about has been prevalent for centuries and will be for centuries more to come. This is because these voices are like waves in the ocean. The waves will always be there and so will these manifestations in your mind. We cannot get rid of the sea but we can ask it to be calm.
Meditation
All the great men and women say that the answer to your problem is meditation. Meditation is very important but meditation does not mean sitting in a place with your eyes closed. Meditation is a process that is on going. The wise men and women meditated 24 hours a day 7 days a week. It is a way of being. In action you can meditate and in un-action you can meditate. You can meditate while seeing and observing. You can even meditate while you are sitting silently or even when you are eating.
Remember
The important thing is remembering to silence that voice. You need to remember before the voice starts talking. A lot of the times we only realise what has happened after the voice has overwhelmed us and after all the destruction has been done. It’s too late then.
A friend
When you were a child and you had a trouble or a worry you always had your mother or father or a friend that you could lean on to help you get through the bad times. All of the wise beings say that you should know you have a friend that is with you always. That friend is your consciousness. You need to take full advantage of this friend.
In the bhagavad Gita Krishna says “the self is indeed is the friend of the self by which the smaller self can be subdued. The self indeed is the Foe of one unsubdued.” So your consciousness is your friend and that voice, which is the smaller self is your foe and can be subdued. Your consciousness will become your friends when you subdue that little voice. When it’s not subdued it will become your enemy.
The self is your friend and it’s waiting there. It wants to help you. The moment that you realise this you will feel so powerful. So I want you to meditate daily on that verse “the self is indeed is the friend of the self by which the smaller self can be subdued. The self indeed is the Foe of one unsubdued.”You need to subdue that voice so the consciousness can come forward and be that friend that you need.
Waves
Remember that this voice is a wave. The waves can sometimes be choppy and erratic but then they will calm and disappear into the ocean. The moment you subdue that voice those waves will calm and you will have a friend to fall back on, your consciousness. This is the secret to the whole game. When you have that knowledge the waves will disappear.
When the wave hits we sometimes get frightened, we get involved and then we put our minds out. The bad thoughts hit us like waves crashing on the shore. So when the waves start out small catch them become aware of them and tell yourself that the ocean is your friend and these waves will not grow. They will disappear.
You don’t need a whole lots of time to do this. Even three minutes is enough. Just say these words to yourself. “The self is indeed is the friend of the self by which the smaller self can be subdued. The self indeed is the foe of one subdued.” Just remember that those waves have to disappear.
The Mental Attitude of the Sages
In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna says “the sage neither hates light action delusion when they appear or seek them when they disappear. Seated as if indifferent he is not disturbed by constituents. He stirs not. Is off steadfast resolve. Holding that constituents alone prevail.”
So the sage does not distinguish between good things and bad things. He sees the waves just as waves. He also does not seek those things when they disappear. He does not get upset when a bad wave comes because he knows it will go away again. It is not real. It is an illusion. That is the power of the consciousness. Within your consciousness there is no voice. Only a sublime peace.
Getting It All Together
So step one is remembering that you have a friend. This friend is your consciousness and you just have to embrace it. The second step is know that those waves are an illusion. They will go as quickly as they came. Have this knowledge and you will be fine.
I hope I answered your question. Remember you keep asking questions and I’ll keep answering them.
