NIPPING THOUGHT IN ITS BUD

By doing japa, you learn how to nip a thought in its bud. Just as when you see poison ivy, you do let it grow, so too, by being aware of the interval between thoughts, you gain the capacity to nip a thought in its bud.

In "BMW thinking," you jump from one thought to another. You hold onto the second thought and leave the first. And you hold onto the third and leave the second. The lingering content of the first thought connects you to the next thought. This connection causes you to catch the second thought and leave the first. Thus, we go from BMW to Germany. Germany takes you to World War II. World War II takes you to pearl Harbour. Pearl Harbour takes you to Hawaii. Hawaii takes you to beach. The beach takes you to melanoma and you become sad. This how the mind works.If you catch one thought, it means the previous one is gone because the two thoughts have nothing to do with each other. This is why we so often lose track of where we brgan in a conversion.

MONKEY THINKING

The reason we cannot keep track of where we began in a conversion is that we do not hold the wheel; conversion just takes place. We must start talking about foriegn policy and end up discussing sweepstakes. In between, many other topics come up. There is no control and we do not know how it all happened. The flimsier the connections, the more difficult it is to relate one thought to another.

I call this kind type of thinking " monkey thinking," the mind being very much like a monkey who leaps from tree to tree. One tree may be an evergreen and the next a maple tree. The monkey just goes from one to the other. Similarily, one's mind jumps from thought to thought and there is no control over the ways of one's thinking. In this kind of chain thinking, one cannot arrive at the gap, the interval, that exists between thoughts.

THE CHANT AND THE INTERVAL

In India there is a tree called the areca tree, from which we get the betal nut. Like a palm tree, it is very thin and fibrous and tapers at the top. Looking at the tree you may think it would breakif you climbed it, but it will not. A man who goes up one of these trees to gather the small fruits at the top does not need to come down and climb another tree.Instead, by bending the tree with his own body weight, he catches hold of the next tree. In this way, he moves from tree to tree gathering treefruit. Only after picking the fruit from the last tree in the garden does he come down.

This is exactly what we do in our thinking. From one thought, BMW, you catch Germany, then you catch World WarII, Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, and the beach. Then you catch melanoma and worry about the new mole you have: "I'd better consult a doctor. Suppose it is cancer.How will I will be able to handle it? " All of these problems started from someone,s BMW. This is like walking upon thoughts. You never get to the ground.

There is another tree, the coconut tree that, unlike the areca tree, cannot be bent without breaking. Thus a man picking coconuts must return to the ground before climbing the next tree. Japa is like this. You get to the ground-not after a length of time, but immediately. You chant and, like coconut tree climbing, you come down.You chant. You come down. Chant....come down....chant....come down.In this type of chanting, being aware of the interval is as important as the chant because it is the interval that reveals yout true nature- silence, awareness.