The Monkey of The Mind

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There are two things in our experience that are the epitome of restlessness.

The first is the monkey. Have you ever seen a monkey that isn’t restless? If a monkey is happily perched on a branch, will it sit still? No way. It will scratch furiously, or jump from branch to branch or prance around wondering what to do next.

Now take the mind. Here this moment, there the next. Restless, working itself into a frenzy with What Was or What Could Be. Dipping into the past, projecting into the future.

Both, the monkey and the mind, share one problem: they cannot remain in the What Is.

There is one more aspect in existence that is by nature as restless. The Wind. Here this moment, there the next.

In Hindu mythology, the monkey is the symbol of the thinking mind.

Now do you understand why the “Monkey God” Hanuman is significantly the son of the Wind God? His very name reveals it all. Hanu (subtle)-Man (mind) is that unique "monkey" (mind) that has become calm, non-restless, ever settled in the What Is.

A rare phenomenon indeed, worthy of worship.

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