Guiding Light: How spirituality affects mental health

What causes mental suffering? What is the cause of mood swings? It is our monkey mind that swings from yesterday that is gone, to a tomorrow not yet born. If we stop this swinging business of the mind, and cut the monkey's tail, monk'EY' - Ever Yearning and Ever Yelling, the mind will become a 'MONK' and we will notice that misery of the mind will be a thing of the past. We will find ourselves in the blissful state of Divine Consciousness. All this is possible through spirituality.

How often do we find ourselves irritated? It may be because of what our colleagues said, or what our spouse did or what our friend asked. Small things trigger irritation in the mind. While we enjoy the bliss of peace, the mind is so sensitive that the slightest of triggers can irritate the mind and develop a reaction that can destroy our peace. It may be a silly reason, but we suffer and become miserable because the mind doesn't know how to respond peacefully. To respond to sadness triggers responsibly, rather than reacting, is an art that we must learn if we want to defeat the misery of the mind and gain peace in our life.

Spirituality teaches us how to attain the blissful state of Satchitananda, a state of eternal peace and everlasting joy. How is it even possible to live with such Divine Peace? There is a way. When the Monkey Mind becomes a Monk, one can experience Satchitananda. This state of bliss is Consciousness - Chit. It is a state of awareness when one awakens to the Truth about life. Because of the Monkey Mind, most of humanity remains spiritually blind. People carry their ignorance from birth to death, as they suffer from stress and anxiety. They live as ME – Mind and Ego, and the Monkey jumps from thought to thought, moment by moment, until, before we can realise, life is over. (To be continued...)

(The author is a spiritual leader and the founder of AiR Institute of Realization and AiR Center of Enlightenment)