You wear good clothes and go out. The clothes could be new or neatly ironed. What happens then? They inevitably get dirty, and you have to wash them.
Similarly, you bathe and apply scent all over your body. How long does it stay? It stays for a little while. Then, you have to bathe again the next day. Say, you do not have a bath for two or three days, then what happens on the third day? Nobody wants to come near you on the third day. If you say, "Oh! I just had my bath the day before yesterday! Why should I bathe again?" people might call you crazy, right?
Once you bathe your body, you have to bathe it all over again the next day. Sometimes, you may have to bathe that same evening. Assume that your hand becomes muddy, then do you sit crying, Oh! My hands are muddy?” No! You immediately go and wash your hands by applying soap. If the dirt is too stubborn and does not go away easily, you continue to scrub and wash it till you are satisfied that your hands are clean.
Suppose your hands are stained with deep colours or charcoal, it may take two days for it to go away. Still you continue your efforts without calling it quits, without spoiling your peace of mind!
Our mind too is very similar. There is always happiness and sadness happening in the mind. In addition to the happiness and sadness, which happens to you, others’ happiness and sadness also comes and sits on your mind. Even then it is dirty, isn’t it? You have not dirtied your clothes but an autorickshaw passed you by during the rainy season and splashed all the dirt of the road on your clothes and your clothes have become dirty. What is the use of shouting at the autorickshaw driver? Do you take no action, thinking that somebody else and not you caused this dirt? You go ahead and wash the clothes and they become clean.
Happiness and sadness appears in our mind and disappears. Therefore, sit down and meditate for a while, do pranayama, chant, sing bhajans and pray. What happens to the mind then? It gets washed and becomes clean once again. It has to be done again and again and with commitment.
