The Evolving Mind

Compiled from talks by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

There are three stages in the evolution of the mind. The first stage is being in Maya (illusion) and not knowing it. It means one is so caught up in Maya that one is not even aware of it. For example, someone has a certain Bhrama (delusion or misconception) in his mind and does not even know that it is a misconception. He thinks that to be true. This is the first stage.

The second stage is, when one is caught up in delusion and he knows that it is delusion. In this stage, the person knows that Maya has enveloped him completely and that he is troubled because of it.

The third stage is that in which one finds oneself completely free of Maya and remains unaffected by it. In the third stage, the person knows that Maya can do nothing to him. So these are the three stages.

The first is that in which a person is miserable due to his own mind. If such a person sits quietly, even then all sorts of thoughts come to his mind, like ‘this is fine, that is not fine; I have to do this and that; so-and-so person is like this, like that; what will happen to me or what may not happen’, and so on. Such thoughts keep coming to the person’s mind from everywhere. He does not find even a moment’s peace. The mind is so occupied with these thoughts that it falls into delusion, and it is not able to even recognize that it is caught up in delusion.