Have you ever observed a monkey? It
becomes evident within no time that the animal constantly engages in some kind
of activity be it chattering aloud, starting off a fight with fellow beings,
performing mischievous acts, doing somersaults. To summarize, it acts restless.
Well, before we just dismiss this as a
non-intelligent being that does not have any better thing to do, we need to
introspect a little. The learned ones point out that our mind is just like the
monkey, being constantly involved in unimportant stuff but which is
interesting.
Our mind has been habituated to behave thus. We look at the world
and cry about not having the riches that someone else enjoys. We gossip around
about what others do, what they possess and how will they spend their lives. We
brood upon the past and get lost in nostalgia. We are engulfed about our own
good and bad times that we experienced. We keep planning for the future; make
lengthy to-do lists to accomplish our goals. However we fail to understand the
importance of living in the present!
Swami Vivekananda quips on this topic, “The human mind is like a monkey which is drunk and bit by
a scorpion. It is incessantly active by its own nature; then it becomes drunk
with the wine of desire. After the turbulence caused by desire takes possession,
comes the sting of a scorpion. It brings jealousy at the success of others, and
finally the demon of pride enters the mind, making it think itself of all
importance.”
This animal metaphor that exists in many philosophies including Buddhism, Chinese, Zen, Tao provides
some real food for thought. It is indeed hard to control such a monkey and thus
our own mind. Let us find our ways to deal with it.
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