Structure of the Mind

Excess heat in our physical system is referred to as "fever" and fever leads to unpleasant outcomes. Similarly, mental fever has symptoms such as anxiety, excitement, intoxication, agitation, etc. Overly strong excitement destroys understanding, thoughtfulness, and judgment. When strongly excited, a person thinks the unthinkable and does things he would otherwise consider sinful. Such a state is undoubtedly undesirable for humans. We lose mental peace when we come under the spell of worries, sadness, desperation, fear, anger and restlessness, quite often as a result of a difficult situation in our lives or as a result of a conflict with another person. Conversely, when we are suddenly successful or suddenly rich, we get caught in pride, jealousy, extreme pleasure, and extreme indulgence. Stimulation, whatever positive or negative, does strange things to our internal state, leading to dreadful consequences.

People who are prone to sudden excitement or sudden anger often have weak minds. They find it hard to focus the mind, making success a distant reality. Majority of their thoughts are short lived. This is how mental imbalance not only becomes a major roadblock to success, but it also leads to decline.

Mental Imbalance is the root cause of failure

Mental disturbance renders it impossible to succeed in both the material as well as the spiritual worlds. This is because a stable mind is essential got gather up the concentrated strength and resolve that we need in order to succeed. A stimulated or angered mind is like a shaking hand; it makes it impossible to aim correctly. In the state of restlessness, it is extremely difficult to differentiate between the right and the wrong courses of actions.

Mental imbalance and stimulation leads to haste. This impetuosity can often lead to narrow views and childish behaviors. Imagine a child playing the role of a gardener. The child plants the seed, waters the earth, waits a few minutes, and then checks to see if the seed has sprouted or not. On seeing an unsupported seed, the child buries it back in the sand, waits a bit more and repeats the action. On getting frustrated with the failure to sprout the seed, the child proceeds with alternative strategies like putting some stems in the ground and then waiting for a stems to grow leaves and fruits. Further, the child just goes ahead and ties some stones to the stems, as if the stones were fruits. This garden is far from satisfying to the child. The child eventually destroys the garden and moves on to the next play. What is surprising is that we, the adults, often exhibit this childish behavior in our fields of experience. We start something with great gusto. This initial excitement turns into haste and we can hardly wait to succeed. Waiting becomes a painful exercise. Then, disappointment sets in, and we often abandon the effort. We repeat this often, with various tasks and resolutions, small as well as big, throughout our lives. Similar to the child, we adults are unable to anticipate roadblocks and difficulties on the path to success, in our haste for instant gratification.

In olden days, a disciple had to prove immense patience for acceptance by a Guru, the teacher. The Upanishads mention activities such as herding cows, and collecting wood, as examples. Lord Indra underwent a long and arduous wait before acquiring knowledge. The gurus knew that patience and perseverance are essential for success. In order to ensure that the hard work of instruction and teaching did not go waste, the gurus made these qualities as prerequisites for learning. One might learn the alphabet and earn a certificate or two, but that is far from learning anything useful to a person of restless and eager disposition, therefore, learning makes little difference.

Haste and restlessness obstruct the road to success. It takes time for actions to bear fruit. For athe cotton plant to turn into cloth, it goes through several tiers of strenuous processes and contraptions. In this age of great upheaval and social change, those who do not have the perseverance to see the cotton seed through the difficult stages should not expect to see any cloth at the end. The road to success is commonly laden with delays and difficulties. Sometimes, corcumstances can make these obstacles quite daunting and we need time and great effort to overcome them. Even further, we have to be ready to face repeated downturns, and sustain our efforts with unyielding patience and hard work. Eager and restless people are not capable of this unshakable patience and give into roadblocks often creating a trail of repeated failures.

Distractedness, doubt, and a fickle mind is a type of mental ailment. What if the work is not finished? What if some unforeseen difficulty crops up? Such dilemmas, a lack of trust, and a lack of enthusiasm keep the mind confused. There is no devotion to the task at hand, leading to a half hearted effort. Such a mind is always looking fo rsomething "else" to do. Nothing gets done, as  result. To make matters worse, mistakes and debacles increase. Anything planned with half a heart is planned poorly, without a thorough consideration of the pros and the cons. Such planning therefore is more imaginary than real. Leaving one job unfinished and starting another half baked one eventually leads only to frustration over failures.