For a long time I have been trying to reduce the thoughts of the mechanical mind, but to little purpose. Can nothing be done about it? When they are active how am I to remember the Mother and offer my being to her?
You are probably paying too much attention to them.
It is quite possible to concentrate and let the mechanical activity pass unnoticed.
When my mind begins to slacken due to some form of inertia (unwillingness to concentrate), should I try to force it to concentrate or allow it to remain only quiet?
No general rule can be given. The best at this stage is perhaps to let it be quiet for a while and then concentrate.
Will such slackness, inertia, unwillingness to contemplate disappear by themselves?
No. As the higher consciousness comes in, it will push them out.
I am much troubled by the frequency of mechanical thoughts.
Reject always without getting disturbed by the recurrences.
When the tamas prevails over the consciousness, is it advisable to keep the mind occupied with some book in which it generally takes interest?
Yes, if the mind refuses the activity of sadhana, you can do that.
How shall I be able to master this mechanical condition (in which the mind goes on endlessly with its recurring rounds) in such a way that it is transformed and never appears again?
That is rather difficult. It is only when the subconscient has become enlightened and conscious that one can safely say, “the mechanical condition will never appear again”.
As for the submind etc. these things have a habit of sticking so long as the higher dynamic activities are not established. The main thing is that they should not be allowed to invade the inner consciousness.
Is it the mechanical mind in me that keeps the influence of a wrong movement going?
That is probably the thing. Any disturbance is taken up by the mechanical mind and even when the direct cause is no longer there it goes on grinding out like a machine the thoughts and vibrations created.
This long period of assimilation has made some essential change in many parts of my being, including the mechanical mind. Don’t you think so?
Certainly.
The mechanical mind is a great obstacle to reconciling my outer work with the inner concentration. It thinks too much and endlessly.
There is always a difficulty in getting rid of a formed habit of the nature.
There are periods when an obstacle that has not been got rid of comes up with a great force. One has to take the opportunity to fight it out.
It has to be done whether quickly or slowly. You have to work towards it without getting impatient.
My mechanical mind has become extremely sensitive. Whenever I project outwards for action — even a necessary one — the mechanical mind takes it up for its food and goes on chewing it for quite a time.
That is the nature of the mechanical mind — it is not due to any sensitiveness in it. Only as the outer parts of the mind are more silent and under control, this activity looks more prominent and takes more space. It usually wears itself out, if one goes on rejecting it.
At present, it is specially the mechanical and subconscient minds that are trying now and then to interfere with the inner tranquillity. But now they themselves seem to be tired out by their fruitless knocking about.
That is what must happen. They must become weak and ineffective so that they have no result of disturbance and then they will give up.
