The thoughts arise in the mind not from the outside, but because they are present in the mind, both as potential in the raw material of memory and the subconscious, and on the conscious surfaces; whatever you have stored in the jar will be seen when you lift the lid. It is like a person who uses a large can to put his garbage in day and night. After many years of this, a visitor tells him that he has some precious diamonds at the bottom of the can. The person begins to search for these diamonds, and, as he puts in his hand, what he finds all the way through is garbage. He keeps his hand in the garbage for five minutes and, becoming despondent, withdraws the dirty arm and says, “I shall look for diamonds again tomorrow.” But for the next twenty-three hours and fifty-five minutes, he continues to pour more garbage into that very can. Again, next morning he looks for the diamonds for five minutes and then continues to throw some garbage in. If, for twenty-three hours and fifty-five minutes a day you add to your mind all the confused and involved complexities of relationships, reactions and anxieties, then in five minutes of meditation you will come face to face with these very things. To purify meditation, purify life. Many people are afraid to meditate for fear of these thoughts arising. But sometimes they manage to overcome their fears and say, “Well, maybe there are diamonds there, and if there really are diamonds, I am a rich man; I’ll try it.” So they look inward and find what they have placed in the mind all the twenty, thirty, forty years of their life indiscriminately. But thank God these thoughts do arise because through them, if you are wise, you become aware of the content of your mind and you see what level of purification you have to work for. The random thoughts arising in meditation should be regarded as part of a purge and you can aid the process of purgation as soon as you become aware of the presence of an undesirable thought.

Editor’s Note

This is an excerpt from Superconscious Meditation by Pandit Usharbudh Arya, 4th printing 1989, Chapter “Problem Thoughts in Meditation,” pages 89 – 90. Pandit Usharbudh Arya became Swami Veda Bharati, and the author of the book is sometimes listed as Swami Veda Bharati.