Questions and Answers

What is the mind?

Mr. S. N. Goenka: The mind is what thinks! The entire thought process is due to the mind. It is the mind that is constantly involved in the various actions of thinking, reading and pondering over what has been read, etc. During its course of thinking, the mind may act beneficially or harmfully. If it adopts the wrong habit pattern, then it will generate feelings of ill will and animosity for others. If instead, the mind reforms itself, then although it will still have thoughts they will now be thoughts for the well being of others. If someone has shortcomings, the mind will want that person to overcome his shortcomings because now the mind knows that due to his shortcomings, that person will perform wrong actions which will make him more miserable and unhappy. So the mind will harbour thoughts of goodwill towards that person. It will want the person to refrain from doing bad deeds and thus save himself from burning in the fires of suffering. We observe that it is the nature of the mind to generate thoughts all the time. Therefore, our most important duty is to guide the mind towards a healthy thought process and prevent it from taking the path of unhealthy thinking patterns. Our entire effort is aimed towards understanding this nature of the mind and correcting it if it goes on the wrong path.

Who reforms the mind?

Mr. S. N. Goenka: It is the mind that reforms itself. A part of the mind is always observing its own functioning. If there are thoughts in the mind, it will analyse the nature of these thoughts. Whenever negativity or a feeling of animosity arises in the mind, this same part instantly issues a warning that such negative emotions are undesirable and should not occur in the mind. This part may be called intellect or the part of the mind which is always alert regarding the functioning of the mind and is trying to reform it. If the mind can develop the habit of observing the truth as it appears, then this fact will become clear- that the moment the mind is defiled, it is punished with suffering; and if it is purified, the suffering is removed. It is this observing part of the mind which will understand this process and thus change itself. Nobody wants to remain agitated. Everyone wants to lead a happy life without miseries. To attain this state, the observing part of the mind tries to change the nature of the remaining part of the mind.

The mind remains full of thoughts and is unable to keep focussed at one place

Mr. S. N. Goenka: We are here to meditate precisely for that reason. If the mind was already concentrated, then why would you have come here? It is an old habit of the mind to wander. Let it wander. The moment we realize that the mind has wandered, we bring it back to the breath. The mind is distracted because of these innumerable thoughts. The nature of the thoughts varies from time to time, but the important thing is how soon we become conscious of the fact that the mind has wandered. It is not good if the mind remains distracted for a long period of time.

I feel sleepy while meditating

Mr. S. N. Goenka: Get rid of this feeling of sleepiness. How can you expect to work if you fall asleep? You are engaged in the task of awakening the mind. Therefore you should remain alert, remain awake and remain vigilant. Time and again it is emphasized- remain alert, remain vigilant. If sleep overpowers the mind, then try some hard breathing. Sleepiness will go away. You must fight this enemy. Sleep is your enemy at the time of meditation. At any other appropriate time, it is welcome.

What are we to understand by pure breath? What are we to understand by natural breath?

Mr. S. N. Goenka: Good question. The plain, simple breath with nothing attached to it is called pure. The moment something is attached to the breath, it becomes impure. Something is pure if no foreign element is added to it. As long as the milk producer does not add water to the milk, it remains pure. The addition of water to milk makes it impure. Similarly, the breath is pure as long as nothing is added to it. The addition of any word or name with the breath makes it impure. We should not condemn any kind of meditation that gives importance to a particular name, form or image. But in this meditation, the moment you associate any word, name, form or image with the breath, it is no longer a pure breath. Something extra has been added to it. The breath is pure as long as nothing is mixed with it.

Now, what is natural breath? The flow of respiration taking place of its own nature is called natural. The natural breath is one which comes in and goes out on its own without any effort on our part. When we breathe hard, it takes some effort to do so and is therefore not natural. So the respiration which is done effortlessly and which flows in and flows out on its own is called natural.

What is the characteristic of a pure mind?

Mr. S. N. Goenka: Purity is the characteristic of a pure mind. By purity we mean the state of mind which is without any defilements like anger, animosity, ill will, craving, clinging, etc. If there is any such negativity in the mind, how can it be called pure? In fact, it will lead to some negative act of the body or speech. An impure mind will lead to some impure action. This way you not only harm yourself but others as well. On the other hand, if the mind is pure, it cannot act in a wrong way. It will benefit itself and others as well. This is the basic characteristic of this technique- that we purify our mind so that we are saved from doing harmful deeds through our speech and body. We try to develop this quality of purity of mind so that all our acts are beneficial. A pure mind will never generate ill will against any one. Instead, it will generate good will, affection and compassion for one and all. These are the qualities by which the purity of the mind is assessed.

What is the difference between Anapana and any other form of meditation?

Mr. S. N. Goenka: Every meditation technique has its own unique features; and, for this reason, one meditation technique differs from the other. In Anapana, the emphasis is on the natural flow of respiration as it comes in and as it goes out. There is a form of meditation where one is asked to take long deliberate breaths, stop for a while and then release the breath. This technique is different from Anapana. In Anapana, the breath has to be kept pure, meaning that nothing extra should be added to the breath; whereas there are techniques which give importance to the use of name, form, or image for meditation. Thus, different techniques have distinctive qualities. Anapana has its own characteristics, which should be protected and maintained.

How does one keep up the practice of Anapana simultaneously with yoga?

Mr. S. N. Goenka: Yoga is a beneficial practice. But there is no need to do Anapana simultaneously with it. Make a gap between the two. Yoga and Anapana do not interfere with each other but there is a basic difference between Pranayama (yoga of breathing) and Anapana, which must be understood clearly. In Pranayama, the breathing is done deliberately and consciously. It is an exercise of the breath where you breathe deeply, then hold the breath for a while and then release it. It is a good technique. But in Anapana, the breathing process is natural and effortless. So, if you mingle the two techniques and try to do one immediately after the other, then you are bound to get confused and create problems for yourself. Therefore, do only one thing at a time. After having done Pranayama, wait for some time and then do Anapana.

How can we remove thoughts of lust while we are studying?  

Mr. S. N. Goenka: Not only while studying, but all the time! Lust is lust; it is harmful. Love should be pure love. Pure love is one-way traffic; you don’t expect anything in return. Dharma, Vipassana, will help this lust to turn into pure love—pure love is without a trace of passion. Pure love is full of compassion.            

                                for more