DOES MY mind act independently of me? I say so because I find it not cooperating with me, most of the times. When I sit to write something, I struggle with my lines, words and ideas. When I enter into a conversation, I fumble for right vocabulary and expressions. When I try to sit by myself, in silence, my mind generates all sorts of thoughts to create a complete cacophony.

I tried to look around for people who would write what they intended to, in a single stroke. First, I visited my Facebook friends who regularly posted their comments. Some of them commit so many mistakes that I better not mention it. Some would often make comments, which had no relevance to the topic of discussion. There were also some who would keep adding to what they had already posted at short intervals, as if remembering something afterwards. Some would even post three or four versions of their comments, all within a couple of minutes. Obviously, people on the net, or at least my Facebook friends, did not think and write with one mind. Their state was no different from mine. Nevertheless, writings on the Facebook are not standard and therefore, these could not be a test of people’s mind, working in a complete harmony.  

Next I looked for some established writers. I came across an interview of Arundhati Roy where she said that she always wrote in one go, without ever deleting or revising what she had written. I was greatly influenced by her statement but had no means to verify her claim.

Then I read in Osho Times that Osho had instructed his people to reproduce in his books exactly what he had said, without any editing. His people had carried his words faithfully. That indeed sounded interesting. I had been reading Osho’s books since long and had never come across any mistake or an incoherent idea in it. I gathered from this that when one is enlightened, as Osho, one’s mind starts to behave, saying exactly what one intended to say without making any mistakes.

However, one thing that is obvious in Osho’s books is that its contents are not as systematic and precise as most standard books. Osho often digressed into long elaborations, and the reader lost the central idea of his commentary. When listening to Osho’s audio tapes, I noticed how at times he paused for fairly long intervals as if making up his mind before speaking. In one of his discourses, I even noticed him making an incorrect statement and later trying to justify it. I also found spiritual master and head of Oshodhara, a spiritual organization, founded by Osho, making a slip of the tongue in his public speech.

These instances show that complete control over mind is impossible even for the enlightened ones. Mind will always have its own way. No matter what you do, its cacophony will remain there.