6 Oct 2012 —
Question
Q215: Scissors or needle?
Question 215:
Amma says: “The mind, like scissors, cuts and divides. The heart, like a needle, joins and unites. Be careful not to overuse the scissors!”
To what extent do you feel that you succeed in this?
Please make your answer brief and clear (maximum 5 or 6 lines).
meditating daily using Ammas technique definately helps calm the mind, but avoiding newspapers, books, radio, media, that isnt uplifting and positive helps too. Temple visits, and using “clearing techniques” for the mind help – a bit like weeding a garden. Trying to do these daily plus mantra help get more heart centred day in my opinion.
So that God could learn about itself and love, we agreed to come here as a splintered mirror – Sharp edged facets, glittering in the reflection of Amma’s light.
We are soldiers on the front line, taking the hits that rattle awareness into each shattered part. We bare the soul-scorch because we love her this much.
The scissor is the synaptic-gap, the deep abyss we must cross to Mother. Amma is the love-stitch drawing our tapestry back into form.
The rational mind, which is equated with the ego and the body, understands the world only through comparison and contrast. The fundamental basis of its awareness is through a sense of separation. Thus it objectifies the world, and the mind overly-dependent on rationality sees itself as separate from the world, and ultimately has a fundamentally egoistic position.
But rationality has a place — it can be used to help untangle from difficult problems where awareness is not immediate and thereby remove obstacles which stand in the way of true understanding. True understanding happens through sense of mutual affinity, empathy, and ultimately through an experience of oneness.
One way to think of the analogy of a needle is the way the mind can be used in a positive way to gradually discover or unlock an experience of the world whereby everything is one and united, paradoxically by removing itself from the picture and opening up an unobstructed view of reality. The heart is necessary in this, because it is within the heart that the whole Universe is united and contained.
Knowledge of the material world – Avidya (dominated by intellect) has the nature of dividing everything that appears on the sensual world. That’s why so many countries, languages and cultures fighting over the dominance over the other, though it is considered folly and harmful.
Knowledge of the Self – Vidya has the nature of seeing the All pervading God, with the Love arising from the heart unites and ties one and all as the Children of the Divine Mother or God.
Scissors and needles can be used as similes though they are inadequate.
Yes, of course.. A pure heart will always unite or seek to do so because the quality of purity will not allow it to entertain thoughts, words and deeds of malice. Lets us pray then for divine qualities and strive to acquire them. May they be our lot!
When it comes to discipling ourselves, we need to use the scissors – discriminating intellect and when it comes to dealing with the world, we should learn to use our hearts more and come out from our differentiating intellect (ego personality).. Let us pray to succeed in this attempt and achieve fulfilment
A newborn baby doesn’t know how to recognize its own hunger. It simply senses a need within and communicates that need by crying. Hearing the cry, its mother, biologically tuned to her baby, instinctively recognizes the baby’s need and responds. We are similar to newborn babies. The food we hunger for is Supreme Love, but we don’t recognize this. Not realizing the nature of our need, we cannot fulfill it, though we try. As I seek to fulfill that need, sometimes I use the needle and thread to unite and sometimes I use the scissors to cut the thread of false unity. Fortunately, we have Amma, the Universal Mother. She both recognizes the root cause of our cry and knows how to fulfill our need.
The mind uses logic and reason to understand phenomena. The heart has its reason, it is said, that reason does not know…that is, the heart is spontaneous. As AMMA Herself says,’ One who is overly identified with the mind cannot be spontaneous’. So, he does not perceive the underlying oneness in all creation. But the one who uses the faculty of the heart feels love for all beings. His spontaneity lends innocence to him and helps him become ego-free. So, instead of becoming scissors, cutting off the bonds of love, we should be needles, stitching and patching up the world in an endless thread of love!
I feel that I cannot succeed without the help of Amma. I can improove a little through meditation and karma yoga. But to really improove myself, I need the light of my sweet mother Amma.
Amma, please, send your divine light to your son!
When the body is in ‘True’ ‘Heart’ feeling, it brings the mind back into the present. In this presents there isn’t a need to fix or disturb anything. With that it is more able to give whatever is ‘real’ of itself.
However, when the mind runs away chaseing after thoughts it becomes lost again, then trys to blame,control and fix everything outside of itself in the world of it’s own illusion.
As a dog chasses its tail.
“If I decide with my mind I am influenced by all kinds of thoughts that fight against one another. If I try to decide with my eyes, even thoughI see with love, it is hard to not be influenced by what I actually see–how people look, react, and what they are doing. If I decide with my heart, my judgements are never harsh. My heart takes into account the things that have hurt people-what they have had to deal with just to stay sane and alive.”(Sioux Holy Man, Fools Crow)
Generally the scissors are using only to cut or divide and needle to connect or hold together.So in this stand point our mind will never help us to holdtogether .In the Mahapuranas like Sreemad Bhagavatham and all there are refferences,that our mind is represending to the God of Heaven(INDRA)and intellect to the Creator (Bhrama)IF our intellect is pure and a good descriminating power(Power of nityaanitya vivekam,sat and assat vivekam).it can consider as a heart also in spiritual world..Indran(the God of Heaven ) is such a charactor who is always fearing about lossing his position.He don’t want to give anybody his position(like our MATRUVANIPRACHARAKAS ).Our mind is so unstable like a monkey and selfish and suspecious in nature…
To see the mind as scissors and the ‘Heart’ as the needle, then ‘Amma'(True wisdom) is the thread.
When the mind is not centered on Amma, mantra, etc. It cuts, divides like scissors as soon as we become unaware of our thoughts. I believe Amma’s grace that helps us become more aware of what our mind does. The true nature of the heart is to heal, and the mind divides. Yet, if applied toward God in our own way, discrimination helps our awareness to heal ourselves, and all other worlds with prayers. This is a long journey, and the blessings is Amma that truly heals our hearts. She takes our wounds, sews our hearts up. Then, we can be little Ammas. 🙂
These questions often come to my mind: what kind of life are you creating for yourself? Are your actions bringing you closer to Amma and the ultimate goal? I say to myself, you have the tools, how are you using them? My first answer: I don’t always do what I know is right because sometimes the pain along the way becomes too great. My prayer of apology to Amma sounds like this: I am sorry Amma, I didn’t have the strength. I didn’t have the strength because I forgot you are my strength. My second answer: Sometimes though I pray and plead to Her, I don’t always do what I know is right because sometimes, I just can’t help myself and I act.
Amma once told me about one situation. She said it would be difficult for me to overcome because of the “vasana”. Then She said, “But when you look back on your path, you will see a garden has grown there.” Our actions today sow the seeds for tomorrow. Let us try our best and leave the rest up to Her.
My mind worked like scissors .. cutting off all attachments .. now I laugh at such foolishness .. through time Amma taught me to face attachments, expressions, do what I dislike the most, to smile always. Avoiding attending more social functions helped me a lot, also eating outside junk food. Meditation is still very difficult. Listening to bhajans gives that meditative effect though. To become a needle is really a welcoming thought .. may Amma guide us to do so. Om Namah Shivaya !
I was sitting on stage behind Amma during darshan not too long ago-before she left for her Europe Yatra. As I watched all the people and activities going on around me I realized how my mind was judging everything and everyone I saw. There was an opinion for every action whether positive or negative. These thoughts caused separation between me and all others. I then remembered Amma’s words to keep our eyes only on her so I did this for some time, chanting my mantra. As I kept my eyes on Amma the judging mind stopped and my awareness moved into my heart. This mind that judges divides us from one another-like scissors cutting the cloth. When we are in our hearts we are all together in this journey back to the Self. I felt so grateful for her guidance and the ability to have some deeper understanding of this mind.
Scissors v/s Needle? It is a very difficult concept. Something like Pen v/s Sword!
We, who are caught up in worldy pursuits-family life, job/work situations- we are entwined in a strange web! Both the Scissor and Needle are used – depending on the situation. At times, as a parent or as a supervisor in job situations – knowingly the Scissor attitude is required to be worn as a mask- to make our children or certain groups of people realize their mistakes or expose their follies/wrong doings!
I have come to realize that as long as it is done with good intentions and not for any selfish gains-it is accepted. AMMA’slife and actions are replete with such examples,as she guides us-her Children!
We are of course- often blind & biased and often make mistakes. We look upto AMMA – to give us the right understanding to use the Scissor & the Needle appropriately for the good of all. Help us all to destroy prejudices and differences and bind all of us with the LOVE for all mankind and have a Positive Outlook.
Mala
also, the scissors are used for a brief time and for cutting according to exact measurements (means awareness and discrimination),
while the needle is used for a much longer time.
so we should use the mind briefly for proper assessment and discrimination, then act using the heart always…
Only with AMMA as GURU,
There is no greater Truth of Guru
says Shiva on Chant Guru – gita.