Is thought suppression possible? How do you do it? What are the consequences of suppressing the mind?

How to suppress thoughts?

Questioner: How does one suppress thoughts that are running in the mind?

Dadashri: Who does the thinking?

Questioner: The mind does.

Dadashri: Who are you then?

Questioner: In the physical sense, I am the body.

Dadashri: What are you from another perspective?

Questioner: From another perspective, I am the Soul.

Dadashri: Are you the Soul or the body right now?

Questioner: Right now, I am indeed the body.

Dadashri: You are not the body; the body is yours. You (self) are the ego. There, on the one side is the Soul; it is yours. The mind also belongs to the ego; what has that ego got to do with You? Is the mind in partnership with You? It may be living with You but what is your relation with it? When there is no relationship, it will go away.

Questioner: How can one suppress thoughts?

Dadashri: You have to keep watching the thoughts; see what kind of thoughts are coming. When you go to the cinema (to a movie), do you watch the film or do you quarrel with it?

Questioner: But wrong thoughts come in my mind?

Dadashri: That is because it is the function of the mind to think. It will think even if you tell it not to. You ask it, ‘Why are you thinking like this?’ It will say, ‘No, I want to think this way.’ Just as you can remain separate from the mother-in-law because you don’t want to clash with because she is a disagreeable person, you remain separate from the mind too. You can tell the mind, ‘You can keep shouting by your self.’

Questioner: What is the difference between a thought and a desire arising within?

Dadashri: When a thought comes, if you approve it, it turns into a desire. It is nothing if you don’t approve of it. When a thought arises within that you want to go for a walk, and you approve, 'Let us go'.  And then if someone objects to it, there will be a quarrel but if you don’t approve, nothing will happen!

Reference: Book Name: Aptavani 10 (P) (Page #116 – Last Paragraph, Page #117 – Entire Page#118 – Paragraph #1 & #2)

The mind should never be suppressed!

Did you understand; the mind is not to be killed?

Questioner: That is correct.

Dadashri: Yes, or else you will become absent-minded. On the contrary, mind can be used for achieving bliss.

Questioner: Thoughts keep on coming; they just keep on coming, what is the reason for it?

Dadashri: If those thoughts don’t come, the mind is considered as finished, it is considered as broken down.

So, the mind is not the thing to be removed. Mind is not a thing to be killed. People go on beating the mind. Hey, why do you go on beating the mind? What fault is it of the poor thing? Who is at fault and who do you keep beating needlessly (The fault is someone else’s and you are needlessly beating the mind)? 'We' have never beaten 'our' mind, that poor thing! So my mind is so good, it does whatever I tell it to. Whereas you pinch it, you slap it, you scold it and everything. Some people say, ‘I am suppressing the mind.’ Hey, why are you suppressing the mind? Hey, it will recoil like a spring! What happens when you suppress a spring? It will bounce back (attack)!

Get the mind to work for you; you are in this current predicament due to not knowing this. It is like a very big ship worth two hundred thousand rupees which is given to someone free. He puts the ship in the ocean. Not only does the ship lose (sinks) but so does he with it. It kills even those sitting in it. To avoid this, should he not know how to use the ship? So, he doesn’t have a plan at present as to how to use the mind. That is why it is in this state, isn't it? Otherwise, the mind is a very good worker.

(Addressing a Mahatma) Presently, does the mind help you or harm you?

Questioner: It helps.

Dadashri: On the contrary, it helps.

Reference: Book Name: Aptavani 10 (P) (Page #113 – Paragraph #2 to #8, Page #114 – Paragraph #1 to #4)