The biographies of all great persons, admired generation after generation, show that only those who had the right kind of mind that became great in life, not those who had bigger buildings and longer cars.

You may work in whatever profession you like, your greatness in society, your contribution to the world, all depends upon the quality of your mind. Out of these observations, the great acharyas concluded that a man is only what his mind is. It is a truth that has been demonstrated by thousands of mighty men.

See the life of Buddha. From an ordinary prince, he became a prince of compassion. How did it happen? His mind changed; it was not an external physical change. Thus did Siddhartha become Buddha. There are people who say that it is the historical conditions that give rise to great people.

Out of the millions of people of his generation, why was it that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi alone became a Mahatma? He was one in a million. He was not a historical accident. There must have been in him some great qualities to attract the blessings of the country. Those qualities were not in him when he was born. New qualities were created in him. By changing his thoughts, he changed his mind, and when the mind changed, the man also changed. In order to have an attractive personality, there must be beauty in our actions.

There cannot be beauty in our actions, unless our mind is in our control. Now, we know the ideals, but we are unable to express them. Since the mind is constituted of thoughts, I can transform my mind by transforming my thoughts. Then I can change my present narrow and limited personality to create a greater destiny for myself. These are not my own ideas. These are truths from the Upanishads.

The ancient masters discovered these truths and dynamically brought them out in the world. Even in the science class, the professor is not expounding on a theory that he has come up with. Similarly, I am not giving you my ideas, I am only giving the ideas revealed by Christ in the Bible, by Mohammed in the Koran, by Krishna in the Gita, the Rishis the Upanishads, by all the mighty Masters in their speeches and discourses. I have studied them and am giving you the essence from them.

A Great Nation

A country is not great because of its geography or its wealth or mountains, rivers, trees and plants. It is not these things that make a country great. A country is great because of the greatness of the people in it. It is not five hundred million people who will make the country great. It is great scientists, great philosophers and great spiritual masters who make the country great. One Ramana Maharshi, one Ramakrishna Paramahamsa made India great.

A great scientist, a great explorer, a great astronaut is sufficient to make a country great. We are more intelligent than the past generation. But what about the mind? We have wonderful ideas, but we do not know how to execute them. The mind is not under our control.

If I am stammering, the instrument of speech is not in my control, then I cannot express my ideas and give great lectures. Similarly, we have become paralyzed in our mind.

What is the method of exercise and rehabilitation? Rehabilitation techniques are described in the various religions of the world. It does not matter whether it is in a church, a mosque or a temple, whether it is from a photo, wooden cross or an idol; it does not matter. Symbols and instruments are not important. We must understand the crux, the essence, the method of changing the mind.

The writer is the Founder of Chinmaya Mission. Today is his Mahasamadhi Day.