General vs divine mindfulness
When our computer is infected with a virus, we can continue our work not necessarily paying attention to a wide variety of disturbing pop-ups that may be thrown by virus-infected software programs. Likewise, even though our mind may be contaminated with impurities (viz., lust, anger, greed, pride, envy, and illusion) and the outpourings of an impure mind may be very disturbing, we can choose to simply observe the stored emotions instead of identifying with them.
This art of tolerance is suggested by the Bhagavad Gita 2.14 – we should learn to tolerate the seasonal changes of circumstances in our lives and the mind’s reactions to them. We call this practice of taking the role of an unaffected observer general mindfulness. In this case, we learn to live with our impurities and train ourselves to not identify with them. This can be most effectively done by standard breathing techniques which have the power to bring us to the present moment, instantly making us free from hankering and lamentation.
Alternatively, we can choose to clean the virus using anti-virus software and become even more effective in our work. In the context of our mind, we can choose not to simply live with our impurities but take a strategic approach to cleanse the mind. In this strategic approach, we can take to the time-tested process of mantra meditation, which invokes the divine presence of God and allows our mind to become purified. We call this process Divine mindfulness where we attempt to clean our thoughts, not just resort to living with dirty thoughts. The direction of cleansing our mind is so important that the instruction of fixing the mind on God appears at least twice in the Bhagavad Gita (9.34 and 18.65). We acknowledge that we are powerless in front of our impurities but by God’s empowerment, our impurities can go away and bring us to a higher state of consciousness. With the attentive practice of mantra meditation, we rise beyond our own impurities and move closer to transcendence.
At this point, we list the basic differences between the general mindfulness and divine mindfulness, as outlined above. We can certainly practice both forms of mindfulness but the process becomes most efficacious when practiced regularly. This point is emphasized by Sage Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras (summarily captured here).
According to the Bhagavad Gita, we are not human beings having a spiritual experience but are spiritual beings having a human experience (Bhagavad Gita 2.13). By virtue of our being a spirit soul, we are spiritual by nature. However, we are at present engulfed by two layers of material coverings – the subtle body comprising of mind, intelligence, and ego and the gross body made up of earth, water, fire, air, and ether. The mind is the central representative of the subtle body and mental stability is a pivotal factor for leading a life filled with happiness and fulfillment.
The basic methodology of general mindfulness is subtle body management (i.e., learning to become aware of the impure mind and acting with that awareness). On the other hand, divine mindfulness entails subtle body purification (i.e., endeavoring to purify the impure mind with standard spiritual practices). The process of general mindfulness works through increasing one’s awareness. However, the divine mindfulness process involves making an active connection with the source of our existence, often referred to as God. Since the object of meditation for general mindfulness could be anything, not necessarily purifying, the content of the mind does not change but we train ourselves to be an observer. On the other hand, for divine mindfulness, proper conception of God is necessary because we become dependent on the power of the omnipotent God for cleansing our internals. Thus, the content of the mind goes through a tremendous transformation and elevates our consciousness to a transcendental plane, which is eternal, full of knowledge, and bliss. Naturally, we become peaceful, happy, fulfilled, and internally satisfied.
