Everyone overthinks these days. Whose mind is concentrated, calm and in unison with God? This is not possible unless one is a spiritual practitioner. Arjun is telling God in Bhagavad Gita, “cañcalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa” . It is very fickle. There is nothing as fast as the mind. For spiritual practitioners, the filth of the mind gets destroyed as one starts chanting the name of God. But a new practitioner starts thinking that the vices have increased since I started chanting, but it’s the opposite.
By chanting the name, the heart and mind become pure. God appears in that pure mind.
Nirmal Mann Jann So Mohi Pava,
Sri Ramcharitmanas
Mohi Kapat Chal Chidra Na Bhava
Defeating Overthinking: We Just Need Patience
There is no need to be afraid. You are being told to chant the name of God to stop you from overthinking. Your mind burns due to guilt, anxiety, or an imagination of the future. Worrying about the future will not change anything, and worrying about what happened in the past will not destroy anything. Then why waste time in the present? Chanting Radha Radha will fix your future, make your present meaningful, and destroy the bad karma of your past, too.
When you eat your food in small portions, satisfaction, nourishment, and relief from hunger happen simultaneously. Similarly, when spiritual seekers chant the names of God, worldly renunciation, love towards God, and realization of the true self all happen together. But just like a person who has been hungry for many days will become anxious if you stop him from eating, similarly, if we discontinue spiritual practices or chanting after doing them for a few days, then anxiety overpowers us.
The mind has Impressions from Uncountable Births
So, we must do bhajan (spiritual practice) with solid conviction. All these filthy and dirty things that come to your mind will come and might even come in abundance. They do not come from outside; they have been within us since the last so many births. The mind is like a memory card created by God. It has the content of happenings since the start of this universe. You are sitting at a place, but the whole movie is happening in your mind. By chanting Radha Radha, the stored footage gets deleted one by one.
Patanjali Maharaj said that chanting the names of God with reverence for a very long time eradicates all sins and manifests love for God in one’s heart.
Sa Tu DirghKaal Nairantarya Satkar Asevito Drid Bhumi
Patanjali Maharaj
People chant two or four times and want the solution to their problems. We are in Mrityuloka (mortal world). Earnings (chanting of the holy name) should be such that you never have to cry for things like worldly pleasures, worries, or unrest. No one is happy. Without taking shelter of the Lord, one can never get peace or alleviate anxieties.
Can Chanting Cure Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?
It is difficult to stop the mind. You look healthy but are still disturbed. This means that you are not able to do what should be done; you are doing what should not be done, and hence you are disturbed. The medicine for this disease is God. God is the answer for all your physical and mental sorrows. He can give you pleasures of this world and beyond. Try to chant for a few days. If you like to get healthy, take shelter of the Lord, chant the names of God, leave unrighteous activities, eat satvik food offered to God, and you will feel peaceful in a few days.
You can seek medicine for treating mental disorders if needed. If the mind is numbed with bliss by remembering the Lord, then whatever happens to the body does not matter. But people do not understand this. Spirituality is the path of righteousness. Whatever you see here in the world is unreal. Do not commit mistakes; your karmas will not spare you. Take the shelter of God; he can forgive all your sins like a loving mother.
sarva-dharmān parityajya
Bhagavad Gita 18.66
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
The Only Solution For A Peaceful Life
Listen to truthful words and walk on the path of righteousness. The body is perishable, so one or the other will become the cause of our death. So, become brave, knowing your body will be taken away from you. End the attachment with it and chant Radha Radha. Only spirituality can destroy the roots of sorrow.
Brahmacharya (celibacy), prana (life) and mind are in harmony. If you destroy your life force, its first effect is on memory, and the second is on the mind. If your brahmacharya is right, then the mind will be calm. It makes you think about good and positive things, not negative. You will become powerful if your prana (Life air) is controlled. We got a human form of life, at least try to understand who you are. Just do some sadhana (spiritual practice) then you will become radiant, you will calm mind of others.
Conclusion
If you neither do Bhajan nor walk on the path of righteousness, you will suffer and reap the fruit of your actions. If you feel scared, have fearful thoughts, or feel anxious, it results from a grave sin for which you are punished. This will make you suffer intensely.
We have to Love God, not this body. Don’t ask God to keep the body healthy. We should say to God, no matter how much pain I get, I will still take your name. You tried loving so many people; now try loving the names of God, and you will become ecstatic. Chant the names of God (Naam Japa), take shelter of God, have a proper diet and lifestyle, do not indulge in intoxication, and make sure you follow celibacy.
Original Question – I suffer from mental illness; how do I stop overthinking?
Answer by – Pujya Shri Hit Premanand Ji Maharaj
Answered on – 29.10.2023
