Why did my mind immediately latch on to this petty justification of sorts? As much as my rational mind likes to try disprove karma, the truth is, I think about it pretty often — whether it’s by joking around or neatly observing that “what comes around goes back around” in daily situations. Belief in karma goes back to the fundamental idea that our actions make a difference… that there’s some inherent balance in the world and the cosmic energy that our actions regulate.  When we put out negative energy, we get negative consequences… when we grant positive energy to the world, we receive positive effects.  I don’t know if this is just our way of assigning some kind of false regularity to the arbitrariness of everything that happens in our lives, but it’s a pretty comforting principle, and an effective moral guide.

This isn’t to say that our positive actions — deeds of kindness and benevolence, or even self-discipline — should be led on by a fear of negative consequences.  The good things we do should be grounded in our own love and purity of heart — not any other ulterior, selfish motive.  Just as Krishna tells Arjuna in the second chapter of the Gita, we shouldn’t solely focus on the results when we execute our actions.  We should do them for the sake of doing them.  However, when things don’t seem to be going in our way, maybe we should step back and think of the less-than-good things we’ve done lately.  Even if there is no force of karma affecting our lives, at the very least, it will help us pinpoint and try to eliminate our negative thoughts and actions.

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Before reading this article, I always thought of decision making as an emotionless act. I thought to myself, “Why even bother with emotions? If we are asked to make a decision, why let the emotion cloud our judgement and slow us down?”

However, in the article, it is acknowledged that one of the main reasons emotion plays a huge role in decision-making is that:

The brain stores emotional memories of past decisions, and those are what drive people’s choices in life…What makes you and me “rational” is not suppressing our emotions, but tempering them in a positive way.

-Antonio Damasio

This simply means that it is natural for our emotions to take control of our thoughts and actions. However, it must be our goal to go against our natural tendencies so as to help our charioteer (intellect) maintain control over the reins (mind/emotions) so that we may rationally make decisions.

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Fortunately, I calmed down and continued to drive defensively for the rest of the way there. After thinking about this situation, I remembered a phrase that one of the teachers at the Vivekananda Vidyapith, the weekend school I used to attend, always used to say — Anger is one letter away from Danger. I’m thankful that our teacher made sure the idea was ingrained in our minds because that was the only reason I was able to safely maneuver myself out of the situation I was in this morning. Had I continued to let the reckless drivers fuel my anger, I would have let my emotions take control of my actions and things may have turned out differently.

I thought of the analogy in the Bhagavad-Gita about how the chariot represents the human body. The five horses pulling the chariot represent the five senses, the reins, which are the driving instruments, represent the mind and its emotions, the charioteer, maintaining a firm grip on the reins, represents the intellect and the passenger represents the spirit or atman. It is the duty of the charioteer, or the intellect, to maintain a firm grip on the reins, or the mind, in order to prevent a catastrophe. We must make sure that we do not allow our emotions to control our actions no matter what the situation is that we are put into.

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There are so many different raags in Hindustani music that can be used to describe the different times of the day. What I have also realized is that if a morning type of raag, or a Sattvic raag, such as Bhoop or Mohanam in Carnatic (Sa Re Ga Pa Da Sa) at a medium pace, is played in the morning, the listener can truly enjoy the raag and his or her sattvic characteristics will be brought out. Similar is the case with the other times of the day — if one listens to Rajasic raags at a faster pace, during the Rajasic part of the day, it helps him or her maintain the energy need to perform the action. Also, if a Tamasic raag, such as Darbari Kanada or Todi at a slow pace, which have a combination of mellow notes, is played at night, it will help to calm the mind and body, getting them ready for sleep.

These direct relations between the raags and the times of the day form an important part of Hindustani music. Because of this, if one were to listen to a raag at a time other than its ideal period of the day, it will not have as much of an effect on the person. It may even have a negative effect at times.

However, in today’s world, we are exposed to so many types of music from all over the world. Along with that, there are countless different genres of music that are being introduced to us. Obviously if we are to listen to music, it won’t always be Hindustani or Carnatic classical music. From my own experiences with music and its effects at varying hours of the day, I have come to realize that the genres of music can also be related to each of the gunas.

Generally speaking, I’d like to think of all types of classical music to have Sattvic quality, which will enhance our spiritual self and also will inspire us with better thoughts for the day. When it comes to Rajasic music, there are so many different genres I can think of; pop, hip-hop, R&B. These genres, I feel, get our minds and bodies moving and excited, which will keep us energized for the day. Something interesting I realized, though, was that when I think of Tamasic music, I think of rap, heavy metal, rock and even techno to some extent. I kept wondering to myself why I thought of these genres to be Tamasic when I know that none of these types of songs help me go to sleep. I then realized that when I listen to Tamasic raags, not only is my body being put to sleep, but my spiritual body was being put to sleep as well. When I listen to the Tamasic genres, maybe the music puts my spiritual self to sleep while my body stays wide awake.

This is not to say that people that listen to a certain genre of music that is related to a certain guna is good or bad. However I feel that there is a time and place for each type of music. One wouldn’t want to listen to classical music while he or she is at the gym. And one wouldn’t want to listen to heavy metal while he or she is meditating or getting ready to go to the temple in the morning. We must know which music will be ideal for us depending on the situation and the time of the day. I feel that listening to certain types of music at certain times would not only help us grow spiritually to some extent, but also will help us be more productive and will give us the determination and motivation to get through the day.

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It’s important that I was saturated — I find that this is different from a lack of motivation where I just do not feel like working, a different matter altogether, which I periodically address elsewhere. I wanted to solve the problem, and I was putting in the time and effort to figure it out, but it was not clicking. So I did what seemed natural during the day’s unusually warm winter weather — I went for a walk.

This decision to go outside wasn’t obvious — I had to convince myself that I was not being lazy, but rather taking a different approach to the problem, one that involved letting go of the problem completely. Because it involves a shift in thinking, I find that taking a break is often harder than continuing to work on the problem itself.

There is a neat footpath that guides me through the greenery where I live, approximately a mile to a bridge over a small creek. Walking on this path, I can see only two things — the path before me, decked on both sides by the atypical green winter grass, and the open sky, surprisingly blue, and filtered through naked trees. Warm weather may not be covered with pure white holiday snow, but at least it gives me an opportunity to go outside and get out of my stuffy home. After all, hours of being cooped up in a stuffy home next to a heater and a humidifier is bound to inspire a little wanderlust in anyone, desire for the warm dryness of the outdoors over the artificial humidity within.

Getting out of my stuffy home allowed me to see the problem in a more holistic perspective. Indoors, the problem appeared all-consuming, and I grew attached to the notion of solving it. I was saturated – I was approaching it in exactly the same way, over and over, breathing the same stuffy artificially humid air, over and over, thinking the same things, with the filth of self-pity accumulating in my mind’s gutter. 

Outdoors, I was able to view my indoor self more maturely. I could say to myself that there is more to life than this problem’s elusive solution, let a gust of cool dry winter clean my self-pity. Taking a step outdoors, I could take a break from the constant oppression of humid indoor heat, and rethink my approach to life, so that when I returned, I would appreciate the great advances in technology that allow me to live so comfortably in my home. So by taking that step outdoors, I could enjoy the indoors as well.

Needless to say, after this 20-minute walk, I solved the problem in short order, and approved of my decision to step outside.

But this is one simple case where my body became anxious. That is, my body became annoyed from being stuffed indoors all day. What about when the mind becomes anxious, in perfectly comfortable climates? If only I could take my mind for a walk, take a mental breath of fresh cool air, and step back inside! Whether we are indoors or outdoors, the mind’s climate is more difficult to control — taking a walk might work, but as Krishna says in the Gita [BG 6.5]:

atmaiva hy atmano bandhur
atmaiva ripur atmanah

The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.

That is why the scriptures give us precisely this, in the package of yoga – a way to take a mental walk from the humid stuffiness of our worries, into the cool winter air of introspection. Problem sets, papers, exams, romantic troubles, financial problems, family issues — everything accumulates constantly in the mind, and our mind needs to take a walk sometimes too, so that it can step outside and approach the very same problems in a constructive way. Taking a mental walk like this allows us to act because not because we feel obligated to, but because we want to.

So how can we take a mental walk? Meditation.

But we must read books and learn the philosophy to meditate properly!

It’s easier — “Only one book is worth reading: the heart.”

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