For someone on a spiritual journey, purity becomes an essential requirement. There is physical purity, where things are untainted and unspoiled, there is also moral purity, but spiritual purity is when I embed my thinking and feeling in truth. Then there is a clarity and a lightness of mind and cleanliness of attitude. Then I have a choice. I can choose to create a high quality of thought and feeling. The clearer my thinking is, the more automatic the state of peace inside.
Nothing now seems pure in our world. Self-interest, ulterior motives, deceit, false news, and fake sincerity are surging out of the collective mind of humanity, contaminating the atmosphere. Spirituality goes to the absolute seed of the influence of my thinking. My inner world is like a tree. There is a seed, the trunk and the branches and leaves. The leaves are the individual thoughts, far too many of them, and these thoughts are influenced by the seed, the sense of who I am. I contaminate all thoughts if I do not know who I am. The pure truth is that I am a spiritual being, a soul. When I maintain that awareness, then there is a pure quality of thought, which is joyous.
The potential of pure energy of pure thought is the most powerful thing in the world. It transforms atmospheres. If I speak to someone on an intellectual basis, the ideas I put forward will not change them. The ideas may interest or intrigue them, but will not change them. If I speak to them with a feeling of love, or belonging or respect, and in peace, then that moment can change them forever. We cannot underestimate the power of pure thought to influence the world.
Thoughts are beyond time and space. They can reach anyone in an instant. The greatest power we have is the power of pure thought. Cultivating pure thinking is possible for anyone. It is not solely for the hermit or recluse. My whole world, my whole reality is within my mind. My thoughts manifest my reality. When I take full responsibility for every thought I create, I take a huge step forward in improving the quality of my life, of those around me and ultimately, of our world.
Charlie Hogg, based in Sydney, is the National Coordinator, Brahma Kum