A Restless King

I’ve been reading an interesting book, The Heart of Meditation by Swami Durgananda (published by the SYDA Foundation). I had practised TM for several years in an earlier phase of my life, and I’m trying to get back into meditating. I was struck by this passage:

Indian tradition compares the mind to a king who has not been given a proper seat. Until the king is seated on his rightful throne, he will be restless, dissatisfied and even quarrelsome. Once he is seated, however, he becomes calm and begins to manifest his royal qualities… As we direct it toward its seat again and again, it will begin to settle down into it and eventually go there on its own.

Unfortunately, since reading it, whenever the inevitable thoughts arise, I imagine a king out of a Hindu mythological TV serial, wearing a gilded crown provided by Maganlal Dresswala, striding across my mind. A courtier approaches and says, “Please, Maharaj, take your seat.” Which makes me laugh. Not the way to get the restless mind to be still!

(This picture is from a comic book telling the story of Karna, a tragic and complex character from the Mahabharata; but the fashion statement is the same.)