Question: How can I make my mind quiet? It is such an unending source of confusion that it distracts me from my aspiration.

Sri Chinmoy: It is very easy. From now on think that you do not have a mind; it belongs to somebody else. You know that when a little child has money he wants to use it. He does not know whether he is using it for a good purpose or for a bad purpose. If he knows that he has no money, then he keeps quiet; he has nothing to use. Similarly, please feel that you do not have the mind. Make yourself feel that you have only the heart. As soon as some idea enters into your mind, then feel that your mind has nothing to do with it. When the mind bothers you constantly with fear, doubt and worries, simply say that you don't have the mind. But when you feel a little joy, peace or light inside your heart, immediately feel that you have everything to do with it. By convincing yourself that you don't have a particular thing, automatically you will get rid of it.

You may ask how you can live without the mind. But you can live without the mind. You can live with the heart and the heart will do everything for you. In the spiritual life the most important thing is to unlearn whatever the mind has taught you. The things that are important, the things that are illumining, will always remain inside your heart, although the mind may try to grasp them. If you feel that you don't have a mind, then how are you going to be affected by it? But if you feel that you have a mind and it is torturing you all the time, then it will always torture you.

When you are afraid of something, then that very thing will torture you. If you have something good, identify with it and say that you have it. But if you have something bad, please say that you don't have it. Just by saying this, the life of those undivine forces will automatically go away. This kind of self-assertion is extremely good. To get rid of the mind, simply say that you don't have it. If you don’t have it, how are you going to use it? Then the heart will take care of you.