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476. How the Mind Understands

Understanding means to know more about something or to know what you have not known. Mind understands by reading; the body understands by doing; a child understands by growing. It is by experience one understands. I am talking here about the strange experience of Mind when it seeks for its greater understanding by courting the opposite. That leads to a greater understanding. We can call it the understanding of the mental emotion. For this purpose, Mind consciously seeks the very opposite. To the world, such a man appears stupid, but neither the world nor he knows that he is after a wider understanding of the Mind. When he thus learns, he does not waver from that course. Then we say he has acquired a value.

In the late fifties, there was a man with small means in a small job, with a narrow understanding. He wanted to get rich quickly. He saw around him in a few rare cases people suddenly acquiring great wealth. Though it was in a very few cases, their accomplishment caught his imagination. They were all hard working people, men of talents, with forethought and presence of mind. This man was lazy, had no talents, was short-sighted and was after short term profits by hook or crook. He used to consult his friend. The friend always gave him valuable advice. The man gave serious consideration to 52 possible industries. On all of them, the friend's advice was that of an experienced man. The entrepreneur was always amazed by how much his friend knew about so many things.

The friend always concluded, saying, "Getting rich quickly is no good. It is not a good policy. You must have a product. People must value it, and then the market expands, not otherwise." The entrepreneur never liked this part of the advice. He started several ventures, failed and committed suicide. What he told his children I do not know. His children developed a useful novel product, but found it difficult to market. At last they succeeded. All his children are greater successes than the father was. One excelled by building his business to several hundred crores. When this man wanted to learn the truth of the market, he straight away reached the opposite of it and learnt the hard way. That is mind's way of learning. This principle is at the basis of marriage.

story | by Dr. Radut