Accepting the idea that you are not the mind is a great step toward mental mastery, better concentration and meditation, and the attainment of inner peace. You realize this idea as a fact, after you develop the ability to focus your mind in accordance with your will. Being able to direct your mind according to your will is a proof that you are not your mind, but something higher and above it.

Concentration and meditation require the ability to focus the mind, otherwise you will be constantly distracted and your mind will move from one thought to another, and that is neither cocentration nor meditation.

By practicing concentration exercises and learning to direct the mind according to your own will, you prove to yourself that you are not the mind. You realize that you are separate from the mind, otherwise how can you master it? It is you, the real you that is directing the mind. The ability to focus the mind or stop its activities in accordance with your will, awakens the understanding that you are not your mind, and this understanding helps both concentration and meditation, and is a great step toward self-realization.

Here is an excerpt from the book ‘Meditation – An Outline for Practical Study by Mouni Sadhu, where he speaks about this subject:

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Written by Mouni Sadhu
Excerpted from www.hinduism.co.za

The great Rishi, Bhagawan Sri Ramana Maharshi – unlike most yogis and many saints of the present day, does not recommend yogic practices as a condition for the highest and perennial spiritual achievement, called by him ‘Self-realisation’. He dismisses from that aim, all the cumbersome postures, breathing exercises, control of the pranic-currents (currents of the Prana in the human body and so of Nature itself), and so on. In fact, he seldom even mentioned them in his talks.

So the Direct Path to spiritual attainment, as shown by the Maharshi, does not require any unnatural body postures, often so difficult to perform for the majority of people; none of the efforts of Hatha Yoga, which can be dangerous unless practised under the direct supervision of a competent teacher, and no artificial mental practices of concentration. All such things lead nowhere unless accompanied by the elements of spiritual enlightenment, a fact which is firmly underlined by Sri Shankaracharya in his ‘Viveka Chudamani’.

Now I see clearly that these things belong to a closed and bewitched circle. For years, I and some of my closest occult friends practised many kinds of ‘outer-yogas’ but without any results worthy of our efforts. Of course, some of these exercises were good for our physical health, especially for stilling the nerves, cultivating a beautiful voice, and so forth. But these advantages only remained with us as long as we continued regularly to perform the exercises. A pause for even a few weeks deprived us of all the hard earned benefits we had gained at the cost of such effort and waste of time. No true and permanent peace of mind could be obtained, although for that purpose I made intense use of Japa (repetition) with the best mantras.

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Mouni Sadhu was an occultist, a spiritual teacher and author, who lived in the 20th century. He was born in 1897, some sources stating Poland as his place of birth, while others say he was born in Russia.

Mouni Sadhu studied and practiced occultism and magic for years, but after reading Paul Brunton’s book, “A search in Secret India”, his focus in life changed. He was fascinated by Paul Brunton’s account about his meeting and conversation with the Indian sage Sri Ramana Maharshi, and from then on, he developed a strong interest in the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, aiming to self-realization.

Mouni Sadhu discovered Sri Ramana maharshi’s teaching at the time he was living in Paris, but after some time, in 1946 he moved to Brazil, finally settling in Australia in 1948.

In 1949 Mouni Sadhu visited Sri Ramana Maharshi at his ashram in Tiruvannamalai, where his spiritual quest reached its heights. He later narrated his experiences at the ashram in his book “In Days of Peace”.

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