Hinduism says Sarvam Khalvidam
Brahma—everything is Brahman Himself. There is no separate devil. In all other
religions there is God and there is devil. Satan is there in Christianity,
Ahriman is there in Zoroastrianism, but in Hinduism, everything is Brahman.
Then where is the devil? It is in the mind only. Therefore, whether you live in
Uttarkashi or in Bombay, always you have to take along with you your senses and
the mind, and as long as you do not know how to deal with them, how to manage
them, they will try to manage you and deal with you in a summary manner. And
what will happen? Your Virakti (dispassion) and all spirituality will go away. Unless
one delves within and tries to understand the inner machinery one cannot
practise Sadhana successfully. The inner machinery will follow you everywhere
you go.
The mind is a blessing of God. Because without mind you cannot think of
God, without it you cannot concentrate and meditate. Without mind and emotions, thoughts and feelings, you cannot have Bhava
and Bhakti. Therefore, the mind is a necessary instrument, and at the same time
if it is not properly understood and managed, it becomes your own undoer. Therefore
it is a necessary evil, which has to be turned into an aid. To turn the impure
mind into pure mind is no less a part of Yoga than Kirtan, Japa and the like.
Every aspirant has to use his intelligence and manage the important task of
ruling the senses and the mind. You can manage an unruly thing, only if you
understand it. Unless he who drives the horse, knows its habits, he cannot
manage it. Therefore, this is a very important part of Sadhana.
WHAT
IS MIND?
The vast number of people know only
that the mind is thought or it is something with which we think. It is not so
simple as that. Even if you do not want to think, the mind will simply think.
It thinks of objects. The mind thinks its own thoughts every minute. As long as
the mind is producing thoughts, the mind cannot concentrate. You cannot
canalize it and divert it to God easily. You have to divert it to God. But how
to do it? Why does the mind wander about? All these an aspirant has to
understand. A Karma Yogi has to understand it, a Jnana Yogi has to understand
it, a Bhakti Yogi has to understand it.
You have to understand your mind whether you are in seclusion or amidst
people. On the other hand when you are alone, mind gets an opportunity to have
its full play. What is this mysterious thing which is such a problem for the
Sadhaka, and yet without which he cannot do Sadhana, but which if not managed
properly pulls him down? How does the mind work? If we have a basic knowledge
of its nature, some method we can devise in order to get some control over it.
A
BED OF IMPRESSIONS
The mind works in various mysterious
ways, and we analyse some important broad aspects of this mind process. What is
the mind of a person? What is it made up of? First of all let us take two
analogies. You see a gramophone plate. What is it made up of? Ordinarily, you
see a plate and you see it is made up of grooves, full of lines. For an
ordinary, illiterate person it will mean nothing more than this. A little more
intelligent and educated person will say that it contains minutely wavy lines
and these lines are sound impressions in silent form. A still more intelligent
person will say something more. It is the nature of an effect. This sound is
identical with the sound that caused it. A more intelligent man will say that
under what particular circumstances, it will produce sound.
Another analogy: Take a seed. A child
will say it is a very tiny thing, but a more thinking mind, a poet, will say
“In your hands lies a towering oak, which can shelter thousand people.” And a
still more discerning person will say, “This seed can produce an oak and
produce the same type of oak out of which it came, and not only that, if that
tree can produce further seeds, it means it has got in it the capacity to
restart and fully manifest once again the whole process, which was at the back
of it, and, therefore, it is a living thing. It contains in itself the whole
city.”
Similarly, the mind of each person at a given time contains within it
words within words. It is identical to the
grooves on a gramophone plate, or the seed. What is this seed? What are these
grooves that are in the mind? The mind
is a product of experience, previous experience. Just in exactly what way
is it a product of experience? We shall take one instance, and we can multiply
it ad infinitum. There is an experience.
The experience may be in the form of a perception. You smell something, touch
something, taste something or experience something—a combination of so many
things may happen, and immediately just as a groove is created out of a sound
in a gramophone plate, immediately an impression is made in the mind. This
impression is called Samskara, an impression got out of a perceptional
experience in the mind.
WORKING OF THE MIND
Repeating samskaras create the vasana. What is the nature of Samskaras? Is
it like a furrow made on the ground or the grooves in the gramophone record?
No. It is dynamic, and a number of such experiences making grooves upon the
human mind make that impression a vital impression. It becomes active, it
begins to be a dynamic factor in the man’s life, i.e., it becomes a dynamic
tendency in the person’s character, and when it comes to this stage, the
repeated taking in of a particular impression, makes it take the form of a
vital or living force in the person’s character. It becomes a Vasana, and a
sum-total of Vasanas always keep the mind in a state of agitation, and they
always go on starting ripples in the mind-lake, and these constant ripples
create Vrittis.
In ordinary mind, so many Vrittis are rising and sinking. When the Vrittis arise in the mind, the individual starts a series of
Kalpanas or imaginations. If the Kalpana is not there, Vrittis do not trouble
the mind. When the Vrittis are supported by creating imagination it makes the
Vritti take the form of a desire, Ichcha. And what is the nature of this
desire, which formed through the force of imagination or Kalpana? It is of the
same variety as the experience that formed the Samskara which is the cause for
the rise of the Vritti. Even at this stage of desire, Ichcha, there is not great
harm. But when the play of ego, the ‘I,’ in each one of us, identifies itself
with that desire, there starts all the trouble. Instead of ‘want,’ it is ‘I
want.’ Now the individual is in the grip of the mind.
INNER BATTLE
Whether you reside in a cave or in a
city when ‘I’ and Kalpana join together, you feel, “I want to have a
cigarette,” or this or that. You may be doing meditation, but when you get
Ichcha for a particular object, then meditation becomes secondary. But, then,
the mind has got two aspects. When a desire comes, it thinks: “Should I fulfil
this desire? Or should I continue my meditation? Should I go and take Iddli and
waste time?” Now, then, there is Vichara. If the Suddha Manas, (pure mind) gets
the upper hand, it says ‘No’ and it pushes off the desire and continues
meditation. If, on the other hand, the mind gives way to Asuddha Manas (impure
mind), the desire gets the upper hand. Then the Ichcha becomes a Trishna, a
strong impelling urge. The person immediately strives to fulfil the desire, and
he falls from Yoga.
Yoga is not only in Nirvikalpa Samadhi. It should function every moment.
If an impure thought comes, and if you are not able to put it down, you have
failed in Yoga.
In
every thought, in every action, you have to assert your mastery over your
Vrittis. Then Yoga is fulfilled; divine life is lived. And what is the time
taken for this process? Within a split second a decision is made and the long
process of the Samskara which crystallised the impulse is subdued, the higher
mind achieving over the lower mind a resounding victory.
THE VICIOUS CYCLE
of samskaras, desire and actions
1.
From experience you get impression
(Samskara),
2.
from Samskara you get
Vasana (tendency or subtle form of desire),
3.
from Vasana you get
Vritti (thought wave).
4.
Then imagination makes
the Vritti into a desire (kama).
5.
Then ego attaches itself
to the desire and it becomes then an urge, a Trishna (strong impulse).
6.
Then you are forced to do
Cheshta or to fulfil the desire.
This process of the mind is going
on.
The scientists are trying to find a
perpetual motion machinery, a machinery that never stops, but is always in
motion. If you have to find a perpetual motion machinery, now, it is in you,
the mind. You have to deal with the mind. All the Vasanas, Samskaras, which you
have formed are already there; you cannot help it.
But you can at least do one thing. You can prevent the formation of new
Samskaras and stop past Samskaras to get further strengthened by fresh ones. How is it possible?
PREVENTION OF NEW SAMSKARAS
Daily you get new experiences, daily
you perceive so many things with your five organs of senses. Then how can you
prevent these experiences making impressions upon the mind? Is there any
technique? How did these objects get into the mind and form into Samskaras?
Take an object. You perceive it, through any one of your senses. First there is
contact between the sense and the object. That is the first thing. So far only
the outer fringe of man’s personality has become touched. Supposing you are
very deeply absorbed in some task, and your brother or sister comes and lays
his or her hands on you, you are not aware, because though the object has
contacted the sense, the sense has not conveyed it to the mind, the sense of
‘I’ being not associated with the touch-sense.
So, if the ego is not there, the object does not go deep into the mind. If the ego is engaged in some other thought, a particular impression
brought by the senses will not produce any effect. But if the ‘I’ is there, the
object goes and impinges upon your awareness, and if this ‘I’ is in a state of
heedlessness, is not vigilant, is in a state of Aviveka or in a state of
worldliness or Rajas, it will easily take these perceptions and create in you a
desire, for the objects.
FIRE OF ASPIRATION
There is only one fire to burn all
desires. Nachiketas had that fire. So many attractive and alluring things were
offered to him by Yama; he was offered money, beauty, strength, power,
kingdoms, all Vidyas and alluring objects for the senses but Nachiketas reduced
all such impressions into ashes, because he had that one fire, and that was
Mumukshutva, spiritual aspiration.
Aspiration is a positive fire in which all desires, cravings, are reduced to
ashes. This is the fire that should characterise all Sadhakas, Yogins,
Vedantins, those who lead the divine life. The
disciple should have a furnace of aspiration. Only then is he a real disciple.
If you want to lead the divine life,
you inner heart should be a place of aspiration, a fire of Yoga should burn in you always. This blaze should be
maintained. You cannot completely change the outward mode of life, but
inwardly there should be aspiration. This
fire should burn day and night, when you are awake, when your are sleeping,
when you are alone, when you are among men, when you are meditating, when you
are engaged in work. This fire should not be put out. This aspiration
should always form an integral part of your being. Then you are living the
divine life. If this fire is there, you need not worry what work you are doing,
in which place you are living. Because, you will be leading the divine life.
Then you cannot be a victim of sense-pleasures. But you must at any time know
if, in spite of your vigilance, the impression of sense-object goes to the
inner consciousness, how to burn it through aspiration. If before it enters the
outer threshold you have to burn it, what are the techniques?
WITHDRAWAL AND INDIFFERENCE
There are two techniques.
They have several aspects according to the Sadhana you do. One technique is, always keep the mind indrawn. Never allow the
mind to be completely extrovert, so that even apparently when you are moving amidst
objects, the senses are not outgoing, the senses are turned inward. This is a
very difficult technique, but this has to be practised. This Pratyahara is very
essential. The ideal of the aspirant should always be to acquire this important
qualification, Pratyahara.
The other technique is to be indifferent. What does it mean to you? If a non-vegetarian goes into the bazaar
where they sell meat dishes, his mouth may water, but supposing one is a pure
vegetarian and sees these things, they will not mean anything at all, because
there is the absence of interest. Even
so, we will have to create an attitude within ourselves by constant reflection;
constant Svadhyaya of scriptures which show the vanity of the world, the
worthlessness of earthly objects, and the perishable nature of the entire
creation. By constantly imbibing such thoughts, an attitude of mind is
created when all things cease to have any attraction for you, and then, even
when these things come, there is no response from within, and this state is
called Udasinata. You are simply not interested, and when there is a thing which you do not like, you are not interested in
it.
This is the experience of the people
in respect of the things they do not like. When they see a thing they do not
like, they are not interested in it. But this feeling should become
universalised in respect of sense-objects and other worldly values. An aspirant should hold an attitude of
indifference when he is in the midst of objects. This has to be cultivated.
This is not a technical thing like Pratyahara, but this attitude of mind can
gradually be cultivated and the degree of its intensity can also be increased.
Thus in this way by Pratyahara and Udasinata, we can effectively burn
away the impressions of the objects at their initial stage. If you have to live amidst distracting objects, you can cut away
contact with them by these two processes. But,
if, in spite of that, the sense-perception goes right into your inner chambers,
then reject it, burn it, through the fire of aspiration. This way the
Sadhaka will have to move in the world. You should have this equipment.
DIVINE REMEMBRANCE
There is also a positive way. You have to live in the world. You cannot get away from it wherever you
go. A saint has said, that if you want
to go through a forest full of thorns, you cannot cover the forest with a
carpet so that you can walk. Instead of that a wise man will wear a pair of
slippers or shoes. It is as effective as covering the entire forest with a
carpet, because wherever he goes, this protection will be there. Similarly, we
can protect ourselves in a such a way that we are not affected by the contact
with the sense-objects.
If you have to go through a place
which emits a foul smell, you cannot sprinkle the whole place with some fragrant
element. But if you keep a bit of musk near your nose, you will always
experience the smell of the musk and you will not feel the bad smell. Similarly, one could always do mental
repetition of God’s name and be engaged in constant remembrance of Him, or of
some great ideal. Vedantins will think all is Brahman, Satchidananda. Bhaktas
will think all is Rama or all is Krishna. Along with this there should be
constant repetition of Mahavakyas or Ishta Mantra. These things form a positive
hold to which the mind may cling. Thus the tendency of the mind to move towards
other objects is lessened, because it is given a centre which it can catch hold
of.
CONTROL OF DESIRE
These are the common-sense methods which a man who wants to live a life
of Yoga and Vedanta, should have as his equipment. As I told you, we cannot run away from our senses and mind, we have
therefore to understand the working of the mind. When a Vritti arises, do not think about it, divert your attention, let
it sink back. Do not spin your imagination. It is imagination that
strengthens the Vritti. Do not identify yourself with the desire, and if the
worse comes to the worst, if the desire is strong, be stubborn, do not submit
to it; divert your attention.
I HAVE ALWAYS SAID: “Try always
to nip the desire in the bud.” when the desire comes in the form of a ripple,
try to liquidate it then and there itself. But if due to lack of your vigilance it takes the form of an impulse,
see that it is not fulfilled. Do not make Cheshta outwardly. If a desire comes,
“I should go and gossip,” say “No. I will not allow the body to move.” If the
body does not move, the mind cannot fulfil its desire, and ultimately the
reverse process will happen, and the
desire will sink back into the mind, and there will be calmness.
In the beginning of Sadhana, more and more desires will have to be
controlled at the physical level, but as we go on acquiring mastery over
ourselves, even when a Vritti comes, it is liquidated by Vichara and Viveka, which are a great help to the Sadhaka.
As soon as a Vritti comes, it is put back, and ultimately all these have
to be completely destroyed by repeating the Lord’s Name, by Satsanga,
Svadhyaya, meditation, prayer, performance of Purascharana, etc. All these are powerful, positive methods to deal with the Vrittis and
Samskaras which are countless and deep-rooted but which have an end.
The more we understand the machinery of the mind, the more will we be
able to deal with it, with all its subtle tricks and undercurrents, and we will
be able to make use of the mind as an effective instrument of Sadhana instead
of being a constant obstacle.
All the most ideal conditions may be
given to a Sadhaka. He may have ideal surroundings, ideal company, all sacred
books, and yet if he does not do this
important task of trying to understand the mysterious nature of the workings of
the mind and try to lessen his Vasanas and strengthen his will, he cannot make
use of anything. He cannot make use
of his Guru. He cannot make use of his seclusion. Because they have to be
made use of only through the mind and if the mind is not controlled,
cultivated, he cannot make use of any of these. But once that is done, he can
make use of all that God has given. Even a sentence from a scripture is enough
to raise a flood of spiritual consciousness within him. But until that is done, Yoga will be useless.
Therefore, understand the mind, study the mind and know this machinery
will, and know also how to manage it.
This is an important part of Yoga, an important part of Vedanta, an
important part of Sadhana, or divine life.
In the beginning of one’s practice all these are important. When one has
practised all these, God-realisation is easy. They say that God-realisation is
so easy that it can be attained “within the time taken to squeeze a flower,”
once you are completely rid of all impurities.
For that you have to patiently keep
on striving, and the more we devote our time with humility, sincerity and
earnestness to a study of our own being and especially of this machinery which
is inside us, and try to make the best use of it, as an instrument of Yoga, the
more will we be able to succeed in the path of Yoga and Vedanta or in leading
the divine life.
Peace, Love, Harmony