FW: How to Withdraw From the Sense-Objects

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Hari Om! Hari Om Tat Sat!

 

 

 

Dasomsi! All glories to the devotees of the Lord!

 

 

 

My-self- feels it is all right to post about Sri Krishna's words in this

group.

 

 

 

Uddhava said: "O Krishna, generally people know that the objects of the

senses lead to misery. How is it they still run after them, like a dog, an

ass or a goat?"

 

 

 

The Lord said: "In the heart of an indiscriminating man, the wrong notion of

'I' with regard to body arises; then the terrible Rajas take possession of

the mind, which by its own origin is Sattvic. Doubts and desires arise in

the mind which is filled with Rajas. He thinks, 'I should enjoy such and

such a thing in such and such a way and so on.' Then the mind dwells upon

the excellent attributes of an object 'Oh, how beautiful! What a nice

thing,' and gets a strong liking or an inordinate hankering for it.

 

 

 

The foolish man is overpowered by desires and cravings. He has no control

over his senses. As he is deluded by the strong current of Rajas, he

knowingly does acts which are seen to bring miseries or evil fruits.

 

 

 

The man of discrimination is also distracted by Rajas and Tamas, but as he

is conscious of their evils he sleeplessly controls his mind and practices

concentration of mind. He is not attached to them.

 

 

 

Being alert and diligent one should secure firmness in the seat and control

the breath, and having set the mind on Me, slowly practice concentration.

 

 

 

This is the Yoga as taught by My disciples Sanaka and others, in order to

withdraw the mind successfully from everything and fix it on Me."

 

 

 

Uddhava said, "O Kesava! How, when and in what form did you instruct Yoga to

Sanaka and others? Please inform me of the same."

 

 

 

The Lord said: "Sanaka and others, the sons of Brahma born of his mind,

requested their father to tell them of the subtle and ultimate goal of Yoga.

Sanaka and others said, 'O Lord! The mind is attached to the sense-objects

and the sense-objects influence the mind. The objects implant themselves in

the mind as tendencies. The mind enters the Gunas (objects) and naturally

becomes attached to them and the Gunas, i.e., the objects when experienced

enter the mind as desires. How can one who wants to attain the final

emancipation produce a separation between the two? How for one whom wants to

cross over the objects, who seeks to go beyond them and attain Moksha, do

they cease to act and re-act upon each other?"

 

 

 

The Lord said: "The great Lord Brahma, the creator of beings contemplated

but could not get to the root of the question as his mind was on work. So he

meditated on Me to get all authoritative answer for the same. I appeared

before him as a swan. They (Sanaka and others) paid Me due reverence, came

forward, bowed at My feet and in the presence of Brahma asked Me the

question, "Who art thou?" The answer that I gave to the sages who were

anxious to know the truth, I shall now repeat to you, Uddhava.

 

 

 

"O Brahmanas! If your question relates to Atman, then Atman is not many. So

the question does not arise. Who will reply to whom? What is the basis on

which I can give a full answer to your question? If your question relates to

the body, then also the elements of which the body is composed are the same

in all beings. Atman also is the same in all. Therefore your question, "Who

art Thou?" is meaningless.

 

 

 

Whatever is perceived by the mind, speech, sight and the other senses is

Myself. There is nothing besides Me. Understand this rightly.

 

 

 

The objects or the Gunas invade the mind and the mind gets entangled in the

objects or Gunas, O sons. The sense-objects (Gunas) and the mind thus

mutually blended or intertwined form of this body of the Jiva who is Myself.

 

 

 

 

[Note-The running of the mind outside through the avenues of the senses and

the resultant experience of the mind by external objects are produced by the

Jiva's identifying himself with the body (Upadhi) because of delusion or

ignorance. The essence of the Jiva is Brahman or Myself. If the mind which

is connected with the objects is the essence of Jiva, then their separation

is not possible. But the essence of Jiva is Brahman. Mind is only attributed

to Jiva. The mind is only superimposed on the Jiva. On account of this

superimposition of the mind on the Jiva, he is apparently connected with the

objects. Jiva's connection with the objects is through the mind. The Self

should be withdrawn from both the mind and the objects by meditating on 'I

am Brahman.' Turn the mind from the external objects by reflecting on the

unreality of the objects and identifying yourself with Brahman. By realizing

your identity with the Supreme Self you will find out that the objects have

no existence. By worshipping the Lord, you can completely rest in your own

true essential nature as the Infinite, Satchidananda Brahman.]

 

 

 

One should identify himself with Me and abandon the mind which is attached

to sense-objects by dwelling on them constantly, as well as sense-objects

themselves which influence the mind through cravings, Vasanas and desires.

 

 

 

Wakefulness, dream and sleep, are the three states of the mind caused by the

Gunas. The Self is beyond all these states. It is distinct from them, as It

is conclusively known and proved to be their witness.

 

 

 

The bondage caused by the mind imparts the actions of the Gunas to the Jiva.

Therefore, being fixed on Me, the fourth (Turiya) which is beyond the three

states, one should get over the bondage of mind. Then it is possible to

abandon those Gunas or objects and their thoughts.

 

 

 

This bondage of Jiva is caused by Ahamkara, egoism or the sense of 'I-ness,'

which is the cause of all evils. One should abandon egoism and give up all

thoughts of mind and of the connections caused by the mind and

identification with the mind, by resting on the Turiya or the transcendent.

 

 

 

So long as the idea of diversity or manifoldness is not destroyed by

reasoning, man is really ignorant, sleeping while he is waking, just as he

is wakeful in dreams.

 

 

 

All things other than Atman are unreal. The differences caused by them such

as "He is a Brahmin,He is a Sudra,He is a householder,He is a

Sannyasin," the different destinations such as Svarga and many acts of Karma

which are the causes of various fruits and even Karma itself are all unreal

like things seen by one in a dream.

 

 

 

He who enjoys in the wakeful state through all his senses the objects

external and transient, and who in dreams experiences objects similar to

them in his mind, who in sleep withdraws himself from them all, is one and

the same Atman-the witness of the three states and the Lord of the senses.

This is proved from the persistence of memory in all these states. The same

memory runs through all these states.

 

 

 

Reflect well over this, that the three states of the mind are caused in Me

by the Gunas through My Maya. Knowing this definitely annihilate egoism

which is the source of all doubts by the sword of knowledge, sharpened by

reasoning and the precepts of the great sages and the Srutis, and worship Me

who dwells in the heart.

 

 

 

Look upon this universe as a delusion, a play of the mind, now seen and the

next moment destroyed, like a dream, and extremely inconsistent like the

circle described by a firebrand (Alata Chakra). One consciousness appears as

many. The threefold distinction of waking, dream and deep-sleep which is

caused by the transformation of Gunas is Maya.

 

 

 

Withdraw your senses from this object world. Abandon all desires. Be calm

and remain quite immersed in the bliss of your own Self. Be silent and free

from action. If ever the universe is experienced, if sometimes this still

appears, if at times you will have experience of the object in your daily

life for getting the necessities of life, it will not cause delusion in you

as you have once thrown them aside as unreal but will linger as a memory

only till the fall of the body.

 

 

 

The perfect man, who has thus gained wisdom and realized his true essential

nature, does not see the transient body sitting or standing, whether it

moves away from its place or comes back, just as a man who is under

intoxication of liquor does not see whether his cloth remains on or slips or

falls from his body.

 

 

 

The body is indeed under the sway of destiny and it waits with the Pranas

and the senses till the Karma, the cause of it exhausts itself. But the man

who has attained Samadhi in Yoga and realised the Truth does not care for

the body and the object-world which are all like dreams. He has no

attachment to his body and the sense-objects.

 

 

 

O Sages! I have explained to you the secret and essential truth of Sankhya

or the science which discriminates between the Self and not-Self and Yoga or

the science which teaches how to concentrate the mind on the Self and attain

Samadhi. Know Me to be Vishnu who has come here to explain Dharma to you and

enlighten you on religion and philosophy.

 

 

 

O excellent Brahmins, I am the supreme goal or the end and the aim of Yoga

and Sankhya, of truth, practical and theoretical, of prowess and wealth, of

glory, fame, power, splendour and self-control!

 

 

 

All the eternal virtues (excellent qualities such as equal vision,

non-attachment, etc.) abide in Me who is beyond Prakriti or attributes, who

is the Absolute, the friend and the beloved Atman.

 

 

 

Thus Sanaka and other sages had their doubts cleared by Me, worshipped Me

with great devotion and sang My praises.

 

 

 

Being duly worshipped and praised by those great sages, I came back to My

abode before the very eyes of Brahma.

 

 

 

Subham Dinam Astu!

 

Sarvam Sri Krishna Arpanam Astu!