SOME THOUGHTS ON ATMA-----62

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SAI RAM Dear Brothers and Sisters,

(continued from posting no.61)

 

We are in the midst of certain discussions as to what are the traits and qualities which a seeker (sadhak ) should possess if he were to achieve Self-realization( Atma Satshatkar) successfully. We saw that a seeker needs to cultivate Deatchment and Dispassion (Vairagya) guided by Discrimination(Viveka) in the first instance. The next think that needs to be addressed is Purification of the mind.

 

Now, what do we understand by purification of the mind? A number of questions such as, what are the impurities of the mind, from where do they come, how do they enter the mind, how to get rid of those impurities from the mind etc. will naturally be raised.

 

The impurities of the mind are created by extreme inertia (Tamas) and extreme activity (Rajas) which come to play in our mind. These two attributes (gunas) express as agitations

(Vikshepa) in the mental region, and as veiling of Truth (Avarana) in the region of the intellect. These two powers are complimentary to each other-----agitation causes veiling, and the more the veiling of the discrimination (Buddhi), the more is the agitations of the mind. Where the intellect can not see the logic of a thing or can not understand the meaning of a subject or can not conceive the significance of a situation, the mind in its own ignorance gets agitated into restlessness and storms within. This is the experience of every one of us in our every day worldly life. Vedanta holds that the creative power in the Self known as

Primal Cause (Prakriti) projects itself as Maya and Avidya and acquires a two-fold power of concealment (Avarana Sakti) and of projection(Vikshepa Sakti). By the former power, it conceals the unconditioned aspect of Self and by the latter one it illusorily projects the Self as

Isvara, Jiva and jagat. The Rajas attitude of Maya creates the agitations of the mind (Vikshepa). Maya expressed at the mental level manifests in the form of mental agitations. The Maya which creates restlessness in the mind is called

Rajoguna, from which all activities are born. Activities are only possible when the mind is active. Thus all actions arise out of Rajoguna aspect of Maya. Desire, anger, avarice, hypocrisy, arrogance, jealousy, egoism etc., manifest because of Rajoguna. These reactions created by the agitations of the mind multiply the agitations and man gets totally shackled by them.

 

 

A mind that is least agitated will have least veiling. The cleverer one perceives a problem, the less is his agitation. A mind that is least agitated is technically called in Vedanta as pure (Suddha),

and a mind that is agitatated terribly is called impure (A-Suddha). The contact with the Truly Great Masters, cleans our misconceptions and brings into our discrimination, a better vision, and therefore, logically less agitation in the mind. When the mind`s agitations are quietened through upasana, the veiling of the Buddhi also lifts and the intellect becomes quiet. As a result of mental quietitude, when the intellect become s bright, it is able to apprehend the Self.

(to be continued)

With Loving SAI RAMs,

G.Balasubramanian