Chapter
XI
Uproot the impulses
that make up the mind, and the mind is no more
The one who is a slave to impulses and tendencies (vasanas) is devoid of wisdom (jnana). That one is, in truth, a weakling! But let me assure you that there is no cause for alarm. As soon as impulses are uprooted, that person can earn back the divine nature that was lost by neglect.
The impulses invade the realm of the heart; they cause endless trouble. They remind you of pleasures, agitating the memory of past experiences, and you start craving them again.
The cravings make the senses and their leader, the mind (manas), engage in brisk activities; there is no escape for you from this. So you attempt to collect and enjoy the things that you crave. All this takes place in the twinkling of an eye, so to say.
The impulses operate so subtly and so powerfully. Just as the seed contains within itself the trunk, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, and fruits, so too, all this lies dormant in the impulse.
The impulses are the cause of all the objective unhappiness. If they are absent, the mind is pellucid and pure. If they are present, all purity is ruined; they are obstacles in the path of truth, of Atma, and of immortality. A mind free from impulse is transmuted and is no longer mind.
Nature (prakriti) is the world of impulses (vasanas). The mind is attracted toward nature and the external objects of the world by means of this tendency for attachment and starts contemplating on the objects and dwelling on their qualities because of these impulses.
Without impulses, the mind will not be affected at all by the objective world. The mind is like a piece of cloth; it takes on any colour with which it is dyed. Pure (satvic) impulses make it white, restless (rajasic) ones change it into red, while ignorant (thamasic) ones give it a black colour.
The mind is shaped by the type of impulses with which it is
filled. One has to undertake meditation and concentration (dharana) in order to destroy these impulses. The mind is but a bundle of
impulses.
Success in
meditation from uprooting impulses
Some aspirants say to themselves that in spite of many years of
steady practice, they have yet to acquire success in meditation and
concentration. The reason is easy to point out: they have not been able to
uproot the impulses (vasanas)!
Therefore, such practitioners must strive to conquer their innate tendencies. They must fortify themselves with greater faith, and act.
The aspirant who is disturbed now and then by impure impulses must overcome them by will power and spiritual exercises.
The liberated soul (jivan-muktha) has burned out impulses, but the householder (grihastha) is cultivating them. There is no profit in simply controlling them; a cobra becomes harmless only when its fangs are plucked out; similarly, their roots must be burned. Then only can the aspirant attain the Brahman.
Of course, even pure desires are a bond. But they are not hindrances, however many they may be. A thorn is removed by another and both are thrown out afterward, right? So also, when impure impulses are overcome through the influence of pure impulses, one has to outgrow both.
This means that even the purest of impulses, the craving for liberation (moksha), has to disappear in time. Only then can you become That. A shackle is a shackle, whether it be of iron or gold. One has to be free from both. That is to say, one should attain a stage when neither good nor bad will attract or repel.
Anyone aiming at the realisation of God should practise the diminishing of impulses, the curbing of the mind, and the understanding of the fundamental principle. One of these is not enough for liberation (moksha). In the liberated soul (jivanmuktha), impulses persist, but only as fried seeds. They will not cause further births.”
Introspection
Extract from session on “vasana” given by the author to few select aspirants in 2012.
“Desire, will, doubt, belief, disbelief, resoluteness, irresoluteness, shame, intelligence, fear, --- all these make up the mind". These transformations are directly perceived by the witnessing self. The sense organs cannot experience their objects without the co-operation of the mind. This internal organ is called manas when it performs the function of thinking and debating;
It is called chitta when it performs an act of perception. This chitta is of the nature of sattva, rajas and tamas.
When tamas predominates, demoniac qualities make their appearance.
The predominance of rajas gives rise to the three vasanas—loka vasana, sastra vasana and deha vasana.
When sattva gains mastery, divine qualities become established. Sattva is the principal material cause of the mind. Rajas and tamas are only accessories. Therefore sattva is the residual native form of the mind of an enlightened person, since he has got rid of rajas and tamas. Such a mind is one-pointed, being free from rajas which is the cause of fickleness. It is also very subtle, being free from tamas which is the cause of the gross forms assumed by the not-self. Such a mind is fit to receive enlightenment.
Egoism is the first asuric (demoniac) son of avidya (ignorance). Egoism has two asuric daughters - raga and vasana. There is an intimate connection between vasana and raga. Raga is attachment. Mamata (mine-ness) is due to raga.
If you want to kill raga and vasana, you must annihilate egoism. If you want to kill egoism you must first kill avidya. Destroy avidya first – raga and vasana will die by themselves.
Just as a washerman removes dirt through dirt, just as a traveller removes the thorn in his foot through another thorn, so also the impure mind should be slain by the pure mind.
He who has annihilated the lower or the impure mind drives away rebirths to a great distance from him. The pure vasanas with which the sage performs actions cannot produce rebirths for him.
All impure vasanas are fried when you get knowledge of the self or brahma jnana. Meditation, japa, kirtan, practice of pranayama, brahma vichara, study of religious books and satsanga generate pure vasanas.
When the mind is freed from
the desires for objects and when it rests in the self or atman, you will enjoy
eternal bliss. When the mind is freed from all cravings or longing for objects,
when it is controlled in the heart, when it attains the reality of the atman,
you will attain moksha or the final beatitude of life.”
Love.
