Manas Buddhi Chitta Ahamkara - Part 19

Dear All,

 Let us re capture our learning visually today.

Divyatman, 

The essence of the flow seen above is captured in Vedanta as the knots of Samsara which is termed as Hrdaya Granthi.

The knots of samsara 

 (ignorance, desire and action)

Avidya (ignorance), Kama (desire) and Karma (action) are the knots (Hridaya Granthis) that have tied the deluded Jiva (individual) to this Samsara (wheel of birth and death). 

AVIDYA- We learnt and by now, we are clear that  avidya is forgetful ness of one’s divine nature.

KAMA -In the light of our learning of MBCA in all our previous posts,KAMA is to be understood as desires arising out of the 3 Kleshas- Raga, Dvesha and abhinivesha, once Avidya results in Asmita- Identifying oneself with the “ I” ness .

As soon as man was enveloped by the veil of ignorance( avidya) , he forgot his essential blissful nature and began to run after sensual objects to seek his pleasure through the avenues of the senses. 

KARMA-He began to exert, to do selfish Karmas, to realize his objects of desire. He lost his original freedom and became bound. 

Karma is explained as karma bandhanam. Bandhanam is bondage and it is explained thus because, as we learnt in the MBCA posts and as clearly depicted in the above flow, Karma or actions performed due to Desires ( 3 Ego- Raga, Dvesha, Abhinivesha), is bound to result in the impressions/ after effects of such an action getting stored in the memory bank chitta and till the time, this bank is not cleared totally, till the time the memory bank storage is capable of being retrieved as Samskara , resulting in manifest Vasana, the cycle of KARMA- DEATH AND REBIRTH TO CLEAR KARMA- SANCHITA/PRARABDHA KARMA-DEATH-REBIRTH TO CLEAR FRESH KARMA  can never be broken and one can never get released from this vicious cycle. 

As various treatise  speak about this 3 knots- Avidya Kama Karma, the author, while teaching sessions related to MBCA, introduced or modified the 3 knots to include Vasanas or V in between Kama and Karma and thus, to those few who have taken these sessions, the cycle became imprinted in their learning as AVKK (Avidya-Vasnas-Kama-Karma)

The significance of including Vasanas in this cycle is explained in the following example.

A student always ranks first in his collage for 2 continuous years.

In the 3rd year, a new student jobs his class , transferred from some other collage.

The final 3rd year exam results are awaited.

To the surprise of the earlier student, in the 3rd years exams, the new student gets the 1st rank as announced by the collage Principal.

Now, till the time  the result was announced, perhaps, the 1st student did not have any impression stored in his mind about the new student.

Once the result is announced, the ASMITA of the earlier student, his belief about his being the 1st student and the attachment towards this 1st rank, Raga , has attacked the student and with such attack, he throws some words of abuse at the new student and walks away

The abuse, expressed through mind- karma indriyas, has resulted in  impression about the new student stored in the mind lake, memory bank chitta, of the 1st student.

Now, it has to be carefully observed and understood that till the time some action is not undertaken by us due to KAMA, there are no impressions stored in our chitta and therefore no  vasanas can arise in our mind later. 

Let us be more clear on this most important aspect in the next post.

Love.

Mata Amritanandamayi

Manas Buddhi Chitta Ahamkara - Part 18

Benefiting from the learning of four functions of Mind.

The cause of our suffering: The entire cause of our mental and emotional suffering is the false identification between Ahamkara and the data that is stored in Chitta. (Eventually, at a deeper level, the Self is seen to have falsely identified itself with the Four Functions of Mind themselves). By witnessing the Four Functions of Mind, while they are functioning, we increasingly come to see this mistaken identity, which leads to freedom. 

Buddhi becomes witness to this mistaken identity: It is the function of mind called Buddhi, which, once again, knows, decides, adjudges, and discriminates. In other words, Buddhi is the part that sees the situation clearly. Eventually, the Self or Atman is seen as witness to all of the Four Functions of Mind, including Buddhi itself. 

Purifying Buddhi is the most important goal: How does this clarity come? It happens by removing the clouds of spiritual ignorance (avidya) that are blocking the wisdom of Buddhi. Thus, the most important goal of all practices is purifying Buddhi. 

      

Three freedoms

There are three freedoms that come sequentially over time through this purifying or clarity of Buddhi: 

·Actions: First is freedom from the bondage of actions. As Ahamkara and Chitta become less associated through the colorings such as attachment and aversions (kleshas), there is greater freedom in actions.  

·Thoughts: Second is freedom from the bondage of thoughts. The degree of the coloring further weekens through the process of un-clouding the Buddhi. 

·Ignorance: Third is freedom from the bondage of ignorance (avidya). In this final stage, Buddhi has become so completely clear that it is able to see through all of the process of false identity. 

  

Going Beyond the Mind 

Mind directs, influences, and goes outward: 

It is imperative that one become aware of the facts that: 

·   Mind controls: It is the mind that is in direct control of the senses, breath, and body. 

·   Mind goes outward: It is the mind that influences the senses and causes them to go out into the external world. 

·  Mind desires: It is the mind that desires to perceive the world through the senses and then to conceptualize and categorize those sense perceptions.

· It's all about training the mind: All sadhanas (spiritual practices), techniques, and disciplines are actually means to train the mind (all of the Four Functions of Mind). 

·  Train mind to go beyond itself: The most important part of the training is to make the mind aware that Reality lies beyond itself, and that this Reality is the eternal aspect of the Self or Soul.

·   Mind is the finest instrument: The mind is the finest instrument that we possess. If it is understood well, the mind can be helpful in our spiritual practices (sadhana). However, the mind must be well-ordered and disciplined. Otherwise, the mind can distract and dissipate all of our potentials.

What Is Meditation? 

Put a piece of iron rod in the blazing furnace. It becomes red like fire. Remove it. It loses its red colour. If you want to keep it always red, you must always keep it in fire. Even so, if you want to keep the mind charged with the fire of God realization goal, you must keep it always in contact or touch with the fire of knowledge through constant and intense meditation.

Leading a virtuous life is not by itself sufficient for God-realization. Concentration of mind is absolutely necessary. A good, virtuous life only prepares the mind as a fit instrument for concentration and meditation. It is concentration and meditation that eventually lead to Self-realization.

God has hidden Himself in this world (immanent) and is seated in the cave of the lotus of your heart. He is an absentee landlord. You will have to seek Him through concentration and meditation with a pure mind. This is the real play of hide and seek.

All the visible things are Maya. Maya will vanish through Jnana or meditation on Atman. One should exert himself to get rid of Maya. Maya havocs through the mind. Destruction of the mind means the annihilation of Maya. Nidhidhyasana is the only way for conquering Maya. Lord Buddha, Raja Bhartrihari, Dattatreya, Akhow of Gujarat - all had conquered Maya and mind through deep meditation only. Enter the silence. Meditate. Meditate. Solitude and intense meditation are two important requisites for Self-Realization.

Love.