The Beginning-less Beginning

   “In the beginning, this universe was water (arnav) alone. That water produced Satyam. Satyam is Brahman. Brahman produced Prajapati and Prajapati the gods. Those Gods meditate on Satyam. This name Satyam consists of three syllables. Sa is one syllable, ti is one syllable and ‘yam’ is one syllable. The first syllable ‘Sa’ and the last syllable ‘yam’-both are the Eternal Truth. In the middle lies untruth. This untruth is enclosed on both sides by Truth; thus truth preponderates. Untruth does not hurt him who knows this. Now, that which is Satyam is the Sun- the being who dwells in yonder orb (prabha/Light), and the being who is in the right eye (akshi-purusha). These two rest on each other. The former (the being in the sun) rests on the latter (the being in the right eye) through his rays and the latter rests on the former through his organs. When the individual self is about to leave the body, he sees the solar orb clearly (i.e. without rays). Those rays no longer come to him.” [Yajurveda, Brih. Upa, V, V- In Praise of Satya Brahman, 1-2; Ishavasya Upa., 16-18].

    The Lord says, “I am in air, the air does not know it; I am in fire, the fire does not know it and i am in jivas as prana, vital breath, consciousness, and these jivas do not know it.”

    “Now, as these, arising from yonder akasha and reaching the highest this body and reaching the Highest Light, appear in His own form. In that state He is the Highest Person. There He moves about, laughing, playing, and rejoicing-be it with women, chariots, or relatives, never thinking of the body into which he was born. As an animal is attached to a cart, so is the prana (i.e. the conscious self) attached to the body. The vital breath is delicately knotted to the subtle kurna nadi. When the person in the eye resides in the body, he resides where the organ of sight has entered into the akasa (i.e. the pupil of the eye); the eye is the instrument of seeing. He who is aware of the thought: 'Let me smell this,' he is the Self; the nose is the instrument of smelling. He who is aware of the thought: 'Let me speak,' he is the Self; the tongue is the instrument of speaking. He who is aware of the thought: 'Let me hear,' he is the Self; the ear is the instrument of hearing. He who is aware of the thought: 'Let me think this,' he is the Self; the mind is his divine eye. He, the Self sees all these desires in the World of Brahman through the divine eye, the mind and rejoices. The gods meditate on that Self. Therefore all worlds belong to them and all desires. He who knows that Self and understands It obtains all worlds and all desires. Thus, said Prajapati, yea, thus said Prajapati.” [Samaveda, Chan. Upa. VIII, XII - The Incorporeal Self, 1-6].

   “From the dark I come to the variegated; from the variegated I come to the Dark. Shaking off evil as a horse shakes dust from its hair, freeing myself from the body as the moon frees itself from the mouth of Rahu I fulfil all ends and obtain the uncreated World of Brahman.” [Sama Veda, Chan. Upa. VIII, XIII - A Mantra for Meditation and Repetition]. 

     “Even as water becomes one with water, fire with fire, and air with air, so the mind becomes one with the Infinite Mind (akasha) and thus attains final freedom. [Krishna Yajur Veda, Maitra Upanishad 6.34.11. tu, 103]. “All the sacred books, all holy sacrifice and ritual and prayers, all the words of the Vedas, and the whole past and present and future, come from the Spirit. With maya, His power of wonder, He made all things, and by maya the human soul is bound. Know, therefore, that nature is maya, but that God is the ruler of maya, and that all beings in our universe are parts of His infinite splendour.” [Krishna Yajur Veda, Svet. Upa. 4.9-10. upm, 92].

  “The seer sees not death, nor sickness, nor any distress. The seer sees only the All, obtains the All entirely. For the sake of experiencing the true and the false, the great Self has a dual nature. Yea, the great Self has a dual nature. Yea, the great Self has a dual nature!” [Krishna Yajurveda, Maitra Upanishad 7.11.6 & 8.  458]  

   Once the air, fire, and water went to the Lord and one by one asked Him, who am I? The Lord said, you are ‘Me’, and ‘none else’. They did not understand this. Further, they all asked, “Why do we cause harm to jivas if we are your own Self?”

   The Lord replied, “You are all unaware of your true Self. The moment you realize who you are, you will shine in My own glory. You will be sweeter and much dearer to jivas in whom I am residing and do them no harm.” When aware of the Self, the Fire will not destroy life and property in rage, Water will not flood all over and cause destruction, and Air will not storm in and destroy property. Awareness of one’s self, Self-consciousness (atma prajnya) brings in self-awareness. It keeps the elements within their limits (maryada); so also, the human beings, when fully aware of their true Self, will be more Conscientious and work with humility for the welfare of all, help each other, and live a better life. It is this awareness that is important in the day to day life and work that brings success, happiness and peace. “This being identified with the mind and resplendent by nature is realized by yogis within the heart as of the size of a grain of rice or barley. He is the lord of all, the ruler of all and governs all this-whatever there is” [Yajurveda, Brih. Upa. V, VI- Meditation on Brahman as the Mind-1].

    The sages, absorbed in meditation through one-pointedness of mind, discovered the creative power, belonging to the Lord Himself and hidden in its own gunas. That non-dual Lord, rules over all those causes- time, the self and the rest. The sages saw the wheel of Brahman, which has one felly, a triple tire, sixteen end-parts, fifty spokes with twenty counter-spokes and six sets of eight; whose one rope is manifold; which moves on three different roads; and whose illusion arises from two causes. We meditate on the River whose five currents are the five organs of perception, which is made impetuous and winding by the five elements, whose waves are the five organs of actions and whose fountain-head is the mind, the source of the five forms of perception. This River has five whirlpools and its rapids are the fivefold misery; and lastly, it has fifty branches and five pain-bearing obstructions. In this great Brahma-Wheel, in which all things abide and finally rest, the swan wanders about so long as it thinks the self is different from the Controller. When blessed by Him the self attains Immortality. It is the Supreme Brahman alone untouched by phenomena that is proclaimed in the Upanishads. In It is established the triad of the enjoyer, the object and the Lord who is the Controller. This Brahman is the immutable foundation; ‘It’ is imperishable. The sages, having realized Brahman to be the essence of phenomena, become devoted to Him. Completely merged in Brahman, they attain freedom from rebirth. [Yajurveda, Svet. Upa.I, Ch.1,1-7].

   “They say that lightning is Brahman. It is called lightning (vidyullekha) because it scatters (vidanat) darkness. Whosoever knows this-that lightning is Brahman-scatters the evils that are ranged against him; for Lightning is indeed Brahman.” [Yajurveda, Brih. Upa. V, VII- Meditation on Brahman as Lightning,].

“Having attained this (Brahman), the Seers become content with their knowledge, established in the Self, freed from attachment and composed. Having realized the all-pervasive, the ‘One’ everywhere, these discerning people ever merged in contemplation, enter into the All.” [Mandukya Upa. 3.2.5].

   “One should meditate upon the Supreme- the limitless, unchanging, the omniscient brahmn, the cause of the happiness of the world, dwelling in the sea of one’s own heart- as the goal of all striving. The place for its meditation is the space of the heart, which is like an inverted Lotus bud” [Mahanarayana Upa.13.6]. “After knowing all these, of three kinds- the Individual Soul (the enjoyer), the objects of enjoyment, and the antaryamin (the internal Ruler) that is spoken as Brahman, this (Brahman) is to be invariably known as existing in one’s own heart, since there is nothing to be known beyond this.” [Shveta. Upa. 1.12].

    There are two ways of contemplation of Brahman:1. In sound and 2. In silence.

 By sound we go to silence. The sound of Brahman is Aum. With Aum we go to the End, the silence of Brahman. The End is immortality, union and peace. Even as a spider reaches the liberty of space by means of its own thread, the man of contemplation by means of Aum reaches freedom. The sound of Brahman is Aum. At the end of Aum is silence. It is a silence of joy. It is the end of the journey, where fear and sorrow are no more: steady, motionless, never-falling, everlasting, and immortal. It is called the omnipresent Vishnu. In order to reach the Highest, consider, in adoration, the sound and the

Silence of Brahman. For it has been said: God is sound and silence. His name is Aum. Attain, therefore, contemplation, contemplation in silence on Him. [Krishna Yajur Veda, Maitra Upanishad 6.22-23. upm, 102]. Than whom there is naught else higher, than whom there is naught smaller, naught greater, the One, ‘that’(tyat) which stands like a tree established in heaven. By Him the Purusha, is this whole universe filled. [Krishna Yajurveda, Svet. Upanishad 3. 9. upr, 727].

   The Upanishads are our guides to sane and sensible living. Some devote to yoga as yogopanishads, and some to mantra as Mantro- upanishads. These are beautiful standard texts for liberation. Almost 180 Upanishads are enumerated in the muktikopanishad where Shree Ramachandra is giving instructions to His ardent devotee Anjaneya. Anjani putra Anjaneya asks his master Ramachandra as to the path of salvation. Sri Rama advises him to read the ‘Ishavasya upanishad’ and that would bring emancipation. He read and did not understand a single word in it. When this failed, Anjaneya goes back to Sri Ram, who in turn advices him to read the selected ten Upanishads- the Ishavasya, katha, kena, mundaka, maandukya, brihadaranyaka, chhandigya, shvetashvatra, taittiriya and the aitareiya. Even after going through these, Anjaneya was not happy and satisfied, and again went back to Sri Ram. This time Sri Rama advised him to read all the 108 Upanishads and he would be liberated whether he understood the meaning of these Upanishads or not. Thus, mukti or Moksha (liberation, emancipation) of the embodied soul is guaranteed from the mere reading of the Upanishads, if one is to believe Sri Ram, the Redeemer. But one must have faith. By reading all these Upanishads, it is no wonder that one will automatically get merged in the higher knowledge, knowledge concerning Atman, the brahmn.

     The philosophers- either the modern or the ancient, have so far not been successful in conveying all that is profound in these Upanishads. Almost all of these great thinkers have failed to bring out the essence of the sacred words, the esoteric meaning of the verses that are deeply symbolic, full of imageries like the ‘dva suparna’. Most of them have not realized the importance of the prelims of the ashtanga yoga sutra, such as yama, niyama, pratyahara of yoga sutras in understanding these ancient Texts. There are also stalwarts who profess profound knowledge and say, ‘aham brahmasmi’ or simply, ‘i am’ in this retreaded path of mukti, moksha or Salvation. Some learned ones advocate a holistic approach to all these. The seeker has to travel the path and realize by his self-effort through introspection, atma avalokana, a ‘search within’, and get an insight into all these complicated issues! No other person- a guru or teacher, a priest, or pundit, will be able to impart anything in this regard. It is simply not something to be imparted by a teacher or learnt by a student. Svadhyaya, satsang, nidhidhyasana, dhyana (meditation) are advised in this regard and the rest is in the hands of divine grace (daiva anugraha). Nobody can give any assurance in this regard. So, one is left to go on his own without any support and mend his self.  

    “One should meditate upon speech (the Vedas) as a cow*. She (speech) has four teats- the sounds Svaha, Vashat, Hanta, and Svadha. Bull** is the vital breath (prana) and her calf, the mind.” [Yajurveda, Brih. Upa, V, VIII-Meditation on the Vedas as a Cow*,1].

_________________________________________________________________________________* Cow is Truth, Light, Jnyan, chit; energy.

** Bull is Force, Energy. ‘Go lok’ is Galaxy.

EMBODIMENT OF THE SOUL

Yadidam kichha jagat sarvam praneyajati nihsrutam ||

  “All the animate and the inanimate objects of this universe are nothing but the results of the vibrations of prana. This vibration of the prana is the cause of phenomenal world the cosmic life-principle.”

    The jiva, as pure energy- prana, the motive power was freely moving about as a photon, particle of Light-Energy in space. It entered the realms of the earth’s atmosphere and started an eternal journey as a jiva on this earth. Thus all the problems of the jiva started with the embodiment of the soul. The Soul is an alien that entered the earth as an energy particle. Even the Earth is a planet of solar origin and has no independent existence. That way, even the effulgent Sun depends on something else, some other higher power, for its sustenance. Thus, everything is depending on something or the other, and each one sacrifices itself to create the other. This is explained as the concept of ‘Sacrifice’, yajnya, in the Veda [See Shvetashvatara Upanishad).

  Supremacy of prana is evident from the following:

These organs, disputing about which organ was superior among them, went to Prajapati and asked: Which one amongst us is the most excellent (vasishtha)? He said: That one among you is the most excellent by whose departure this body is considered to suffer most. The organ of speech departed. After being absent for a whole year it came back and said: How have you been able to live without me? The other organs said: We lived just as dumb people live, without speaking through the tongue, but living through the vital breath, seeing through the eye, hearing through the ear, knowing through the mind and procreating through the organ of generation. Then the organ of speech entered the body. The eye departed. After being absent for a whole year it came back and said: How have you been able to live without me? The other organs said: We lived just as blind people live, without seeing through the eye, but living through the vital breath, speaking through the organ of speech, hearing through the ear, knowing through the mind and procreating through the organ of generation. Then the eye entered the body. The ear went out. After being absent for a whole year it came back and said: How have you been able to live without me? The other organs said: We lived just as deaf people live, without hearing through the ear, but living through the vital breath, speaking through the organ of speech, seeing through the eye, knowing through the mind and procreating through the organ of generation. Then the ear entered the body. The mind went out. After being absent for a whole year it came back and said: How have you been able to live without me? The other organs said: We lived just as idiots live, without knowing through the mind, but living through the vital breath, speaking through the organ of speech, seeing through the eye, hearing through the ear and procreating through the organ of generation. Then the mind entered the body. Then the organ of generation went out. After being absent for a whole year it came back and said: How have you been able to live without me? The other organs said: We lived just as impotent people live, without procreating children through the organ of generation, but living through the vital breath, speaking through the organ of speech, seeing through the eye, hearing through the ear and knowing through the mind. Then the organ of generation entered the body. Then as the vital breath was about to depart, it uprooted the organs from their places just as a great, noble horse of the Sindhu country tears up the pegs to which his feet are tied. They said: Venerable Sir, please do not go out. We shall not be ableto live without you. If I am such, then give me an offering. So be it. The organ of speech said: That attribute of being most excellent which I possess is yours. The eye said: That attribute of steadiness which I possess is yours. The ear said: That attribute of prosperity which I possess is yours. The mind said: That attribute of being an abode which I possess is yours. The organ of generation said: That attribute of procreation which I possess is yours. Then the vital breath said: If I am such, then what will be my food and what will be my dress? They replied: Whatever food there is-including that of dogs, worms, insects and moths-will be your food and water will be your dress. He who knows the food of the vital breath to be such never happens to eat anything or accept anything that is not food. Wise men who are versed in the Vedas therefore take a sip of water Just before and after eating; they think that thereby they remove the nakedness of the vital breath. [Yajurveda, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad VI, I-The Supremacy of the Prana, 7-14].

   Let’s see how prana enters the jiva and it begins its journey on earth as a child and lives and works in different stages till its old age and death. The stage-by-stage development of the embryo from the day of conception, month-by-month, has been recorded several centuries ago by great physicians like Charaka, Sushruta, Chakrapani. Now, the modern text books of gynaecology give more vivid details. However, none of these explain why and how the jiva took a particular form, or when and how the prana and prajnya entered the embryonic cell to make it a jiva. It could as well be a tumor! Entry of any external substance is resisted by the body as a rule. A tumor may give an impression of a child taking its form and may get aborted, too. Under these circumstances, it may be asked, “How did the sperm enter the resistant egg and grow into a child, acquire prana, manas, buddhi, ahankar (ego), gunas, and such other invisible strong forces that determine the course of its life? How does mind operate throughout the period existence of the Jiva without being tired and exhausted? Where did the Atma come from and when exactly did it enter the jiva to become a jivatman. Where does it exist? What is the cause of this embodiment? Medical books do not consider these extraneous invisible spiritual aspects since they deal only with the visible Matter. Even space within egg-cell, or the DNA, RNA, the amino acids, proteins, vitamins, and enzymes, genes, chromosomes, etc. have enormous space within to vibrate, intelligence and knowledge to operate, multiply, transfer information, react and evolve in a matter of a split-second! These are beyond the grasp of human mind, too. Vedanta gives a better explanation of these as the five basic elements like akasha, vayu, agni, jala, and pruthivi as the manifest Brahman. These generic terms have far deeper meaning than what is understood by us.

  Thre are a number of scriptures that give us some idea about the origin of life and the varied forms that we find on earth, including the birds and the aquatics and the amphibians. One such is found in Rk Veda, and another in the Shaivagama Shastra. Shiva only becomes a jiva, visits the earth to see how His creation works, and reverts to his prior state via yoga. Supreme Lord is sovereign. He can assume any form anywhere at any time and may appear and disappear anytime anywhere or everywhere at the same time! None can question Him since He only inhabits the body as the Soul. He is the Self of all. He arrives here, uses the jiva as a taxi, drives around, finally leaves it on the roadside and disappears! Then, who am I? Where is the doubt?

   Life is still a mystery. The cell division, mutation and genes theories may not explain the secrets behind the creation. The chemical composition of the DNA and the RNA may be well known, but the energy and intelligence aspects inherent in these chemical entities are not known. Generally, intelligence is attributed to the omniscience and omnipotence of the Soul, the Atman. The ancient scriptures make it amply clear that the Lord only takes a journey in different forms of life to experience the qualities of His creation. And, as such it is extremely difficult to solve the mystery of a single sperm from father growing into a child in the mother single cell acquiring all the qualities of the parents and still possessing individuality of its own! Science will not give answers here. It is the subject matter of spiritual science where Matter is not yet created. Matter comes into being only when Spirit yields into it. Matter may not exist but Spirit is always there. This is not something that can be told in concrete form, by words; even thoughts fail here. It is a vast and deep field of internal sacrifice (antaryajnya). One should experience it himself in a state of transcendental meditation. This is how the Truth is realized. There is no place for discussion or argument here. In fact, this is the journey of the solitary soul. There is no second person involved here. Adhyatma-vidya concerns with the knowledge of one’s understanding- Knowledge of one’s Self, the Atman.

   After all, who is that ‘That’(‘tyat’), which comes and goes here? One only vibrates as many. Everything is a mystery. The chances of a speck of stardust (hydrogen ion) entering the earth’s magnetic field is a remote possibility. Only 0.2% of electromagnetic waves, radiation in the form of Wavicles, reach the tiny earth’s surface as sunrays; the angle of incidence of sunrays on the earth that is always rotating and revolving in space is also to be considered here! The particle of Light, photon, or hydrogen ions to move into the solar sphere and reach the earth’s surface via the clouds, rain, soil and later on joined by nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, phosphorus, sulphur, sodium, etc. become the amino acids, proteins, vitamins, enzymes, DNA, RNA etc. in food and enter the body of the parents. This entire process is just a chance that can be imagined in the least! These are explained at best by probability theories!

  The wise men said, “This gift of life in human form should not be squandered in mere eating, sleeping and sport.” Still we beam with joy and pride when a prize, an award, a certificate of merit is given to us, and praised for our ignorance! Even writing a book is display of ignorance. The jiva is so ignorant that it never realizes in its lifetime the fact that the Truth is inexplicable. It (the Jiva) is inherently of a divine origin and the inexplicable entity that shines within  is none other than the brahmn. This is the reason why somebody said, “lo, there goes the man who is a celebrity, well known all over the world. But, alas! He himself does not know who he is! There is no greater tragedy than this.” 

   The Jiva is a life-form and it is called an animal, a prani, due to the inherent life-force, prana in it. It (the jiva) is endowed with Energy, chaitanya and thus it works and moves as a prani (animal). All forms of jiva including the humans are animals that possess certain properties like birth, growth, reproduction, mobility, creativity, etc. However, it is subject to disease, death and decay.

   “All that is born have to die” – jatasya hi maranam dhruvam | is the fundamental principle and the earth is called the realm of death, the death knell (‘mrutyukupa’). There is no escape from death here. Birth and death are the two pints between which life goes on. This short period of life of the jiva on this earth is called ‘Time’ (kaala) and the art of living in a sane and sensible manner is ‘jivan-kalaa’. The jiva starts its journey of a life span of about a hundred years (or a little more in rare cases), o this earth from its day of birth and ends at its death. But, the most intriguing part of this jiva is that it contains within it an invisible particle of Energy (prana) called the Atman (Soul). This is neither created nor destroyed. It always exists as the core of the substance. It moves in and out of substances. It is the spiritual component of the jiva. It is called the Soul (English cousin), a poor substitute to the term ‘Atman’ (Samsk.). The term ‘Atman’ has deeper esoteric meaning and purport and its understanding takes one as far as the ultimate- paramatman, Brahman. Although nobody has seen Atman (since it is invisible) its presence needs no proof. The jiva is sustained by it. It is this invisible spiritual entity that builds an elemental body around itself just like silkworm weaves a cocoon around itself and hibernates till it makes a small hole in it and flies out as a butterfly in beautiful colours. Thus, the body woven by the Soul is only a physical part of it, an elemental part acquired from the earth (soil and water). In the course of its formation, a jiva with its Atman (jivatman) weaves around itself many invisible sheaths of power such as: the Food (annam), life-force (prana), the mind, the intellect, and the blissful sheaths. These five sheaths or envelopes cover the Atman. The outer cover is the food sheath and the inner-most is the blissful sheath. Besides these sheaths there manifests certain qualities of the jiva depending on the quality of the food eaten to support the physical body such as the tamasic, rajasic, and sattvic foods with different food values such as the nutrients- vitamins, proteins, starch, fibres and colours, tastes, etc. The three dominating factors that affect the jiva are the ego, the intellect, and the mind- called the inner instruments (antahkarana). When the person dies only his physical component is cast off. The rest all are left intact! These form the seed for next birth.

The Concept of God

     The Vedanta Sutra of Badarayana (2^nd aphorism) defines God as ‘the One from whom the origination etc. of the universe proceeds’. In other words, ‘Brahman’ is the father from whom the universe has sprung, by whom it is sustained and dissolved’. God is the cause of the causes, the universal cause. Every act, event, or occurrence has a volition as its prompter, a will-force giving the initial impulse. It just cannot be ‘law of nature’ a non-intelligent principle, ultimate cause cause, according to Shri Madhvacharya. He is the Supreme Inteligence. Karma, illusion, aberration, time, attributes or gunas, or matter cannot be the cause, for they are non-intelligent and incapable of volition. A volition proceeding from chit-intelligence is the source of every movement, of every action, of every vibration. God is the universal cause; God is the will-force that accounts for the worlds from the infinitesimal vibration of the molecules for the thrilling march of the starry galaxy in orbits immeasurable. The Samkhyan, who admit God as the ‘Supreme Being’, make Him (the Lord) an appendage of Prakruti.

    God pervades through every conceivable atom of the universe, occupies every point of space, ever engaged in creation, Preservation, destruction, and, all the rest. This is known as the ‘immanence of God’ in the universe. Wordsworth, Carlyle and many others hold to this view. There is a similar view. “Not a blade of grass waves without Him and all is governed by His volition,, icCha, and is permeated by it. He is present nearer than the nearest, directing everything. This is the concept of ‘omnipresence of God’ defined in Vedanta.

   In Bhagavad Gita, Lord Shri Krishna says, ‘I am the indwelling soul residing within the heart of every creature. I pervade the earth and everything born, and sustain it by my power’.

    Shrutis, the Upanishads declare: ‘He is the hearer, thinker, ordainer, announcer, knower in detail, the inner guide of all beings’.

  Vishnu, the all-pervading supreme reality, is the ‘One without a second’. Cardinal Newman defines God ‘as absolutely self-dependent ‘Being’ and the only ‘Being’ as such’.

   There is a beautiful explanation in Kenopanishad that makes very clear the entire concept of what is God and what is not God. The disciple puts the questions: ‘Who impels the mind to alight on its object? Enjoined by whom does the vital force proceed to function? At whose behest do men utter speech? What Intelligence, indeed, directs the eyes and the ears?  The common sense view that sense faculties, mind and the life force- either each in itself or as a psychophysical combination centering round the body -  are in themselves the ultimate factors in personality. However, there is the suspicion that there is in us something deeper than these- an unrestricted Intelligence that ultimately guides all our mental and physical faculties.

    The answer given to these questions are to be understood carefully.

“It is the Atman, the spirit, by whose power the ear hears, the tongue speaks, the mind understands and life functions. The wise man separates the Atman from these faculties, rises out of sense-life, and attains immortality”. By themselves, these senses are inert. The Atman is the sole intelligent principle in man. By its presence behind our various organs, It enables them to fulfil their respective functions. But not knowing this fact, ignorant man mistakes the senses, mind, etc. to be really intelligent, and, therefore identifies the Atman with them. The wise man, on the other hand, overcomes this identification, realizes his spiritual nature and hence attains immortality. The Atman is beyond the ken (why) of the senses and the mind, It being the source of the intelligence. It cannot be known as other things of the world, i.e., in an objective sense. “One who syas he knows It, does not know It”. It cannot be explained by words like other objects. “It is not this, anything, that the people worship here”.

  It should be very clearly understood that the ‘Atman’ is the ‘Spirit within’ man. It is the source of all faculties of personality; and, it is this Spirit that governs all activities of man. The ‘Atman’ stands for the ‘Spirit within man’ and the ‘Brahman’ stands for the ‘Spirit behind the universe’. To establish unity between the two is ‘to know’ the Reality, ‘the Sat’. This ‘knowing’ is a continuous process and it never ends. “It is knowable but never known”. Thus, the ultimate reality of the creation of this cosmic world, the Universe, is beyond the province of mind and language. 

  There is the ‘Devatmashakti’ that guides the life and activities of all human beings. Here, ‘Deva’ means God  (of religion) and ‘atma’ means the self (of philosophy), and ‘shakti’ means the energy (of science). It also means the self-conscious power, which is inherent in all jeevas, and Deva meaning, the self-luminous.

   ‘Devatmashakti’ also means the source of knowledge, emotions, and will  - the three aspects of the mind. ‘Deva’ stands for knowledge, ‘atma’ for the emotions, and ‘shakti’ for the will. One who puts his heart and soul into all his actions will no doubt achieve all success in his endeavour.

         An ignorant man is usually concerned only with himself and the world. To him, God, the third entity, does not exist. The intelligent man soon finds out, however, that there is some unknown power behind the Universe, which is guiding his destiny. The first part of spiritual practice, therefore, is to realize the existence of this power on which both he and the world depends. At first, this realization is only intellectual.

       The idea of God comes early in the life of individuals. However, with the maturity of intellectual power comes, the real search as to the fundamental character of this power. Sadhana first begins with a separation of God from the Universe, as a being with qualities entirely different from the individual and the world. Subsequently, with the analysis of the individual and the world psychologically and scientifically, the various systems of philosophy come into being. Each system represents a stage in the progress of thought and sadhana. In the final stage of realization in the depths of samadhi, the world and the individual soul, as we know them, vanish entirely and God alone remains. The individual soul gradually acquires all the fundamental characteristics of the world, the world consisting of all dualities such as: gross and the subtle, spirit and the matter, cause and effect. The realization of oneness of Jeeva and Brahman is referred to as ‘Divine Grace’. It also means, that Lord’s Grace is required for the realization of identity. One must understand that the Grace of God is bestowed on a person only after he has reached the limits of self-effort.

       Matter is perishable but God is imperishable and immortal. God rules over all the perishable matters, and the individual souls, too. By meditating upon Him, by uniting with Him in thought, and by becoming one with him, there is cessation of all illusion in the end. With the knowledge of God all fetters fall off; with the waning of ignorance, birth and death cease. Going beyond consciousness of the body by meditating upon Him, one reaches the stage of Universal Lordship, become one without a second-  fulfillment of all desires and attaining Universal Lordship.

         Even those who seek salvation or ‘mukti’ and want to become one with Him should realize that they are aspiring for something what they do not know. To become one with God is just impossible according to Sri Madhwacharya, who is the incarnation of Hanuman and Bhima of the previous Treta and Dwapara Yugas, respectively. Shankara’s commentary on Upanishad lays stress on the great principle, ‘Mahat Tattva’-‘Tat tvam asi’. The great Sage Aruni imparted this Principle to his pupil Svetaketu; Aruni asks Svetaketu to discover this Truth for himself by spiritual practice. But, this has not been properly understood and it is widely believed that God is none else but the One who dwells in oneself. In order to realize this, one has to become God, rather should acquire divine qualities and behave as God Himself dispelling all tamasic and rajasic gunas, and even transcend the Sattvic guna. One should get rid of ari-shadvargas such as desire (kama), anger (krodha), greed (lobha), selfishness (moha), ego (mada), jealousy ( matsarya) and become totally benevolent. One must become pure in mind, heart and soul and attain choiceless awareness,‘poorna prajnya’ state, a state of Supreme Consciousness. This is a tall order for one who comes within the grip of the samsara, bondage and attachment to this earth. Hence,‘God Realization’ is a remote possibility according to Shri Madhwacharya.  He says, “To him, let alone merge with him, even visioning Him is a remote possibility”.

   There are four kinds of ‘mukti’ and there is no equality in bliss among jeevas and that there are degrees of enjoyment graduated and allotted according to the devotee’s worth.

 These four kinds of ‘Bliss’ are: 1.Salokya, 2. Samipya, 3. Sarupya, and 4.Sayujya. God being at the top of everything, He is absolutely an unattainable Perfection of Bliss. The released souls are not absorbed into the Brahman in the sense of attaining identity with the Supreme Being. It is believed that the released souls dwell in Vaikuntha (Salokya of Shriman Narayana) and enjoys bliss in the Divine Presence and Fellowship. This is ‘mukti’ gained after attaining samadhi in Transcendental meditation  turiya avastha in ‘samadhi’ of the great sadhaka.

    It is a fundamental theory in respect to the soul that whatever appertains to it, is an uncreated entity. The capacity of the Jeeva, its aptitudes and tendencies, its joys and sorrows, are the permanent attributes of the soul, undifferentiated from its essence. Hence, the bliss felt in ‘moksha’ is something not created and bestowed on the Mukta, but something which had all along remained latent and inherent in him and which, by the Grace and blessing of God became patent after redemption. It is the soul’s essence that becomes unfolded and the manifest, the obstructions and impediments having been removed by God. Hence, redemption is self-realization, the bliss attained by a mere blossoming of the soul’s essential nature, that too, by the Grace of the Lord.

  As regards erecting temples for Gods and performing puja etc. Pancharatra clearly defines the modus operandi. Pancharatra is all about the science and technology, Shastra, about the details of Plan, construction, installation an d consecration according to Vedic rites idols and methods of worship, etc. It is the archa avatara, the mode of worship of idols with description as stated in the Shastra - having four hands holding conch (shanka symbolic of shabda from which creation starts), Sudarshana chakra -symbolic of Time, mace (gada) and Lotus (padma), or hand postures (mudra) of vara and abhaya, or astra or ayuddha (arms like ankusha, pasha, mace, etc.) symbolic presentation of tools to punish the wicked.   

   All these are prescribed for the beginners who need something to concentrate on during meditation. This involves devotion of the highest order. Later on the devotees need not use these outward worship and, as well, take to concentrate on images within the mind and chant the names. Chakra dhyana, bijakshara dhyana, kundalini etc are advised for advanced upasakas. In all these, the devotees seek liberation, emancipation, mukti, moksha and supreme bliss. The embodied souls seek redemption from rebirths on this earth, considered the mrutyu loka, where old age, sickness and death are a certainty. 

Fear

           Fear is the unknown. Fear is of the unknown. Fear is the other. Love kills Fear; Fear kills love.

            Fear is ignorance. Knowledge kills fear.             

   “In enjoyment there is the fear of illness; in social position there is the fear of calumny; in wealth there is the fear of losing; in fame there is the fear of humiliation; in strength there is the fear of enemies; in beauty there is the

Fear of old age; in scholarship there is the fear of disputants; in virtue there is the fear of traducers; in life there is the fear of death. Indeed everything in this world is accompanied by fear. Renunciation alone leads to fearlessness”.

   Fear complex is one of the inborn qualities of the living beings. This has a tremendous effect on all activities.  In fact, Shri Krishna advises Arjuna to be fearless and face life with courage. This earthly life is for the Dhira, it is said in Bhagavad-Gita. Even in Upanishad, there is ample reference to fear.

  There is a prayer to ward off fear:

    “Oh ‘Indra’, make us fearless of those (sin, enemies, hell) of which we are afraid. O Maghava, destroy that, i.e., the cause of fear that is in us, the devotees. For our protection, destroy our harassing enemies”.

     “The fear is in the mind and the fear is of the mind. The fear is of the unknown and the fear is the unknown. Fear is darkness and fear is ignorance. Fear is of the safety and security, of the protection of the body, protection of the progeny, and the dear ones, and the protection of the wealth, protection of the ‘now’ and the ‘future’. Protection of the body against the diseases, protection of the property, of the wealth, house and property against natural causes.” In Aparokshaanubhuti of Shri Shankaracharya, fear is attributed to ‘duality’ and ‘imperfection’; it can be overcome only by the realization of non-duality. Even the slightest distinction between Jeevatman and Paramatman will cause this fear and delusion. Hence, it may be construed here that as long as jeevas are imperfect fear persists. When duality appears through ignorance, one sees another; but when everything becomes identified with the Atman, one does not perceive another even in the least. In that state when one realizes all as identified with the Atman, there arises neither delusion nor sorrow, in consequence of duaity.

    Our forefathers used to pray the Lord of the Lords, Indra, and the Prayer to the great elements thus:             

    “May ‘Indra’ come to our succour – Indra, who is the giver of welfare on earth, and bliss in the next world; the Lord of the people, who is the layer of vrata, who is the subduer of enemies, and giver of rain; Indra, who is the peaceable and giver of safety, the sun, the earth, air, fire and water; and the king of these, Indra, protect what is dear to all”.

   In reality, there is no safety and security for all things of the world are temporary and perishable in Nature. What is the perishable cannot be saved and what is eternal and limitless does not need any protection.

   If the body is killed, or destroyed, the vital force is not killed. And the Self, the Soul takes a better body of its choice. Death is always for the better since the world is becoming better everyday. Wealth is not of paramount importance since the acquisition and squandering of wealth is always going on.

   There is an interesting aspect of fear. It appears that we all enjoy fear. It seems we all feel a little secure in our hearts in the face of prevailing terrorism, bomb hoaxes, anthrax and such other commotion. We cling to fear for companionship. Fear is a constant companion, and an ever-faithful one. Some deep fears are so personal that we become possessive about them and do not let them go. Fear gives us identity. It makes us feel special. We explain away, rationalize other people’s fears. Our own, we nourish with the love of the self. The fear is also a strong support to the fickle mind since the latter clings to the former. Otherwise we would not spend much of our time in thinking and talking of these alarming sensational news that spreads fear. A little fear in the heart is good!

    Fear talks to us. It tells us the world is bad. By negation one understands oneself as good. So it is comforting. Fear tells us not to venture beyond a point. By implication one feels persecuted by life. One feels sorry for oneself and sits back revelling in self-pity. Fear gives us excuses by telling us something is dangerous or evil. Fear gives us an alibi when inefficient. One actually thinks fear is protecting. But fear is masking the true self from the world and the world from one. The need is to conquer fear. When you are afraid find the cause of the fear and face fear boldly, courageously. It is rare to find a man who is completely devoid of fear. Discarding fear is important.

   Fearlessness means being aware and having knowledge. We fear that of which we know least or do not know at all. Half-baked knowledge is the breeding ground of fear. When we have adequate knowledge, we have less fear. When we face fear boldly, nothing happens; only fear perishes. We should have faith in ourselves. Many fears will vanish with self-confidence; and, all Fears vanish with self-knowledge.

   The Fear is for the attached. The unattached is fearless. The attachment is for the ignorant and not for the knower. So, the prayer is for the removal of ignorance and for enlightenment. The whole world is at the command of the knowledgeable since knowledge is power.

The sacred mantra: “asato ma sadgamaya; tamaso ma jyotirgamaya; mrityor ma amritam gamaya.”

 “O Lord, Lead me from Untruth to Truth; from Darkness to Light; and from Death to Immortality”. The human body is ‘asat’ since it is perishable. It is the body-consciousness that binds us to illusion and we are carried away by illusory world. Getting rid of, or transcending body-consciousness one can realize the Truth, the “Sat’. Tamas is darkness; it is ignorance and transcending body-consciousness one can realize the truth, Knowledge, Light! Mrutyu is death, the death of body. It is ignorance that makes one feel ‘I’ am the body; when body-consciousness is gone by meditation, one realizes the immortality of the Soul, the Atman.

   Real strength is the strength that is unaccompanied by any fear of loss, fear of attacks from enemies, fear of death. What we oedinarily consider strength is not really strength at all; it is the fear that forces us to make efforts to build up some sort of defence. Thus in the greatest worldly security lies also the greatest fear.  True strength is attained only when we feel certain that our real Self shall not in the least be affected, whatever might happen to our worldly interests.

Bhagavad-Gita- An Excellent guide to Mind Control

The Bhagavad-Gita revealed to the First Manu, Vivasvan, the Sun-God, is all about Mind and Consciousness (Ch.IV. verse 1). It is the same pure Consciousness that partakes as Mind due to its pollutants, such as, desire (icCha), attachment (moha), anger (krodha), selfishness (svartha), miserliness (lobha), ego (ahankar/mada), envy (matsarya) and a hundred (kaurava) other qualities detrimental to Realization and emancipation. It is these qualities that create the diverse materialistic, or the phenomenal objective sensuous world.  The jiva gets into trouble due to its over-indulgence in this phenomenal world. The moment it(the jiva) realizes its true nature (satchidananda svarupa)  and the folly due to embodiment, it tries to revert to its original form through yoga.
  Lord Sri Krishna gives an elaborate description of the path of emancipation (yoga marga) such as karma marga, bhaktimarga, jnyanamarga, dhyanamarga, ashtanga yogamarga (with asana and pranayama), etc. He, the Lord, also advises total surrender (sharanagatim) as a very simple method of liberation (mukti).  Thus, the Gita comes handy as a guide to emancipation.

  The fundamental principle enunciated in the Gita is the the "Mind and Consciousness are one and the same as long as the former is pure and unblemished. The moment it acquires any quality (guna) it departs from its pure state and becomes a blemished vibrant mind (chittavrutti). This is the reason why He, the Lord, advises the jiva to to take to yoga (tasmat yogi bhava arjuna |) and advises the jivas (symbolically Arjuna here) and be blemishless (nistraigunyo bhava arjuna |).

  The Bhagavad-Gita comes as an interlude in the epic Mahabharata, in the Bhishma parva. Since Ganapati was requested by Vyasadeva to take the dictation, Ganapati, the Deity of Vidya (Knowledge), had put a condition. The condition was that there should be continuous, uninterrupted dictation and he would quit if there is any delay. Vyasadeva came to a point where he was in  a fix and started dictating this piece of advice to Vivasvan at the beginning of the creation. But, most of  us forget this fact. We do not even think that the epic Mahabharata is a fiction and these characters like the Pandava and Kaurava are not human beings and they are just qualities/characters/guna. To be precise, Pandu was not there when the pandava kids are born. They are mantrasya putrah | children born of mantra.    

   Hence one has to be careful about the interpretation of the scriptures, especially, the Purana. It is important to focus attention on the guna rather than the story depicted or the names and forms described therein.
yogasu karma koushalam ||
  Lord Krishna defines yoga as an intelligent way of performing action, rather without attracting the consequent papa-punya. He, the Lord says, "Nobody can keep quiet. One has to perform action (karma). Do your work without attracting the good or bad results of such action. One can overcome this dilemma, 'to do' or 'not to do' since the action is going to bring the associated fruits of action, results- good or bad, the jiva is advised to surrender to Him all deeds and He would take care of the rest. He assures: yogakshemamamavavyaham | Perform all actions in my name so that you will be relieved of bondage of karma. This is also called phala nirapekshita karma buddhi, or nishkama karma. Mind will be free of tension when there is no intention; job done with a selfless attitude brings more joy and will not bind the jiva to rebirth. This is emancipation.
   It should always be kept in mind that this earth is mrutyu loka and everything deteriorates and disintegrates here. jatasya hi maranam dhruvam. moreover, there is no end to misery, old age, and sickness, and death is certain to all taht is born. No sensible jiva wishes to come back here again and again and suffer the misery. Every jiva fibnlaly has to say, 'enough is enough and quit' But there is no way out of this rut! Hence, the scriptures and the Guru come as a great rescuers of the suffering jivas. Even if the life is not a suffering, the jiva will be bored and fed up with the repetition of the routine mundane life. .

The Nature of Mind

Where is Mind? 

        We all have heard lots of stories about absent-minded Professors. They often forget their spectacles, pen and wrist watch although these are verily present on their own person. Then where is the Mind? The mind is very much present, but it is engaged elsewhere. It can do one task at a time. It cannot think of this here, as well as, of that elsewhere. It always dwells on something. Either it can chant the name of the Lord or indulge in wishful thinking. But, in fact, the mind is omnipresent in the sense that it is a part of the universal mind and each mind is connected with every other mind. Therefore each mind, wherever it may be, can be in communication with the whole world. But, then, to say, ‘I was absent-minded, I did not see it, or I did not hear it’ means that it is the ‘Mind’, the controller of the senses; and, in the absence of the Mind’s active interest, the senses cannot communicate what they have seen or heard. Thus, even though the eyes have seen and the ears have heard, they have not communicated the message to the Mind, or the Mind has just not received the message. The Mind is otherwise engaged and is not responding to the particular sense at that point of time; hence it is said to be absent. Hence, it is called absent-mindedness. But, there is another important aspect of Mind here. Yogins try to achieve a state of Mind wherein they will be able to concentrate on all the various senses and their functions as well as the inner Consciousness. This state of ‘conscious awareness’ is very important and everyone must strive for this attainment. This way, one can explore the Mind as well as utilize the full potential of the Mind. Here, the Mind gets into a transcendental state, a state of contemplation on its own accord. This is the ideal state for meditation! One must learn to be in that state of transecndence as long as possible to realize the Self, the Atman.

         As to the existence of the inner instrument called ‘Mind’, the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad [1.5.3] clearly demonstrates how we can think, rejoice, feel, will, imagine, remember, regret without using any of the ten sense organs (Jnyanendriyas and Karmendriyas); and, that goes to prove that there exists a distinct inner instrument called 'Manas' (Mind). It is also 'Anthahkarana' and it dwells in the 'heart'.

        The Mind can also perform the functions of the sense organs like hearing, feeling, touch and smell without actually using the sense organs; rather, mind can operate on its own and feel the touch, or hear the sound and even see things without the aid of the sense organs. Desire, resolve, doubt, faith or want of faith, steadiness or unsteadiness, shame, intelligence, fear, etc. are all but Mind only. The body consciousness is the mind in action. The slightest touch or a prick makes you aware of it through the presence of mind; and, you will not feel it in spite of the skin touching it if the mind is not connected to it. But, the scientists search in vain for a physical organ called mind. It is essentially an organ, but a subtle one, that exists and operates round the clock.  It is a terrific force that can look backward, skip and jump effortlessly in matter of no time. Hence the question ‘what is Mind’ is easily answered!

       Mind is said to be the ‘anthahkarana’, the inner instrument of the knowing Self, closest to the Self, transparent, and composed of subtle matter. It is not the source of light. There is no consciousness inherent in the mind. The mind receives the radiance of consciousness from the knowing Self, whose inner instrumentit it is, and illuminates all things including physical light. Though having no light of its own the mind appears to be luminous. That is why we often say, ‘I got a flash of new idea!’ New light is shed on a ticklish problem, and ignorance is removed (by knowledge). Shining as it does with borrowed light of consciousness, the mind is an effective instrument of knowledge.    

        Mind has the power of looking back into itself. With the help of mind, we can analyse the mind, and see what is going on in the mind. Just as the hardest substance diamond is cut by diamond itself, the strongest mind can be controlled by mind itself, through will power and rigorous practice. Mind is always present, omnipresent and everybody can feel it, sense it, see -through it, if only efforts are made to learn the technique. One can see through the mind of the others. Mind can be transparent. The effect of a depressed mind or an elated mind is clearly visible on the face. A Jnyani or a wise man of spiritual attainment can exercise his spiritual power to know the mind of others; he can foresee things. Meditation, Dharana, sama and Dama, Prathyahara and such other moral, ethical and spiritual /yogic practices will bring enormous powers to read the mind.

          According to Hindu Manovijnyana, constitution of the mind includes the permutations and combinations of the three Gunas- Tamas, Rajas and Sattva. This explains the variety of human nature and vascillating nature of mind. Many forces dictate the performance of the mind. Mind operaes at different planes or levels like the sub-conscious (lower), conscious (normal) and super -conscious (higher). The last one is the pure state where it is identical with Atman. “Pure mind is pure buddhi and that again is pure Atman” according to Swami Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.

     Mind has four faculties in its operational or functional aspect.

     ‘Manas’ (Mind) is that modification (vibration) of the internal instrument  (Mind) anthahkarana that considers pros and cons of a subject.

     ‘Buddhi’ (Intellect) is that modification (vibration) of the internal instrument (Mind) that determines (discrimination).

     ‘Chitta’ (Thought) is that modification (vibration) of the inner instrument (Mind) that remembers (memory).

        ‘Ahamkara’ (Ego) is that modification of the inner instrument (Mind) that is characterised by self-consciousness.

    In every external perception these four functions of the mind are involved. These four functions are so swift that they appear almost instantaneous.

      The Mind manifests itself in ‘scattering’ (pleasure or pain), ‘darkening’ (dullness which tends to injury), ‘gathering’ (struggling to center itself), ‘one- pointed’ and ‘concentrated’ (Samadhi) conditions. Man feels dull and passive in the ‘darkened’ state and feels restless in ‘scattered’ conditions of the mind.  Yoga helps to make the mind ‘gathered’ and ‘one-pointed’ and this is ‘Mind control’. This helps to prosper in materialistic world as well as spiritual world. This helps to reach Superconsciousness. Thus, such persons who attain this ‘one-pointedness’ will surely shine!      

        Mind, or ‘Chitta’ is the mind-stuff or mental substance. It takes various forms that constitute ‘Vrittis’. Vrittis are thought waves, virtually a whirlpool in the mind-lake, ‘manas sarovar’.  If the mind thinks of an apple, the apple is formed in the mind-lake and if one thinks of milk, milk is formed in the mind-lake. These thoughts of objects go on rising in the form of waves and subside in the mind -lake, ocean of chitta or the sub-conscious one after the other without any break. These Vrittis cause restlessness of mind. These Vrittis, or thought waves, or modifications get transformed as parinama or effects.

        According to Para-psychology, the power of thought is the greatest force. One can achieve anything with the ‘thought force’. Coupled with the ‘thought force’, a strong will, determination, and a strong faith rooted in ‘Ritam and Satyam’ would create wonders. Indian metaphysical science recognizes three fundamental and powerful faculties: Adhyatma Vijnyan, Para Manovijnyan, 'Yoga Vidya’. Even one of these will greatly help solve the problems of life. Contemplation on a thought produces vibrations; as in case of telepathy, we can induce a certain thought process in another person by sheer contemplation. Pure love and pure mind alone can develop this sort of thought force. We know that radio waves can be transmitted to any corner of the world. Both radio waves and thought waves travel through ether and thus we can achieve world peace through yogic practices.

        Mahatma Gandhi, Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King, Mahavira, Gautama Buddha, and others have successfully tried these methods and have swayed the world under their thought force. It is not wrong to say that if a man ‘wills’ something and puts on it a great force of thought like one does through yoga vijnyan then no power on this earth can stop him from achieving his goal. Mahatma Gandhi was a great yogi in this sense and he achieved freedom for the country through peaceful means. He used ‘Shanti’ mantra and ‘Satyagraha’, i.e., pleading for truth (‘Satya’ means truth and ‘agraha’ means pleading through ‘thought force’) to achieve this goal.

      What is this ‘thought force’ or Chitta Vritti? And, how to harness this force? Thought force is the vibration, or waves of thoughts that generate according to our samskara, or memories in the mind. This is called ‘Chitta Vritti”.

      Why do these 'Chitta Vrittis', the thought waves, arise from 'Chitta', the ocean of mind?  The latent impressions (Samskaras) and the subtle desires or the ‘Vaasanas’ cause the thought waves. Thought waves are very powerful. When a Vritti subsides it leaves an ever-lasting impression called ‘samskara’ in the subtle sub-conscious mind. This ‘samskara’ is also the ‘sanchita karma’ or accumulated karma, fruits of past deeds.

       These Vrittis are of two types: 1.Higher Vrittis like kshama, love and piety; 2.Lower Vrittis like anger, lust, and jealousy. Higher Vritti can control the lower Vritti. All the lower Vrittis can be controlled. And, finally all the Vrittis can be controlled. A person who can control his Vrittis shall acquire enormous power and he becomes a ‘Siddha’. Destroying Vrittis we acquire more mental strength (Manas-Shakti) and spiritual strength (Atma-bala). When the Vrittis subside we can see the real Self, just like we can see the floor of the lake when the waves subside and water becomes still. The thought-waves, chitta vrittis cause the disturbances that prevent us from seeing the Atman in the heart (Hridaya Sagara) where the Hridaya Kamala blossoms; it is also the source of sensitivity, ‘anthahkarana’.

       The whole universe is created by Vrittis, the 'thought waves' of Mind only. In other words, it is our 'manobhava', or the psyche, that makes the world. Thought is a finer force supplied by food. If the food is pure, thoughts become pure. One whose thoughts are pure speaks powerfully and produces deep impression on the hearers by his speech. A pure thought is sharper than the razor’s edge. Thought culture is an exact science. Thoughts should be carefully observed and controlled. Thoughts can be transmitted from person to person. One can move the world by thought force. Thoughts of great Yogis are recorded in the Aakasha. We are all surrounded by ocean of thoughts. We are all absorbing some and repelling some of these thoughts. Through yogic practices, we can change impure thoughts into pure thoughts. Due to the thought waves present in the aakasha, Anaahata dhvani comes and these can be heard by pure dhyana and meditation with pure mind and pure heart.

       Thought is as much a thing as a piece of stone. It has weight, colour, shape, size and form. We utter the words, ‘I have a big idea’, or ‘I have got a beautiful plan’. Thought is a dynamic force caused by the vibrations of psychic prana (or sookshma prana) on the mental substance. It is a force like gravitation, magnetism, cohesion, or repulsion. Thought moves and travels. Thoughts have tremendous power; they can heal diseases and produce deep impressions. Thoughts play a very important role in one’s life; that is why, it is said, ‘Yad Bhaavam, tad bhavati’ meaning ‘as you think, so you become’.

        There are symbolic thinking and instinctive thinking like fear of death. There are habitual thinking like going to take bath or food and drink. There is impulsive thinking like lust, greed, or hunger. Instincts are more powerful than impulses and difficult to stop. Thus, human behaviour is controlled by his thoughts.

       Ghora Vrittis or impure thoughts of mind include anger, indignation, resentment, rage, fury, monstrous wrath, etc. Mudha Vrittis are laziness, carelessness and half-sleep state. The three vrittis of causal body are moda, pramoda and priya, these are things that one would like to possess, enjoy and love. Ajnyana Vritti operates in deep sleep. Anger,‘I’ and ‘mine’ are egotistic. All these Vrittis are bad and these should be annihilated by the enquiry, “Who am I”?  This will help totally to eradicate these vrittis. Pranayama will help in controlling these Vrittis. If mula-ajnyana is removed, all Vrittis perish by themselves. Karmendriyas and Gnyanendriyas should be kept under control of buddhi. Meditation will greatly help in controlling Vrittis.           

          Man is in constant pursuit of happiness. Each and every activity of his is directed towards enjoyment and happiness.  He enjoys sensual pleasures with his body; gets emotional joy with his mind, and delights in rational findings with his intellect. It is an unending pursuit of happiness. This pursuit of happiness ends in a person who has realized his Self. He is a happy, contented and fulfilled man who has discovered his supreme Self. The nature of the real Self within is infinite bliss. The mad pursuit of happiness continues till a person realizes his real Self within. He uses his body, mind and intellect towards the enjoyment of worldly pleasure since he is ignorant of the real happiness derived from the inward spiritual journey.

Where the Mind and Senses Cannot Reach

        Kena Upanishad seeks to locate the source of man’s being, and to expand his self-consciousness until it has become identical with God-Consciousness. It seeks to answer the basic questions like the source of all our ‘being’, our existence, and it leads the mind from the gross to the subtle, from effect to cause.            

           It is quite obvious to seek the answer to the question whether the Mind is all-powerful to shape our lives or, there is some other force guiding the Mind to our destiny. This is a very interesting question. Many times we take decisions that are determined by buddhi under the influence of ‘vrittis’, thought force coming from Mind. These determine the actions the consequences of which are not known to us; our descrimination fails here. Many times we fail and suffer. Hence the questions:

         “By whom commanded and directed does the mind go towards the objects? By whose command does the lifeforce, the first cause, move? At whose will do men utter speech? What power directs the eye and the ear?”

       “ Is the Mind all-pervading and all-powerful, or it is just impelled by some other force? Who sends forth the vital energy, without which nothing exist?”

        The answer to all these questions is: “It is the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind, the speech of the speech, the life of the life, and the eye of the eye”.

         An ordinary man hears, sees, thinks, but he is satisfied to know only as much as can be known through the senses; he does not analyse and try to find that which stands behind the ear, or eye or mind. He has no Consciousness of ‘That’ which enables his senses and organs to perform other tasks. Immortality is attained when man transcends his apparent nature and finds that subtle, eternal, and inexhaustible essence which is within him.

      According to Vedic Sages, the mind in its ordinary state is only another sense organ. This mind is limited; but,’when it gets illumined by the light of the cosmic intelligence, ‘the mind of the mind’, then it is able to apprehend the First Cause or that which stands behind all external activities.

       Knowledge means the union between subject and object. This union can be attained only by practise, by contemplation and not by theory. The word knowledge is used ordinarily to signify acquaintance with phenomena only. But, man must transcend this relative knowledge before he can have a clear conception of God. One who wishes to attain ‘Soul-Consciousnrss’ must rise above matter-  ‘Spiritual Consciousness is not merely a question of mind and brain, it depends on the awakening of our latent higher Consciousness’. This explains our predicament in this sensate world.

       Vedanta helps us to develop spirituality through which Self-realization is possible. Vedanta is the sum and substance of all the Vedas and Upanishads. This spiritual knowledge makes us more self-reliant, self-sufficient and independent. It puts us right on top of the world. Spirituality gives us immense happiness that no other source can offer. Spirituality keeps us ever successful, happy, and peaceful. It procures all the material happiness through spiritual practices like Dhyan, Contemplation, and Meditation. The spiritual practices elevate our status and we begin to operate at a higher level. With spirituality, the body, mind and intellect work in harmony and the vision is broadened and deepened. With spirituality, our understanding will be superb and our intuition becomes divine. Success is assured in all our worldly pursuits for success is the result of the divine grace and intuition rather than the efforts of our finite senses and our gross mind.         

        Aruni’s son Svetaketu’s spiritual education as depicted in Chandogya Upanishad highlights the need for, and the significance of ‘shruddha’, or creative faith, for man when confronted by the mystery of unknown behind the known. After 12 years’ stay in the Gurukula from the age of 12 to 24, having studied all the Vedas, Svetaketu returned home conceited, arrogant, and proud, regarding himself as very learned. Aruni asked him, did you ask from your teacher ‘for that teaching (about the one behind the many) through which what is unheard becomes heard, what is unthought of becomes thought of, what is unknown becomes known?

  “Where from all these entities are born, by which, being born, they abide; into which at the time of dissolution, they enter, seek to know that; that is Brahman” (Taittiriya Upanishad, III. 1). In order to know the world, know your Mind. The Mind is the world; your Mind is your World. Prapancha is what you have created around your self, your Mind. You see the world through your Mind. There is no world for you beyond your Mind. As you think so is your world- "Manonmatram Jagat; Manah kalpitam jagat". Your world is constructed bit bit by your own Mind and you dwell in it until finally you shatter it and come out of it! The Mind is everything. It is its own creation and it is its own destruction. It is the Brahman. It is the creator, the sustainer and destroyer. It is the ‘asat’ always changing, dynamic and vibrant; and it is ‘sat’, it is Brahman, the ‘Truth’. Know your Mind, know your Self that is covered by the Mind, you will know the World. That is it. Om! Tat Sat!

       Mind is the repository of wealth. There is a very beautiful story about the secrets of the mind. Once the Gods were discussing where to hide the ‘power that grants everything’ that man wishes for. Some Gods suggested Heaven as the place; but, others said, Man can reach Heaven too, and there is no use of hiding it there. The argument went on and the Gods knew the tenacity and perseverance of Man and finally agreed to hide the power in the Mind of the Man. They all agreed that, “it is one place where he will not search”. Thus, we have enormous resources, wealth that cannot be valued in terms of US Dollars or Gold, Diamond and Platignum hidden in our own Mind. But the waves, the chitta vrittis disturb the still lake of Mind and we cannot see the bottom of the Mind-lake, ‘Manas Sarovar’. When the Mind Lake is clear, undisturbed, one can see the enormous wealth in it. Meditation will help to calm the Mind (by Sama) and see the hidden treasures!

The Nature of Mind

   The Suprme Lord, the Creator, has created Man truly in his own form. He has created the Great Elements: air, water, fire, earth, sun and moon, the stars and their planets. He has created space and time. He has created the rivers, mountains and valleys, plains and swamps. He has created the oceans. He has created from these building blocks all the plants, animals and human beings, of various forms and sizes. Having created these bodies of various sizes and forms according to functions, He gave the ways and means to experience the world of objects and beings. He has given the five sense organs that are the windows to the world of objects. He has given the support and background for experiences of sense objects in the ‘consciousness’. This ‘consciousness’ is the part of the eternal ‘Supreme Consciousness’ by which man sees, hears, tastes, touches and smells. Man enjoys happiness through the means of this ‘Consciousness’.

  The Supreme Creator has also given ‘intelligence’, or ‘buddhi’, which pervades all creations. The ultimate outcome of all these experiences wisely enjoyed is happiness and bliss. Only for this happiness and bliss, the human beings do all righteous deeds as well as resort to crime.

   Mind is the judge that decides the information that the five sense organs feed the sensations to the brain. The brain itself is one of the great wonders of creation that distinguishes man as the creator in the image of his Creator.

   Mind is Brahman. Mind is one of the creations of the Creator that stays with human beings till death. Mind is matter, made of matter and deals only with matter. Mind turns everything into forms and images. Even the limitless space and the eternal time, the mind wants to give shape and form. It wants to hold eternal time and limitless space within itself. Mind has enormous space like the sky, or ‘Akasha’.  The Mind is made of time and place, and, the mind influences and in turn get influenced by the environment in which it lives.

  The mind exists only in relativity and duality. Since the mind is the servant of the ‘ego’, it promotes the body and drives the senses to achieve this superiority. Mind exists with the ‘other’. Since this ‘other’ is the support of the mind, the mind vanishes when the ‘other’ is finished or merged with the person. For this to happen, mind depends on time. Since mind is a factor of time, it wants to beat time and overcome time at all costs. The chief occupation of all human beings, in addition to finding food, is to overcome time.  The mind wants to be at all places at all times, exclusive for others.  In other words, it wants to emulate the Self, or the Soul in us, which is one and only one, whose nature is undivided consciousness. But this universal undivided Consciousness is covered by mind, which is the cause of misery and unhappiness. This mind is like a coloured filter over the light which restricts the intensity, distorts the images and changes the forms and function of the light whose nature is illumination.

  The mind distorts the sensations and the information it receives from the sense organs as good or bad, likes or dislikes, right or wrong as well as mine and others.  Even though any sensation is the same to all beings, it is interpreted as pleasure if it is accompanied by mind; the same sensation turns into pain if it is rejected by the mind. If the sensation experienced is not very common, it becomes exclusive and it boosts the ego. Therefore, the humans go to climb the mountains, swim oceans, read and write volumes of books, and tortures oneself standing on fire. These sensations satisfy the ego but dulls the mind and the senses. 

  Mind is finite and limited. It is a factor of the past and touches only upto the present. It cannot think of the unknown. It stops when it faces the limitless and the eternal. When it looks at the sky, or stares at the mountains or ocean, it stops. It looks itself and it is no more. It has become as large and formless that it has lost its ‘being’. When the mind is no more what is experienced is bliss. Otherwise, whatever mind thinks is only sensation. When it is free from all thoughts, all impurities, it is no more. Mind is active when it is active or worrying. All thoughts good or bad, holy or unholy, noble or disgusting, evolving or depressing, all are impurities. To be free from all thoughts is to be free from all impurities. When all these impurities are removed the mind is one with ‘pure consciousnesses.

     The mind is the creator of sensations. It is the super creator. It creates images; it sees images in the absence of objects. It hears sounds when there is silence. It smells when there is no odour.  It tastes food when there is no food.  It imagines when there is nothing. It creates during waking hours as well as in dreams.

      Since it is the nature of the mind to think in terms of only images, in terms of finite and limited forms, it has no intelligence. The intellect is the tool; the mind makes use of it for achieving its goals. When the mind is associated with the intellect, it becomes thinking or planning. Devoid of intelligence, it is only worrying or imagining. The faculty of intelligence is normally made use of by the mind during the waking hours since it is not very far from reality during this waking period. Impossible things are created by the mind during the dream sequences.

         Mind is time and mind is anxiety. The mind is always in becoming and reaching. Mind is never now and here. Mind is ‘there’ and ‘afterwords’. Suppose we are in a journey and we are eager to reach the destination, the journey becomes irrelevant. We are eager and anxious to reach the destination. However, fast we are traveling, we feel it is very slow. This urge to beat the time and space and reach the destination or goal is the mind. In case we are on a holiday and we are enjoying the journey, the destination becomes irrelevant. The journey itself becomes goal and we enjoy every moment of it. The journey is here and now. When there is no desire to reach, mind is no more and there is no more ‘time’. More time it takes, we are happier.

  As long as our ‘doing’ itself becomes the goal, as long as the journey itself is the goal, we are free from time. There is no ‘reaching’ or ‘becoming’. It is ‘here’ and ‘now’. There is no time in the dynamic movement that is its own end. This is a very simple formula of getting rid of tension and anxiety, and, hence sickness. Here, the Rule of Mind Management Technique is: “Enjoy whatever you are doing; Totaly involve yourself in it”.

 Students who are worried about examinations should carefully note this. As long as their destination is passing the examinations and obtaining the degree certificates, they will have anxiety and tension. This very anxiety and tension will prevent them from achieving their goal. But, the moment they realize that ‘learning’ and not the ‘examination’ is their goal, tension and anxiety ceases to be, and learning becomes a pleasure.  Learning should be the goal rather than the examination.  When learning becomes the goal than mere passing examination, the tension and anxiety of passing examination disappears.

    Mind is the filter. It blocks the reality and the truth when the mind ‘is’ and truth ‘is not’. When the mind is present, the reality is far off. Mind is thoughts, mind is desire and mind is imagination. When the mind is working, it is not in touch with ‘now’ and the real. Mind is projecting, imagining, thinking and worrying. It is in the grip of illusion. Mind is the illusion and mind is ‘Maya’.

   Mind is darkness and is made of ignorance. Mind is the product of past. Mind is matter and all matter is gross, however pure it is. Only when the matter ceases to be, it becomes light and takes off. All matter is packet of light and energy. Mind is the mass and therefore, rooted to earth and bodies. Mind can think of bodies, forms, limited and finite; when the mind is face to face with the unlimited and eternal, it becomes silent. Mind has stopped. Only reality ‘is’ when the mind ‘is not’ there.

                   Mind is matter and all thoughts are impurities.

                The impurities of Mind are the urges, impulses, and emotions like envy, hatred, anger, fears, jealousy, lust, greed, conceit, temptation, etc. born out of rajas and tamas- the two lower Gunas. These create disturbance in the mind by creating raga, attachment and dvesha, aversion and thus rob us of peace and tranquility. These impurities cover the pure shining ‘consciousnesses. The consciousness is ever present and even awake. It is one and is the purest. This mind, which is nothing but thoughts, the desire of objects and perishable things, which has no reality, covers this consciousness. Just as the pure mirror is covered by dust and smoke and obstructs vision and reflection, so also this mind covers the pure consciousness and the reality.

               This mind is ‘Maya’. The illusion that brings about further creation of perishable and finite objects that further covers our pure consciousness.  This mind cannot overcome ‘Maya’, the illusion, since the mind itself is ‘Maya’, the illusion. It cannot eliminate self. It is just like lifting our own weight by ourselves. The mind can be removed or dissolved by the ‘Higher Being’, the Self or the Soul. Since the mind is the creation of the Supreme Self, and the soul or the individual self has taken a body due to its inseparable attachment to mind, this Maya can be overcome only by the Supreme Self by the Grace of the Lord Almighty. If we take one step in this direction, He will take a million or a billion steps to redeem us or liberate us from this illusion or grip of the mind, called ‘Maya’.

                     ‘Avruti, the veiling power is the effect of the preponderant tamas, which makes things appear other than which they are. It is this ‘aviveka’ that causes the action of the projecting power. Absence of right judgment or contrary judgment, want of definite belief and doubt are the result of the veiling power due to the preponderant tamas aided by tamasic food samskara. Hence, the projecting power, the ‘ignorance’ gives ceaseless trouble.’ [Viveka Chudamani, III. 13-15].

                   Hence, an austere life, sattvic food, and devotion to the Supreme Lord, the Almighty, and total surrender to Him will deliver us from all the troubles and ceaseless transmigration and bring everlasting peace.   

EXPLORING THE HUMAN MIND

  The study of human mind is a vast field covering all branches of science as well as philosophy- encompassing the ‘without’ and the ‘within’ of Man. The holistic or the systems view of mind seems perfectly consistent with both the scientific and the mystical views of consciousness, and thus to provide the ideal framework for unifying the two. The systems view agrees with the conventional scientific view that consciousness is a manifestation of complex material patterns- a manifestation of living systems of a certain complexity. Biological structures of these systems are expressions of system’s self-organization, i.e. mind. In mystic view it is manifestation of cosmic mind- direct experience of cosmic consciousness goes beyond the scientific approach. The systems view gives a more meaningful scientific framework for approaching the age -old questions of nature of life, mind, consciousness and matter.

   Human beings who evolved as social animals cannot keep well, physically or mentally, unless they remain in contact with other human beings. Human kind emerged through the very process of creating culture and needs this culture for its survival and further evolution- mutual interaction display similar patterns of self-organization.

   It is the nature of the mind to be creative. According to Vedanta, “Creative intelligence is in-born; it comes attached to the soul and the prana. It is the driving force, the sustainer, Vishnu, Sri Hari Narayana”. Modern science also recognizes this fact. The more the depths of the mind are plumbed, the more abundantly they produce. (Capra, F.pp.50-51). According to Paul MacLean, the human brain consists of three structurally different parts, each endowed with its own intelligence and subjectivity, which stem from different periods of our evolutionary past.

    The brain stem is the innermost part of the brain. It is concerned with instinctive behavior patterns already exhibited by reptiles. It is responsible for many kinds of compulsive behavior and biological drives. Surrounding the brain stem is the limbic system, which is well developed in mammals and in the human brain- involved with human emotions and expression.

    Subcortex- the two innermost parts of the brain are strongly inter-connected and express themselves non-verbally through a rich spectrum of body language. The outermost part, the neo-cortex facilitates higher abstract functions, such as thought and language. The neocortex originated in the earliest evolutionary phase of mammals and expanded in the human species at an explosive rate. It got stabilized about 50,000 years ago. This explosive rate at which it got stabilized is astonishing and unprecedented in evolutionary history.

   By developing our capacity for abstract thinking at such a rapid pace, we have lost touch with the realities of life and have become the only creatures who often fail to cooperate with and even kill their own kind- not one or two, but the whole of mankind. Our evolution continues to offer us freedom of choice. We can constantly alter our values and attitudes to regain the spirituality and ecological awareness we have lost.

    Living organisms are intrinsically dynamic. Their visible forms are stable manifestations of underlying processes. Process and stability are compatible only if the process form rhythmic patterns- fluctuations, oscillations,, vibrations, waves. The new biology shows fluctuations are 2crucial in the dynamics of self-organization. They are the basis of order in living world; ordered structures arise from rhythmic patterns.

   The components of ecosystems are inter-linked through cyclical exchanges of matter and energy; civilizations rise and fall in evolutionary cycles; and the planet as a whole has its rhythms and recurrences as it spins on its axis and moves around the sun. Rhythmic patterns allow individuals to express their distinctive personalities.

    The mind is responsible for the dualities. The subject and the object; the seer and the seen, the perceiver and the perceived are all better explained as maya; but the physical science tries to go deep into these aspects in the “Unified Field Theory”.

    The Vedantic truth of the unity of the Consciousness -Field will become revealed to sub-atomic physics when it resolves its present contradiction involved in viewing its ‘observer’ in terms of classical physics, while viewing its ‘observed’ in terms of the quantum field probabilities.

     In his book, ‘The Cerebral Cortex and The Mind of Man’, the neurologist Wilder Penfield states:

   “In a sense, therefore, the higher brain stem, together with that portion of the cortex which is being employed at the moment, is the seat of consciousness. It is the ‘physical basis of mind’, this hypothetical mechanism of nerve cell connections. When a man is conscious, one may conceive that, within his brain, impulses are passing along a million insulated nerve fibers that compose this complex, impulses that are some how, coordinated into the orderly sequences of deliberate thought.” 

    “What is the relationship of this mechanism to the mind? Can we visualize a spiritual element of different essence capable of controlling this mechanism? When a patient is asked about the movement of a part of his body, which he carries out as the result of cortical stimulation, he never is in any doubt about it. He knows he did not Will the action. He knows there is a difference between the automatic action and voluntary action. He would agree that something else finds its dwelling place between the sensory complex and the motor mechanism, that there is a switchboard operator, as well as a switch board”. Nature has given man alone, among all her species, the organic capacity, through his cerebral system to detach consciousness from thralldom to the organic system and refine it and raise it to higher and higher levels; and this is the role of evolution at the human stage.

The Bhagavad-Gita on Mind Control

    The Bhagavad-Gita is a treatise on Manas (Mind) and Manoniyantran (Mind Control). It dates back to 14^th century B.C. It deals with the true nature of the individual and of the supreme reality, and knowledge and wisdom. When you come to the Gita, you have the presentation of truth in all its simplicity, which helps us to take us through life’s problems. It frees us from all attachments to joys and sorrows, so that we may be attached to truth only. It gives us absolute calmness and a freedom from all conditionings- external and internal. It gives us independence and freedom; what more does on require? One who attains this remains fresh, in spite of life’s aging and retains the freshness of a new- born baby till his death. This is the philosophy of Bhagavad-Gita that helps us to remain fresh at the end of the journey as at the beginning.

      Man wants a good deal of guidance. The Bhagavad-Gita is an eternal source of strength and guidance. It gives us the whole philosophy of life in the famous oft-repeated mantra:

    ‘Karmanyeva adhikarasthe maa phaleshu kadaachana’.

    Meaning, ‘Your rights are only in your duty, never in the fruits’.   

    Our ancient sages were bold enough to ask the students to challenge the teachers. Love of truth and reason dominated their lives and works. They were undeterred by fear of blame or lure of fame. The reality as enunciated in all vedas and upanishads is the product of sustained philosophical inquiry. No other religion or philosophy in the world is so open and challenging as our ‘sanatana dharma’, which came to be known as the ‘Ancient Hindu Religion’. Its values hold good for all times to come. It is universal and more scientific and forms the basis of modern science and technology. The roots of modern physics explaining field theory or nuclear energy and molecular biology or psychiatry are evident in the Vedas and culminated in the Upanishads, the vedanta, the sum and substance of which are found in Bhagavad-Gita.          

    Sri Krishna stands for ‘Consciousness’. He dominated the scene in Mahabharata. He was highly respected by one and all; the kings and the lowliest of the lowly men. He was totally detached. He did not want any kingdom for himself. He etched out a place for himself in every heart by his sheer love as “Gopala’, the Cowherd- the Master of the Sattva Guna personified by the cow. People believed Sri Krishna to be incarnation of God, or ‘avatara’ of God. He gave ‘divya drishti’ to Arjuna and revealed the “Divya Swaroopa’ of the Almighty since the normal bodily eyes of Arjuna could not sustain the power of the Lord. This is yet another clue to those who want to vision God in their normal sensate body and mind.