Raja Yoga, Message 5
Vrittis — Modifications of the Mind
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali commence:
"Now, then, an enquiry into Yoga." (I-1)
"Yoga is the restraint of the modifications of the mind." (I-2)
"The mental modifications are five kinds, some painful and others not painful." (I-5)
If you want to restrain the modifications it is necessary for you to have a comprehensive understanding of them.
The painful vrittis have to be controlled by the non-painful vrittis and these in turn have to be mastered by absolute non-attachment or dispassion or indifference to sensual enjoyments. The painful modifications are those which bring afflictions and which become the field for the growth of the vehicle of actions.
"Right knowledge, wrong knowledge, imagination, memory and sleep are the five modifications." (I-6)
"Right knowledge is direct perception or inference or testimony." (I-7)
Right knowledge is that which is unquestionable, reliable and true. Right knowledge is right cognition. Wrong knowledge is misconception.
Right knowledge is a help or step to attain knowledge of the Self. It is of no use for one who is resting in his own native divine glory. A full-blown yogi depends on his own realisation for his knowledge. He is not in need of these proofs. An ordinary man depends on direct perception only for his knowledge. A man who has advanced a little depends on direct perception and inference. One who is a little more advanced depends on these two proofs, plus testimony.
Direct perception is that knowledge which is caused by direct contact of any of the five senses of knowledge — ear, eye, tongue, skin and nose — with the objects of knowledge. If there is no contradiction in your two perceptions, you can call it a proof or right cognition. If there is contradiction you begin to doubt at once. You see a river or mountain. You feel heat and cold. You taste an orange or mango. These are all direct cognitions. There cannot be any contradictions in these experiences.
If there is a flood in a river you infer that there must have been heavy rain on the previous day. If you see smoke, you infer that there must be fire. These are all inferences. Inference is knowledge produced by a previous knowledge of the relation between a characteristic mark and the possessor of the mark. You see a clear sign and from that you come to the thing signified. You see a table and infer that the table must have been made by a carpenter. You see the external universe and thereby infer that there must be a Creator. This is inference.
Testimony and apta vakyam are synonymous terms. A competent person is an apta. He is omniscient. He is a seer or sage who has direct knowledge. The whole book of inner knowledge or knowledge of the Self is revealed to him like a fruit in the hand. His words serve as direct authority. There can never be any mistake in his statements. His words are infallible. All his words are gospel-truths. He has derived super-intuitional knowledge beyond the senses through asamprajnata samadhi. His words will not contradict reasoning and past human experiences.
"Wrong knowledge is false perception whose real form is not of its own." (I-8)
Wrong knowledge is when the essential nature of a thing does not appear, and a false form appears in its stead. I will give you clear illustrations: Mother-of-pearl is mistaken for silver, a post is mistaken for a man, a rope is mistaken for a snake. Wrong knowledge is wrong cognition brought about by some defect either in the object itself or in the means leading to it. Doubt is also included in this.
"Imagination follows from mere words which are nothing in reality." (I-9)
As instances of imagination we have: 'horns of a hare', 'son of a barren woman', 'lotus in the sky', etc. The difference between imagination and wrong knowledge lies in the fact that imagination can hardly be removed by a careful observation of the object, as wrong knowledge is. As soon as you closely observe the notion of silver in the mother-of-pearl, or snake in the rope, it disappears.
Imaginary fears of various sorts, exaggeration, concoction, mental dramatization and building castles in the air are all due to the power of imagination. Even a perfect man full of health has some imaginary disease or other due to the power of imagination of the mind. Much energy is wasted on account of imaginary fears. A man may have a little weakness or fault. When he becomes your enemy you at once exaggerate and magnify his weakness and faults.
This is due to the power of imagination.
Whenever the minds of two friends are strained by ill-feelings, these minds begin to exaggerate and concoct things. Fault-finding nature increases. It is very difficult to get at the truth of the statements of these friends with a broken friendship. Their utterances are always coloured by their inner feelings. The power of imagination plays havoc now.
I shall explain to you the nature of 'mental dramatisation'. Mark the ways of the mind. During conversation with your friends the mind sometimes imagines in vain that it has hurt the feelings of your friend. It spends much of its energy in unnecessary feelings. You think: "How can I see him tomorrow morning? He may be displeased with me."
Next morning when you meet him nothing happens. Your friend starts a pleasing conversation and smiles. You are surprised. To your great astonishment, the subject of talk takes quite a different turn altogether. A family man imagines when a severe epidemic of plague ravages: "What shall I do if my wife develops plague and dies now? I have got six children." This is his vain imagination. Nothing happens. Sometimes when the train moves slowly on the Pamban Bridge over the sea near Rameshwar, the mind imagines: "If the bridge gives way now, what will become of me? I will be smashed to pieces." A touch of fear creeps in. There are a thousand and one ways of mental dramatisation like these. The power of imagination plays a vital part in mental dramatisation.
Here are other examples. There is a rumour that there is cholera in George Town, Madras; the man in Park Town falsely imagines that he will get cholera. He worries and actually gets cholera out of fear. Your friend did not talk to you as he was running in haste to catch the train; you imagine that he was offended. There was a rumour that a riot broke out in London; you falsely imagine that your son who was studying in London might have died.
Eradicate these modifications through enquiry. Do not identify yourself with any modification. Identify yourself with Brahman and rest peacefully forever.
Right knowledge, wrong knowledge and imagination are enjoyed in the waking state, and the subtle desires of these are enjoyed in dream.
"Sleep is a modification of mind which has the cause of nothingness as its support." (I-10)
Sleep manifests when there is preponderance of inertia (tamas), when purity (sattva) and activity (rajas) subside and when there is no knowledge of the external world. Ordinary people think that there is complete absence of vrittis in sleep. It is not so. As there is memory in you when you wake up, and as you say when you wake up: "I slept soundly; I knew nothing," there ought to have been a particular kind of subtle wave in the mind during sleep. It should not be understood that sleep is not a transformation or vritti of the mind. If it were so, the remembrance, "I slept soundly," would not follow on waking, for you never remember what you have not experienced.
Sleep is not merely a state of inactivity or passive repose. In this state the causal body functions vigorously.
The associated consciousness is also present. It has deep philosophical significance. The individual soul is almost in close contact with the Absolute. Just as a thin layer of muslin veils the face of a lady and renders it invisible to the eyes of her husband, so also a thin layer of ignorance separates the individual soul and the Supreme Soul. Vedantins study this state very deeply and carefully. It gives the clue for non-dual philosophers to trace, search and find out the hidden silent witness.
The Mother of this world takes the individual souls back to Her and Her Lord during deep sleep, hugs them to Her bosom, bestows on them refreshing peace, new vigour, vitality and strength, and makes them quite fit for the ensuing battle of life on the following day. But for this sleep, life would be absolutely impossible in this physical plane where misery, diseases, cares, worries, fears and anxieties of various kinds trouble man every second. If a man does not get sound sleep even for one night, if he loses his sleep one night for three hours by keeping watch over a sick patient or attending the cinema, how miserable, gloomy and depressed he feels the next day!
Sleep is a particular kind of vritti. This must be controlled like other vrittis if you want to enter into samadhi.
"Memory is the 'not slipping away' of the objects perceived." (I-11)
Remembrance is a function brought into being entirely by the impression left by former experience. Knowledge produced by recollecting impressions of past experiences is memory. The objects cognised do not slip away from the mind. They come back to the surface of the conscious mind through the influence of latent tendencies that are imbedded in the subconscious mind.
The above five kinds of vrittis come under the three categories of pleasure, pain and delusion.
Samskaras
"To the man of discrimination all is painful indeed, due to the consequences, anxiety and samskaras (impressions) and also to the contradictions of the functioning of the gunas (qualities of nature)." (II-15)
Every action, every desire, every enjoyment or suffering and in fact all experiences leave in the camera-plate of the subconscious mind subtle impressions or residual potencies (samskaras), which are the root cause for future births, life and the experiences of pleasure and pain.
A samskara or an experience is formed or developed in the subconscious mind the very moment when the mind is experiencing something. There is no gap between the present experience and the formation of an impression in the subconscious mind. Revival of these impressions induces memory. The sum total of these samskaras that are lodged in the subconscious mind constitutes what is called prarabdha — the portion of karma that determines one's present life.
Just as matter and energy are indestructible, so also samskaras are indestructible, but they are destroyed by the fire of wisdom and the highest state of samadhi.
The yogi dives deep inside and comes in direct contact with these samskaras. He directly perceives them through his yoga vision. By samyama (concentration, meditation and samadhi) on these samskaras he acquires knowledge of previous lives. By samyama on the samskaras of others he gets knowledge of their past lives also.
All neophytes in the spiritual path experience a sort of tug-of-war between the old sensual samskaras and the newly generated spiritual samskaras 'rising up' and then 'falling down'. When they grow purer and purer they will not be dragged down by the worldly samskaras.
A drawing notebook is nothing but paper with some pictures. When the pictures are erased by a rubber the notebook contains blank sheets of paper only. Even so, when the samskaras in the mind are erased by meditation and samadhi, mind is nothing but Brahman only. The mind of a worldly man is a bundle of samskaras; the mind of a sage is Brahman only.
The ignorant man is an instrument in the hands of his samskaras and karma. He slowly gains strength by understanding his real and essential nature, by doing spiritual practices and by renouncing desires and egoism.
Gunas
Sattva, rajas and tamas are the three gunas or qualities of the chitta (subconscious mind). Sattva is purity, light or knowledge. Rajas is passion or activity. Tamas is inertia or darkness. Sattva is the inherent quality of the chitta. Chitta is born of sattva guna, but when it mixes with rajas and tamas all the worldly taints manifest.
No guna can exist by itself. The three gunas exist in a state of combination and cannot be separated like so many particles, distinct from one another. By checking rajas and tamas you can increase sattva; and when there is a preponderance of sattva, rajas and tamas are controlled; but they lurk in the mind for the time being. When sattva increases the mind becomes steady like the flame of a lamp in a windless place. He who is sattvic can do real concentration and meditation and can enter into samadhi easily. Your important duty is to increase sattva and to control the senses and the mind. Other duties are secondary. A sensible man only can understand this point. When there is increase of sattva there is brightness and brilliance in the face, lightness in the body, joy, purity, strength, peace and illumination. When there is a preponderance of rajas, sattva and tamas are controlled. When there is a preponderance of tamas, sattva and rajas are controlled. A rajasic man loves power and objects of senses. A tamasic man does vicious actions on account of ignorance.
From your look and behaviour one can find out what sort of guna is prevailing in you. There is always a mixture; but the preponderant element can be found. You can find out the rajasic temperament in a man; he has the rajasic look, he likes gaudy rajasic dress and rajasic food, he will be ever engaged in worldly activities. He wants to lord over people. He has a domineering attitude. He wants power, prestige and position. He is much attached to wife, children and property.
You can at once spot the sattvic man who wears a japa mala around his neck, who is humble and simple in demeanour, wears simple dress and eats simple sattvic food. He will be ever God-loving, dispassionate and powerful. He has a calm, serene mind, always enquiring into the nature of the world and the nature of the Self; always immersed in a meditative mood, with a natural inclination to study books of spiritual nature and to live in solitude.
If you have a desire for onion and garlic, for meat and mutton, it shows you have a rajasic nature. It will disturb the peace of your mind and excite the lower passions. Food plays a prominent part in shaping your nature. Look at an elephant; it eats only leaves and vegetables. How calm it is, in spite of its enormous size and strength! Look at the tiger, on the other hand. In spite of its smallness, how cruel and dangerous it is! The nature is in conformity with the food.
The whole manifested universe is made up of the three gunas. Modification of these gunas constitutes all sorts of immovable and moving things. The gunas change every minute and produce the various phenomena of nature.
"The past and the future exist in their real nature due to the difference in the condition of the gunas." (IV-12)
As the effect is contained in a subtle state in the cause itself, that which is in a state of contraction attains the state of expansion, just like the tree from the seed. The substance exists always. The outer coverings change according to the changes of coverings of the gunas or qualities. As gunas change, difference in feeling also occurs. Changes take place like a continuous current. The future is a manifestation which is to be; the past is the experience which has been experienced; the present is that which is in active operation. We have these three periods of time with reference to a marked indicative point. The seeds of everything exist in a subtle state. That is the reason why samyama (concentration, meditation and samadhi) on the three transformations or changes produces knowledge of the past, present and future.
"They (the characteristics), whether manifest or subtle, are of the nature of gunas or qualities." (IV-13)
These characteristics are of the nature of the manifested when they exist in the present and are of the nature of the subtle when they are passed into the past, or are as yet unmanifested. They are all of the nature of gunas. In truth, the world is only gunas. "The reality of things is the result of the unity of modifications." (IV-14)
As one guna is prominent and the other two are subordinate there is only one effect. When the sattva guna is predominating and rajas and tamas are under subordination, the organs of knowledge are formed. When rajas is preponderating and the sattva and tamas are under subordination, the organs of action are formed. Each of these modifications is always known as one.
The strong current of modifications of the mind will be directed along the virtuous path if sattva is predominating in the mind. The man will do virtuous actions and thoughts of God will manifest. His mind will be one-pointed and the meditative mood will come by itself without exertion. If rajas and tamas predominate, the mental current and mental energy flow along a vicious path and the man will do vicious actions. The sattvic mental current will make you turn inward and take you to kaivalya or moksha, while rajasic and tamasic currents will throw you down in samsara.
In spiritual neophytes the sattvic state of mind will not last for a long time. Rajas and tamas will try to rush in. You will have to be very vigilant and watch the mind through thoughtful introspection.
Just as you squeeze out the toothpaste from the collapsible tube, you will have to squeeze out all rajas from this bodily tube and fill it with sattva. Then you will become a dhyana yogi.
The gross impurities of the mind — rajas and tamas — should be removed by heating the mind with the fire of dispassion (vairagya) and practice (abhyasa).
By increasing the sattvic modifications of the mind such as forgiveness, love, mercy, magnanimity, generosity, truthfulness and celibacy, you can destroy the rajasic and tamasic modifications.
Vrittis that emanate from rajas and tamas are all painful ones. All vrittis that proceed from sattva are not painful. Sattvic vritti or emotion is quiet. Rajasic vritti or emotion is terrible and tamasic vritti is confused.
Mercy, forbearance, generosity and courage are sattvic emotions. Desire, affection, attachment and avarice are rajasic emotions. Infatuation, fear, sloth and carelessness are tamasic emotions. Rajasic and tamasic emotions are of a turbid nature. Hence, they are not capable of receiving a reflection of the blissful nature of Atman but they can receive reflection of intelligence. Fire has heat and light. Boiled water takes the heat of fire but does not take the power of giving light. Even so, rajasic and tamasic emotions present a reflection of intelligence but not of bliss. Burning wood partakes of both heat and light. Even so, sattvic emotions present a reflection of both blissfulness and intelligence.
Sattva is jnana shakti (the power of knowing), rajas is kriya shakti (the power of acting) and tamas is dravya shakti (the power of substantiality). Manas or mind and the five organs of sensation are born of sattva. Prana and the five organs of action are born of rajas. The five elements — ether, air, fire, water and earth — are born of tamas. Air is a modification of ether; fire is a modification of air; water is a modification of fire; earth is a modification of water.
Action that proceeds from the basis of sattva cannot bind a man, but the action that springs from the basis of tamas will lead to bondage. The former is no karma at all. It is burnt in the fire of wisdom. The latter is an offspring of selfishness. For instance, in the Ramayana Sri Rama fought with Ravana, but the basis was sattva. In the case of Ravana the basis was tamas, though in both the action of 'fighting' was the same.
Rajas creates oscillation of the mind. Activity proceeds when rajas is mixed either with sattva or tamas. You do noble actions and exhibit noble virtues when the basis for action is sattva. Craftiness, meanness, hypocrisy and deceit emanate when the basis for action is tamas.
In the beginning, when you are passionate, you show bitterest feelings of spite and revenge towards your enemies. As you advance in spirituality by selfless service and meditation these feelings of hatred soften down gradually to simple indifference only. Later on when you advance a step further, when your mind is filled with more sattva (purity), even this indifference vanishes. You will develop intense love for them. You will develop pure equal vision.
If anyone talks much, eats much or moves much he cannot have an inner life in Atman. He has a mind with out-going tendencies and out-going energies. His mind is filled with the quality of rajas.
Do not mistake the promptings of the lower mind for the voice of the soul. The higher mind, which tends towards virtue, is sattvic mind. This higher mind elevates man. It guides him. It acts as a true preceptor. You should try to hear the voice of the sattvic mind. If a wrong action is done the sattvic mind will prick you. This is the sign to know that the action is bad. If there is joy and elevation of the mind, the act is a righteous one. The mind which tends towards luxury and evil is the lower (rajasa-tamasic) mind. This mind is the cause for one's downfall.
Annihilate rajas and tamas by increasing sattva. You will be quite safe.
Meditation is done with the help of the mind. Mind is an effect of ignorance. Through the effect the cause (Brahman) is to be known. Mind that is filled with rajas and tamas is insentient. A sattvic mind that is equipped with the four means is Brahman itself. It is a mass of effulgence. The scriptures emphatically declare: "Through the (pure) mind only, is Brahman to be seen or realised." In meditation or yoga there is an indescribable power which takes the individual soul to the Supreme Soul.
Tread the path of Truth or the path of Self-realisation, even though with faltering steps. You must have the highest ideal before you, then you are bound to succeed. All obstacles will vanish like mist before the sun. Be not troubled, be not anxious if there is a little delay in the descent of the divine light. Do not grieve, do not despair. Be regular in your meditation. Never cease to strive. You will reach the goal soon. The way to freedom or moksha is thrown open to you now. March boldly on the spiritual path.
Within you is hidden God; within you is the immortal soul; within you is the inexhaustible spiritual treasure; within you is the fount of joy and happiness; within you is the ocean of bliss. Look within for this happiness which you have sought in vain in the perishable sensual objects. Rest peacefully in your own Atman and drink the nectar of immortality.
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Vrittis — Modifications of the Mind
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali commence:
"Now, then, an enquiry into Yoga." (I-1)
"Yoga is the restraint of the modifications of the mind." (I-2)
"The mental modifications are five kinds, some painful and others not painful." (I-5)
If you want to restrain the modifications it is necessary for you to have a comprehensive understanding of them.
The painful vrittis have to be controlled by the non-painful vrittis and these in turn have to be mastered by absolute non-attachment or dispassion or indifference to sensual enjoyments. The painful modifications are those which bring afflictions and which become the field for the growth of the vehicle of actions.
"Right knowledge, wrong knowledge, imagination, memory and sleep are the five modifications." (I-6)
"Right knowledge is direct perception or inference or testimony." (I-7)
Right knowledge is that which is unquestionable, reliable and true. Right knowledge is right cognition. Wrong knowledge is misconception.
Right knowledge is a help or step to attain knowledge of the Self. It is of no use for one who is resting in his own native divine glory. A full-blown yogi depends on his own realisation for his knowledge. He is not in need of these proofs. An ordinary man depends on direct perception only for his knowledge. A man who has advanced a little depends on direct perception and inference. One who is a little more advanced depends on these two proofs, plus testimony.
Direct perception is that knowledge which is caused by direct contact of any of the five senses of knowledge — ear, eye, tongue, skin and nose — with the objects of knowledge. If there is no contradiction in your two perceptions, you can call it a proof or right cognition. If there is contradiction you begin to doubt at once. You see a river or mountain. You feel heat and cold. You taste an orange or mango. These are all direct cognitions. There cannot be any contradictions in these experiences.
If there is a flood in a river you infer that there must have been heavy rain on the previous day. If you see smoke, you infer that there must be fire. These are all inferences. Inference is knowledge produced by a previous knowledge of the relation between a characteristic mark and the possessor of the mark. You see a clear sign and from that you come to the thing signified. You see a table and infer that the table must have been made by a carpenter. You see the external universe and thereby infer that there must be a Creator. This is inference.
Testimony and apta vakyam are synonymous terms. A competent person is an apta. He is omniscient. He is a seer or sage who has direct knowledge. The whole book of inner knowledge or knowledge of the Self is revealed to him like a fruit in the hand. His words serve as direct authority. There can never be any mistake in his statements. His words are infallible. All his words are gospel-truths. He has derived super-intuitional knowledge beyond the senses through asamprajnata samadhi. His words will not contradict reasoning and past human experiences.
"Wrong knowledge is false perception whose real form is not of its own." (I-8)
Wrong knowledge is when the essential nature of a thing does not appear, and a false form appears in its stead. I will give you clear illustrations: Mother-of-pearl is mistaken for silver, a post is mistaken for a man, a rope is mistaken for a snake. Wrong knowledge is wrong cognition brought about by some defect either in the object itself or in the means leading to it. Doubt is also included in this.
"Imagination follows from mere words which are nothing in reality." (I-9)
As instances of imagination we have: 'horns of a hare', 'son of a barren woman', 'lotus in the sky', etc. The difference between imagination and wrong knowledge lies in the fact that imagination can hardly be removed by a careful observation of the object, as wrong knowledge is. As soon as you closely observe the notion of silver in the mother-of-pearl, or snake in the rope, it disappears.
Imaginary fears of various sorts, exaggeration, concoction, mental dramatization and building castles in the air are all due to the power of imagination. Even a perfect man full of health has some imaginary disease or other due to the power of imagination of the mind. Much energy is wasted on account of imaginary fears. A man may have a little weakness or fault. When he becomes your enemy you at once exaggerate and magnify his weakness and faults.
This is due to the power of imagination.
Whenever the minds of two friends are strained by ill-feelings, these minds begin to exaggerate and concoct things. Fault-finding nature increases. It is very difficult to get at the truth of the statements of these friends with a broken friendship. Their utterances are always coloured by their inner feelings. The power of imagination plays havoc now.
I shall explain to you the nature of 'mental dramatisation'. Mark the ways of the mind. During conversation with your friends the mind sometimes imagines in vain that it has hurt the feelings of your friend. It spends much of its energy in unnecessary feelings. You think: "How can I see him tomorrow morning? He may be displeased with me."
Next morning when you meet him nothing happens. Your friend starts a pleasing conversation and smiles. You are surprised. To your great astonishment, the subject of talk takes quite a different turn altogether. A family man imagines when a severe epidemic of plague ravages: "What shall I do if my wife develops plague and dies now? I have got six children." This is his vain imagination. Nothing happens. Sometimes when the train moves slowly on the Pamban Bridge over the sea near Rameshwar, the mind imagines: "If the bridge gives way now, what will become of me? I will be smashed to pieces." A touch of fear creeps in. There are a thousand and one ways of mental dramatisation like these. The power of imagination plays a vital part in mental dramatisation.
Here are other examples. There is a rumour that there is cholera in George Town, Madras; the man in Park Town falsely imagines that he will get cholera. He worries and actually gets cholera out of fear. Your friend did not talk to you as he was running in haste to catch the train; you imagine that he was offended. There was a rumour that a riot broke out in London; you falsely imagine that your son who was studying in London might have died.
Eradicate these modifications through enquiry. Do not identify yourself with any modification. Identify yourself with Brahman and rest peacefully forever.
Right knowledge, wrong knowledge and imagination are enjoyed in the waking state, and the subtle desires of these are enjoyed in dream.
"Sleep is a modification of mind which has the cause of nothingness as its support." (I-10)
Sleep manifests when there is preponderance of inertia (tamas), when purity (sattva) and activity (rajas) subside and when there is no knowledge of the external world. Ordinary people think that there is complete absence of vrittis in sleep. It is not so. As there is memory in you when you wake up, and as you say when you wake up: "I slept soundly; I knew nothing," there ought to have been a particular kind of subtle wave in the mind during sleep. It should not be understood that sleep is not a transformation or vritti of the mind. If it were so, the remembrance, "I slept soundly," would not follow on waking, for you never remember what you have not experienced.
Sleep is not merely a state of inactivity or passive repose. In this state the causal body functions vigorously.
The associated consciousness is also present. It has deep philosophical significance. The individual soul is almost in close contact with the Absolute. Just as a thin layer of muslin veils the face of a lady and renders it invisible to the eyes of her husband, so also a thin layer of ignorance separates the individual soul and the Supreme Soul. Vedantins study this state very deeply and carefully. It gives the clue for non-dual philosophers to trace, search and find out the hidden silent witness.
The Mother of this world takes the individual souls back to Her and Her Lord during deep sleep, hugs them to Her bosom, bestows on them refreshing peace, new vigour, vitality and strength, and makes them quite fit for the ensuing battle of life on the following day. But for this sleep, life would be absolutely impossible in this physical plane where misery, diseases, cares, worries, fears and anxieties of various kinds trouble man every second. If a man does not get sound sleep even for one night, if he loses his sleep one night for three hours by keeping watch over a sick patient or attending the cinema, how miserable, gloomy and depressed he feels the next day!
Sleep is a particular kind of vritti. This must be controlled like other vrittis if you want to enter into samadhi.
"Memory is the 'not slipping away' of the objects perceived." (I-11)
Remembrance is a function brought into being entirely by the impression left by former experience. Knowledge produced by recollecting impressions of past experiences is memory. The objects cognised do not slip away from the mind. They come back to the surface of the conscious mind through the influence of latent tendencies that are imbedded in the subconscious mind.
The above five kinds of vrittis come under the three categories of pleasure, pain and delusion.
Samskaras
"To the man of discrimination all is painful indeed, due to the consequences, anxiety and samskaras (impressions) and also to the contradictions of the functioning of the gunas (qualities of nature)." (II-15)
Every action, every desire, every enjoyment or suffering and in fact all experiences leave in the camera-plate of the subconscious mind subtle impressions or residual potencies (samskaras), which are the root cause for future births, life and the experiences of pleasure and pain.
A samskara or an experience is formed or developed in the subconscious mind the very moment when the mind is experiencing something. There is no gap between the present experience and the formation of an impression in the subconscious mind. Revival of these impressions induces memory. The sum total of these samskaras that are lodged in the subconscious mind constitutes what is called prarabdha — the portion of karma that determines one's present life.
Just as matter and energy are indestructible, so also samskaras are indestructible, but they are destroyed by the fire of wisdom and the highest state of samadhi.
The yogi dives deep inside and comes in direct contact with these samskaras. He directly perceives them through his yoga vision. By samyama (concentration, meditation and samadhi) on these samskaras he acquires knowledge of previous lives. By samyama on the samskaras of others he gets knowledge of their past lives also.
All neophytes in the spiritual path experience a sort of tug-of-war between the old sensual samskaras and the newly generated spiritual samskaras 'rising up' and then 'falling down'. When they grow purer and purer they will not be dragged down by the worldly samskaras.
A drawing notebook is nothing but paper with some pictures. When the pictures are erased by a rubber the notebook contains blank sheets of paper only. Even so, when the samskaras in the mind are erased by meditation and samadhi, mind is nothing but Brahman only. The mind of a worldly man is a bundle of samskaras; the mind of a sage is Brahman only.
The ignorant man is an instrument in the hands of his samskaras and karma. He slowly gains strength by understanding his real and essential nature, by doing spiritual practices and by renouncing desires and egoism.
Gunas
Sattva, rajas and tamas are the three gunas or qualities of the chitta (subconscious mind). Sattva is purity, light or knowledge. Rajas is passion or activity. Tamas is inertia or darkness. Sattva is the inherent quality of the chitta. Chitta is born of sattva guna, but when it mixes with rajas and tamas all the worldly taints manifest.
No guna can exist by itself. The three gunas exist in a state of combination and cannot be separated like so many particles, distinct from one another. By checking rajas and tamas you can increase sattva; and when there is a preponderance of sattva, rajas and tamas are controlled; but they lurk in the mind for the time being. When sattva increases the mind becomes steady like the flame of a lamp in a windless place. He who is sattvic can do real concentration and meditation and can enter into samadhi easily. Your important duty is to increase sattva and to control the senses and the mind. Other duties are secondary. A sensible man only can understand this point. When there is increase of sattva there is brightness and brilliance in the face, lightness in the body, joy, purity, strength, peace and illumination. When there is a preponderance of rajas, sattva and tamas are controlled. When there is a preponderance of tamas, sattva and rajas are controlled. A rajasic man loves power and objects of senses. A tamasic man does vicious actions on account of ignorance.
From your look and behaviour one can find out what sort of guna is prevailing in you. There is always a mixture; but the preponderant element can be found. You can find out the rajasic temperament in a man; he has the rajasic look, he likes gaudy rajasic dress and rajasic food, he will be ever engaged in worldly activities. He wants to lord over people. He has a domineering attitude. He wants power, prestige and position. He is much attached to wife, children and property.
You can at once spot the sattvic man who wears a japa mala around his neck, who is humble and simple in demeanour, wears simple dress and eats simple sattvic food. He will be ever God-loving, dispassionate and powerful. He has a calm, serene mind, always enquiring into the nature of the world and the nature of the Self; always immersed in a meditative mood, with a natural inclination to study books of spiritual nature and to live in solitude.
If you have a desire for onion and garlic, for meat and mutton, it shows you have a rajasic nature. It will disturb the peace of your mind and excite the lower passions. Food plays a prominent part in shaping your nature. Look at an elephant; it eats only leaves and vegetables. How calm it is, in spite of its enormous size and strength! Look at the tiger, on the other hand. In spite of its smallness, how cruel and dangerous it is! The nature is in conformity with the food.
The whole manifested universe is made up of the three gunas. Modification of these gunas constitutes all sorts of immovable and moving things. The gunas change every minute and produce the various phenomena of nature.
"The past and the future exist in their real nature due to the difference in the condition of the gunas." (IV-12)
As the effect is contained in a subtle state in the cause itself, that which is in a state of contraction attains the state of expansion, just like the tree from the seed. The substance exists always. The outer coverings change according to the changes of coverings of the gunas or qualities. As gunas change, difference in feeling also occurs. Changes take place like a continuous current. The future is a manifestation which is to be; the past is the experience which has been experienced; the present is that which is in active operation. We have these three periods of time with reference to a marked indicative point. The seeds of everything exist in a subtle state. That is the reason why samyama (concentration, meditation and samadhi) on the three transformations or changes produces knowledge of the past, present and future.
"They (the characteristics), whether manifest or subtle, are of the nature of gunas or qualities." (IV-13)
These characteristics are of the nature of the manifested when they exist in the present and are of the nature of the subtle when they are passed into the past, or are as yet unmanifested. They are all of the nature of gunas. In truth, the world is only gunas. "The reality of things is the result of the unity of modifications." (IV-14)
As one guna is prominent and the other two are subordinate there is only one effect. When the sattva guna is predominating and rajas and tamas are under subordination, the organs of knowledge are formed. When rajas is preponderating and the sattva and tamas are under subordination, the organs of action are formed. Each of these modifications is always known as one.
The strong current of modifications of the mind will be directed along the virtuous path if sattva is predominating in the mind. The man will do virtuous actions and thoughts of God will manifest. His mind will be one-pointed and the meditative mood will come by itself without exertion. If rajas and tamas predominate, the mental current and mental energy flow along a vicious path and the man will do vicious actions. The sattvic mental current will make you turn inward and take you to kaivalya or moksha, while rajasic and tamasic currents will throw you down in samsara.
In spiritual neophytes the sattvic state of mind will not last for a long time. Rajas and tamas will try to rush in. You will have to be very vigilant and watch the mind through thoughtful introspection.
Just as you squeeze out the toothpaste from the collapsible tube, you will have to squeeze out all rajas from this bodily tube and fill it with sattva. Then you will become a dhyana yogi.
The gross impurities of the mind — rajas and tamas — should be removed by heating the mind with the fire of dispassion (vairagya) and practice (abhyasa).
By increasing the sattvic modifications of the mind such as forgiveness, love, mercy, magnanimity, generosity, truthfulness and celibacy, you can destroy the rajasic and tamasic modifications.
Vrittis that emanate from rajas and tamas are all painful ones. All vrittis that proceed from sattva are not painful. Sattvic vritti or emotion is quiet. Rajasic vritti or emotion is terrible and tamasic vritti is confused.
Mercy, forbearance, generosity and courage are sattvic emotions. Desire, affection, attachment and avarice are rajasic emotions. Infatuation, fear, sloth and carelessness are tamasic emotions. Rajasic and tamasic emotions are of a turbid nature. Hence, they are not capable of receiving a reflection of the blissful nature of Atman but they can receive reflection of intelligence. Fire has heat and light. Boiled water takes the heat of fire but does not take the power of giving light. Even so, rajasic and tamasic emotions present a reflection of intelligence but not of bliss. Burning wood partakes of both heat and light. Even so, sattvic emotions present a reflection of both blissfulness and intelligence.
Sattva is jnana shakti (the power of knowing), rajas is kriya shakti (the power of acting) and tamas is dravya shakti (the power of substantiality). Manas or mind and the five organs of sensation are born of sattva. Prana and the five organs of action are born of rajas. The five elements — ether, air, fire, water and earth — are born of tamas. Air is a modification of ether; fire is a modification of air; water is a modification of fire; earth is a modification of water.
Action that proceeds from the basis of sattva cannot bind a man, but the action that springs from the basis of tamas will lead to bondage. The former is no karma at all. It is burnt in the fire of wisdom. The latter is an offspring of selfishness. For instance, in the Ramayana Sri Rama fought with Ravana, but the basis was sattva. In the case of Ravana the basis was tamas, though in both the action of 'fighting' was the same.
Rajas creates oscillation of the mind. Activity proceeds when rajas is mixed either with sattva or tamas. You do noble actions and exhibit noble virtues when the basis for action is sattva. Craftiness, meanness, hypocrisy and deceit emanate when the basis for action is tamas.
In the beginning, when you are passionate, you show bitterest feelings of spite and revenge towards your enemies. As you advance in spirituality by selfless service and meditation these feelings of hatred soften down gradually to simple indifference only. Later on when you advance a step further, when your mind is filled with more sattva (purity), even this indifference vanishes. You will develop intense love for them. You will develop pure equal vision.
If anyone talks much, eats much or moves much he cannot have an inner life in Atman. He has a mind with out-going tendencies and out-going energies. His mind is filled with the quality of rajas.
Do not mistake the promptings of the lower mind for the voice of the soul. The higher mind, which tends towards virtue, is sattvic mind. This higher mind elevates man. It guides him. It acts as a true preceptor. You should try to hear the voice of the sattvic mind. If a wrong action is done the sattvic mind will prick you. This is the sign to know that the action is bad. If there is joy and elevation of the mind, the act is a righteous one. The mind which tends towards luxury and evil is the lower (rajasa-tamasic) mind. This mind is the cause for one's downfall.
Annihilate rajas and tamas by increasing sattva. You will be quite safe.
Meditation is done with the help of the mind. Mind is an effect of ignorance. Through the effect the cause (Brahman) is to be known. Mind that is filled with rajas and tamas is insentient. A sattvic mind that is equipped with the four means is Brahman itself. It is a mass of effulgence. The scriptures emphatically declare: "Through the (pure) mind only, is Brahman to be seen or realised." In meditation or yoga there is an indescribable power which takes the individual soul to the Supreme Soul.
Tread the path of Truth or the path of Self-realisation, even though with faltering steps. You must have the highest ideal before you, then you are bound to succeed. All obstacles will vanish like mist before the sun. Be not troubled, be not anxious if there is a little delay in the descent of the divine light. Do not grieve, do not despair. Be regular in your meditation. Never cease to strive. You will reach the goal soon. The way to freedom or moksha is thrown open to you now. March boldly on the spiritual path.
Within you is hidden God; within you is the immortal soul; within you is the inexhaustible spiritual treasure; within you is the fount of joy and happiness; within you is the ocean of bliss. Look within for this happiness which you have sought in vain in the perishable sensual objects. Rest peacefully in your own Atman and drink the nectar of immortality.
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