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The different state of consciousness
JNANA VAHINI
===============
"As fog before the Sun, Ingnorance melts away before knowledge".
Knowledge is aquired by uninterrupted Inquiry. One should constantly be
engaged in Inquiry of the nature of Brahman : the reality of the I, the
transformation that occurs to the individual at birth and at death and
such matters. As you remove the husk that covers up the rice, so too
the Ignorance that adheres to the mind has to be removed by the
frequnet application of hte abrasive, Atmic Inquiry. It is only when
full knowledge is won that one can get liberated, or, in other words,
attain Moksha. After the attainment of athe above-said Atmic knowledge,
one has to follow the path of Brahman and act according to the New
Wisdom.
All doubts that afflict the mind have to be solved by consulting those
who know, or the Sadgurus one has the chance to meet. Until one gets
firmly fixed in the path that guru or Sastra has shown, one has to obey
the rules and directions steadfastly, and be in their company or be
associated with them one way or other. Because one can progress very
fast if one keeps close to the Wise person who has realised the Truth,
one must, with unrestricted renunciation and sincere earnestness,
follow the instructions of the Teacher and the Sastras; this is the
real Tapas; this Tapas leads on to the highest stage.
When Ignorance and its concomitant Delusion disappear, the Atma in
every one shines in Its own splendour. All that we see is as a mirage,
the super-imposition of something over the Real and the mistaking of
that for this. Things have a beginning and they end, they evolve and
in-volve, there is evolution as well as involution. When all is
subsumed by involution, or Pralaya, only Moolaprakriti or the Casual
Substance endures. Only the unmanisfested Cause survives the universal
dissolution.
When gold is melted in the crucible, it shines with a strange yellow
glory. Where did that light emanate from? From the gold or from the
fire? what happened was only the removal of the dross by the fire; the
effulgence belonged to the gold itself; it is its very nature. The fire
is only an instrument for the removal of the dross. Nothing has been
added to the gold by the fire in the crucible!
If fire can give the splendour, then, why does not a stick or blade or
pebble placed in the fire become as shining as gold? So, one has to
conclude that the splendour came, not through fire, but out of its own
inner nature. The Prathyagatma, or the Inner presiding Atma is separate
from the Five Sheaths of the Individual, the Panchakosas; it shines
with its own splendour; it is the witness of the activities and
consequences of three Gunas; it is immovable; it is holy and pure; it
is eternal; it is indivisible; it is self-manifested; it is peace; it
has no end; it is Wisdom itself; such an Atma has got to be cognised as
Oneself.
To realise this Atma, this Jnanaswarupa, there are four obstacles to be
overcome; Laya, Vikshepa, Kshaya and Rasa-aaswaadanam. Let us take
these one by one.
LAYA : Sleep
~~~~~~~~~~~~
When the mind withdraws from the external world, it enters into deep
sleep or Sushupthi, on account of the overpowering influence of
Samsara. The Sadhaka should arrest this tendency and attempt to fix the
mind on to Atmavichara, or the Inquiry into the nature of the Atman. He
must keep watch over the mind, so that he may keep aware. He must
discover the circumstances that induce the drowsiness and remove them
in time. He must start the process of Dhayana again and again. Of
course, the usual producer of drowsiness and remove them in time. He
must start the process of Dhayana again and again. Of course the usual
producer of drowsiness and sleep during dhyana is indigestion.
Overfeeding, exhaustion through too much moving about, want of
sufficient sleep at night, these too cause, these too cause
sleepishness and drowsiness. So, it is advisable to sleep a little
during noon, on those days when you wake up after a sleepless night,
though generally all those who engage in Dhyanam should avoid sleep
during daytime. Do not eat until you feel proper hunger. Practise the
art of moderate eating. When you feel three-fourths full, desist from
further eating; that is so say, you will have to stop even when you
feel you can take a little more. The stomach can be educated in this
way to behave properly. Over-exercise too is not good; even walking can
be overdone. You can walk until you conquer drowsiness; but remember,
you cannot plunge into Dhyanam immediately after you have warded off
sleep.
VIKSHEPA : Waywardness
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The mind seeks to run after external objects and so, constant effort is
needed to run it inwards, away from the attractions of sensory
impressions. This has to be done through the rigorous exercise of the
Intellect, of Inquiry. Discriminate and get the conviction driven into
you that these are evanescent, temporary, transformable, liable to
decay, and therefore, unreal, Mithya not Sathya. Convince yourselves
that what are sought after as pleasurable and avoided as painful are
only the fleeting products of sensory contacts; train yourself in this
way to avoid the distractions of the external world and dive deep into
Dhyanam.
A sparrow pursued by a hawk flies in despair for shelter into a house;
but, it is anxious to fly again into the outer world, isn't it? So
also, the mind is anxious to go again into the outer world, from the
Atma where it takes refuge. Vikshepa is this mental attitude, the urge
to run back into the world from one's shelter. The removal of Vikshepa
alone will help the concentration of the mind in Dhyanam.
KSHAYA : Decline
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The mind is drawn with immense force by all the unconscious impulses
and instincts of passion and attachment towards the external world and
its multitudinous attractions. It therefore experiences untold misery
and might even get lost in its depth. This is the stage called Kshaya
or Decline.
The state of inertia into which one is driven by despair cannot be
called Samadhi; or, one might even indulge in daydreaming in order to
escape from present misery; or , one might start building castles in
air. All this is due to attachment, to the temptations of the outer
world. There is another type of attachment too, the attachment to the
inner world.....the planning within oneself of various schemes to
better oneself in the future as compared to past. Both these form part
of what is called Kshaya. The basis for both is the attraction of the
outer world. Attachment brings about desire; desire leads to planning.
RASA-ASWADANA : Enjoyment of Bliss
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Kshaya and Vikshepa are overcome, one attains the Savikalpananda,
the Bliss of the Highest Subject-Object Contact. This stage is what is
called Rasa aswadanam or the Enjoyment of Bliss. Even this is not the
Highest of the Supreme Bliss, which one does not attain or aquire, but
simply IS, becomes aware of , so to say. The Rasa, or the sweetness of
the Subject-Object Samadhi is a temptation one has to avoid, for it is
only the second best. It is enough joy to act as a handicap. The joy is
as great as that of a person who has just deposited a huge load he has
been long carrying, or as that of a greedy person who has just killed
the a serpent guarding vast treasure he wanted to grab. The killing of
the serpent is the Savikalpa Samadhi; the acquisition of the treasure,
that is the Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the highest stage.
When the sun rises, darkness as well as the troubles arising from it
disappear. Similarly, for those who have realised the Atman, there is
no more any bondage, nor the sorrow arising from the bondage. Delusion
comes only to those who forget their bearings; egoism is the greatest
factor in making people forget their very basic Truth. Once egoism
enters into man, he slips from the ideals and pricipitates himself from
the top of the stairs in quick falls from step to step, down to the
very bottom floor. Egoism breeds schisms, hatreds and attachment.
Through attachment and affection, and even envy and hatred, one plunges
into activity and gets immersed in the world. This leads to embodiment
in the physical frame and further egoism. In order to become free from
the twin pulls of pleasure and pain, one must rid oneself of the body
consciousness, and keep clear of self-centred actions. This again
involves the absence of attachments and hatred; desire is the enemy
number one of Liberation, or Moksha. Desire binds one to the wheel of
birth and death; it brings about endless worries and tribulations.
Through inquiry on these lines, knowledge is rendered clearer and
brighter, and liberation is achieved. Moksha is only another word for
independence, not depending on any outside thing or person.
If nicely controlled and trained, the mind can lead one on to Moksha.
It must be saturated in the thought of God; that will help the inquiry
inot the nature of Reality. The consciousness of the Ego itself will
fade away when the mind is free from pulls and when it is rendered
pure. Not to be affected in any way by the world- that is the path to
self-realisation; it cannot be got in Swarga or in Mount Kailasha.
The flame of desire cannot be put out without the conquest of the mind.
The mind cannot be overcome without the scotching of the flames of
desire. The mind is the seed and desire is the tree. Atmajnanan alone
can uproot that tree. So, these three are interdependent, mind, desire
and Atmajnana.
The Jivanmuktha is established firmly in the knowledge of the Atman. He
has achieved it by dwelling on the Mithya of the world and
contemplating its failings and faults. By this means, he has developed
an insight into the nature of pleasure and pain and equanimity in both.
He knows that wealth, worldly joy and pleasure are all worthless and
even poisonous. He takes praise, blame and even blows with a calm
assurance, unaffected by both honour and dishonour. Of course, the
Jivanmuktha reached that stage only after long years of systematic
discipline and unflagging zeal when distress and doubt assialed him.
