Three great powers of the mind

(adapted from Swami Sarvapriyananda’s leture)

One of the three great powers of mind is the power of concentration or the power of focus. According to Swami Vivekananda the difference between an ordinary person and a great person is the degree of concentration one can bring to the job on hand.  The great person has greater focus on the work at hand and this focus when it is total is called ‘Flow’ by positive psychologists.   Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi  (pronounced as ‘mehigh cheeksendmehigh’) describes the mental state of flow as “being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost."  It is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. This focused absorption is what is achieved in Dhyana and when prolonged leads to the Samadhi state, as we can see now.

In Ashtanga Yoga Dhyana, the uninterrupted focus is achieved through a process of steps starting from mental and moral disciplines outlined in Yama and Niyama.  These help to keep one on the path of Dharma, and staying on the path of dharma there are less distractions for the mind as compared to otherwise.  It is all the more important today where we are in the midst of an epidemic of distractions sparked by the latest smart phones and where it has become a habit to look into the phone for messages or latest updates in various fields all day long even in the midst of other activities, not to mention waking up in its face and going to bed with it.  Yama and Niyama are followed by Asana which brings physical discipline.  Staying quiet in a place also limits the field of distractions for the mind. Next step is Pranayama and control of breadth is a shorter way to control mind as Maharishi Ramana states in verse no. 11 of Upadesa saar “Through breath-control, the movement of the mind is contained, just as a bird is restrained when caught in a net.”  Pratyahara, withdrawl of the wandering senses, the next step leads to Dharana, focussing on a single object or chant.  This focus maintained continually for some time is called Dhyana. Dhyana, effortlessly achieved with ease and at will, helps one to achieve Samadhi.

Scientifically it is stated that our mind is capable of processing at the same time 150 bytes of information. In Samadhi state all the 150 bytes are concentrated on the object of meditation. But ordinarily only a fewer bytes are focussed on the object at hand.  The greater the number of bytes one is able to focus on the work on hand the greater degree of concentration one achieves in the work on hand.   But the effect this power has on an individual depends on the object of focus.  If the object of focus is on the positive values of life then greater the focus, the better the quality of life one enjoys. The greater is one’s misery when the object of focus is on the negative values of lie.  So to use this power to one’s advancement and happiness in life:

1)    Be focussed on whatever you do, cutting off the distractions from other sources.

2)    Hold to that focus to that point of absorption in the object of concentration.

3)    Hold on that way for extended stretches of time.

4)    Focus only on positive values of life.

This brings us to the second important power of mind, the power of making decision

Second great power of mind is the power of making decision on what to do, what to speak and what to think.  They include the opposites as well i.e. what not to do, what not to speak and what not to think.  This power one has all the time and one exercises it all the time when he does not act out of instinct of habit but engages in self-conscious activity.  As Swami Vivekananda has pointed out all that is great and excellent including power and glory will come to one rising to self-conscious activity all the time.  The conscious action should be not only in respect of others but even in respect of oneself.  Another important point to note is the conscious action in respect of thought, word and action should embrace Dharma to uplift a person.  In Mahabharata Duryodhana once told Lord Krishna, “ Jaanami dharmam, na cha me pravrittihi: Janaami adharmam, na cha me nivrittihi”  i.e. “ I know what is Dharma, but I cannot follow it;  I know what is adharma, but I cannot stay away from it”   When one acts self-consciously in an unrighteous way,  he is driving himself towards his downfall. On the other hand we have the example of Arjuna, who surrenders to Lord Krishna seeking advice and says at the end of advice in Gita “karishye vachanam thava” i.e. “I will act as per your advice”   Arjuna was here willing to be guided by the Lord. Even psycho-analysis and medicine can help only if one is willing to be changed. So one should remember for making the best use of the power:

!) Words are subtler than action; thoughts are more subtler than words.   So take care of your thoughts and be self-conscious to entertain positive thoughts only

2) Deciding consciously what not to do is as important as deciding consciously what to do

Swami Vivekananda said that all that is great and excellent in human life will come if one knows what to speak, what words to employ and what action to perform and acts accordingly.  So not only our actions be self-conscious, the guiding motive must also be righteousness and positive thoughts. 

That brings us to the third great power of mind, Power of selflessness.  Thinking unselfish thoughts, speaking unselfish words and doing unselfish action makes one a good person.   Further unselfishness and spirituality go together. Swami Ranganathananda says that  when he closes his  eyes in meditation, he feels peace flowing in him and when he opens his eyes, his attitude is one of ‘what can I do for others meaning community’.  We should not feel other way i.e. with eyes closed in meditation, letting all agitations and problems surface and when eyes are open to have the attitude of ‘what I can get from the world’.  Get should change to give; it can be in money, time or service.  In a school a teacher once told the students “No class today. Let us all go to the theatre to watch a movie”.  The boys gladly followed the teacher. After returning to class, the teacher gave them each a sheet of paper and asked the students to evaluate their happiness on watching the movie in the scale of 1 to 10. Next week also this exercise was repeated but this time the visit was to a children’s home where they distributed, books, toys, clothes and sweets to the poor children housed there.  After returning to the class now also they evaluated their happiness of being with the children and helping them.  Six weeks later the teacher asked the students to recollect their experience and evaluate the happiness felt then separately for the two visits.  It was found that while the scores were now lower for the visit to movies, the scores for the visit to the children’s home was almost the same or even higher. Then the teacher used the comparison of scores to show them how the happiness derived in giving and helping others i.e. from selfless activity lasts much much longer than the happiness derived from personal entertainment i.e selfish activity..  No doubt one feels happy when entertaining oneself or enjoying a pleasure but the happiness is all more when one helps others and instills happiness in their lives. Swami Vivekananda gave as the ideal to the monks the motto “Athmanasthu mokshartham, Jagat hitaya cha.” i.e. “For the liberation of oneself, For the welfare of the world” and laid as much emphasis on “Love thy neighbor” as on “Love thy God”.  Advaita Vedanta does not subscribe to individual soul being separate and unique. Soul is only one for all and is in essence  Brahman, the Supreme.  So Vivekananda says to be selfish is immoral and he emphasized that each individual should work not only for their individual liberation but also at the same time for the uplift of the less privileged fellow men as well.  The interest and care one takes in working for the welfare of under-privileged and downtrodden in the community must be no less than the interest and care he takes in working for his liberation.  In practice one effort helps the other.

The above three great powers of the mind can be harnessed to promote the feeling of personal happiness and well-being in an individual all the time; if one thinks, speaks and acts self-consciously, engaging oneself in all activities one hundred percent, eschewing selfishness and entertaining positive emotions only.  

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Sadhana Chathushtayam - Four disciplines

Tattva Bodha-1

Tattva Bodha is an introductory text for the study of Vedanta that explains in simple prose style the technical terms of Vedanta. It is a preliminary text for the study of Prasthana thraya viz. Upanishads, Bhagavat Gita and Brahma Sutra.  Sri Sankara who has written commentaries for 10 key Upanishads and the other two of Prasthana thraya has also authored Tattva Bodha.  Tattva Bodha means Self-knowledge, knowledge of our Real nature.  Tattva Bodha opens with a prayer and after prayer comes the first topic “Sadhana Chathushtayam” the four means of practice to be cultivated by a serious student of Self-enquiry to facilitate the absorption of Athma Jnanam, knowledge of Self, at the time of Sravanam, Mananam and Nidhidhyasanam. The four means include also six virtues for disciplining the mind and bringing it under one’s control. Even if one does not have total control over mind initially one should try to cultivate these virtues in full to claim Athma Jnanam as one’s own and become a Jivanmuktha. The four means are:

1.     Viveka – Discrimination
2.    Vairagya – Dispassion
3.    Mumukhsutvam – Desire for Moksha,
4.    Shad Sampath – six virtues for mind-discipline

Swami Paramarthananda refers to them as four D’s – Discrimination, Dispassion, Desire and Discipline.  Now we shall see them one by one in detail.

Viveka – Discrimination.  Viveka is qualified as Nithya Anithya vasthu viveka i.e. the differentiation between the Real and the unreal, between the permanent and the impermanent.   The whole universe exists in space-time frame and anything subject to time cannot be permanent as it has an origin and exit.  Everything in the universe including universe itself is subject to change..  What is permanent is only the changeless substratum of the changing universe i.e. Brahman, which is beyond time and space. This firm knowledge of what is ephemeral and what is eternal is Viveka.

Vairagya – Dispassion.  From the above Viveka, follows Vairagya, dispassion for worldly objects and even for heavenly pleasures.  He does not hate them or run away from them; only he does not crave for them in their absence or get attached to them in their presence. The world and its objects need not be rejected as they have their own limited use.  No slavish addiction even to ethical pleasures is the end-aim of Vairagya.  No person, situation, object, relationship can be depended on for eternal happiness and security.  Dependence on them is like leaning on a cardboard chair.  A cardboard chair can be treasured in the showcase, admired as an ornamental piece but cannot be leaned upon.  This applies to other worldly pleasure as well as they can be enjoyed only so long as one’s punya allows. So the priority is only for attaining Brahman, the eternal one, and for things that will take him to his goal and all other things rank low in priority.  He has only disinterested detachment towards all the pleasures and objects of this world or the other.

Mumukshutvam – intense desire for Moksha. This desire for Moksha, Swami Tejomayananda classifies into four categories

1.     Very dull (ati manda) – “It is Okay if I get it this life, otherwise there is always next life” attitude.  This is not true mumukshutvam

2.     Dull (manda) – “I will start seeking liberation after discharging all my responsibilities” attitude.

3.     Middle (madhyama) – “I must get liberation soon.  The earlier the better” attitude

4.     Strong (theevra) – “I want liberation here and now” attitude.  This person’s intensity is comparable to the intensity of a drowning person for air.

It is the theevra mumukshuthvam  that enables one to reach the goal of Self-knowledge. To him all other qualities accrue easily

4. Shad Sampath – the six virtues. They are:

1.     Sama – Mind control. वृत्तयो मनः(vrrattayo manaha) – mind is thought forms says Ramana Maharishi in Upadesa Saar. So mind control amounts to thought control. The purity of the thoughts can be maintained by good practices like Dhyana, japa, satsang and prayer.  Mind cannot be allowed to have a freedom of its own and it has to follow the direction of the intellect.  This goes hand in hand with Vairagya and Dama, the sense-control.

2.     Dama – Sense control. The sense organs are gateways of the mind to the outer world.  So they determine what enters the mind.  Senses are extrovert by nature and run after their sense objects without any discrimination. It is only through sound intellect and good habits they can be kept on track under control.  Kathopanishad compares sense organs to horses, sensory objects to the path it traverses on, mind to reins and intellect to the charioteer.  Neither reins nor horses should be allowed to determine the direction of the chariot. Only the charioteer should.  Same way mind and Indriyas must be under the control of the intellect and the intellect properly developed through satsang,  and study of scriptures and moral and ethical literature.

3.     Uparama or Uparati – Withdrawl.  It is achieved  through reduction of extrovert activities and turning the mind away from sensual objects and from worldly longings. This comes naturally when one practices Sama and Dama with Viveka and Vairagya and attains inner tranquillity. This is described in Sthitha prajna lakshana in Gita thus:

यदा संहरते चायं कूर्मोऽङ्गानीव सर्वशः। Yadha samharate chayam kurmanganeeva  sarvasaha I
इन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थेभ्यस्तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता।।2.58।।Indriyani Indriyrbhyah tasya prajna prathisgtatha II

When, like the tortoise which withdraws on all sides its limbs, he withdraws his senses from the sense-objects, then his wisdom becomes steady.

4..     Tithiksha – forbearance. The ability to bear without reacting, complaining, or blaming oneself or others for contrary experiences at the physical level like heat and cold, at the emotional level like joy and  sorrow , and at the intellectual level like praise and censure, whether conducive or non-conducive. Tithiksha is tolerance of conditions outside one’s control, natural social or physical without losing one’s cool. This gives one a tension-free calm mind that is suitable for reflection on scriptural teachings regarding Self, Athma.

5..     Sraddha – Faith or conviction. Non-critical acceptance of the words of Guru and scriptures.  Sraddha enables one to listen to the words of Guru and scriptures with an open, alert mind and work with determination towards the chosen goal to realize it.   The importance of Sraddha can be seen from these words of Lord Krishna in Gita:

श्रद्धावाँल्लभते ज्ञानं तत्परः संयतेन्द्रियः। Sraddhavan labhate Jnanam tatparah sayatendriyaha I
ज्ञानं लब्ध्वा परां शान्तिमचिरेणाधिगच्छति।।4.39।।Jnanam labdhva param santhim achirenadhigacchathi II

The man with shraddha and devotion, who has subdued the senses, attains Jnanam; and having got this Jnanam he attains at once the Supreme peace.

6..     Samadhana – Chitha Ekagratha, single-pointedness of mind. This is the ability to have the goal in one’s sights always and be constantly focussed in one’s efforts to reach it.  As a bowman has an eye only for the target so must be the concentration of efforts to attain the goal.

Controlling the mind and senses through Sama and Dama, withdrawing from worldly pursuits through Uparama, meeting internal and external challenges through Titiksha and pursuing the goal with Sraddha and Samadhana, a sadhaka attains with Vairagya the goal of Self-knowledge chosen through Viveka and strengthened by Mumukshutvam.  Thus the four fold qualification of Viveka, Vairagya, Mumukshutvam and Shad Sampath leads a sadhaka to Self- knowledge

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Panchamahayajna - Five-fold duties

Traditional Vedic Karma is classified in five groups:

1)    Nitya Karma - daily duties

2)    Naimittika Karma – duties to be undertaken on special occasions

3)    Kamya Karma – Special rituals performed for the fulfilment of specific desires

4)    Nishidha Karma – Acts that are prohibited

5)    Prayachitha Karma – Acts in expiation of sinful actions of commission or omission

The daily obligatory duties Lord Krishna enjoins upon Arjuna with these words in Gita (3-8) - नियतं कुरु कर्म त्वं (Niyatam kuru karma tvam) – You perform your ordained duty. Panchamahayajna is the ordained Nitya Karma for a householder.  Yajna literally means "sacrifice, worship, offering".  Panchamahayajna is the five regular sacrifices/offerings to be made by all Grahasthas, the householders, every day.  They are:

1)     Brahma yajna – This is also called Rishi Yajna. This involves daily study of the scriptures and regular sharing of the scriptural knowledge with others through teaching, writing and satsang.  This type of blog-writing also comes under this. By so doing one discharges the debt to Rishis who by preserving and passing on made this knowledge available to us.

2)     Deva yajna – This involves ritual worship and prayer of Devas including Homams and Nitya karmanushtanam like Sandhyavandanam. Lord Krishna refers to this yajna only, when he tells Arjuna in Gita (3-11)

देवान्भावयतानेन ते देवा भावयन्तु वः। Devan Bhavayathanena te Deva bhavayanthu vaha
परस्परं भावयन्तः श्रेयः परमवाप्स्यथ।।Parasparam bhavayanthah sreyah param avasyatha

Nurture the Devas with this sacrifice and may the Devas nurture you.  Mutually nurturing each other you shall attain the highest good.

3)     Pitru yajna - offering tarpana, libations regularly and on special occassions in respect and gratitude to all Pitrs and Pitr Devathas.   The word Pitrs primarily means the immediate ancestors i.e. father, mother etc.  In Srartha ceremony three generations like father, grandfather and the great grandfather etc., are remembered and pindas, cooked rice balls, are offered to them. 

4)     Manushya yajna — Caring for, looking after and feeding fellow humans. Food and clothes to the poor and needy and shelter to the homeless all come under Manushya yajna.  In short all social services and anna dhanam in functions and festivals besides feeding a guest will all come under Manushya yajna.

5)      Bhutha yajna — Caring for nature and all life. Not only feeding animals like cow, insects like ant and birds like crow but also caring for them as well as the plants and trees etc., in the environment come under Bhutha yajna.

The performance of the Panchamahayajna is conducive to the spiritual evolution or growth of a Grahastha.  The knowledge he gains by the study of scriptures enables him to lead a life conforming to Dharma with personal conviction. He also learns that he is not a separate entity or isolated creature but is a part of a great whole and the Panchamahayajna is only a means to discharge the debt to his ancestors, family, society and the Panchabhuthas that all contribute to his well being and growth. He also develops compassion and mercy that blossoms into cosmic love as he feels oneness with other beings. This can end his separateness and selfishness, making him realize that his happiness multiplies manifold as he makes others happy through service, help and an attitude of charity to the needy.

Grahastha is the pillar of social fabric as he provides support to the members of the other three Ashrams viz.Brahmacharya, Vanaprastha and Sanyasa. This aspect has been emphasised by the revered Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar in Thirukkural:

இல்வாழ்வான் என்பான் இயல்புடைய மூவர்க்கும் (Ilvaazhvaan Enpaan Iyalputaiya Moovarkkum நல்லாற்றின் நின்ற துணை (Kural 41) (Nallaatrin Nindra Thunai) A Grahastha is the one who supports strongly those in the other three Ashrams.

So society prospers when a Grahastha leads a dharmic life performing Panchamahayajna as individual moral fabric is strengthened and collective welfare is fostered.

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Nidhidhyasanam - Vedantic meditation

Lord Krishna starts his reply to Arjuna’s question with this sloka, in the third chapter of Gita;

लोकेऽस्मिन्द्विविधा निष्ठा पुरा प्रोक्ता मयानघ। (Lokesmin dvividha nishta pura proktha mayanagha)
ज्ञानयोगेन सांख्यानां कर्मयोगेन योगिनाम्।।3.3।। (Jnanayogena sankhyanam karmayogena yoginam)

“In the world twofold path has been enunciated by me Jnana yoga for Sankhyas and Karma yoga for other yogis”

One of the reasons for the distinction made between Jnana yoga and all other yogas grouped under Karma yoga is the Jnanam that is secured through the sadhanas.  In case of Jnana yoga it is Aparoksha Jnanam (direct knowledge) and in case of others it is Paroksha Jnanam (indirect knowledge).  We shall briefly see the difference between the two. In Paroksha Jnanam there is an action involved to enjoy the benefit of Jnanam. For example one hears about rasagulla and its taste.  Unless he gets one rasagulla and tastes it, this knowledge of rasagulla is only academic knowledge or just information.  Only when he gets and tastes one. he has direct experience.  In the case of Aparoksha Jnanam which is knowledge about oneself the very act of imbibing the knowledge makes one have the experience and reap the benefit.   For instance in the case of Karna who was lamenting that he was not a kshatriya because he was Radheya, son of a charioteer, Kunti’s revelation to him that he is her first-born makes him realize he is Kaunteya, and so a kshatriya, without any other action needed from him except mere grasping of this fact. 

The Jnanam one gets in Jnana Yoga is of a similar nature, the knowledge about one’s Self, Athma Jnanam.  Proper understanding and abidance in this knowledge in all circumstances itself enables one to reap the benefit of this knowledge.  And so it qualifies as Aparoksha Jnanam. But there is a catch.  The knowledge of Jeeva Brahma Ikyam is of a mind-boggling nature and is in total contradiction of one’s experience through senses.  One knows one is a mortal and has number of limitations, while Brahman is immortal and free from all limitations and Athma Jnanam reveals that one is in essence none other than Brahman and only the upadhi of body-mind complex makes one look, feel and act different.  So great mental and intellectual effort is required first to absorb it, second to resolve all the doubts that may arise from this understanding and finally to make it make it one’s own but when once that is achieved this knowledge transforms one from a samsari to a Jeevanmuktha.  That is why Yajnavalkya tells his wife Maitreyi in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (2-4-5)

आत्मा वा अरे द्रष्टव्यः श्रोतव्यो मन्तव्यो निदिध्यासितव्यो मैत्रेयि, (The Self, Maitreyi, should be realized – should be heard of, reflected on and meditated upon;). 

This process of hearing, reflecting and meditating together constitute the sadhanas of Jnana Yoga, which are technically termed as Sravanam, Mananam and Nidhidhyasanam. We shall see briefly Sravanam and Mananam before going into Nidhidhyasanam. Sravanam is committed, consistent study of scriptures under a Guru for a length of time.  This is necessary so as not to misunderstand the words of scriptural text where in many places implied contextual meaning is to be taken and not literal meaning which will be misleading.  Mananam is resolving all the doubts in respect of the teaching either by reflection or by going back to the Guru and seeking clarification or through discussion with other students or through a combination of one or more of these methods. As mere academic understanding and mental conviction alone will not confer the benefits of the Athma Jnanam unless one is able to abide in it all the time unshaken by vasanas, one needs to meditate on this knowledge and make it one’s own.  Nidhidhyasanam is that meditation on this knowledge through which one gets firmly established in Athma Jnanam unassailed by doubts and unshaken by the outburst of residual vasanas at any time and lets one enjoy undisturbed the peace and bliss of Purnatvam.

The key knowledge gained during Sravanam and consolidated during Mananam is “Brahma Satyam, Jagan Mithya, Jeevo Brahmaiva na Parah”(Brahman alone is real, the world is Mitya, the individual Real Self is Brahman).  Brahman is Real, is easy to understand, remember and practice.  But to extend it to say Brahman alone is Real from which the other two flow is a difficult proposition.  Much more difficult is extending it to one’s individual Self.  So this knowledge that has already been gained in Sravanam and consolidated in Mananam is to be internalised and assimilated. Nidhidhyasanam is the process for this. So in Nidhidhyasanam no new knowledge is gained nor any new realization is attained, but one’s entrenched habitual body-mind identification as Self is removed and the residual vasanas are liquidated to enable constant abidance in Athma Jnanam.  Sri Sankara says in Viveka chudamani (verse 365) that Mananam is hundred times superior to Sravanam and Nidhidhyasanam hundred thousand times superior to Mananam.

Nidhidhyasanam, Vedantic meditation, is like what is referred to as Dhyana in Yoga Sutras. The mind is freed of thoughts of sense-objects and their enjoyments and there is only the chosen thought of meditation. This is a two stage process.  In the first stage there is the rejection of what is false. The sadhaka rejects the false identification with the "Sareeras" with the thought “I am not any of the Sareeras, Sthula, Sukshma or Karana”.  The second stage of Nidhidhyasanam is identifying one’s True Self with Suddha, Buddha, Nithya, Muktha Brahman. By staying continuously in this thought through meditation on one of the Mahavakhyas one becomes free of his habitual notions that hold sway over one’s   subconscious and blossoms into a Jeevanmuktha and stays in Divine bliss for ever as Bhaja Govindam says “यस्य ब्रह्मणि रमते चित्तं नन्दति नन्दति नन्दत्येव ॥“(yasya Brahmani ramathe chitham, nandhati nandhati nandhatyeva) One whose mind is established in Brahman is always in bliss.

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Ten Commandments for a Sadhaka

By Sadhaka I refer to a spiritual seeker.  A spiritual seeker is one who is not merely satisfied with performing rituals but wants to know the  reality about Athma, one’s real Self, Anathma, the world that is experienced thru’ one’s senses and Paramathma, the Supreme force behind the Creation. To attain this spiritual knowledge not only a sharp intellect but a subtle mind is also required. In Kathopanishad it is stated:

नायमात्मा प्रवचनेन लभ्यो न मेधया न बहुना श्रुतेन। (1-2-24) (Naayamathma pravachanena labhyo na medhaya na bahuna sruthena)

Athma cannot be obtained (i.e. knowledge of Athma cannot be got) through lectures, through scholarship or through listening a lot.

In the next Mantra the Upanishad goes on to say that mental discipline and adherence to a moral code can only make the mind subtle enough to grasp the reality about Athma. To achieve this mental discipline which involves adherence to a moral code and make it subtle a set of five do’s and five don’ts are given in the sutras 30 and 32 of Sadhana Padha of Patanjali Yoga Sutras, which are called as Yamas and Niyamas, Yama, the code of self-restraint and Niyama, the code of observance. These two together are clubbed and called the Ten commandments of Hinduism by Swami Paramarthananda. These ten I propose discussing as Ten Commandments for a Sadhaka as they are more relevant to the one who wants to go beyond the rituals and is interested in the deeper truths of Hinduism. Let me first list them.

Yamas & Niyamas

1.     Ahimsa – Avoidance of violence 

2.     Satyam – Avoidance of telling untruth

3.     Asteyam – Avoidance of stealing

4       Brahmacharyam – Avoidance of indecent and inappropriate attitude towards other sex.

5       Aparigraha - Avoidance of  luxury and pomp. 

6       Saucham – Cleanliness and orderliness. 

7       Santhoshaha – Contentment at the level of owning. 

8       Tapas – Regulating physical activity.

9       Swadyayaha – Scriptural study.

10   Iswara pranidhanam – Acceptance of every experience as God’s gift, without resistance. 

Now we shall see each one of them a little more in detail.

1.    Ahimsa – Ahimsa, non-violence, is avoidance of violence at all the three levels of body, speech and thought, i.e. physical, verbal and mental.  Physical violence is causing physical injury to another and includes self-injury as well.  The underlying cause for this is anger. The same is the cause for verbal violence through the use of hurtful language, which is a more common phenomenon. Two of the primary causes for anger are hurt-ego and thwarted desire. Mental violence is a more subtle form of violence which causes immeasurable damage to one’s own psyche, and this cannot be eschewed without achieving physical and verbal non-violence.  Ahimsa can also be interpreted positively as universal love and compassion without which anger cannot be restrained and violence eschewed.

2.     Satyam – Satyam, truthfulness, literally means that one does not utter deliberately a statement knowing it to be untrue and avoids making statements the truth of which he is not sure of. This is a verbal discipline whereby one maintains harmony between one’s thought and word.

3.     Asteyam – Asteyam means non-stealing, not only in the gross sense but also in the subtle sense of avoiding unfair transactions, taking advantage of one’s status or other’s ignorance to derive an illegitimate benefit, depriving the other of his rightful due.

4.     Brahmacharyam – Brahmacharyam which is commonly understood as celibacy literally means a lifestyle suited to seek the knowledge of Brahman i.e. celibacy in the case of a bachelor and total fidelity to one’s spouse in case of a married person. Swamiji sums it up as total avoidance of improper or inappropriate attitude towards the members of opposite sex.

5.     Aparigraha - Aparigraha means non-possession i.e. one does not possess more than one needs.  This means a simple life-style avoiding pomp and luxury and eschewing hoarding. This also implies that one does not get attached to one’s limited possessions.

6.     Saucham – Saucham stands for purity and cleanliness.  This purity is to be achieved not only at the physical level by keeping oneself and the environments pure and clean but also at one’s mental level by eschewing unhealthy, negative thoughts and entertaining only positive, healthy thoughts.

7.     Santhoshaha – Santhoshaha involves contentment. This is no bar to making efforts to increase one’s earnings, only one should not be dissatisfied with oneself or with anything else in life, especially with his possessions. As one’s earnings increase his aim must be not in hoarding or spending but in contributing more to society. This is made possible by developing an inner attitude of richness and compassion towards the poor and needy.

8.     Tapas – Tapas stands for austerity. Austerity is to be observed at all the three levels of body, mind and speech.  These three have been described as Sareeram Tapaha, Vaangmayam Tapaha and Manasam Tapaha by Lord Krishna in Gita ch.17 (verses 14, 15 & 16). The practice of austerity is further classified under three heads Satvic, Rajasic and Tamasic in verses 17, 18 & 19 of the same chapter. Here Tapas stands for Satvic Tapas that covers all the three heads physical, verbal and mental.

9.     Swadyayaha – Swadyayaha stands for regular study of scriptural books. It is also one of the Pancha Maha Yajnas that is prescribed for all householders under the name Brahma Yajna. One should study at least Gita, even if he cannot study other texts.

10. Iswara Pranidhanam – Iswara Pranidhanam means surrender to the Lord.  Surrender to the Lord does not mean one remains passive expecting the Lord to play one's part also but to play one’s role in life with energy and enthusiasm remembering the Lord all the time and accepting all the results of one’s actions as one’s Karma phala, without resistance or blame-transfer. 

The above ten are prescribed in Patanjali Yoga Sutras as means to remove the hindrances in the mind to the process of meditation for achieving Samadhi state. In the case of the spiritual seeker they help to make the mind subtle enough to engage in Vedantic meditation, Nitidyasanam, the final step in achieving Athma Jnanam.  To achieve these values one should first be convinced of their importance, and then make a resolve to achieve them one by one within a time frame, implement the resolution with alertness and introspection, taking corrective steps whenever there is slip up without engaging in blame-game or losing oneself in regrets.

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Purandharadasa & Pattinathar

Artharthi to Ananya Bhaktha 

Swami Tejomayananda has made the following classification of bhakthas in his facebook remarks:

1)    Those who pray to God for material gains, looking upon Him as a wish-fulfiller

2)    Those who pray to God for material gains, looking upon Him as well-wisher

3)    Those who pray to god for spiritual gains, purification of mind, good qualities etc. i.e. in short for Moksha,

4)    Those who pray for the sheer joy of praying, seeking nothing.

It is of the third category who are nishkama bhakthas, Arjuna has a doubt, which is expressed in chapter 6 of Gita. If such a bhaktha fails midway in his sadhana, due to distractions or due to intervention of death before he could attain Jivanmukthi, whether his sadhanas will go waste like a cloud torn asunder (6-38).  Lord Krishna assures Arjuna that such sadhanas do not go waste and such a sadhaka takes birth in a good family, gets connected to the spiritual intelligence acquired in the previous birth and with that he strives more intensely for Realization (6-44).  This we find in the life of some who even from an early age develop Ananya bhakthi or turn Ananya bhakthas suddenly at a later age due to Grace of God, even though they may be in category 1, which corresponds to the classification of Artha, Artharthi bhakthas of Lord Krishna in Gita (7-16).  No doubt bhakthas in category 2 are also Artha, Artharthi bhakthas but they are karma yogis as well, as they have prasada buddhi, and accept happily whatever comes to them with the belief that God knows what is best for them and will only grant what is good for them like the mother towards her children.

The sudden transformation that we spoke of in earlier paragraph is what we see in the life of Purandaradasa, whose birth-name was Srinivasa Nayak. He was born in a good family, received good education, got married at an early age of 16 and inherited his father’s gemstone and pawn business at the age of 20, when his father died. He became prosperous and was known as ‘Navakoti Narayana’. But he was a greedy and miserly merchant, who worshipped wealth.  Once a brahmin came to him seeking help for conducting upanayanam-ceremony for his son.  He made him come two or three times and then gave him a single coin of no value.  Then the poor brahmin approached Srinivasa Nayak’s wife and cried telling what happened. She took pity on the poor brahmin and gave the brahmin her diamond nose-ring and asked him to sell it and use the money. This he then took to Srinivasa Nayak’s shop itself, sold it and went away with the money.  Seeing the nose-ring, Srinivasa Nayak recognized it as his wife’s and so after giving the money to the brahmin he hurried home locking the nose-ring in the shop.  When he confronted his wife and asked for the nose ring, she pretended to go inside and wear it. Instead she prayed to the family deity and then tried to drink poison to escape the wrath of her husband.  To her surprise she found the nose-ring shining in the cup, which she wore and came out.  The confused husband went back to the shop only to find the nose-ring there missing.  He was all the more confused; and he came home and narrated this incident to his wife. She then told the whole story including the answer to her prayer. This was a turning point in his life. Not only he gave up his greed for money, but also gave away all his amassed wealth to charities. He became an ananya bhaktha of Lord and started a life of wandering minstrel singing Lord’s glory. His very first composition was about his regret for his wasted life of indulgence. The name Purandaradasa was later bestowed on him by the revered sage Vyasathirtha.  Purandaradasa’s compositions are said to be more than 4 lakhs.

The Saivite saint Pattinathar is another Artha, Artharthi bhaktha who suddenly transformed into an Ananya bhaktha through the grace of God.  His birth name was Swetharanyar as he was named after Lord Siva of Swetharanyeswarar temple. He was also called as Thiruvenkadar by the people. He was born in a wealthy business family based in Kaveripoompattinam, which was a port-town.  When he was five years old, he lost his father. He inherited his father’s business and expanded the import-export business.  While amassing money he also did not hesitate to spend it  on devotees of Lord Siva whom he fed daily. At the age of sixteen, he got married to a merchant’s daughter. He was also known as “pattinathu chetty” They had no children for fifteen years. Meantime there was a very poor devotee of Lord Siva, by the name of Sivasarumar who spent all his wealth in feeding the devotees of Lord Siva. When he ran out of money, he did not hesitate to sell his wife’s mangalsutra to feed the devotees of Lord Siva.  As he was again running out of money, Lord Siva appeared in his dream and told him that he would find a baby at a certain spot and that he can hand it over to Thiruvenkadar who would give gold equal to the weight of the baby, with which he can continue his good work. Sivasarumar found the baby accordingly and took him to Thiruvenkadar, who had also got a similar message in his dream.  Thiruvenkadar rewarded Sivasarumar with baby’s weight of gold and more, and adopted the child.  Since Thiruvenkadar got the dream-message in Thiruvidaimaruthur, he named the child as Maruthavanan.

Maruthavanan grew up and wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. So the father sent him on a ship with a lot of merchandise.  When Maruthavanan returned home Thiruvenkadar noticed that what he has brought back after trading was only sacks full of cow-dung-cakes and paddy husks and he became very angry. Scolding his son he threw a cow-dung-cake at the wall.  Lo! As it split into pieces, out of it fell gems and diamonds and when he examined the husk he found it was gold dust.  He was sorry he scolded his son who not only brought back a big fortune but brought it cleverly concealed in paddy husks and cow-dung-cakes to save it from robbers. With overflowing affection he searched for his son whom he has scolded wrongly.  He could not find him.  His wife said he has left abruptly giving a box to be handed over to his father. It was a beautiful ivory box decorated with pearls. Admiring the box he opened it only to find a needle without eye-hole and a palm-leaf. On the palm-leaf was written “காதற்ற ஊசியும் வாராது காண் கடைவழிக்கே” (Not even an eyeless needle will accompany you in the final journey of life). This opened his eyes and he renounced everything; his money, family and possessions and left the house.  One minute a big prosperous merchant whose wealth was the envy of other merchants and whom even big people approached for money and the next minute a beggar in loin cloth in his own town.  He not only gave up the wealth but also his ahamkara and mamakara as in the case of Purandaradasa.  Such was Pattinathar’s vairagya that when his mother and wife came and asked him to come home for food, he said:

இருக்கும் இடம் தேடி என் பசிக்கே அன்னம்

உருக்கமுடன் கொண்டு வந்தால் உண்பேன் – பெருக்க

அழைத்தாலும் போகேன் அரனே! என் தேகம்

இளைத்தாலும் போகேன் இனி.

If food is brought to the place where I am, I will take it. I will not go to any place for  food even if  invited or my body goes lean without food.

After renunciation he sang many a philosophical song to enlighten people on the blissful state of renunciation. But that is another story.

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