Friday, July 19, 2013

Kinds of Dirt of the mind are Thirteen

Swami Sivananda was one of those who said that tamas has to be first overcome by rajas, and rajas has to be overcome by sattva, and then sattva has to be transcended. Raga, dvesha, kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, matsarya, irsha, asuya, dambha, darpa and ahamkar are the thirteen Sanskrit names of the types of tamasic gunas, and are enumerated in Vedantic textbooks. These are the thirteen kinds of dirt of the mind. They are tamasic qualities—the lowest bestial forms, we may call them. How can one get out of this? How can you meditate with these qualities in your mind? Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj used to ask this question to his disciples.

Raga
Dvesha
Kama
Krodha
Lobha
Moha
Mada
Matsarya
Irsha
Asuya
Dambha
Darpa
Ahamkar

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