Control of the Mind by Abhyasa and Vairagya
Divine Life
Society Publication: Control
of the Mind by Swami Sivananda
Through Vairagya you will have to check the out-going Vishaya Vrittis and through Abhyasa
you will have to cut the new spiritual path for the mind to move on. Vairagya forms a strong embankment on
the river of Vishaya Vrittis. It does
not allow the Vishaya Vrittis to pass
outside. Vairagya removes Pratibandhas or obstacles. Abhyasa gives Kaivalya Moksha. Without Vrittis
one cannot enjoy sensual objects, (Vaishaya-Vyavahara).
If the Vrittis along with Samskaras are destroyed, Manonasa or annihilation of the mind
follows.
According to Vyasa, the stream
of mind flows both ways -towards good and towards evil. That which flows on to
perfect independence, Kaivalya, down
the plane of discriminative knowledge is named the stream of happiness. That
which leads to rebirth and the flows down the plane of indiscrimination or
ignorance, is the stream of sin. Among those, the flow towards objects is
thinned by Vairagya or
desirelessness; the flow of discrimination is rendered visible by habituating
the mind to the experience of knowledge. Hence the suppression of the mental
modification is dependent upon both.
2. What Is Abhyasa?
Abhyasa or practice is the effort to secure steadiness of mind. The
effort to restrain all the Vrittis of
the mind and to make the mind steady like the jet of a lamp in a windless place
is Abhyasa. To drive back the mind to
its source - Hridaya Guha, and get it
absorbed in Atman is Abhyasa. To make the mind inward and to
destroy all its out-going tendencies is Abhyasa. And this practice should be
done for a long time without any break and with perfect devotion.
3. Control by Suppression of Vrittis
The suppression of the
modification of mind (the Nirodha Bhumi ) is the junction with the
moment of suppression, when the out-going impressions and impressions of
suppression disappear and appear. In other words, we can say that, by the
suppression of the out-going Vrittis
of mind and the development of modifications of control, the mind rests firm in
Nirodha Bhumi. This is Nirodha Parinama (modification of
control).
The mind remains in its real,
unmodified state. Vyutthana means the mind goes outward. Here it means Samprajnata Samadhi (outward) which in
itself is a distraction of the mind. The passage from the Samprajnata (outward) to Asamprajnata
Samadhi (inward) is very difficult and a critical process. The Yogi must be
very, very vigilant. If one out-going Vritti
is checked and controlled, that powerful Vritti
which checks the out-going Vritti is
itself a modification. This also must be controlled. The mind should become
absolutely waveless before Asamprajnata
Samadhi is attained.
4. Make the Suppression Steady
Its undisturbed flow becomes
steady by habit (continuous practice). The controlling modifications (Nirodha Parinama) must arise so
continuously as to become a regular habit. Habit will come only by continuous practice.
Then alone Samadhi will come by itself.
5. Control Mind by Virtues
By cultivating the habits of
friendliness (towards equals), mercy (towards inferiors), gladness (towards
superiors), and indifference towards happiness, pain, virtues and vice, comes
peace of mind.
The best and easy way of
keeping the mind in a state of equanimity or evenness, which is conducive to
the attainment of Samadhi, is
described here. Maitri (friendliness)
and Karuna (mercy) will eradicate
hatred. Mudita (happy for others) will
remove jealousy. Mercy softens the hard heart and removes the cruel, harsh
nature. By this practice, anger, Abhimana(misconception/false
prestige), hatred, egoism, envy of various sorts will vanish. Rajas and Tamas will be removed. The mind will be filled with Sattva. The fickleness of the mind will
disappear. Ekagrata state of mind
will come in. The mind becomes pure.
Samadhi cannot come in a mind that is filled with hatred, jealousy
and anger. By the method of Pratipaksha
Bhavana, any good virtue can be developed.
6. Control Mind by Pranayama
By Pranayama – exhalation and retention of breath, you can control the
mind. All Vrittis will cease by the
practice of Pranayama. Rajas and Tamas will be removed. The mind will become one-pointed. The body
becomes light. The mind will become calm.
7. Control Mind by Vedantic Method
Cut off daily the branches of Sankalpa from the tree of Manas and ultimately destroy the tree of
the mind at its root completely. The cutting off of the branches is only
secondary. The eradication of the tree by the removal of ego is the primary
thing. Therefore, through virtuous actions, if you destroy the idea 'I' which
forms the very root of the mind, then it will not spring up again. The Brahma Jnana which enquires the true
nature of 'I' is the fire which destroys the mind. It is the Jnanagni referred to in the Gita IV-37:
The fire of wisdom reduces all actions (and the false 'I') to ashes.
He who knows the receptacle (Ayatana) verily becomes the receptacle
of his people. Mind is verily the receptacle (of all our knowledge).
(Chhandogya Upani- shad V-i-5)
Excerpts from:
Control
of the Mind by Swami Sivananda
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