Three-Fold Defect of the Human Mind - Mala,
Vikshepa, Avarana
Divine Life
Society Publication: Introduction to the
Upanishads by Swami Krishnananda
Sometimes the mind operates like a prism which deflects rays of light in various forms and in various hues. It is up to each person to consider for one's own self, what the thoughts are, that generally arise in the mind from the morning to the evening. The thoughts which take you wholly in the direction of what you are not, and engaging your psychic attention on things which are not the Self – these things should be considered as a serious infection in the mind itself.
The mind of the human being is
usually characterized by three defects called Mala, Vikshepa and Avarana.
Mala means dirt, something
like a thick coating over a clean mirror, preventing reflection of light in it.
There is some such thing covering the mind of the human being also, on account
of which correct knowledge is not reflected in the mind, as a mirror that is
covered over with dust will not reflect sunlight. So some step has to be taken
in order to see that this dirt of the mind is scrubbed off.
The other defect of the mind
is known as Vikshepa, that is fickleness, inability to concentrate on anything
for a long time; instability is the basic nature of the mind. It will think
twenty things in one minute and will not be able to fix its attention on one
thing even for a few seconds. These are the superficial aspects of the defects
of the mind.
But there is a deeper defect
known as Avarana. It is like a thick veil over the
mind, a black curtain, as it were, which prohibits the entry of the rays of
light into itself totally. The Atman being pure subjectivity, the impulsion of
the mind to move outward in the direction of sense objects, is an anti-Atman
activity taking place in the mind, a movement towards the not-Self.
The tendency to move in the
direction of what the Atman is not, the impulsion towards externality of
objects, is the dirt or Mala as it is called. The impossibility of fixing the
mind on anything continuously is the distraction or the Vikshepa. The reason
why such an impulse has arisen at all is the Avarana or the veil. These three
defects have to be removed gradually by protracted self-discipline coupled with
proper instruction.
Usually, you must have heard,
there are techniques of yoga practice known as Karma, Bhakti and Jnana; or
Karma, Upasana and Jnana.
Dross – physical impurity, is
removed by Karma Yoga or performance of unselfish action. The fickleness of the
mind is subdued by Upasana or devout worship. And Avanara or the veil is
removed by Jnana or wisdom of life. The Bhagavadgita is a standard gospel on
the art of Karma Yoga, unselfish spiritual activity. The Epics and the Puranas
highlight the path of devotion, Bhakti or Upasana, love of God. Upanishads deal
with Jnana or wisdom of the ultimate reality.
By protracted practice of
Upasana, by worship, by Japa Sadhana, by Svadhya, by Jnana, and your own notion
of God whatever that notion may be, the fickleness of the mind comes down. It
will be attentive afterwards. By practising these disciplines, the distraction
of the mind is subdued and also the impulse towards sense objects is curbed,
you can become a good student of the Upanishadic philosophy.
In the Upanishads, three
disciplines are mentioned which are equivalent to what I mentioned to you as
Karma, Bhakti and Jnana, namely sacrifice, austerity, and Gurupasakti,
approaching a master for teaching.
Sacrifice in ancient Vedic
terminology meant, of course, the offering of holy oblations in sacred fire,
but sacrifice may also mean offering mentally anything that you would like to
dedicate to God. There can be externally performed sacrifice or Yajna, or a
mentally conceived Yajna or sacrifice. You can be charitable by a gesture
outside, or you can be charitable in your own feeling. A charitable feeling is
more important than a charitable gesture.
The first things you can do in
your life towards performance of Austerity or Tapas is avoidance of luxury and keep
with you only those things which are necessary for you. Also limit your eating,
sleeping and comforts of any kind. Austerity is physical, verbal and mental.
You have to be restrained not only in your physical appurtenances but also in
the words that you speak and the acts that you do.
Any kind of suffering is to be
avoided. Over-indulgence also is to be avoided. Some angels were playing a stringed instrument
and they were saying, "Tune not the sitar too high nor too low. If the
string of the sitar is tuned too high, it will not give music, it may even
snap. If it is too low, it will make a dull humming sound, it will not give
music." Neither this extreme nor that extreme is the path of the spirit. Therefore,
austerity is also a cautious exercise of one's demeanor in respect of one's own
self as well as in respect of others.
So the Upanishad prescribes
sacrifice, Yajna, as one method or means of self-discipline, and the other
method being austerity, self-control. Self-control is actually taking all
necessary steps available for oneself to enable the mind to fix its attention
on the root of its own existence, the Self that is behind the mind, the real
you that is so valuable to you.
Sacrifice and austerity is
followed by the third one, study under a teacher, a competent master who has
trodden the path, who knows the pitfalls, who knows the difficulties, who acts
like a physician with you. With these methods the dirt of the mind is scrubbed
off, the fickleness is brought down, and the veil covering the Atman is lifted
gradually, and the light of the sun of the Pure Spirit will shed its radiance
automatically from within one's own self; knowledge will arise from within you.
This is why it is said when you know yourself, you know everything. Know
thyself and be free: Atmanam vidhi.
Excerpts from:
Introduction to the
Upanishads by Swami Krishnananda
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