Category Archives: manaha

Bhagavad Gita Verse 35, Chapter 6

12 Saturday May 2012

Posted by in abhyaasena, asamshayam, cha, chalam, chapter 6 verse 35, durnigraham, grihyate, kaunteya, mahaabaaho, manaha, tu, vairagyena

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Shree Bhagavaan uvaacha:
asamshayam mahaabaaho mano durnigraham chalam |
abhyaasena tu kaunteya vairagyena cha grihyate || 35 ||
 
Shree Bhagavaan said:
Indeed, the mind is hard to restrain and fickle, O Kaunteya. But through constant discipline and dispassion, O Kaunteya, it can be controlled.
 
asamshayam : indeed
mahaabaaho : O mighty armed
manaha : the mind
durnigraham : hard to restrain
chalam : fickle
abhyaasena : constant discipline
tu : but
kaunteya : O Kaunteya
vairagyena : dispassion
cha : and
grihyate : controlled
 
Having heard Arjuna’s question with regards to the difficulty of controlling the mind, Shri Krishna responded by first agreeing with Arjuna’s statement. This no doubt provided a dose of encouragement to the ever-diligent student Arjuna. By referring to Arjuna as the son of Kunti, Shri Krishna also hinted that a son of such a valiant mother is capable of undertaking the formidable challenge of taming the mind.
 
Shri Krishna then said that the mind, though hard to restrain, can be controlled through constant discipline and dispassion, it can be controlled. Shri Krishna provided a two-pronged approach to controlling the mind, and in doing so, summarized the entire spiritual technique of the Gita.
 
When we transition from college to the workplace, we have to learn new ways of doing things, and also, we have to unlearn some habits. Any transition requires learning new ways and dropping old ways. Abhyaasa or discipline is what we have to learn and practice. Materialistic and desire-oriented thinking is what we have to give up or unlearn through the practice of constant dispassion.
 
First, let us look at abhyaasa or discipline. It is the technique of constant hearing, contemplation and internalization of knowledge (shravanam, mananam and nidhidhyaasana) that reveals our true self. Due to ignorance inherent in the human condition, we forget our true self and think that we are this finite body, mind and intellect. We need to continually hear the knowledge of the eternal essence to remove this ignorance. But even before we can reach a stage where we can hear such knowledge, we first need to clear our mind of impurities in the form of selfish desires, and the notion of doership and enjoyership.
 
That is why Shri Krishna prescribed the practice of karma yoga in order to first clear the mind of selfish desires. Karma yoga slowly leads to karma sanyaasa, where we slowly give up the notion of doership and enjoyership. Only then will the mind be able to contemplate upon and internalize the knowledge of the self through meditation. This is abhyaasa or constant discipline.
 
But this is not enough. We have to give up our attachment to people, objects and situations so that our mind stops becoming agitated. This can only happen when we stop and check the mind each time it rushes out into the world, and examine whether we will truly get joy through the object that the target of the mind.
 
If the mind gets excited when it sees our favourite fried dish, we have to examine whether or not that dish has the capability to give us permanent joy, or whether it sows the seed for future sorrow, perhaps in the form of cholesterol or even indigestion. Such a constant, disciplined investigation automatically brings forth dispassion.
 
So therefore, with the two-pronged approach of constant discipline and dispassion, we can slowly purge the mind of unwanted desires, leaving room for contemplation and meditation. But what if someone attempts to meditate without controlling the mind? Shri Krishna answers this question in the next shloka.
 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 34, Chapter 6

08 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by in aham, balavat, chanchalam, chapter 6 verse 34, drudham, hi, iva, krishna, manaha, manye, nigraham, pramaathi, sudushkaram, tasya, vaayoho

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chanchalam hi manaha krishna pramaathi balavaddrudham |
tasyaaham nigraham manye vaayoriva sudushkaram || 34 ||
 
For, the mind is fickle, rebellious, strong and stubborn, O Krishna. To control it, I think, is as arduous as the wind.
 
chanchalam : fickle
hi : for
manaha : mind is
krishna : O Krishna
pramaathi : rebellious
balavat : strong
drudham : stubborn
tasya : it
aham : I
nigraham : control
manye : think
vaayoho : the wind
iva : like
sudushkaram : arduous
 
Arjuna further elaborates on the difficulty of controlling the mind for meditation to Shri Krishna. He says that it is as difficult as trying to harness the wind. Why is that so? The mind is fickle, rebellious, strong and stubborn. It will refuse any attempt to be controlled.
 
Shri Krishna had acknowledged the fickle nature of the mind in previous shlokas. We oursleves have directly experienced how fickle our mind is. Most of the time, our mind is jumping from one thought to another. Many analogies have been offered to illustrate this fickle nature of the mind. The most common one is a drunken monkey jumping from one branch to another. We can also tell how fickle someone’s mind is by observing their eyes. If they dart around too much, that means their mind is racing through thoughts.
 
Next, Arjuna says that the mind is “pramaathi”. It is difficult to exactly translate this world. The closest word is “rebellious”. It is like a wild horse that is being tamed for the first time. it will never let the rider stay on its back for more than a few seconds. Trying to control the mind becomes a wrestling match where the opponent does not let us get a good grip on him.
 
Furthermore, Arjuna refers to the mind as strong and stubborn. In other words, once the “mind is made up”, or the mind has decided that it wants a certain thing, it is very hard to change it. It is like a child throwing a tantrum – it will cry, yell and scream till it gets its way. The mind will resist all efforts to be controlled, and will start creating a list of desires which will throw us completely off track.
 
So therefore, Arjuna sums up the difficulty of controlling the mind by comparing this endeavour to taming the wind – something that is next to impossible. Coming from Arjuna, a mighty meditator who is said to have propitiated Lord Shiva through his meditation, makes it a valid question. Shri Krishna responds to Arjuna’s question in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 26, Chapter 6

28 Saturday Apr 2012

Posted by in aatmani, asthiram, chanchalam, chapter 6 verse 26, etat, eva, manaha, nayet, nishcharati, niyamya, tataha, vasham, yataha

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yato yato nishcharati manashchanchalamasthiram |
tatastato niyamyaitadaatmanyeva vasham nayet || 26 ||
 
Wherever the fickle and unstable mind strays, remove it from there and constantly focus it only on the self.
 
yataha : wherever
nishcharati : strays
manaha : mind
chanchalam : fickle
asthiram : unstable
tataha : from there
niyamya : remove
etat : it
aatmani : self
eva : only
vasham : focus
nayet : constantly
 
Having asked the meditator to slowly but surely practice meditation, Shri Krishna elaborates on what exactly is the aspect of meditation that needs constant practice and repetition. He urges the meditator to check the mind as soon as it strays into another thought, and bring it back to the thought of the self. The meditator has to do this again and again, each time the mind strays. It is one of the most practical shlokas about meditation.
 
As we practice meditation, we begin to appreciate the speed at which the mind moves from thought to thought. For example, let’s say that the thought of taking a one week vacation enters the mind. It then leads to a chain of thoughts. First the mind makes a list of all our favourite vacations spots. Then it calculates how much each place will cost. Then it visualizes what each of those places looks like. It might also bring up memories of past vacations. The mind has thought all of this within seconds. By the time we are aware that the mind is thinking like this, it has strayed far away from the object of meditation.
 
So therefore, Shri Krishna urges us to be extremely vigilant and alert with regards to our thoughts during meditation. We have to cultivate this vigilance as a habit. We have vigilant habits in other parts of our life. Men, for example, check their face daily for any stray hairs just after shaving. Similarly, we should be vigilant about stray thoughts during meditation. The constant practice of removing stray thoughts is called “abhyaasa”.
 
The mind loves to stray towards thoughts about objects, people and situations that we have given importance to. Abhyaasa helps us diminish our importance towards stray thoughts. Shri Shankaraachaarya in his commentary gives us a wonderful tip with regards to abhyaasa. Each time we encounter a stray thought, we should instantly analyze it like a scientist. We should inspect each thought and say: it is nothing but name and form on top of the eternal essence. If the thought is about name and form only, then it is not real, it is does not have “satyatva”. And if it is not real, it is not important, so I should not go after it.
 
Furthermore, if the very same thought occurs the next time, we should inspect it and say : I have already determined that this thought is not important to me. If we do so each time that same thought comes, we develop dispassion or vairagya towards it. Only then will meditation work properly.
 
If we follow this technique, the mind will eventually become quiet – “prashaanta”.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 14, Chapter 6

16 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by in aaseeta, brahmachaarivrate, chapter 6 verse 14, macchittaha, manaha, matparaha, personality, prashaantaatmaa, saiyamya, sthitaha, vigatabheehi, yuktaha

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prashaantaatmaa vigatabheerbrahmachaarivrate sthitaha |
manaha saiyamya macchitto yukta aaseeta matparaha || 14 ||
 
One whose personality is calm, fearless and established in the vow of renunciation, with a restrained mind, the seeker should sit with his mind focused on me, regarding me as supreme.
 
prashaantaatmaa : calm personality
vigatabheehi : fearless
brahmachaarivrate : vow of renunciation
sthitaha : established in
manaha : mind
saiyamya : under restraint
macchittaha : mind focused on me
yuktaha : the seeker
aaseeta : should sit
matparaha : regarding me as supreme
 
This shloka continues the topic of the method of meditation. Once we have made all the physical preparations and are ready to begin meditation, the question comes up: what do we meditate upon? What should be the object of our meditation? Shri Krishna has a simple answer. He says – meditate upon me. He asks us for two things: to focus our mind on him, and to regard him as the highest goal to be attained.
 
For beginning seekers, the notion of meditating upon the abstract aatmaa or self is difficult. To that end, he asks the seeker to choose any one form of Ishvara that the seeker takes delight in. Unless the seeker learns to take delight in one form of Ishvara, he will need a lot of effort to focus his mind on Ishvara. The seeker needs to put effort in making Ishvara his goal. This is why Shri Krishna repeatedly urges us to detach from sense pleasure and attach ourselves to something higher. Otherwise, if we love food for example, we will begin to meditate on food since it will be the first thing that pops into our mind when meditating.
 
What are the other prerequisites of a meditator? His personality or aatmaa is prashaanta. In other words, he is a calm, quiet and deep person. Only when the seeker’s mind becomes extremely quiet is meditation possible. In fact, if the mind is disturbed, even worldly things such as studying for an exam cannot be accomplished. Even though the mind is not quiet throughout the day, the meditator should take care that the mind is quiet at least during meditation time. It will take 10 minutes or so for the mind to calm all its thoughts, hence the meditator should plan on sitting for at least 15-20 minutes.
 
The next prerequisite is that the meditator should be vigatabheehi which means fearless, one from whom fear has completely gone away. The biggest fear that the meditator harbours is that he will lose his worldly identity, that he will drop his worldly life. That is why the meditator has to have prepared himself, following the instructions given so far, to give up his individuality. Another way of looking at this is that we fear of duality. We are scared to think that we are separate from other people, objects and situations. But one who has learned to see the sameness in everyone has eliminated this fear, because he sees his self in everyone.
 
Another prerequisite is that the meditator should be established with the vow of renunciation. Colloquially, the word brahmachaari means celibate. Here it means one who casts off all roles and dons the role of a seeker when he sits for meditation. He has no other pursuits in mind, no other roles in mind. He is not someone’s boss, employee, son, husband, brother and so on. If he associates with any of these roles, thoughts associated with that role will enter his mind during meditation. The only role to be assumed is that of a saadhaka or a seeker.
 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 12, Chapter 6

14 Saturday Apr 2012

Posted by in aasane, aatma, chapter 6 verse 12, ekaagram, kritvaa, manaha, purification, tatra, upavishya, vishuddhaye, yatachittendriyakriyaha, yogam, yunjyaat

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tatrekaagram manaha kritvaa yatachittendriyakriyaha |
upavishyaasane yunjyaadyogamaatmavishuddhaye || 12 ||
 
Seated on that seat, making the mind single pointed, having subdued the activities of the mind and senses, engage in the yoga for purification of the self.
 
tatra : that
ekaagram : single-pointed
manaha : mind
kritvaa : making
yatachittendriyakriyaha : subduing activities of mind and senses
upavishya : seated
aasane : seat
yunjyaat : engage
yogam : yoga
aatma : self
vishuddhaye : purification
 
In this shloka, Shri Krishna provides a comprehensive introduction to the process of meditation, and also points out the goal of meditation. He says that the goal of meditation is to purify the intellect. The process to do that is by sitting down, controlling the mind and senses, and focusing the mind, making it single pointed.
 
First let us examine the goal of meditation which is the purification of the intellect. The shloka says “aatma-vishuddhaye” meaning “self-purification”. Note that the word self means the intellect here. But what does purification of the intellect mean exactly? To understand that, we need to take a step back and examine where meditation is placed with respect to the topics in the Gita. Meditation is the culmination of the entire curriculum of the Gita which aims at removing the three main defects of our personality: mala, vikshepa and aavarana.
 
In the third chapter of the Gita, we encountered karmayoga. It enables us to purify the first impurity of the personality known as mala or dirt. Mala causes the mind to rush out into the world of sense objects due to a sense of finitude. In other words, it causes us to act in the world. As we have seen earlier, we use karmayoga to turn this defect against itself, just like a thorn removes another thorn. Next, devotion or bhakti is used to remove the second defect known as vikshepa, which the tendency of the mind to get distracted. Chapters 7 to 12 examine bhakti in great detail.
 
After dealing with mala and vikshepa, the Gita addresses the last defect known as aavarana or covering. This covering prevents us from fully getting established in the knowledge of the eternal essence. Having gone through shravanam (reading and listening to knowledge) and mananam (removal of doubts), meditation helps us achieve the last step which is nidhidhyaasa or internalization of this knowledge.
 
So the notion that “I am not this body, I am the eternal essence” needs to be fully internalized so that it becomes second nature to us. This is the goal of meditation.
 
The process to achieve this goal is also addressed in this shloka. Shri Krishna asks us to sit down on that seat that was described in the previous shloka. He then asks us to make the mind single-pointed or focused. But this is easier said than done. Whenever we close our eyes and sit in meditation, the thoughts of the world rush in.
 
Many techniques are given in other literature in order to make this happen, including concentrating attention on a point on the wall, on a flame and so on. But the prerequisite to all of this is that we have to subdue the mind and the senses.
 
Consider the example of the person that wants to remain seated inside a room. Either he will have thoughts of objects outside the room, or someone from the outside will want him to come out of the room. Similarly, when we sit for meditation, either the mind will generate thoughts of the world, or the sense organs will pick up a scent, a touch and so on that will drag the mind out. Therefore, we have to control the mind and senses before attempting meditation.
 
There also are some secondary benefits to meditation. If we meditate on a regular basis, we will never be reactive to situations. No matter what kind of situation comes up in front of us, we will always take time to pause and then decide. This is because the mind has already been trained to slow down the thinking process. We will then not lose our balance and not always work in a reactionary mode. We will take a good look at situation and slowly approach it
meditative person will have this advantage.
 
Next, Shri Krishna delves into the specifics of meditation.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 42, Chapter 3

19 Thursday Jan 2012

Posted by in aahuh, buddheh, buddhih, chapter 3 verse 42, indriyaani, indriyebhyaha, manaha, manasha, paraa, param, parani, parataha, saha, tu, yah

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indriyaani paranyaahurindriyebhyaha param manaha |
manasastu paraa buddhiryo buddheh paratastu saha || 42 ||

It is said that the senses are superior (than the body), the mind is superior than the senses, the intellect are superior than the mind, and that (the eternal essence) is superior than the intellect.

indriyaani : the senses
parani : superior
aahuh : is said
indriyebhyaha : than the senses
param : superior
manaha : mind
manasaha : than the mind
tu : also
paraa : superior
buddhih : intellect
yah : that which
buddheh : than intellect
parataha : superior
tu : also
saha : that

As we approach the conclusion of the third chapter, Shri Krishna delivers yet another profound shloka that has layers and layers of meaning. Let us examine its practical aspects.

This shloka provides us a hierarchy of our nature, or our prakriti. Earlier in the second chapter, Shri Krishna provided us with the ultimate goal of the Gita, which is to realize that we are the eternal essence, and are distinct from our prakriti, which comprises the body, mind and intellect. So in this shloka, he further informs us that these three components of our prakriti are not equally powerful – there is a hierarchy or an order to their power. The subtler a component is, the more power it wields.

The body is the most tangible, or the most gross, aspect of prakriti. Subtler than the body are the senses. Subtler than the senses is the mind, which generates reactions in the form of emotions and thoughts, but lacks decision making power. Subtler than the mind is the intellect, which can analyze and understand the thoughts generated by the mind, and has the power to control the mind, the senses and the body. And here is the key point: if we assert control of one aspect of prakriti, we automatically bring all the lower levels in our command.

For example, let’s say someone wants to quit smoking. If he convinces his intellect that smoking is harmful, and also remains alert at the time a desire to smoke arises, he has a good chance of quitting smoking. But if the intellect starts rationalizing this behaviour by saying “one cigarette is not a problem” then there is no chance.

Now, if we are operating on the level of our vaasanaas, the intellect is where the hierarchy would stop. Then desires would take hold of the senses, the mind and even the intellect, making us act selfishly. There would be no way out. But this shloka urges us to realize that there is something even superior to the intellect, which has the potential to root our desires that have penetrated the intellect. In the initial stages of our journey, that something is a higher ideal. But as we proceed in our journey, it is the highest possible ideal: the eternal essence itself. Unless we recognize this, we will be stuck at the level of the intellect. This paves the way for the technique of removing obstacles, which is covered in the next and final shloka of the third chapter.

Footnotes
1. Bringing one’s prakriti under control is one component of the “saadhana-chatushtaya”, or the four-fold qualifications of a seeker. Control of the senses is called “dama” and control of the mind is called “kshama”.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 60, Chapter 2

27 Sunday Nov 2011

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yatato hyaapi kaunteya purushasya vipaschitaha |
indriyaani pramaatheeni haranti prasabham manaha || 60 ||
 
For the senses are so turbulent, O Kaunteya, that they forcibly seize the mind of a even a wise individual who perseveres.
 
yatatah : persevere
hi : for
api : even
kaunteya : O Kaunteya
purushasya : individual
vipaschitaha : wise
indriyaani : senses
pramaatheeni : turbulent
haranti : seize
prasabham : forcibly
manaha : mind
 
Earlier, we saw that if we have predispositions to objects, they will result in thoughts popping up in our mind. This will be true even if we are not near those objects. Some of us may raise an objection to this statement. We may ask: “As long as I control my actions, what difference does it make if I think about an object such as a chocolate cake? It won’t matter because I won’t eat it, Correct?”
 
In this shloka, Shri Krishna responds to the objection. He says that thoughts can catch us at a time of weakness, when we are least alert, and undo all of our self control. These thoughts are generated by our predispositions or vasanaas.
 
Vasanaas are like dormant embers of coal that burn stronger when the senses add fuel to their fire. They are the seeds of thoughts, or “thought generators”. This means that self control of actions is effective, but only to a certain extent, because self control does not tackle vasanaas. It is like trimming a weed instead of uprooting it completely.
 
Another aspect is pointed out here. One may practice conquering one’s senses for a long time. That person can become an advanced practitioner through years of diligence and perseverance. He may come to the conclusion that all of his desires and vasanaas have been vanquished. But the senses and the mind are extremely clever; they will wait for months, even years, and then generate a thought that can destabilize his equanimity in a second.
 
In summary, it is not enough to control our actions in order to maintain equanimity, we have to remain alert and watch our thoughts as well.