VEDANTA FOR BEGINNERS -1.7 . SWAMI SIVANANDA

-
=======================================================================


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23/01/2020.
1. Introduction -7.
7.The Mind And Its Works 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mind is Jagat. The mind moves the senses, the Pranas, etc. Mind is the cause of bondage and  liberation. A keen study of the mind and its works is necessary for the study of Vedanta. 

The presiding deity of the mind is Moon or Soma. Moon is cool. It is formed of Apas-Tattva (water). Water has a tendency to run downwards. So also the tendency of the mind is always to run downwards towards sensual objects.

The external ear, the eye-balls, etc., are only instruments. They are not the real senses of Indriyas. The real centres or senses are in the brain or most correctly in the astral body (Sukshma Sarira). If the auditory nerve and the vision-centre in the brain are affected you can neither hear nor see. So is the case with the other senses also.

During dream the mind itself does the function of all the senses, despite the absence of the external instruments or the senses, such as eye-balls, etc. In the mind all the senses are blended. Really it is the mind that hears, tastes, feels, etc. This proves that the real senses are within. The eye-balls, tongue, external ears, nose, hands, legs, etc., are mere instruments (Karanas).

The mind does the function of Sankalpa and Vikalpa. It thinks: “Whether I can go to Dehra Dun or not?” 

The Buddhi or the intellect decides : “I must go.” Ahamkara, the ego, arrogates. Chitta which is the store-house of Samskaras or impressions makes the preparation and gives orders to the senses. Then the senses act. 

The legs move. The eyes see. After you reach Dehra Dun the Vritti or wave of thought that was agitating you to see Dehra Dun subsides or gets dissolved (Laya). Then you get a temporary peace, after the gratification of your desire.

Strike a vessel made up of bell metal with the tuning fork. It will vibrate. Even so the mind vibrates if any one abuses or praises you, if you feel pain or pleasure. During praise and pleasure, the mind expands. During censure and pain it contracts.

Mind is miniature-Maya. When the functioning of the mind stops, and when the mind is dissolved into the Absolute, there is Self-realisation.

NEXT- 8. The Guru And The Disciple
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To be continued ....


=======================================================================

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is Knowledge : Ch-5 -3.

-
Image
Chapter 5: Maintaining One's Position-3. What are you going to understand when you are trying to understand yourself? Where is the object? And which is the subject there? When I see an object, I say, "I see this. I know this table, this desk, this person, this something that is in front of me"; but I am not in front of me, so I cannot make such statements in regard to my own self. I cannot say, "I am seeing myself"; nor can I say, "I am touching myself". These statements, which usually apply to persons and things outside, do not apply to our own self. Hence, this understanding may not be adequate for the purpose of understanding your own self. All knowledge fails when it becomes a means to the knowledge of one's own self, though it becomes a great success when it is a weapon to know what is not itself. There is this peculiar difficulty which is easy to miss, because of the fact that the only thing that we miss in our daily o...
Read more

What is Knowledge : Ch-4. Part-4.

-
Image
Chapter 4 : Yoga – An Integration of Consciousness. Pat-4. It is only the discriminating consciousness that feels dissatisfied with its present achievements. Ignorance is bliss, and when we know nothing about what lies ahead of us, and we are not even conscious of there being anything at all beyond our possessions and our areas of operation and action, we are kept in a state of This ignorance also brings a sort of joy, because of the disconnection of consciousness from the awareness of there being something beyond itself. So, the ignorant person is happy, and we too are happy, though we know very well that our very physical existence here is not secure. It is a terrible insecurity in which we are placed, and the next moment's fate of our physical existence is not known to any wise man in the world; yet, we are happy. This is an instance of how ignorance can be bliss. However, yoga is that art of awakening the sleeping consciousness of the human individual to...
Read more

VEDANTA FOR BEGINNERS - 23. SWAMI SIVANANDA.

-
Image
  ----------------------------------------- Sunday, January 03, 2021. 08:06. AM. 3. ADHYAROPA OR SUPERIMPOSITION-2. Post-23. -------------------------------------------------- You are in search of a rope. You find one. But in the dark you mistake it to be a snake. You run away from it. You search all other places in the house and fail to find a rope. Your brother brings a light and shows you the rope which you mistook for a snake. You now see the rope. Just as you found the rope in the snake itself, even so, you will see Brahman in the objects of the world themselves. You cannot run away to the mountain-caves in search of Brahman. You have to practise seeing the Lord or Brahman in each and every object around you. When you are able to cognise the Reality underlying the objects, you will no more be deluded. ------------------------- The highly exalted Brahmanishtha-Guru for whom there is no world comes down from his exalted state to teach the disciple. He is even then fully consciou...
Read more