In a conference in USA when a gentle man asked the Origin of man according to Indian scriptures,I had mentioned that, “In Sanskrit and all Indian languages the word Man comes from mind-Manas." Later one of the participants referred to encyclopedia and told me that it says, that the word “Man” in english is indeed derived from eastern origin!It actually means Mind. Isn't it interesting to know this fact?. Mind appears to be the most important component both in becoming the master of the world as well as the reason for our doom.
Let us try to understand the human being.The first thing that comes across are the activities we indulge in.Are these within us or outside us?We need to understand this. One interesting activity is “Prana” which is in each and every living being and this Prana or the vital energy is responsible for all our activities directed from inside out such as respiration, digestion, circulation etc to movement of limbs and vital organs.The second one and the most intriguing one is “Manas”.This is our mind,memory and this indeed progresses to Ego.There is one more thing which the mind indulges in -Thoughts “Vichara”
The “self” or the “Consciousness” is the master of prana and mind. In other words,we are the masters of our Vichara. Vichara directs the input from all our senses and processes them and we utilise these thought process in all our activities whether it proceeds positively or negatively.
Mind,prana and body are not water tight compartments but they are degrees of subtleties.They are all interconnected.When one is disturbed it affects the others.When we come to our thoughts,it is even scientifically proven that our thoughts affects our body.It is even present in the plant kingdom too and a clear example is when we talk lovingly to the plant and the plant flourishes.But when we curse or pass negative comments to the plant,it indeed gradually stops flowering and finally dies or just remains as it is without growing further.If this happens in the plant kingdom,then imagine the impact it would put on the humans.When our Vichara turns its way to agitations,strong negative thoughts it is translated to prana level where it manifests as ‘speed’.What an interesting passage of thoughts from mind to other layers.This overtime impacts the body level and results in many Somatic problems.The power of thoughts is something extraordinary.We have heard this often”As you think ,so you are”. Doesn't this resonate with you now?
For the thoughts to manifest,there are accessory friends too.One of the most important role played is the Sensory organs.All the sensory organs gather the information from the outside world.Our eyes only see the things, we hear what we want to from our ears,tongue gives us taste and the experience but also the ability to speak our thoughts if we wish to.All these information are then directed to our mind and processed into thoughts.We see something and some thoughts run in our mind.We judge something or we like something and all this are related to the mind level and not in the level of the senses.Sometimes these thoughts become negative and it happens because of our attachment born out of likes and dislikes, greed and attachment, jealousy and hatred, fear and doubt , etc.
When the same thoughts are directed in a positive way it leads to Ananda.We might wish that all our thoughts be always positive.But does it happen? Can we change a negative thought to a positive one? Yes indeed,we do have the power if we are mindful and open to change.When we sleep, we are devoid of thoughts and we are at peace.Can any of our senses try to indulge us here and give us happiness? If we are sleeping peacefully and someone brings in a plate full of rasgullas.Our nose and eyes smell and see but our mind wants to shut down and wishes to be at peace. Interestingly sometimes we experience that state of self while we are not sleeping but we are not thinking either which is an experience of mere ‘being’ or existence . This is our natural and unmodified state. It would happen unconsciously. If we can get it consciously with the help of the practices of meditation or inward journey, we call it as samadhi or total samadhana = quietude. To be one with the self we need to transcend the body along with the Sarathi- Prana taking along the passengers- the aspects of mind and then travel deeper where we are not even mind, intellect or ego.That experience is the experience of ‘Atma or Self'.
Vichara,Nirodha or calmness at mind level, slowing at prana level (Gatih vicheda = cutting the speed) and relaxation (prayatna shithila = effortlessness ) at the body level is Yoga. If we try to practice any amount of Asanas, pranayama and meditation etc, the benefits would only be cosmetic and not transform us from within completely.Maybe a partial transformation would happen but sometimes a person who has done all this too becomes highly egoistic and his thoughts as well as the attitude becomes negative.Therefore Patanjali in the Yoga sutras suggests us simple measures like the Yamas,Niyamas which are the interactive and individual level disciplines so that it will prepare us for the next steps in life. Almost all the sages from ancient times suggested us that these disciplines should come from within us and not thrusted from outside.Discipline which comes from within is like a caterpillar metamorphosing into a butterfly or a bud which tranforms to a rose or a raw fruit to a ripe one spreading beauty, aroma and sweet taste.
We shall talk about Discipline in my next post.
-N.V.Raghuram