Manah Sodhanam -So far (2)


Yesterday, I was rereading Manah Sodhanam for writing this refresher. Verses 7-10 talk about various means of purification of the mind and about the importance of understanding our own mind. And incidentally, I happened to hear Swamini Vimalanda's talk about the  mind in YouTube last night. The talk, combined with my own Guru's teachings and the content of the book has helped in crystallizing what I wanted to type out here.

According to the Upanishads, there are 3 types of manufacturing defects of the mind that prevents us from realizing the Truth or the Paramatma, The first one is the impurities of the mind -anger, lust, greed, jealousy, envy, fear, insecurities etc. The second is the distractive nature of the mind. The mind keeps wandering non stop and disturbs the innate peace and bliss, which is the true nature of our self. The third defect is, we don't know who we are. We don't know the nature of our own self. And because, we don't know who we are, there is so much chaos and confusion all around.

Hence, Manah Sodhanam is the first step towards self realization, because it is all about getting rid of all the impurities plague my mind. To reign in the mind, various techniques are prescribed by the vedas such as japa, tapa, yagna, charity, austerity, pilgrimage and vows. All these are nothing but the various ways through which I can bring my mind to a single pointedness. These practices make me disciplined and the discipline helps in shedding the impurities. For example, having the discipline to not overeat helps in keeping my weight in check, which in turn removes the insecurities that I have regarding my health. The discipline to not react when I am upset helps by not getting me into a deeper mess. (Verse 7)

But the best way to purify the mind is through self inquiry. No matter how much I chant the Lord's name or how many ever vows I take, unless I start observing my own mind, I can never truly understand how it works. The greatness of Vichara, or self inquiry, is expounded by Lord Krishna himself (Verse 8)

In Bhagvat Gita, Krishna says that all actions, or karma, in their eternity, culminate in knowledge. Also, Krishna says that "There is nothing here that is as purifying as knowledge and many individuals, purified by the penance of knowledge, have attained My Being." The knowledge here is the atma gnana, or the understanding about our true state of existence-consciousness-bliss. (Verse 9)

I must take these words of the Lord to my heart and do my best to practice self inquiry. Through this sadhana, may God bless me by purifying my mind. It is important that I must think and understand on my own and overcome all the obstacles that are in the way of knowing about myself. I have to practice this consciously and with discipline because, only then I can actually experience my own self. (Verse 10)

No matter how much I study or how much I listen to the talks of great Gurus, at the end of the day, I must contemplate on my mind. Whenever the mind gets disturbed, I have to try and understand what is causing this disturbance. And only when I turn my thoughts inwards, will I even become aware of the impurities that are clogging the mind. And only when I become aware of these impurities, I can act upon then and try to get rid of them. Hari Om!

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