THE PATH OF WISDOM

Index

  1. Functions of the mind
  2. Pure-consciousness
  3. Absolute-consciousness
  4. Pure-consciousness vs.  
      Absolute-consciousness
  5. The five sheaths
  6. Satcitanandha
  7. Record of subconscious-
       -mind
  8. Peace of mind
  9. The Rise and fall of Ego
10. Subconscious-mind
       and the sources of
       impressions
11. Non-apprehension and
       Misapprehension
12. The path of wisdom
13. Understanding
14. Sanaathana Dharma
15. Nature of life
16. Dharma
17. Artha
18. Kama
19. Moksha
20. Indicators for the
      elimination of vasanas
21. Character (Guna)
22. Satwa guna vasana
23. Rajo guna vasana
24. Dhamo guna vasana
25. Varnaashrama Dharma
26. Brahmana
27. Kshatriya and Vysya
28. Sudra
29. Aashrama Dharma
30. The pathway to Bliss
       (Happiness)
31. Inborn
32. Jeevan Muktha
33. Functions of the
      inner-personalities
34. Stimulus
35. Experiencing
36. Stimulus and the body
37. Processes undertaken
       by the mind
38. Mind and Intellect
39. Action and Reaction
40. Reasons for different
       re-actions
41. Cause and effect
42. Who is he who thinks?
43. Becoming a Servant from
      being a Master
44. Creation/Elimination
      of vasanas
45. The process for the
      creation of vasanas
46. Attachment
47. Reaction as an outcome
      of action
48. How to tread in the path
      of wisdom?

49. Guidelines for the progress in the path of wisdom

50. First Path

51. Second Path
52. Third Path
53. Fourth Path
54. The path of Wisdom
       .. As I understood

1.     Functions of the mind. 

The functional name of one part of the "brain" is "intellect", while the other is "mind".

While the "brain" is one of the parts of the body, the "intellect" and the "mind",  being the functional names,  cannot be called as "body-parts"; yet, the Indian Rishis called them as 'subtle bodies' as their functions are inter-related to the 'gross-body'.

In the mind, impressions are recorded based on the experiences the man has gathered while contacting the objects in the world outside. When he introspects, he may record fresh impressions or modify the impressions already recorded.

Again the functions of the mind are stored in two different layers, "conscious-mind" and "subconscious-mind".  Some may name the "subconscious-mind" as "unconscious-mind". Why is it so?

When a boat is moving on the surface water of the sea, the vibration and the ripples created by it may not be felt by water at the bottom.

Deep sea is unconscious of the vibration, because it is so subconscious when compared to the surface water.

Similarly, the impressions in the conscious-mind will be recorded in the subconscious-mind only when the fact of the impressions is transmitted to it. Otherwise it will be unconscious of the happenings in the conscious- mind.

2. Pure-consciousness.

Consider the following two sentences:-

     1. I have a pen

     2. The pen has a cover

In the first sentence 'pen' is the object; and in the second sentence 'pen' is the subject. A thing can either be a subject or an object but it cannot be both at the same time. 

When I say 'I have a body', body is the object; then which is that 'I'? Again when I say 'I have a mind', mind is the object; then which is that 'I'?

Both the body and mind are of inert materials. They themselves cannot function unless they receive the energy from some other source. That some other source is called pure-consciousness (Real I). It has no record of any impression. It contains only the Spirit to give energy to the body and the mind for their functions. The pure-consciousness is otherwise called 'Self', 'Soul', 'Jeevathma', 'Holy-spirit', etc.

Some may say 'I am the body with a soul', but it should be 'I am the soul in a body'. 

The body cannot pervade the soul; only the soul pervades the body. Once the soul withdraws the spirit from the body, the man has to die and the body will decompose.

The ultimate aim of any human-being should be to realize the "SELF" within - Know the 'SELF' by the 'self' in the 'self'. It is not enough we know 'IT', it is to be realized.

It is to be realized that 'IT' is to be realized.

Who is the knower of the pure-consciousness?

3. Absolute-consciousness.

Suppose there is building in the midst of the vast open ground.

 If we peep into the house, we can see kitchen-space, hall-space, bedroom-space, etc., besides the open space between the compound wall and the house; and also the outer space outside the compound wall. But for the building (constructed therein), it will only be a ‘space’ and nothing else.

The space covering the entire cosmos is filled by absolute-consciousness. The knower of the absolute-consciousness is called God, Father in Heaven, Allah, etc. He is not only the knower of the absolute-consciousness but also the knower of the pure-consciousness in the individual living-beings.

To give one more illustration -- In the room, there are number of balloons floating in the air. So far as the air is concerned, the total air in the room including the air in the balloons is absolute-consciousness, while the air in the individual balloons is the pure-consciousness of the balloon concerned. 

4. Pure-consciousness vs. Absolute-consciousness.

When we are on the river side, we usually watch and enjoy the rapid flow of the water in the river. However we may not have any cognizance of the thing over which the water is flowing.

Only when the river is empty, we will be conscious of the river-bed. But actually the river-bed is only a part of the earth's surface.

Though the absolute-consciousness covers the entire cosmos, a tiny part of the whole, when encircled by an invisible layer, becomes the pure-consciousness giving energy to the concerned living-being to carry out his/its activities without involving itself in the activities.

As the pure-consciousness does not involve in any of the activities, it is always in the nature of Bliss.

Our ancient spiritual masters named the pure-consciousness as Cit and the absolute-consciousness as Cit-akaash.

5. The five sheaths.

While the material scientists showed their interest towards the world of objects, the spiritual scientists showed their interest towards the world of subjects.

The spiritual scientists were always fascinated by the behaviour of the human-beings. They wanted to know why the people acted differently (from one another) at a given situation. They also noticed that the same person acted differently over a period of time.

After a long period of observation and contemplation, they found that every man is having a four-in-one personality, viz. body, mind, intellect and soul and the reasons for variation in the activities between the people are because of different types of composition in the minds of the individuals concerned.

They also noticed that the gross-body consists of two layers; so there are five layers in a man and every layer is covered by a sheath (supporting the layer).

1. Food-Sheath - To nourish the organs of the body, food is necessary. Hence the first (outer) sheath is called as food-sheath.

2. Vital Air-Sheath - The food, taken by the body is to be digested and converted into energy; the energy is to be distributed to the respective organs; wastage are to be eliminated and the life-force is to be maintained. All these functions are being carried out by the air. Since this function is very vital for the sustenance of body, it is called Vital Air-Sheath.

3. Mental-Sheath - The feelings and emotions of the person are related to the mind. Hence it is called as mental-sheath.

4. Intellectual-Sheath - Apart from the feelings and emotions, the man is capable of using his power of discrimination. As this faculty is related to the intellect, this is called as intellectual-sheath

5. Bliss-Sheath - The innermost part is soul (pure consciousness) which is encircled by the bliss-sheath.

Why this is called as Bliss-sheath....?

6. Satcitanandha.

The word satcitanandha is a combination of three words viz, sat, cit and anandha.

• sat means forever. Where a thing will be in existence forever, it is called 'sat'.
• cit refers to the pure-consciousness.
• anandha means the stage of happiness (bliss), it will ever hold. Since the pure-consciousness is a part of the absolute-consciousness, naturally it maintains happiness at all times.  

It must be remembered that happiness does not belong to the pair of opposites; i.e. pleasure-pain; success-failure; heat-cold; etc.

There are certain distinction between pleasure and happiness:--

1.  Pleasure comes from without; happiness comes from within.

2.  Pleasure comes because of something; happiness comes in spite of nothing.

We can realize the bliss when we shift our identification from the body-consciousness to the pure-consciousness. 

7. Record of subconsciousmind.

When it is said that the feelings and emotions are covered by the mental sheath, it refers to the conscious mind only. The record of the subconscious- mind is independent and it not under the influence of any sheath.

Some of the dust particles in the hall may be deposited in the tube light. The dust accumulated over a period of time becomes very dirty and it may not allow the light to enter the room.

Even when we use a vacuum cleaner to remove the dust particles from the hall it cannot remove the dirt deposited in the tube light.

Just like the dust particles deposited in the surface of the tube light, when impressions  are recorded over the encircled layer of the pure-consciousness (bliss sheath), it is called as subconscious-mind.

 8. Peace of mind.

  

Instead of living in Peace, man is living in Pieces

The mental urges, generated from the impressions recorded in the subconscious mind, will always create passion in him. To fulfill the passion, he has to toil in many areas. This will naturally erode his peace of mind.

To attain eternal peace, all the impressions in the subconscious-mind are to be eliminated.

                                                    

When this is accomplished, the happiness ever existing in the pure- consciousness will envelop him and he will realize the eternal peace.

Success in life is in the elimination of all impressions from the subconscious mind.

ஆசை    கொண்ட மனம் --   அது அவதிகளின்   களம்

அமைதி கண்ட      மனம்  --  அது ஆனந்தத்தின் வசம்

  

9. The Rise and fall of Ego.

The impressions recorded in the subconscious-mind determine the character and quality of the man.

In Bhagavad Gita, Shri. Krishna says –

     If controlled,      the mind will be the best   friend; 

     If uncontrolled, the mind will be the worst enemy.

Even-though it was not specifically indicated whether the mind refers to the conscious-mind or the subconscious-mind, we have to consider it as the subconscious-mind.

The impressions recorded in the subconscious-mind are named 'Vasanas' by the Veda. Ego in any man emerges out of the 'Vasanas'.

But for the ego, the man will not have any endeavor to attain the goals he desired to achieve.

Without ego, one cannot grow.

Unless the ego is eliminated, he cannot attain the eternal peace and consequently realize the bliss.

With ego, one cannot glow.

To achieve something,    ego is to be maintained.

To attain eternal peace, ego is to be eliminated.

அகந்தை அழியுமிடம் 

     ஆண்டவனை அறியுமிடம் 

When to start the elimination process..?

10. Subconscious-mind and the sources of impressions.

When it is said that the dust particles were deposited in the tube light, we can easily accept them as the dust particles and the tube are visible objects.

When it is said that the impressions are recorded in an invisible layer which enveloped the pure-consciousness, we cannot accept them, because they are all invisible.

But, unless we accept logically the existence of the subconscious-mind, it will be impossible to walk in the path of wisdom.

The following observations may kindly be taken note of; they will help us to understand when we look into the functions of the inner-personality of the human-being.

1. Everything exists in space; yet the space has nothing.

   Clouds and dust are moving in space; yet they cannot contaminate the space. Similarly the entire cosmos are influenced by the absolute- consciousness; yet it is unconditional and uncontaminated. The absolute- consciousness may also be called as unconditioned pure-consciousness.

2. The part of the unconditioned pure-consciousness, when encircled by an invisible layer in a living human being is called conditioned pure- consciousness (cit)

3. The unconditioned pure-consciousness together with the encircling layer is called citta (some may call it as ciththam).

4. When impressions are recorded in the citta, it is called subconscious- mind.

There are four main sources through which such impressions are recorded.

They are :-

-- When the conscious-mind thinks of a thing repeatedly.

-- When the conscious-mind prompts and indulges in repeated actions

(of the same kind).

-- When deep impact is made during the first experience itself.

-- Through contemplation, when the power of  discrimination is used

effectively.

11. Non-apprehension and Misapprehension.

The religious masters all over the world made number of declarations periodically for the benefits of the people. When the declarations can be applied universally and beyond time and space, such declarations are to be treated as spiritual truths and to be followed by all irrespective of the caste, religion, etc.; the only condition is that they should be correctly understood.

In India, there is a famous analogy. If, in the darkness of the night, a rope is not comprehended as rope, it may be misapprehended as a snake. 

The misapprehension is because of the non-apprehension.

In spiritual matters, the correct apprehension is a must. That is why we insist upon a cordial relationship between the student and the master who is capable of clearing the doubts raised by the student.

However the following are the prerequisites to commence the journey in the path of wisdom—

     1. The thirst to know

         the  truth

     2. Intelligence

     3. Inquisitive mind

     4. Inclination

     5. Interest

     6. Involvement

Even if items 2 and 3 cited are missing, by scrupulously following the guidelines given by the master, a mediocre student can attain wisdom.

12. The path of wisdom.

God make man simple; instead of being humble, he makes him complicated.

Having bewildered by the activities of the human-beings, the ancient masters discovered that by undertaking wrong activities, they made their life more complicated and eventually lost their peace of mind.  

They also found four paths and by making the journey in one of the paths which is most relevant to him, any man could redeem himself and get eternal peace. 
The paths are –

1. The path of ‘wisdom’     (gnana     margam)

2. The path of ‘service’       (karma    margam)

3. The path of ‘devotion’    (bakthi    margam)

4. The path of ‘meditation’ (dhyaana margam)

If the man is an introvert, he can undertake the journey in the path of Wisdom. Others (extroverts) may also undertake this journey provided they follow the cycle, called “action, withdrawal and contemplation”.

13. Understanding.

"The level of understanding will depend upon the level of understanding!"

If we wish to travel in the path of wisdom, we have to note the following points:-

1. To raise our level of understanding to the maximum

2. To understand the truths as conceived by the Seers

3. To acquire the ability to find the spiritual truth even when the statements of truth are very normal

At times, we may have to discuss with a master to get clarifications on certain points. While doing so, we must allow the master to understand our level of understanding. At any cost, we should not get provoked during such discussions.

Student: How to understand what you understand?

Master:  To make you to understand what I understand, first I must understand what you understand!!

When Jesus says “cleanse the inside of the cup”, it looks like an ordinary command to keep the vessel clean. But he didn’t say anything about the cup; he meant only the inside of the body, i.e. the mind.

Before looking into the functions of the inner-personalities of the man, we have to understand (in detail) the meaning of certain key-words used in VEDAS.

14. Sanaathana Dharma.

The Hindu Religion was originally named as “SANAATHANA DHARMA”. The word “HINDU” was coined by the Arab Warriors when they invaded into India. 

Sanaathana Dharma means “eternal truth”. 

In our day-to-day life,    we see many things and may consider them as true. But they cannot be eternally true. I may own a house; but it will not be mine forever, because --

• I may sell it.
• I may die.
• The house may collapse due to some natural calamity
• The Government may acquire the land in which the house was   constructed.

So, if we show our attachment towards the impermanent things, we will have to suffer when the things are lost. Instead, if we fix our attachment with the ONE who we will never lose, we need not to suffer.

Sanaathana Dharma explains and guides us to fix our attachment with the eternal one.

15. Nature of life.

Life is a series of experiences.

Yet, the ancient Seers had to encounter many issues over this phenomenon.

1. What is an experience?

2. How it occurs?

3. Why the same experience gives different impacts among the people?

4. Is this the reason for different types of characters one sees in the    human-beings?

5. If so, how to classify such types of characters?

6. In general, what is the nature of life?

After detailed observations followed by deep contemplation, they found and defined the nature of life in four words, e.g. Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.

Keeping the above as the basis of human life, one can easily fix the quality and the type of a man. 

In fact, this will be highly useful to fix the type of any society, nay any nation.

16. Dharma.

Dharma means the essential nature of a thing.

Wherever used or whoever uses it, the thing will not change its nature (svabhava). It will function according to its nature only (e.g. hot sun, cold ice, steam in boiled water, etc.)

A Hindu in his prayer hall may use camphor, while a Christian the candles. Suppose the Hindu uses the candle for the pooja in the prayer hall, it will not hesitate to burn, because its nature is to burn wherever it is used.

The seers divided the men into four types depending upon the quality and mental attitude of the persons concerned, which we will discuss latter.

Dharma may be of two types:-

   

    1. When a person acts according to his own nature, it is called

        “sva-dharma”.

    2. When he acts according to somebody’s nature, it is called

        “para-dharma”.

17. Artha.

When we earn more money, naturally it will inflate our ego. Apart from money, some other things, such as position, power, authority, etc. may also inflate our ego.

So, if anything inflates our ego, it is to be treated as ‘Artha’.

18. Kama.

‘Kama’ is generally indicated as sexual desire; but it is not correct.

One is very much interested to buy a car, even-though he may not require it. Because of his fondness he purchases it. The desire to possess a thing and to enjoy such possession, when it is not required, is ‘kama’.

Even when a car is required to perform one’s duty better, just because of fondness, if he purchases more number of cars, it is also called as ‘Kama’.

19. Moksha.

‘Moksha’ means liberation. There are two kinds of liberations.

When the conditioned pure-consciousness is liberated from the encircled invisible layer, it merges with the absolute consciousness. But we are not talking about this liberation. (This we cannot do; it is up-to HIM!).

Here we mean the removal of all impressions (Vasanas) embedded in the invisible layer of the pure-consciousness.

According to the Veda, re-birth of a man takes place because of the un-exhausted vasanas at the time of his death.

As the river-bed is free from any water in it, if the subconscious-mind is free from any trace of vasana, he is said to be liberated. At this stage, he can realize “what is moksha”.

That is why, it is said that the mind (subconscious-mind) must die, before the man dies. 

20. Indicators for the elimination of vasanas.

Elimination of vasanas should be the final goal of any person. But how can we know that the person has eliminated all the vasanas from his subconscious mind?

Even when the river bed is empty of any water, if we dig the ground we may find some water beneath the surface.

Similarly some vasanas might have been embedded in the subconscious-mind without our awareness. So, how to ensure that all the vasanas are exhausted or the number of vasanas minimized.

The following indicators may be useful in this regard –

.. Peace of mind under all circumstances.

.. Beyond the pair of opposites, such as pleasure-pain, success-failure, 

heat-cold, etc.

.. “Nir-vichara Samadhi” (Patanjali).

.. “Citta viritti nirodha” (Patanjali) i.e. stoppage of thoughts from the subconscious-mind.                  

.. Sublimation of ego.

.. Enlightenment.

.. Always being present in the “present”.

.. Independent while being inter-dependent.

.. Absence of pride.

.. Expects nothing; accepts everything.

.. No regrets of the past; no anxiety for the future; no excitement in the present.

21. Character (Guna).

After a detailed study of the human behavior, the Seers found that there are three types of people based upon their character (Guna).

We will see later how the vasanas (character) are created. From the vasanas, ego is generated followed by desires, thoughts and actions.

All actions of any person are related to the quality of vasanas (character). 

The seers named them as –

.. Satwa   guna vasana

.. Rajo      guna vasana and

.. Dhamo guna vasana

The quality of Satwa guna is superior to that of the others, while the quality of Rajo guna is superior to Dhamo guna.

As the mind is a changeable commodity, any man can change his quality from the inferior to the superior. If he fails to guard himself, he may even fall down the ladder.

Each type of guna is having its own characteristics.

22. Satwa guna vasana.

Some of the characteristics of the persons having Satwa guna vasana

are :-

 .. He will be unactive by nature.

 .. His ego will be sublimated.

 .. He will maintain a detached attachment.

 .. He will be a man of introspection and contemplation.

.. Free from regrets, anxieties and excitement.

.. As he is a man having the power of discrimination, he will not be a man of emotion and feeling.

.. Will act according to Dharma without any consideration of

Artha and Kama.

.. He will behave like a introvert by nature.

.. He can’t  be perturbed by the happenings around him.

.. He will always work without any expectation.

.. He will always try to overcome the situation, if there arises a problem.

23. Rajo guna vasana.

Some of the characteristics of the persons having Rajo guna vasana are:—

.. He will have inflated ego.

.. He will be very active by nature.

.. He will always act in the outer world with expectation.

.. He may function either as a leader or as a boss.

.. Pride & prestige are common.

.. He will be full of desire/passion.

.. He will always try to overpower when the views of others go against his views. 

.. He will be an extrovert by nature.

.. He will always dream about future achievements.

24. Dhamo guna vasana.

Some of the characteristics of the persons having Dhamo guna vasana are:-

.. He will have a dormant ego.

.. He will be having an under-developed thinking faculty.

.. He is in-active by nature; so, he will simply follow others’

instructions.

.. He is neither an introvert nor an extrovert.

.. He will not have any urge to perform (on his own).

25. Varnaashrama Dharma.

Varnaashrama Dharma. It is one of the best contributions given by the ancient Seers for the benefits of the entire mankind. If it is correctly understood, it will be easy for us to identify the quality and mental attitude of the human-beings. In fact, with this knowledge, we can classify not only the society but also the country accordingly.

But, unfortunately wrong interpretations to the principles of this Dharma were given at a later period and the people in general accepted them.

So, we must try to understand the real meaning of this Dharma. Varnaashrama Dharma should be read as Varna Dharma and Aasrama Dharma.

Though in Geeta, Sri Krishna says that the varnas are fixed based on the guna and karma (action) of the individuals, we have to consider 'karma' as a mental attitude, because before committing the physical action, the action might have been executed in the mind for a number of times.

While the varna dharma explains the mental attitude of a person, the aashrama dharma indicates the stages of the person in which he has to live.

Apart from the character of the person, the mental attitude also should be taken into consideration for fixing the varna of the individual, as persons with the same qualification may have different mental attitudes, i.e. a doctor may like to use his knowledge in research work; other may use his knowledge for giving service to the society; another may use his knowledge to earn money.

There are four categories of varnas, viz. Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vysya and Sudra. As already stated, the categories are based on the quality (guna) and the mental attitude of the persons concerned. They have no connection with the caste, religion, place, birth, etc.

26. Brahmana.

To identify a person as a Brahmana, the indicators given against Satwa Guna Vasana may be seen.

27. Kshatriya and Vysya.

The indicators given against Rajo Guna may be seen. However, there are some variations between these two categories. They are as below:-

         Kshatriya                            

Behaves like a leader.                     

He will work for a ‘higher’ cause. 

Interested in Artha & Kama          

   giving importance to                   

   the principles of Dharma.            In case of dispute, he will see            things from other’s angle.                                                                  

            Vysya

Behaves like a boss.

He will Work for ‘his’ cause.

Interested in Artha & Kama;

      with no importance to

       Dharma.                                      

In case of dispute, he will

      see things only from his own 

       angle.

 

28. Sudra.

The indicators given against Dhamo Guna Vasana may be seen.

As the persons belonging to this category are having dormant ego, they may not/cannot use their thinking faculty. As such, they will always work according to somebody’s instructions.

29. Aashrama Dharma.

In Aashrama Dharma also there are four categories, viz. Bramacharya, Grahastha, Vaanaprastha and Sanyaasa.

These categories indicate various stages of life of a man.  Here also, people don’t understand correctly the meaning of the category. Let us consider them one by one.

Bramacharya:

There is a general feeling that this category refers to unmarried persons. Actually this indicates that the person is in the learning process (student); also he depends on others for his livelihood. If any person is not in the learning process, he cannot be considered as a Bramacharya.

Grahastha:

Even-though this category indicates the married life of the individuals, even an unmarried person may also be considered as a Grahastha provided he earns for his livelihood and also for his dependents.

Vaanaprastha:

Persons belonging to this category may lead normal life; yet, they may be interested to attain inner-happiness. Physically they may be in the family, but mentally they may be away from the family. They will have detached attachment in day-to-day life.

Sanyaasa:

Persons belonging to this category may lead the life without any attachment. They are beyond the pair of opposites. They will neither rejoice nor regret. They will always function as a tool in “HIS” hands.

30. The pathway to Bliss (Happiness).

There are four pathways to realize the stage of Bliss --

The path of Wisdom:- Normally only an introvert can go in this path.  Anybody can choose this path, provided he is capable of withdrawing himself from the objective world, when required, to have introspection and contemplation. Without contemplation, he will not know the eternal truth. Unless he knows the eternal truth, he will not realize the Bliss.

The path  of Service:- The individual forgetting his own/personal interests, must work for a higher cause. Action, withdrawal and contemplation should be his way of life. He must work in the field without expecting anything for his personal gains/pride.

The path of Devotion:- Where the persons cannot travel in the two paths cited, they can follow this path. Beyond worshiping their own God, they must surrender the self completely before the God; otherwise they will never realize the Bliss.

The path of Meditation:- By following this path also, one can realize the Bliss. The great Rishi Patanjali has given eight steps to follow them one by one; viz. Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Thaaranai, Dhyaana and Samadhi.

It is not necessary that one should start from Yama only; e.g. a person of high quality can straightaway go to Dhyaana. Yet, unless one fulfills all the conditions stipulated in the first seven steps, Samadhi cannot be attained.

31. Inborn.

Inborn means “existing from birth”.

When somebody accomplishes extraordinary thing, it is usually said that the individual was having that kind of inborn quality.

How is it possible for a newborn to acquire such an inborn quality?

Our seers have given an answer to this!

When a man dies, his body falls down, but the soul (the conditioned-pure-consciousness) leaves the body. We have already seen that impressions are recorded on the invisible layer of the pure-consciousness, creating the subconscious-mind. Such impressions are called “Vasanas”.

When the soul leaves the body, the vasanas that were not exhausted also accompany the soul with its invisible layer to take a new birth.

These vasanas in the new-born baby fix the quality of the person (in-born). 

32. Jeevan Muktha.

We have seen that at the time of death of a person the soul will carry over the residual vasanas to the new body. We have also seen that the eternal goal of any person is to exhaust all vasanas from the subconscious-mind.

It is to be noted that the residual vasanas alone compel the departed soul for a new birth so as to exhaust those vasanas, carried over to the new body.

If the man exhausts all vasanas before his death, there won’t be any compulsion for a re-birth. And he becomes a Jeevan Muktha (a man of liberation) thereby ending the cycle of births and deaths.

That is why, it is insisted that the mind (subconscious-mind) must die before the man dies.

33. Functions of the inner personalities.

In order to make an easy understanding the different functions happening within the body will be presented in the form of a flowchart.

Many of the boxes in the flowchart do not have any specific locations. They are presented only for easy understanding of the sequences of internal movements.

The straight lines in the flowchart indicate the record of impressions, while the dotted lines indicate the responses/reactions.

It will be useful, if the entries in the flowchart are followed by accepting the logic with which they are presented.

             34. Stimulus.

Without any experience with the objects in the world outside, impressions cannot be recorded within. Actions undertaken by the man based on the record of such impressions will lead to the creation of habits (when repeated) and generate vasanas in the subconscious-mind.

Normally, unless the man gets a stimulus from the world outside, no impressions can be recorded. However, apart from the impressions created while contacting the objects in the form of stimulus, man can also create new impressions on account of introspection and contemplation.

35. Experiencing.

In order to have an impression within, man has to experience something while contacting the objects in the world outside.

For this to happen, there must be an experience-r, the objects in the world outside which reach the experience-r in the form of a stimulus (experienced) and also the happening of an experience (experiencing).

In this connection, the difference between the words “experience and experiencing” should be correctly understood.

Only by the process of experiencing man gets an experience; otherwise he will not gain any experience.

36. Stimulus and the body.

The stimulus coming from the objects in the world outside is received by the sense organs.

Yet, the actual receiver of the stimulus is only the conscious-mind. Only when the stimulus reaches the mind, further process will be undertaken.

If the mind is not available to receive the stimulus, even when the stimulus reaches the sense organs, it cannot get any reaction from the man.

Please see the flowchart:-

37. Processes undertaken by the mind.

When the stimulus is received by the mind, number of processes can be undertaken by it:-

It may ignore the stimulus thereby creating no impression.

It may like to retain the experience in the form of an impression. The impressions are recorded by the mind in the chamber (memory-box) related to the mind. In the long run, it will indicate the emotions of the individual.

Different   types  of   impressions   may  be   made   by   different  persons,    though all might have received the same stimulus. This is because  of the different level of Ego (emanated from the vasana) between  the individuals. This is why the impression recorded in the memory-box related to the mind is called as “Egoistic impression”.  

It will transmit the stimulus to the intellect for further process.

Please see the flowchart

38. Mind and Intellect.

When a stimulus is received by the mind (whether it accepts the stimulus or not), it (the stimulus) will be automatically transmitted

to the intellect.

If the intellect feels that the information is required for future reference, it will be recorded in the memory-box related to the intellect.

The impressions recorded in the memory-box will indicate the knowledge acquired by the individual. In the long run this may lead to wisdom.

Please see the flowchart :-

39. Action and Reaction.

Whenever we committed an action in the world outside, we thought that it was an action; but, in most of the cases, it might be a re-action.

In the classroom, a student attacked two other students. On the next day, one of the students attacked by him moved away from him, while the other student deliberately started a fight with him.

The actions, executed by both the students, are only reactions, because the execution was in response to the happenings in the previous day.

40. Reasons for different reactions.

We have seen that the two students reacted differently in response to the same incident, i.e. one student just moved away, while the other started the fight. Why this difference?

When the affected students returned home, the father of one student might have advised his son to maintain a distance from the rowdy student, while the father of the other student might have instigated his son to teach a lesson to the rowdy student.

Even-though both the students acted as per the advices given by their fathers – as recorded in the memory-box related to the mind – it was only as a response to the act committed by the rowdy student; hence it has to be considered only as a reaction.

41. Cause and effect.

Whatever we do as an action may be an effect of a previous cause.

Even the very birth of an individual may be due to the previous cause, i.e. the birth is   because of the un-exhausted “vasanas” in the previous birth.

It  is  also  to be  noted  that  the  present  effect   which is because  of  the  past cause  becomes,  after  its effect, the cause for the future effect.

Because of the continuous (repeated) actions based on this type of cause and effect theory,    new impressions are recorded   in  the     subconscious mind; and such impressions (otherwise called vasanas), unless exhausted during the life period of an individual, necessitated another birth, after the death of the individual.

One day the son asked his father “daddy, please get me an ice-cream from this shop”. He might have noticed this particular shop many no. of times. But, why he asked his father to buy an ice-cream to-day; because, one of his friends in the school had mentioned, on the previous day, about the ice-cream of this particular shop. So the present action (effect) is because of the impression (cause) created by his friend.

When his friend mentioned about the ice-cream of the shop, an impression was recorded in the conscious mind; because of this impression stored in the memory box of the conscious mind, he asked his father to buy an ice-cream from the particular shop.

Suppose the son doesn’t like the taste of the ice-cream, the record in the memory box may be vanished in due course; if he likes the taste of the ice-cream he will continue to enjoy the ice-cream repeatedly.

This kind of repeated actions will make an impression in the subconscious mind and it will be kept therein for a very long period, even if the impression recorded in the conscious-mind is evaporated in due course.

Any man who tastes the drink for the first time may not be a drunkard. But if he continues the chain of cause and effect transactions, sooner or later, he will become a drunkard.

Thus, the chain of cause and effect transactions will create the formation of a new character in the "vasana" box of the individual concerned.

42. Who is he who thinks?

The gross-body is having only organs of perception and organs of action; they don’t have any thinking faculty.

The subtle-body is having the mind and intellect equipments; even the mind is functioning as a conscious-mind and also as a sub-conscious mind. Of these, the intellect is functioning as a discriminating device; so it is not related to any emotional activity. If the man acts as per the conclusions taken by the intellect, it may not bring any discomfort to the individual.

The conscious-mind always functions with emotion. Unless it comes under the control of the intellect, all decisions taken by it out of emotion may not be taken as correct.

The subconscious-mind can think independently without the influence of the intellect; but, it cannot give any directive to the gross-body on its own. It can only advise the conscious-mind to act according to its liking; yet, if the conscious-mind is under the control of the intellect, its advice may not be considered by it.

43. Becoming a Servant from being a Master.

Though there are three thinkers within the man, the conscious-mind alone is having the capacity to function either as a Servant or as a Master. The subconscious-mind can only send strong impulses to the mind and it cannot compel it to act according to the impulses.

As already stated, the mind becomes our worst enemy if it functions as a Master and our best friend if it functions as a Servant. How to identify whether the mind functions as a Master or as a Servant?

If the mind functions on its own (out of emotion) without consulting the intellect, it behaves like a Master; on the other hand, if it functions under the influence of the intellect, it doesn’t behave like a Master; yet, it does not become the Servant as well. However, when the mind functions under the control of the intellect, it may then be assumed that it functions as a Servant. 

Once it comes under the control of the intellect, it is more or less like a chained-dog. The chained-dog can only bark and it cannot bite. Similarly, just like a chained-dog, the conscious-mind can only murmur but it cannot take any decision on its own.

The conscious-mind will never like to behave like a Servant. It is the duty of the individual human-being to initiate action to change the conscious-mind from the Master status to the Servant status.

There are four different road-maps for initiating this process:-   

     1.    The path of Wisdom

     2.    The path of Service

     3.    The path of Devotion

     4.    The path of Meditation

If the man is an introvert with proper power of discrimination, apart from the study of the scriptures followed up with necessary contemplation, he must adhere to the principles of “Savitharka Samadhi” (which we will consider later).

By following the “Savitharka Samadhi”, the conscious-mind can be purified by eliminating the bad qualities from its memory-box. By following “Nirvitharka Samadhi”, the conscious-mind can be brought under the control of the intellect. Then it may be called as an integrated-mind.

44. Creation/Elimination of vasanas.

The birth of any man may be an effect of a previous cause (except in the case ‘Avadhara Purushas’).

When the man dies, the Soul departs along with the encircled layer with residual 'vasanas' recorded therein. Because of the un-exhausted 'vasanas' from the subconscious-mind, the rebirth of the human-being becomes inevitable. If the un-exhausted 'vasanas' form the basis for cause, the rebirth is an effect of the said cause.

These 'vasanas', brought-in from previous birth, may be classified as in-born 'vasanas'.

Apart from these in-born 'vasanas', during the life-time of the new birth, he may add more and more 'vasanas' in the subconscious-mind.

He can also take sincere efforts to exhaust the in-born 'vasanas'.

The elimination of the existing 'vasanas' or the creation of new 'vasanas' will be the key factor in fixing the ‘Varna’ of the individual concerned.

45. The process for the creation of vasanas.

When the son asked his father to buy him an ice-cream, it is because of the impression already recorded in the memory-box of his mind as mentioned by his friend on the previous day.

If he likes the taste of the ice-cream, he will definitely ask his father to buy the ice-cream whenever the chances arise. This kind of repeated actions will become his habit. Once this becomes his habit, necessary entry will be recorded in the subconscious-mind.

Thereafter, even if he doesn’t go to the market, he will insist his parents to buy the particular brand of ice-cream whenever he likes to have one.

A drunkard was not a drunkard when he tasted the drink for the first time. Only when he continued the drinking daily, he was called a drunkard.

Thus, actions continued after fulfilling the initial desire created a habit in the mind of the individual and eventually fixed his character, otherwise called “Vasana”.

Until the man exhausts the Vasanas, stored in the subconscious-mind, he will not get happiness.

Happiness should not be equated with pleasure, for, the pleasure comes from 'without' and it is because of something, whereas the happiness comes from 'within' even in spite of nothing.

Please see the flowchart:-

46. Attachment.

If one likes to purchase a car, what he will do next?

He will, first, fix the model of the car after considering various aspects, such as the size of the car, safety and other features of the car, the mileage the vehicle may give, etc. Further he has to look into the sources of fund to meet the value of the car.

Till he purchases the car, he will continue to think of the car very often. Even before the purchase of the car, he will be attached with the car.

Thus, the desire to possess a thing will always be followed by attachment towards the thing to be possessed. Will the attachment be over after the purchase of the thing (in this case it is the car)? No.

Even after the possession of the thing, the attachment will continue, if the individual will have a fondness of the car.

Thus the attachment will always be there before possessing a thing as well as after possessing a thing.

This attachment is one of the things to be avoided, because it will impede the spiritual progress of the individual.

47. Reaction as an outcome of action.

The impressions recorded in the subconscious-mind erupt as Ego in the individual which in-turn gives impulses to desire to act in the world outside.

Meanwhile depending upon the texture of the character, mental attitude arises in individual’s mind. Based upon the character and the mental attitude action will be committed by the individual.

Thus, while action is committed in the present based on the past impressions (already recorded), the result will be in the future; either immediately or after some-time.

Whether the action committed by the individual is morally correct or not, so far as the individual is concerned there must be a harmony between the impressions (recorded in the past), action (committed in the present) and the result (that will occur in the future).

So, if no reaction occurs in the individual’s mind, he can safely assume that there was a harmony between the impressions, action and the result, though the result may not be acceptable to others.

However if there is a reaction, it means that there is a disharmony and he must look into the reasons for it.

Please see the flowchart:-

48. How to tread in the path of wisdom?

Before looking into the ways and means to tread in the path of wisdom, we have to understand as to who can walk in the path of wisdom.

For a man who is having Satwa Guna Vasana, it will be very easy to walk in the path of wisdom. Being an introvert, he will be a man of introspection and contemplation which are essential for self-unfoldment so as to attain the wisdom.

Among the persons having Rajo Guna Vasana, some may have Kshatriya quality and some other may have Vysya quality.

As Kshatriya is working for a ‘higher cause’, naturally he will have to harvest the onslaught from the persons who might have been affected by his activities. At such occasions, he will be compelled to withdraw and introspect about his motive, action, result and re-action he received from the society and finally to contemplate. Thus, continuing the cycle of action, withdrawal, introspection and contemplation, he may become eventually an introvert. Thereafter he will be a person of un-active tendency and will be a fit person to attain wisdom.

As Vysya is working for ‘his cause’, he will think that his actions are always right. He will be mad after money, power, etc. So, he will not be interested in the sequel of ‘withdrawal and introspection’. As such, it will be very difficult for him to tread in the path of wisdom, unless guided by a Guru.

For a Sudra, as the power of discrimination cannot be effectively used since his thinking faculty is in a poor shape, the path of wisdom may not be a proper way.

49. Guidelines for the progress in the path of wisdom.

In order to achieve progress in the path of wisdom, the Rishi Patanjali has given a wonderful road-map to follow.

Once we understand the path, we have to travel in that path thereby reaching the destination and we will definitely achieve the success. With our sincere efforts, we can achieve the desired result.

We are not going into the details as given by the Rishi Patanjali; yet we will see, in general, how the road-map can be followed. 

The road-map contains four paths. We will see them one by one.

50. First Path.

Patanjali has named the first path as “Savitharka Samadhi” and the destination it will lead to as “Sampranjatha Samadhi”.

Savitharka Samadhi :- In the word ‘savitharka’, ‘tharka’ means either discussion or argument.

If it is a ‘vitharka’, it means discussion and if it is ‘kutharka’, it means argument.

In ‘discussion’ we will try to find a solution acceptable to everybody because we will use the power of discrimination; but in ‘argument’, we will disagree with each other because we will discuss with emotion.

In ‘vitharka’, there will be a harmony among all members involved therein and the members will continue the discussion in an amicable situation.

‘Savitharka’ means that the members involved in ‘vitharka’ will always try to raise their quality.

All through the life, man gathers lots of information from parents, teachers, friends, etc. Besides, from his own experiences also, he might have created impressions in his conscious-mind. All such impressions reveal his emotion, either good or bad.

When the individual desires to eliminate the bad thoughts from the conscious-mind, naturally he has to involve himself in ‘Savitharka’ with like-minded people or to participate in ‘Sat-sangs’.

When the ‘Savitharka Samadhi’ gives him the desired result, he will reach the destination called ‘Sampranjatha Samadhi’.

Please see the flowchart:-

In ‘Sampranjatha Samadhi’, all impressions leading to evil thoughts might have been eliminated from the conscious-mind. Also the conscious-mind of the individual will come under the influence of the ‘intellect’. Thereafter the conscious-mind will always consult the ‘intellect’ before giving any action or re-action in the objective world. But it does not mean that the conscious-mind will always act according to the advice given by the ‘intellect’.

51. Second Path.

Patanjali has named the second path as “Nirvitharka Samadhi” and the destination it will lead to as “Asampranjatha Samadhi”.

In ‘nirvitharka samadhi’, the individual devotes more time in introspection as the emotional surge in him was reduced considerably because of the successful completion of the ‘first path’.

The conscious-mind slowly realizes the benefits of working under the influence of the ‘intellect’. As the individual continues the ‘nirvitharka samadhi’, the conscious-mind will, over the time, come under the control of the ‘intellect’, thereby attaining the ‘Asampranjatha Samadhi'.

In fact, the conscious-mind gets itself integrated with the ‘intellect’. It will contain only purified thoughts. It will be like a chained-dog. Thereafter it cannot function on its’ own; it will always work under the guidance of the ‘intellect’.

Please see the flowchart:- 

When the individual attains the ‘Asampranjatha Samadhi’, the conscious-mind may not have any desire; but the impressions recorded in the subconscious-mind will always give pressure to the conscious-mind to act in the world outside to obtain the desires result.

At this stage, it will be very difficult for the conscious-mind either to obey or disobey the pressure received from the subconscious-mind, because it is under the control of the ‘intellect’; the individual will be more confused unless he continues his journey with more courage.

As he moves from ‘active’ to ‘unactive’ attitude, he may have to develop forbearance to meet all kinds of challenges from the 'without' as well as from the 'within'. 

52. Third Path.

Patanjali has named the third path as “Savichara Samadhi ” and the destination it will lead to as “Sabeeja Samadhi”.

As the individual reached the destination of ‘Asampranjatha Samadhi’, he will keep himself away from the society; he will like to be alone.

He may not have any desire to participate in “Tharka”. Yet, he has to find answer to the questions arising from the 'within'. He has to withdraw himself from outer activities and to find answer to the questions by using his own power of discrimination.

This involves ‘introspection’, ‘reflection’ and ‘contemplation’. This process is called ‘Savichara Samadhi’.

By continuing this process, he will come to understand the impermanence of the things around him. He will understand what is ‘Sat’ and what is ‘Asat’.

He will know the “Self” in his ‘self’ and surrender himself completely to “IT”.  He will become a ‘flute’ in ‘HIS’ hands.

As he progresses in his inward expansion with proper contemplation, the ‘vasanas’ (whether good or bad) will be eliminated from the subconscious-mind. He will be free from the pair of opposites.

Please see the flowchart:- 

At this stage, he might have released himself from the “my” consciousness, but he will continue to maintain (Knowingly or Unknowingly) the “I” consciousness.

53. Fourth Path.

Patanjali has named the fourth path as “Nirvichara Samadhi ” and the destination it will lead to as “Nirbeeja Samadhi”.

In ‘Nirvichara Samadhi’, he may not have any question to find an answer. Whatever he wanted to know, he might have known.

He will also understand what is meant by ‘Satcitanandha’.

Yet he has to get rid of the “I” consciousness, as, in spite of knowing the ‘SELF’, he has yet to realize the “SELF”.

Now is the time to go in for ‘Dhyaana’. In ‘Dhyaana’, he should not have any aspiration. Even the aspiration to realize the “SELF” should not be there.

With complete ‘surrender’ baavana, he must continue his practice of ‘Dhyaana.’

By surrendering to ‘HIM’ completely, he must maintain that his entire work in the world outside is in ‘Dhyaana’ baavana.

Any individual can continue the journey up-to the stage of ‘Nirvichara Samadhi’, but realizing the “SELF" is not in his hands.

Even-though he may be in the doorstep, he cannot open it. It will have to be opened by ‘HIM’ only. (Knock the door, it will be opened  ... Bible).

Once the door is opened (Nirbeeja Samadhi), he may realize HIM; but he will lose the “I” consciousness. 

It is just like the drop of water, which was very eager to know the ‘Sea’; it may reach the ‘Sea’, but on reaching ‘IT’, it will lose its’ individuality because the drop merges with the ‘Sea’.

According to the declaration of the “Veda”, he may reach the “Thuria” stage, the ultimate goal for the man to reach.

Please see the flowchart:- 

54. The path of Wisdom … As I understood.

While conveying my sincere thanks to the viewers, I must, with utmost humility, mention that I am neither a Scholar nor a Pundit.

Whatever has been stated in the previous pages was out of my spiritual quest and they are not exhaustive in nature.

If at all I know something about the declarations of the Indian Vedic Culture, it is because of the Grace of Swami Chinmayaananda. He only kindled my spirit to look into the ‘Veda’ with proper understanding.

His book “Kindle Life” taught me how to go through “Geeta” and that kindled the initial fire.

If the viewer is satisfied with the substance, the entire credit should go only to ‘Swamiji’.

Pray God bless everybody.

                                                                                      Piththan.