A request and a disclaimer: Before you begin to read this blog, request you to first read the 3 parts of ‘Stroke in the canvas called ‘The Value of Values’. You may also choose to read the blogs on the values of amAnitvam, adambhitvam and ahimsA (the value of ahimsA is in three parts) kshAntiH, Arjavam, AchAryopAsanam, Saucam and Sthairyam though they are not a prerequisite to reading this value. The language and explanations used by pUjya swAmiji is so profound, that I wish I do justice by aligning my understanding to his explanation, as I parallelly try to relate it to day to day living.. Any error in the way I have blogged upon these values, is due to an error in my understanding alone.
AtmavinigrahaH means mastery over the mind. There are two meanings for the word ‘Atman’ – 1) whatever is referred to as ‘I’ – it could be the physical body, it could the mind, it could the ego, it could be the attitude and so on.. 2) the timeless and limitless awareness.
Vinigraha means to restrain or to curb. In this context, these two words ‘restrain’ and ‘curb’ are not to be taken in a negative perspective but in the perspective of mastery, which will be elaborated upon as the value unfolds.
AtmavinigrahaH is explained in the context of ‘mastery of the mind’.
What does ‘mastery of the mind’ mean?
Is it even possible to master the mind, ever at all?
If it can be mastered, is it a permanent and complete mastery across all situations? Is that possible?
‘The mind is a colourful kaleidoscope of fanciful thoughts that come and go. Never constant, rarely still, subject to sudden starts and turns, capricious notions, the mind is whimsical by nature.’ It makes me smile when I think about what I did after I read this statement. I actually sat one day in a quiet corner of my home, to watch my mind. Interesting the experience was!! I saw that my mind did not stay in a thought for more than a few seconds. A thought would occur and within a few seconds another thought will take its place and then another thought.. Past, present and future literally flashed back and forth. An incident I faced (past).. What I was doing watching my mind (present).. What should I cook tomorrow (future).. And suddenly I would go blank for a few second and then the thoughts will start all over again.. I would watch my mind for a minute or two and then I would forget what I was doing. After a few minutes I gave up what I was doing as it was getting to be exhausting.. It certainly was not easy to watch the mind, mindfully 🙂
That’s when I realised that mastering the mind is not an easy task, because to do that I need to be really aware of every moment of my thinking and the way of my thinking; or rather should I say ‘ways of thinking’? 🙂
There are 4 different ways of thinking:
– Impulsive – This kind of thinking is instantaneous. We just act and then think :-). This could be the shopping that we do of things that we don’t need but just buy.. or the words that we use in the heat of the moment. Do impulsivity and regret go hand in hand?
– Mechanical – We have been conditioned in a certain way and our thinking aligns with that conditioning, making our thought process mechanical. This is when we get to prefer staying in our comfort zone, as much as possible. Do being mechanical and predictability go hand in hand?
– Deliberate – We analyse our thoughts and we decide to go or not go with our thoughts, based on our analysis. This analysis is also done keeping in mind the values that we hold within ourselves. Even now as I write this blog, I am weighing my thoughts and there is an analysis running in my mind. Many of us including me, weigh our thoughts and that’s where we spend most of our time. Does deliberation mean that we need to be certain of how we would like the outcome to be?
– Spontaneous – Thoughts are not analysed but conform instantaneously to the values we hold; well assimilated values that are universal in nature (which means they are common to people across cultures – for example – honesty, punctuality, compassion etc). This is the level at which mastery of the mind happens.
Which brings me back to the question of whether complete mastery of the mind and its ways of thinking possible at all? We have our own likes and dislikes that keep changing with time. Our mind will reflexively gravitate towards satiating those likes and repelling the dislikes. So if complete mastery is challenge and needs a lot of effort and knowledge of oneself to make it happen (which perhaps will take all of this life :-)), we need to explore a relative mastery over our ways of thinking.
If we need to scale up from being an impulsive thinker to be a deliberate thinker, thereby building relative mastery, how do we do it? Here are some tips..
– Consciously examine each thought that comes to our mind and go with them or not go with them, based on an objective thinking..
– Be alert to any thought process that makes us slip into habit, that then conditions us into a mechanically thinking mode..
– Train our mind to stay focused on a certain thought, weighing it and accepting it or dismissing it, based on our well assimilated values..
– Be aware of the thoughts that come into the mind.. This awareness also helps understand the ways in which our mind thinks; which in turn gives us a choice to change our ways of thinking . This then helps us to change the way we think, in alignment with the values that are well assimilated in us.
A consistent practice of all of the above with awareness and alertness, will make relative mastery of the mind and its ways of thinking, a possibility.
As I wind up this blog, I would like to share an experience of mine – When I start to read up on a value that I am going to blog on and also start to write, it seems overwhelming. Is practicing and implementing this value a possibility at all, is a question that looms large in my mind. I read up on the value explanation many times to understand it. I keep tying it up to day to day examples from my own observations and experiences, to understand the value better. Then as I start writing, clarity emerges, choices in implementing the value gets generated, mind keeps its focus on what needs to be written and what loomed large loses its power. Deliberate thinking? 🙂
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May 9, 2017 at 10:25 pm
Very well analysed!
Additionally we have to remember the following:
Out of the two possible meanings suggested for ‘Atman’- we have to discard the first set, viz., body/mind/ego, which are not actually ‘I’, but only ‘mine’ The second one viz., the timeless (saTyam) limitless (ananTam ) awareness (JnAnam) alone is ‘I’.
Why?
The physical Bodies (hardware) present in the universe is not ‘I’. They are that of ‘I’, that too in a limited sense of ‘I’ being a trustee to whom a body is entrusted to it by the System (which we are naming as Almighty) and which we hold as responsible for the Universe.
Minds of beings in the universe is a software inter-phase between the possessor (I) and the possessed (body), which is a tool of ‘I’ and therefore mind is not ‘I’ obviously.
‘Ego’ is that Operating system which is responsible for the ‘I’ to get involved to the extent of treating the body itself as ‘I’ (AhamkAra)in order to execute the job. Therefore it is also that of ‘I’ and not ‘I’(aham).
These will be further clear when we read through the passage in BhagavaTgITa (BG) in ch VII.4:
“BhUmi: Apa: anal: vAyu: kham mano bhuDDhi: Eva cha
ahamkAram iti iyam mE prakrti: ashtaDA binnA”
(My-Almighty’s- Nature is presented as eight divisionsof ; Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Space, Thought, intellect and Ego)
Note Earth is the most gross and others are subtler and subtler than the previous-Water is subtler than Earth, Fire is subtler than Water and so on and the Ego is the subtlest of all. Also please note that the subtler the one, more powerful is it than its predecessor! Thus ego is the subtlest and the most powerful one.
But we have to remember that the timeless, limitless awareness Atman is subtler than Ego, its immediate subtler possession. In the functioning of the body, the most gross, since it is ego which has to use its power to make the executing body responsible for the job, it appears as if the body is ’I’., but factually not.
Note, “JIvabhUTAm yayEDam DharyaTe JagaT” (know that high soul that is responsible for supporting all these eight”) again in BG Ch VII-5.
Note also “inDriyani parANyAhu: inDriyEbhya: param mana:. manasasTu parA buDDhi: yo buDDhe: paraTasTu sa:” BG Ch III 42.
(The senses are powerful, the mind is more powerful than senses, intellect is more powerful than mind but Atman however is more powerful than the intellect)
If this clarity is there, then the timeless, limitless awareness shines unhindered and it is able to master the everything, the indiyas, mind, intellect and ego. This is what is known as ‘ATmavinigra:’ contemplated as value for ‘KshETrajna’(knower of KsETra or that which houses the constituents of Universe) in the process of TaTva jnAna DarSanam (True realisation of the Self)!!