Reduce Your Desires To Achieve Manonasanam

“One may be able to memorise all the Vedas and Vedic Sciences;
One may be able to compose beautiful Poetry and Prose; 
If he has no purity of consciousness, he will spoil himself. 
What more can I explain? 
(Telugu poem)

Embodiments of Sacred Atma! 
Whether it is in the spiritual field or secular activities or in the daily life, purity of consciousness is very essential. Time is most precious in the life span of a human being. It is his duty to sanctify this allowance of time. Man is wasting three-fourths of his life. He is not making any effort to sanctify it. It has become a habit for man to waste sacred and valuable time in eating and sleeping, idle chatter and unproductive activities. Man thinks of something in his mind, says something different and finally acts upon something else. He does not realise that this disparity in his thoughts, words and deeds is a serious fault. Nor does he make an effort to realise his error. With the result, he looses his inner peace and joy. We often see people loosing happiness and peace of mind when there is a difference of opinion or a conflict between the members of a house. Similarly, when conflict is brewing in the inner consciousness, we loose Atmananda (Atmic bliss). Added to this, modern man is loosing sight of civility in life. With the result, the heart is loosing its softness and the discriminatory intellect is becoming dull day by day. Life is becoming more and more unnatural and mechanical. Man, today, is not able to realise the purpose of human birth. In spite of being endowed with the sacred human birth, he is not making any effort to realise the Atma tattva.

Without Chittasuddhi (purity of conscious-ness), performance of any number of yajnas and yagas or extensive reading of sacred texts is only a waste of time. The Raksasa king Ravana mastered the four Vedas and six Sastras (scriptures). Moreover, he was doing intense Sadhana by undertaking activities like Japa (constant repetition of the Divine name) and Tapa (penance). In spite of acquiring great spiritual power, Ravana ruined himself because he had no chittasuddhi. Whether it is reading a book or walking in a market place or writing a letter, for anything, concentration of mind is required. A cart cannot move by itself. For the cart to move, the bullocks are to be yoked to the cart. And, those bullocks must have been trained to pull the cart. Also, they must have been familiar with the road on which they are pulling the cart. On the other hand, if you engage untrained bullocks on unfamiliar roads, they cannot pull the cart to the destination and the cart itself will be involved in an accident. Our Antahkarana (Inner consciousness) is comparable to this cart and our mind and intellect to the two bullocks. It is only when these two bullocks are trained in Satya (truth), Dharma (Right conduct), Santi (peace) and Prema (love), the cart of our Antahkarana can reach its destination safely. Since our mind and intellect are trained today in worldly matters only, we are loosing the valuable opportunity of travelling in the path of liberation.

When the sun’s rays are focussed directly on an object through the magnifying glass, they will be able to burn away the object. This power of burning is, however, present in every ray of the Sun. Similarly, when the rays of the Atma are focussed directly on the mirror of the mind, they can burn away all kinds of delusion. Such a divine power is immanent in every human being. Some people may be aware of it, while others may not. Unfortunately, man who is omnipotent and omniscient and divine in nature, considers himself as weak, ignorant and dull-witted and is wasting his precious life. A small example. We may stock all provisions in our house; but, if we do not know the art of cooking, all of them go waste. Similarly, all kinds of faculties are immanent in our inner being. Since we do not know how to make use of them, we are groping in the darkness of ignorance.

There are two types of desires in a human being - auspicious desires and inauspicious desires. Prominent among the inauspicious desires are worldly desires, scriptural desires and bodily desires. Worldly desires consist of craving for name and fame, position and power and honour and prestige in the society. A person having these desires does not realise his innate divinity and divine power and seeks physical happiness and position and power through which he can earn name and fame.

The scriptural desires relate to acquiring scholarship in scriptures and earn a name for himself as the omniscient. Such a person, out of his greed for name and fame wastes his energies in unproductive pursuits, not realising the purpose of life. He lacks in practical knowledge and indulges in mere pomp and show. Unable to realise the truth that the essence of all sastras is chittasuddhi (purity of consciousness), such a person would try to exhibit his theoretical knowledge in various disciplines.

The third type of desires relate to the physical body. A person having this type of desire wishes to build a strong and beautiful body. He always works for the well-being of the physical body by undertaking various exercises. He does not realise the truth that the physical body is after all like a water bubble which may blow up any moment. It is like a flower, whose beauty will fade by the evening. All the radiance and colour of this body will fade away in a trice. Just as the passing clouds loose their shape and form, so also the strong muscles that one builds up will loose their beauty and shape day by day. Can the beauty of such a temporary and transient physical body last for ever? Do we have to give importance to such vainglorious ego, scriptural knowledge devoid of practical experience and transitory beauty? Such vain pursuits will amount to diverting the mind to unsacred path and cultivating inauspicious desires.

“During childhood man develops absorbing interest in play in the company of other children; 
During youth under the influence of cupid he roams about in the company of women with infatuation; 
During the middle age, he is entangled in worldly matters and deeply engrossed in hoarding wealth; 
On attaining old age, he craves for trifling whims, not contemplating on God even at that ripe age; 
Unable to get rid of bad habits, 
Unable to develop interest in devotional path, 
Man wastes his precious human birth Deeply mired in the cess-pool of karma.”
(Telugu poem)

It is a sign of ignorance to expect the transient human body to last forever. It is common to find the medicines for a particular disease being stored in plenty in a country where that particular disease is rampant. Since the disease of Bhavaroga is rampant in Kaliyuga, the medicine of God’s grace to cure that disease is also available in plenty. In fact, the mind is the cause for Bhavaroga, as also the medicine that cures it. When you channelise the mind in right direction, it will cure the disease. The same mind when it takes to perverted ways, aggravates the disease.

In fact, worldly desires are the root cause for the spread of Bhavaroga and also godly desires, the cure for the disease. Both are desires, no doubt; but the godly desires are like the roasted seeds. They cannot sprout. The worldly desires are like the seeds that sprout. The house-holders will have such desires in plenty, generally. Hence, they must take to spiritual sadhana in order to reduce the desires, gradually. When the desires are channelised in the spiritual field, that itself will lead you in the path to liberation. By its very nature, the mind is agile and versatile. But, the process of making use of the mind is subtle. It is like playing with fire. Even a slight negligence on our part will land us in trouble. We will be caught up in the vortex of Samsara. The worldly desires will be waiting for us like tigers in the nearby bushes, ready to pounce upon us at the earliest opportunity. We have, therefore, to be careful not to fall a prey to these worldly desires.

Embodiments of Divine Atma! We are involved in spiritual sadhana, having obtained the darsana, sparsana and sambhasana of elders and noble souls. We have read a number of spiritual texts. But, when a question arises as to what we have achieved in life, the answer would be nil. Hence, it is very essential for Sadhakas engaged in God-realisation who wish to have the darsana of God and experience divine bliss, to understand the nature of the mind, in the first instance. When you make an effort to explore the origin and nature of the mind atleast to a certain extent, you will attain the vision of God.

In the celestial wedding of Prakrti and Paramatma, Paramatma (God) is the bridegroom and Prakrti (nature) is the bride. God symbolises nivrtti (the inward path) and nature, Pravrtti (the outward path). When we try to unify these two, mind appears on the scene and tries to exercise its control, sometimes favouring Pravrtti and sometimes favouring Nivrtti. In fact, mind has nothing to do with either of them. Finally, when we make an effort to enquire into the truth, mind stealthily disappears from the scene. There is a small story to illustrate this point.

Once a marriage ceremony was being held in a Kalyanamandapam. All people were busy. One person was particularly busy moving everywhere, giving instructions and making a lot of hullabaloo. Everybody thought that he was a Very Important Person (VIP) in the marriage proceedings. The bride’s party thought that he was from the bridegroom’s side and the bridegroom’s party thought he was from the bride’s side. All people gave much attention to him and obeyed his instructions. This drama went on for sometime. Thereafter, one person from the bride’s side had a doubt as to his bonafides. Similarly, from the bridegroom’s side also. Then, both the parties consulted each other and decided to confront this VIP and question his credentials. Sensing their mood, the pseudo-VIP stealthily left that place.

Similarly, the Sadhakas today are deluded to presume that the mind is the instrument of God, it is very powerful and therefore it is not possible to control it by any means. With the result, the mind gains upper hand and takes us under its control. Therefore, it we start inquiring into the nature of the mind and its mysteries, our job will become easy.

The mind is merely a bundle of resolutions. It has no form of its own. Hence, when we make an effort to reduce our desires and resolves gradually, the mind looses its form. The mind is the root cause either for Loka vasanas (worldly desires) or Sastra vasanas (scriptural desires) or Deha vasanas (bodily desires) or for Atmabhimana (attachment to the Atma or spiritual yearning). Therefore, it is the duty of a Sadhaka to strive to channelise the mind in right direction. Whether we are agitated or enjoying peace, whatever may be the state of our mind, we must analyse the mind properly and observe its reactions in a given situation. One should stand aloof as a witness to mind’s fluctuations and not get involved in it. You are not a product of the mind; in fact, the mind is your product. You are the master of the mind and not the other way round. It is your servant. It is unbecoming of a human being to be subjugated by the mind, which is after all, a servant. You should never become a slave of the mind; rather the mind shall become your slave.

 One should, therefore, make an effort to reduce his desires gradually so that the mind may not grow in strength. This exercise is necessary not only in the spiritual field, but in the daily life as well. There is nothing like a demarcation as spiritual and secular fields. The Atma tattva (nature of the Atma) and the Manas tattva (nature of the mind) in both the endeavours is one and the same. In order that the mind is channelised in God-ward path, it is necessary that we take to satsanga (the company of good and God-bound seekers). We are at present moving in the company of people who fritter away their time and energies in worldly pursuits and develop attachment to sense objects. With the result, the mind is engaged in cultivating perverted and evil thoughts. It is, therefore, very essential that we make a thorough introspection into ourselves with the help of our intellect, as to which type of desires are damaging our honour and prestige in society and destroying our human nature. We must also enquire as to what did we achieve by entertaining such evil thoughts and desires. To speak the truth, we are Embodiments of Divine self, verily. Those who realise this truth, do not follow the mind which prompts them to tread the transient, impermanent and evil path.

In fact, we ourselves are ascribing a form for the mind. Whatever form we ascribe to the mind, it assumes the same form and nature suited to it. A sculptor or a painter creates in his mind an imaginary picture of the object which he wishes to chisel or paint. Thereafter, he transforms that picture on to the stone or canvass. It is not possible to directly work on a sculpture or a painting, without having an imaginary picture in one’s mind. Similarly, our desires lie dormant in our inner self in the form of Vasanas (tendencies), which form the basis for the mind.

It is, therefore, necessary that we must try to reduce our desires gradually, if we wish to achieve manonasanam (destruction of the mind). This process starts with retaining only those desires which are useful and beneficial for our spiritual progress and discarding all other desires. These desires arise in our mind like the waves in a sea, uninterruptedly. Just as we take a bath in the sea without being swept away by these waves, similarly we must try to remove the impurities in us, without being disturbed by these desires. There are, of course, some methods by which this can be achieved. Whether it is good or bad, sorrow or joy –– for everything, the mind is responsible. One has to realise this truth.

In the spiritual path, certain methods have been prescribed for controlling the mind; one such method is Dhyana (meditation). Actually, controlling the mind is rather a difficult exercise. How long can we control the mind? At sometime or other, it bounces back with full vigour and gains control over us. For example, Ravana, the Raksasa king could control his mind and its flirtations for sometime. But, in a certain weak moment, he succumbed to its wishes. Therefore, one has to strive to achieve Manonasanam (destruction of the mind) or Manolayam (sublimation of the mind) instead of struggling to control the mind. However, in the beginning it is advisable to make an effort to control the mind to a certain extent.

The easiest and best way to control the mind is through love. When you realise the truth that the same Atma tattva permeates every individual and adopt the principle “Love thy neighbour as thyself”, the mind will not trouble you. However, when certain negative and conflicting thoughts arise in the mind now and then, it is necessary to erase them by engaging ourselves in some sacred activities like Samaja seva (service to the society), Satsanga (joining the company of good and God-bound seekers), Satpravartana (good behaviour), Bhajana (singing the glory of God), Satchintana (cultivating good thoughts) etc. In order that we may see good, hear good, speak good, do good and be good, we must cultivate pure and self-less love.

The Satsanga as an instrument to help the Sadhakas hear good and talk good and thereby experience bliss, has been in existence since ancient times. Keeping this in view, Adi Shankara in his famous Bhaja Govindam has explained the efficacy of Satsanga in the following sloka:

“Satsangatve nissangatvam 
Nissangatve nirmohatvam 
Nirmohatve niçchalatattvam 
Niçchalatattve jévanmuktiù” 
(Sanskrit sloka)

It means “good company leads to detachment; detachment makes one free from delusion; freedom from delusion leads to steadiness of mind and steadiness of mind confers liberation.” What is Jivanmuktih? Jivanmuktih is liberation, even while one is living. When one is able to stand apart from the mind and is not affected by its vagaries as a result of his sadhana, he becomes Mukta (a liberated soul), even while he is alive. He experiences Atmananda (Atmic bliss). Thus, Jivanmuktih is removing the obstacles created by the mind in our God-ward path.

At present, man is entangled more and more in bondage, as age advances. He is not making any effort to reduce or cut the ties that bind him. As long as these bonds increase, man cannot get peace. Also, whatever little peace is available, it will be lost slowly. Even though there is Atmananda in our inner consciousness, it is covered by various desires and we are unable to experience it. The worldly relationships are all a flight of imagination by one’s mind. They are not real and lasting. As long as you think that a particular object or a person is yours, you will develop attachment to that object or person. The moment you develop detachment towards that object or person, there will no longer be any distraction of the mind due to that person or object. When you realise the truth “I am I only and nothing else”, you will be free from this Samyoga (coming together) and Viyoga (separation) with or from objects or persons in the world.

It is very essential to realise the truth that all worldly relationships are only transitory and never permanent. Is it not a fact that the mansions and sky-rise buildings we see in our dream are no longer existing, once we are awake? We are witnessing several types of scenes in our dream. Once we are awake, they are no longer to be seen. Where have they gone? They become non-existent. As long as we are in the state of sleep, we establish relationship with them. Once we come back to the wakeful state, we have no relationship whatsoever with them. Similarly, as long as we are in a state of ignorance, we establish worldly relationships. Once we enter the wakeful state of wisdom, no more worldly relationships bother us. In such a state of wisdom when we enquire as to which is real, neither the dream experience is real nor the experience in the wakeful state. Both are the products of the mind, which are imaginary. Only you are real. Unfortunately, today we are taking this “Illusion in illusion” as real and forgetting the reality of the Atma tattva.

Embodiments of Divine Atma! You should therefore, try to realise the nature of such an adroit, unsteady and artificial mind by proper enquiry. By doing so, you will be able to realise your true nature.