march of the mind

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

I tend to hear from others the various conditions they experience doing their meditation practice. These experiences are not random , as many of the past teachers
were well aware of what occurs within the human condition. I thought to call out a few - perhaps one or two ideas may assist one's sādhana.

The march of the mind inwards leads one to aliṅga , another name for the unmanifest, or Being, pure consciousness, some call Self-referral. It is called out in
patañjali’s yogadarśana in the 1^st chapter like this:
śūkṣmaviṣayatvaṁ cāliṅgaparyavasānam||45
and (ca) the quality of subtle (sūkṣma) object(s) (viṣayatvam) culminates or arrives (paryavasānam) in aliṅga ||45
This can also be said śūkṣmaviṣayatvaṁ - the subtle, being restricted to or only occurring, arrives in aliṅga.
What I am referring to in this manner only suggests the previous sūtra-s dealing with the refinement of the mind being restricted to the methods previously mentioned
in sūtra-s 43 and 44. It is more of a house keeping measure than any additional insight or knowledge.

Yet this ‘march’ called reversing the birthing process (pratiprasava) takes on some themes, of which there’s 5 the wise call out:

• mūdham
• kṣiptam
• vikṣiptam
• ekāgram
• niruḍham ( sometimes spelled niruddham)

The nomenclature for these are sometimes called samāpatti-s (engrossments). The most refined engrossment is that called svarūpa (sva+rūpa) –
re-recognition of one’s own (sva) form (rūpa) to the extent of total absorption – totally forgetting, or losing all other conditions including the condition
that I am meditating, I am knowing my Self right now. If these last two conditions were in play there still would be an object of knowing ( my meditation)
and a knower, in this example ‘I’.

So, let’s look at the 5 from above…

• mūdham – perplexed, confused, uncertain. The native in this condition has not the ability nor perhaps the will to sit and meditate let alone sit and be quiet or steady for any reasonable period of time. Most likely ( but not all the time) this person does not take up meditation for any length of time , due to over-fractionalization and distractions of the mind and attention.
• kṣiptam – thrown, cast, or dismissed. One begins their meditation and within seconds other thoughts enter one’s mind, enter one’s practice. Oh, I forgot to pick up milk, don’t forget to do the laundry , let me see, where shall I go Friday with my friend… ooops I am not meditating, back to meditation. The native was ‘thrown out’ of his march of the mind. The march begins and within a minute or so, he/she is cast out to the world of thinking and pondering other things. Note that this is not a ~bad~ thing and that is why it is being called out here. It is the beginning of ‘chipping away at the rock’.

• vikṣiptam – sent, dispatched, distorted. One begins their ‘march’ and it continues, then thoughts come, but the person catches the mind as it is sent some where’s else and brings it back. It leaves on occasion and with frequency, yet it is brought back sooner.
• ekāgram – one-pointed or fixed. A person starts their practice and can stay with it with continuity; yet on occasion a scratch or an itch arises and the person tends to this distraction.
• niruḍham ( sometimes spelled niruddham) – one’s meditation goes on in a chain-like manner, in continuity.

Hence the ‘march’ (pratiprasava) to aliṅga (a+liṅga) or without marks. Being, Self, Pure Awareness is talked about as a+liṅga , without marks as it is pure presence. This is the grooming
I have talked about in many of my past posts.
kṣiptam --> vikṣiptam --> ekāgram --> niruḍham --> svarūpa ( or samādhi, pure silence of the Self)
The native grooms and cultures the ‘village of the senses’ , a term my teacher used for the total nervous system, to entertain and become steeped in the silence of Being.

This samādhi comes in a few flavors for those the split hairs; yet the one that is totally object-less , total absorption is the aliṅga nomenclature I have used above and is used
in patañjali’s 45^th sūtra mentioned above.

More on some of the themes that can accompany this subject matter in future posts.

iti śivaṁ

words

• samāpatti – coming together; meeting, or encountering; falling into any condition or state; assuming an original form
• pratiprasava - counter order; return to the original state

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

Quote:

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kṣiptamà> vikṣiptamà> ekāgramà> niruḍhamà> svarūpa ( or samādhi, pure silence of the Self)
The native grooms and cultures the ‘village of the senses’ a term my teacher used for the total nervous system to entertain and become steeped in the silence of Being

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Facing Towards Fullness
With this march inward (pratiprasava or counter-order, returning to the original state) one arrives at or settles in to the 4^th. Now it is a misnomer to suggest an ‘arrival’ simply because
turīya ( the 4th) is aways there. We are even told that wake, dream and sleep is turīya expressing itself. As if it is wearing a different suit – the owner or occupier is still turīya yet just
in a different wardrobe.

That said, when one experiences this turīya within, with eyes closed, it is pūrṇatūnmukhyī daśā; it is facing (mukhya) toward the condition or state (daśā) of fullness
(pūrṇa) – code for God Consciousness; it faces that direction. For this condition to be in full bloom one would need to experience this god consciousness with eyes open also.
That is why it is said it faces that direction, yet the fullness is not sustained when the eyes are open. Just like dying a white sheet yellow, it is diped in the yellow dye then put
in the sun to make it ‘fast’ or to stabilize the color. This is done again and again, until the color is fast and the sun ( activity with eyes open) can no longer over-shadow
this level of consciousness.

So, why mention this? To suggest this march inwards is purposeful. It has a conclusion assigned to it. Here is the beauty of what has just been offered… that this march inwards
allows the mind ( over time) to gain its alignment with its natural state or svarūpa. It is said stresses, strains, past impressions are being thrown off. This occurs by adding something
purer to the ~ mix~. Nothing is as pure as pure Being, pure awareness. This is why we find parvitraṁ hi jñānasamaṁ nāsti¹, there’s nothing so purifying as knowledge, applicable.
Pure consciousness = pure knowledge, is undifferentiated/perfect and pure. And we allow our differentiated mind to settle in to this pure knowledge condition, the differentiation's
becomes less and less which is an obtuse way of saying there is more infusion of Being, of wholeness (pūrṇa) that is being sustained.

Brain Cramps
For some (to many) this give’s one a brain cramp. I thought knowledge is physics, math, social studies, political science, spiritual śastra-s, etc. ?
Yes, this is knowledge of the differentiated world of things, of diversity. It is useful as it allows for the acquisition of things. Yet consider this – how can a limited
thing bring you the unlimited whole (pūrṇa) ? No matter how many things you acquire via this differentiated knowledge , it is still a collection of parts or limb,
aṅgá – a subordinate division of something.

What brings wholeness is wholeness
What brings purity is something of greater purity , no ? Our seers knew this for thousands of years. They have written it like this as an invocation (āvāhanaṁ) found
in the garuḍa purāṇa (2.47.52).

apavitraḥ pavitrau vā
sarvāvastām gataupi vā |
yaḥ smarat pundarīkākśam
sa bhāhyābhyantaraḥ suciḥ ||

What does this say?
Whether pure or impure, whether all places are permeated by purity or impurity, whoever opens himself to the Lotus Eyed One gains inner and outer purity. In a nut shell, the one that
opens him/her self - moves to, puts oneself in contact with, remembers, experiences or 'sees' (sūci) the Lotus-eyed One (puṇḍarīka) , then this person will gain inner
and outer purity i.e. bhā or luster, light, will manifest within this person. This Lotus-eyed One (puṇḍarīka) is viṣṇu or śiva. Puṇḍarīka is a lotus-flower, especially a white lotus
expressive of beauty; and we know 'eyed' is akṣa. So pundarīkākśa the white-lotus (puṇḍarīka) + eyed (akṣa) is the as puṇḍa the mark or a sign of viṣṇu or śiva.

Consider the following - the golden nugget in this invocation:
This is considered saṁketa - a hint, a indication, a symbol. But of what? Pundarīkākśa and its 'mark' is pure awareness, of unboundedness, of būmān - the fullness of the Absolute, the SELF.
It is by opening oneself to the fullness of pure awareness that one gains inner and outer purity. This is anugraha (grace, favor) that is offered (su - to grant or bestow) by pundarīkākśa,
allowing this to manifest in one's daily life. You see, pure or impure can refer to mind-body and what one is doing or not doing; what does matter is what you open yourself up to and this
is the relevance of the march of the mind inwards to Being = pure knowledge = pure awareness = pundarīkākśa.

Minimizing brain cramps with an example – Take a towel
Wipe off a table and the towel collects all the dust. Yet when we allow it to sit in pure water all the dust particles leave. They are removed by something that was purer,
the water. Let’s apply that to this notion of knowledge and awareness.

The knowledge we’re talking of here is the pure knowledge of pure awareness. And in this realm, knowledge is ~attained~ by being it, being immersed in it
like the towel in the water. Again poor choice of words. It is the notion of aligning one’s self to the wholeness that is there already at your core … that the Self becomes once again
the person’s frame of reference and not the small self of ‘me’, of these things I do or own, of all the things I think I am: husband, wife, manager, brother, policeman,
fireman, banker, student, robber, plumber , tennis player, golfer, cook, pilot, supervisor, mom, dad, child, doctor, dentist, adviser, etc. All this things are the expression of differences.
This is not a ~ bad~ thing, yet when people think this is who they really are they've missed the big picture.

Note to limit any further brain cramps – this small self I mention is none other than the Large Self ( Being, Presence) that works within boundaries. It is like a light bulb
( the Self) with a cloth over it. The fullness or brightness is muted and the light takes on the color of its covering. Like that, this Being, as it throttles down into the finite level
of creation , of diversity, it becomes this small self. There are not two selves . We only speak as if there were two for one’s ability to compare-and-contrast ideas. Yet with time and
obscurity, mis-understandings, etc. on this subject people have talked of two selves… there is just one.

So, this brings us back to the march of the mind. It is the notion with one’s practice over time this ‘march’ brings more clarity to one’s awareness and as patañjali’s yogadarśana
points out, we wish to have that level of discernment that one distinguishes Self from non-Self or vivika-khyāti (distinction/discrimination in perception).

More in future posts.

iti śivaṁ
words
From the bhāgavad gītā :
na hi jñānena sadṛśaṃ pavitram iha vidyate |
tat svayaṃ yogasaṃsiddhaḥ kālenātmani vindati ||4.38

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

Where does this march lead you to ? Praśāntātmā = ‘ tranquil-souled ‘ , composed in mind , peaceful , calmness , ~ even-ness~.
Now the ‘big deal’ here is abhinavagupta-ji informs us that this śānti that unfolds, is the nirvāṇa paramāṁ transport.

• nirvāṇa - final emancipation; yet the term in its ‘raw’ form means to extinguish, blow out suggesting extinguishing ignorance , but more importantly the ‘blowing out’
  of differentiated ( fractional/individualized) consciousness
• paramāṁ - chief, highest point , most prominent ~supreme~ .

We allow (submit/surrender) ourselves to settle down to this calmness , day-in and day-out. It, (this praśāntātmā) in-and-of-itself has the capacity to raise one up
(ārurukṣu – to rise, ascend) to nirvāṇa paramāṁ . That is, to bhairava¹. Within kaśmir śaivism the term affectionately used for śiva is bhairava. It is this innate intelligence
within the universe that is doing this. It is not the small-small ‘you’ (paśujana worldly, differentiated consciousness) that is doing this; you are not the doer.

What then yajvan am ‘I’ doing ? ( I = i = the individualized you the wise call kalā śarīra – embodiment of doing). ‘You’ are making yourself
available to this condition. You are opening yourself up for this upliftment to occur. It carries you, you do not carry it.

What then are my responsibilities ?As I see it ( and this is my opinion only, others may vary) – yogī yuñjīita satatam. One’s practice is done in continuity.

More on this in a future post.

iti śivaṁ

words

Bhairava is found in the tantraloka by abhinavagupta muni which includes, the contents of all the three branches kaśmir śaivism (trika-śastra), in a summarized form.
If one looks in the first chapter (āhnika), god is called mahābhairava, or lord (pati) and supreme śiva [stotra I.95 ].
We find bhairava called out as it relates to his activities, chapt 1, 96th stotríya
visvam bibharti purana
dharanayogena tena ca bhriyate |
savimarsataya rava
rupatasca samsarabhiruhitakrcca ||
He who carries the whole universe, who nourishes and supports it,
and who is carried by it , He is the sound who by His power of awareness
protects those who are frightened by the world of transmigration (saṃsāra)

Namaste Yajvan ji

Thanks for sharing your learnings with us. It's beautifully written addressing all that can arise in a beginners mind. To be honest more than that.

If you would allow me may I ask few questions. These questions aren't directly related to meditation but on the way mind functions or gets attracted.

When we understand that stealing (substitute with any evil act) will result in negative implications why do we get carried away?

If body is perishable then why should it be well oiled?

If body is an instrument to halt the birth cycle then why it should be treated as perishable.

Is mind a characteristic of body or soul within?

Why should the soul realize itself because without body what could be the state of this world?

If self realized can exist within a body, then why body should perish?

I don't think my questions are nonsensical however if you think them as nonsensical please instruct me to delete the questions...

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Anirudh

Namaste Yajvan ji

Thanks for sharing your learnings with us. It's beautifully written addressing all that can arise in a beginners mind. To be honest more than that.

If you would allow me may I ask few questions. These questions aren't directly related to meditation but on the way mind functions or gets attracted.

When we understand that stealing (substitute with any evil act) will result in negative implications why do we get carried away?

If body is perishable then why should it be well oiled?

If body is an instrument to halt the birth cycle then why it should be treated as perishable.

Is mind a characteristic of body or soul within?

Why should the soul realize itself because without body what could be the state of this world?

If self realized can exist within a body, then why body should perish?

I don't think my questions are nonsensical however if you think them as nonsensical please instruct me to delete the questions...

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These are reasonable questions... none should be discarded if asked with great interest to remove any blemishes in understanding...
That said there is a substantial amount of material that can be covered. Let me if I may, pick-and-choose some of your questions that
I feel ( and I may be incorrect ) align with the overall subject matter of this string.

So, let me ponder a few and respond in a future post.

iti śivaṁ

Quote:

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That said there is a substantial amount of material that can be covered. Let me if I may, pick-and-choose some of your questions that
I feel ( and I may be incorrect ) align with the overall subject matter of this string.

---

Namaste Yajvan ji

Thank you. I agree. I have tried to link many different keywords and concepts. I don't even know the meaning of patanjali. Your post is my source of learning. But any discussion on mind always create many questions. They are very intense because I relate my understanding with the reality we live in. I can't imagine the functions and characteristics of a world where everyone is existing in a pure awareness framework.

Ideally in such a world (framework) there is no end or beginning to any thing.

So kindly take your time and informed decision s to answer me.

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

Quote:

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When we understand that stealing (substitute with any evil act) will result in negative implications why do we get carried away?

If body is perishable then why should it be well oiled?
If body is an instrument to halt the birth cycle then why it should be treated as perishable.
Is mind a characteristic of body or soul within?
Why should the soul realize itself because without body what could be the state of this world?
If self realized can exist within a body, then why body should perish?

---

When we understand that stealing (substitute with any evil act) will result in negative implications why do we get carried away?
I will assume ‘carried away’ means why do we get swept up into the action? Why do we do it anyway?
Arjuna asks about the same question that aligns to yours …please look to the bhāgavad gītā chapter 3 , 36^th śloka , kṛṣṇa-jī answers the question with grace and insight.
If that does not fulfill your need, please return and re-phrase the question as you see fit and we will address it again.

If body is perishable then why should it be well oiled?
This is an āyurvedic¹ question ( if I understand you question properly); it has much to do with the dhātu-s¹ within our bodies.
the charaka saṃhitā calls out abhyaṅga or oil massage – each body type uses a different oil e.g. sesame, coconut, etc.

The notion is simple – procuring healthand caring of the ‘chariot’ (code for the body) that carries the Self/Being.
According to jyotish and parāśara muni ( a key luminary in jyotish) we are ‘designed’ to live 120 years. It is
via āyurveda that the quality of life is maintained, keeping the chariot fit for spiritual unfoldment.
This 120 years is for the age of kali (so say the wise) and increases with each yUga ( or age ) satya , tretā ,dvāpara , and kali.
in satya yuga the maximum age is set at 4 X 120 = 480 years.

more responses to the other questions to follow....

iti śivaṁ

words

• āyurveda = the knowedge (veda) + life or life force (āyus)
  
  • āyurveda - contains eight departments:
    
    • śalya or (removal of) any substance which has entered the body
    • śālākya or cure of diseases of the eye or ear by śalākās or sharp instruments ;
    • kāya-cikitsā or cure of diseases affecting the whole body ;
    • bhūtavidyā or treatment of mental diseases supposed to be produced by demoniacal influence ;
    • kaumāra-bhṛtya or treatment of children ; 6. agada-tantra or doctrine of antidotes ;
    • rāsāyana-tantra or doctrine of elixirs ;
    • vājīkaraṇa tantra or doctrine of aphrodisiacs
  
  
• dhātu - core primary constituent part , ingredient; 7 (sapta) are recognized
• jyotiṣ (jyotish) falls under vedāṅga or a limb (aṅga) of the ved. We know there are 6 limbs called out.

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Anirudh

Namaste Yajvan ji, I don't even know the meaning of patanjali.

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This can be remedied with the following...

Patañjali (some call ādiśeṣa patañjali) is known for his writing of the yogadarśana some call the yoga-sūtra-s. Yet too he is recognized for his offering of the paramārthasāra.
His alignment was more to śāṁkhya dṛṣṭa (view) as it deals with puruṣa and prakṛti; yet one would say his alignment properly called out would be to śāṁkhya + yoga dṛṣṭa
and too vivekaja mārga ( the path of discrimination i.e. Self from non-Self).

He also wrote the mahābhāṣya - or the ‘great explanatory work , exposition’ on pāṇini’s rules of grammar found in the aṣṭādhyāyī.
It is little known that he also wrote on āyurveda ; his work is called carakapratisaṃskṛtaḥ.

These 3 areas are confirmed by bhoja's rājamārttanda commentary on patañjali’s yogadarśana saying the following:
yogena cittasya, padena vācāṃ, malaṃ śarīrasya ca vaidyakena ।
yo'pākarot taṃ pravaraṃ munīnāṃ patañjaliṃ prāñjalir ānato'smi ॥
I bow to the munī¹ patañjali, who removed the blemishes (mala) of the mind (citta) through yoga, of speech (vācā) through grammar,
and (ca) of the body (śarīra) through science of medicine (vaidyakena).

His name
patañjali - some say the derivation of his name comes in this manner pata + añjali

• añjali = open hands placed side by side and slightly hollowed
• pata – falling

The legend says that śeṣa ( the divine serpent) incarnated and fell (pata) into open hands (añjali) of a brahmin (realized being) no less; and this incarnation was none other than patañjali.
We can see why he would be called śeṣa-patañjali. We can even get fancier than this for the derivation of his name but will leave it here.

iti śivaṁ



1. munī - a saint , sage , seer , ascetic; the term is rooted in man - defined as impulse , eagerness ; it is that human-being that is moved by the inward impulse of Being; an inspired or ecstatic person
that is filled to the brim with the Supreme.