march of the mind

[yajvan]

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