PSYCHIC ASSIMILATION IN PSYCHO-SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

official source: Subha's'ita Sam'graha Part 8

cross-references: also published in Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life in a 
	Nutshell Part 9

this version: is the printed Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life in a Nutshell 
	Part 9, 1st edition, version (spelling mistakes only may have been 
	corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present 
	Electronic Edition.

      Mental functions are sam'kalpa (action in seed form) oriented and vikalpa ( actional expression ) oriented. The sense organs ( indriyas ) are activated by the sam'kalpa'tmaka portion of the mind, and then actions are performed in the practical world. If someone considers that as actions are performed by the sam'kalpa'tmaka portion of mind, they are true, and that as actions are not performed by the vikalpa'tmaka or negative portion of mind, they are untrue, such a statement of theirs is not philosophically justifiable. How far does this sort of positive or negative mental movement of mind influence the life of a spiritual aspirant? How far is it related to sama'd'hi ? If sa'dhakas actively render social service and accept it as the supreme goal of life, will they become established in sama'dhi ?

	In fact sama'dhi is neither a positive nor a negative state of mind. Sama'dhi is a sate of equilibruim. When the surface of water remains smooth and unruffled by the wind, we may call it a state of equilibruim. If the outer surface of turbulent, water is sam'kalpa'tmaka or positive aspect of mind, then the currents below the surface should be called the negative aspect. When a state of equilibrium is attained the upper surface and the lower currents of the mind attain parallelism. In the course of their agitated movement, the sam'kalpa'tmaka and vikalpa'tmaka portions of the mind meet at certain common points. Thus in every thought wave, in every entity, at all times, and in all countries there is some kind of temporary equilibrium.

	While one is engaged in extroversial actions (pravrttimulaka karma ) it appears that both nivrtti ( introversial actions ) and a state of equilibrium are possible to attain. Similarly, to a person who is engaged in nivrttim'ulaka karma, both pravrtti and a state of equilibrium seem to be impossible to attain. Generally, people accept those objects or actions as natural with which they easily adjust themselves, and those objects or actions as unnatural with which they are unfamiliar. Aquatic creatures think that the only place to live in is water and cannot comprehend how any living object could live on land. Conversely, those creatures who live on land think that land is the only and natural habitat. They gasp for breath after remaining only a little while in water. This is nature's arrangement - no question of free choice arises here.

      People who try to bring their minds to a state of equilibrium, find that a tranquil mental flow is something quite natural. For them pravrtti and nivrtti, that is, extroversial and introversial states of mind, are something unnatural. The paths of pravrtti and nivrtti depend upon the mundane propensities neither of them leads to psychic balance, thus neither can ensure absolute bliss.

      For success in the extroversial ( pravrtti ) sphere of life one must develop an attachment for an external object or extroversial idea, and then make efforts to attain it, For success in the introversial sphere ( nivrtti ) one must develop dves'a or the feeling of repulsion for an external object or extroversial idea, and then make the requisite effort to succeed in that endeavour. The greater one's attachment for an object, the greater the possibility of attaining success in the pursuit of pravrtti. But if there is only attraction for an object, with no endeavour made to attain it, one cannot be successful. If someone wants to become rich, but does not try to acquire wealth, he or she will never become rich. Similarly, the greater one's psychic repulsion for an object, the more easily one will be able to withdraw from that object. But if one does not try to increase one's repulsion one will not be successful in nivrtti sa'dhana'. Those who are the advocates of the nivrtti cult strive to convince people that wealth, opulence, and near and dear relations create snares of bondages and are thus impediments to spiritual progress. And their exhortations do not end here. They incite people to abandon their homes and embrace the life of renunciation. In other words they advise people to practise the cult of repulsion.

	A spiritual aspirant who wants to attain sama'dhi needs to develop vaera'gya ( spirit of renunciation ) and abhya'sa ( continued practice ). Remember, sama'dhi is neither pavrtti mu'laka nor nivrtti mu'laka. Vaera'gya is the absence of attachment, not repulsion. In order to deal with objects properly one should never become subservient to them, but should ascribe Brahmahood to them by cultivating the repeated practice of cosmic ideation or Brahma Bha'vana. 

	What is abhya'sa ? Tatra sthitao yatno'bhya'sah. Abhya'sa is the creation of a particular continuous psychic vibration. It is the most essential factor in the spiritual sphere. The continuous endeavour to maintain the state of equilibrium of citta leads to the attainment of sama'dhi. When one is attracted by an object one runs after it, and when one feels repulsion for an object, one runs away from it. A person who is fond of wine often thinks of wine, whereas a person who detests wine prevents his or her mind from thinking about wine. Unless attraction and repulsion are both transcended, the mind can never attain a state of equilibrium or sama'dhi. Mental equilibrium only becomes possible when one makes a constant endeavour to attain psychic balaince.

	Sama'dhi becomes a natural phenomenon as a result of continuous spiritual practice. Procrastination is something undesirable on the spiritual path. If ever spiritual practice is discontinued endless desirable and undesirable waves of thoughts occupy the mind. Spiritual practice should be continued uninterruptedly and with proper sincerity and veneration, otherwise sama'dhi will forever remain a theoretical subject of philosophy, never entering the periphery of practical realisation. One must not adopt the psychology, "I'm practising spirituality because my a'ca'rya ( spiritual teacher ) told me to." Rather one should think, "I want to attain spiritual realisation. My a'ca'rya is merely guiding me along the path." Only when one takes full responsibility for one's own spiritual life can one attain the peak of spiritual progress and become fully established on the solid ground of spirituality.

	When one accepts something as absolute after due logical deliberation one develops shraddha' (veneration ) in the mind. One who has no respect for the goal can never attain success. Shrat satyam tasmin dhiiyate iti shraddha'. "Shraddha' is the pursuit of Supreme Truth." The expansion of citta is also called shraddha'. One should have immense, respect for that object which causes the citta to expand. Sama'dhi is the state of maximum expansion of citta, and thus shraddha' is the first stage in the attainment of sama'dhi. Pravriti and nivrtti are both psychic tendencies. The more one practises either of these the more one's mind becomes adjusted with them. Sama'dhi is beyond the scope of pravrtti and nivrtti. Even shraddha', is not necessary in the pursuit of pravrtti and nivrtti, but it is indispensable for attaining sama'dhi. Sometimes an undesirable thought blocks the smooth uni-directional flow of the mind along the spiritual path. When this occurs viirya or spiritual vigour, a special type of psychic power, is required to dispel the negative thought. Spiritual vigour arises as a result of shraddha'.

      Anubhu'tavisaya'sampramosah smritih. "The re-creation of an object already perceived is termed smriti (memory). "Memory is strengthened by spiritual vigour. When one successfully eliminates all impediments to spiritual progress by developing spiritual vigour born out of shraddha' and moves towards the spiritual goal without interruption it is called dhruva'smrti or fixed memory. The waves of extroversial propensities create obstacles in the way of dhruva'smrti and the waves of introversial propensities keep the mind oblivious of everything. But when dhruva'smrti is perfect, that is when one's only object of ideation is the Supreme Entity, and none other, one attains sama'dlii. At this stage the mind becomes fully identified with its goal. In subtle analysis this is also a type of a positive stage of mind.

      The mind takes the form of the physical object or psychic idea it encounters. This assuming of a form in the mind is called psychic pabulum or a'bhoga. Unless the mind is liberated from its pabulum permanent peace is not possible. How can one attain liberation from one's pabulum? liberation cannot be attained through repulsion. Repulsion for an object is a negative tendency - this too is a kind of pabulum. Although the mind detaches itself from its object it is nevertheless attached to the non-existent form of that object. When the mind withdraws from its object citta becomes suspended in unmanifested Prakrti due to the attainment of vashiika'ra siddhi. This is not a supreme attainment. This state of sama'dhi is neither static sama'dhi nor nirviija ( seedless ) sama'dhi, nor samprajina'ta sama'dhi. Within citta there remains the possibility of future rebirth, even after a million years, and thus the attainment of permanent sama'dhi ( kaevalya sama'dhi ) is not possible. The sama'dhi attained in this state can be called nirviija prakrtiliina sama'dhi. Unless this nirviija sama'dhi is permanent we may at best call it asamprajinata or nirvikalpa sama'dhi, and not salvation of a permanent nature,

      In the states of prakrtiliina and videhaliina ( two of the seven devayonis ) the samska'ras lie latent in the seed form waiting for a congenial environment to acquire a proper physical base. Videha means bodiless state, liina means merged or dissolved. Videha liina are caused by ones bhavapratyaya ( bundle of samska'ras ). The bhavapratyaya contains the reactive momenta which cause one's rebirth. The states of prakrtiliina and videhaliina are niviija and not asampraliina'ta because although the seeds of the reactive momenta are burnt, one does not attain full omniscience.

      A spiritual aspirant attains the state of videhaliina as a result of shunya dhya'na or ideation on nothingness. Through such ideation a sa'dhaka develops a psychic pabulum of nothingness. Yet even in this state there remains the possibility of rebirth. Those who embrace nothingness as their absolute goal develop a void in their citta in the absence of Cognitive Faculty. As a result they are unable to establish themselves in the Supreme Cognitive Stance and attain salvation. The spiritual cult which encourages this practice is certainly defective.

      Both the prakrtiliina and videhaliina states are established in negation, thus there is certainly a possibility of rebirth. The true path of sa'dhakas is not the path of bhavapratyaya, but the path of upa'yapratyaya. ( path of positive ideation and exhanstion of sam'ska'ras ). Sa'dhakas will have to devise methods to established themselves in sama'dhi beyond the periphery of the mind. They should neither become attached to nor detached from the objects created by Prakrti, for this is not the path of enjoyment or sacrifice, but the path of psychic equilibrium. Prakrti is not the entity to be worshipped or denied ; the goal is Parama Purus'a. He is the only object of ideation and adoration. By ideating on Him one's whole being gradually becomes identiilied with the Cognitive Faculty. Hence one should worship Purus'a, not Prakrti.

      The perpetual state of nirviija sama'dhi acquired in the sa'dhana' of Puru'sa is called moks'a or salvation. Samprajina'ta sama'dhi, in which only the I-feeling persists is experienced when the citta is in a state of total concentration.

One who has attained this sama'dhi gradually acquires the state of omniscience. After citta attains samadhi due to its unwavering ideation on one particular pabulum, it can easily attain sama'dhi on other pabula too. Once the mind gains control over one object it can simultaneously gain control over other objects as well.

      What is omniscience ? The knowledge regarding the past, present and future is called omniscience. The seed of omniscience lies in every human beirg, but the degree of its expression varies from person to person. In some the seed is ripe, in others it is unripe. Samprajina'ta sama'dhi causes the seed to ripen. In permanent savikalpa the seed assumes vast proportions. In that state one's object no longer remains within the limited periphery of the unit mind, but becomes as vast as the Macrocosm. One's potentiality becomes immeasurable. By virtue of sa'dhana' the ungerminated seed ripens and assumes unlimited proportions. Thus elevated sa'dhakas do not need to acquire knowledge from external sources. The bliss of knowledge spontaneously manifests itself in them due to Macrocosmic grace. Tatra nira'tishayam' sarvajina'tva biijam'. "The seed of omniscience is manifested in them."

This expansion of citta is only possible in savikalpa sama'dhi. A restless citta can never attain samprajna'ta sama'dhi. Jara sama'dhi ( sama'dhi on crude material objects ) should never be called samprajina'ta sama'dhi. What is jar'a sama'dhi ? Jar'a sama'dhi occurs when the mind becomes so infatuated with a crude material object of ideation, be it money, opulence, landed property, etc., that it takes the form of that object, to the exclusion of all other objects of the world.

      The goal of samprajina'ta sama'dhi may be positive or negative, crude or subtle psychic pablum. The goal of asamprajina'ta sama'dhi, like prakrtiliina, nirbiija, or videhaliina, etc., is neither nirbiija asamprajina'ta ( without seed ), nor sabiija asamprajina'ta (with seed ), but is an intermediary stage.

      Samprajina'ta sama'dhi has four stages. The first stage is called savitarka. One attains this sama'dhi when the mind is concentrated on worldly objects such as one's children, relations or wealth. In fact savitarka sama'dhi is synonomous with jar'a sama'dhi. Negative savitarka sama'dhi occurs when one keeps one's mind aloof from the thought of family or material wealth. The desire or nondesire for crude pablum amounts to the same thing as far as the citta is concerned.

      The second stage is called savica'ra sama'dhi. This sama'dhi occurs not when the citta is engaged in crude psychic pablum, but when it becomes fully concentrated in the mad pursuit of more subtle pabula such as name and fame, etc. If the citta wants to free itself from these things, one attains negative savica'ra sama'dhi.

      The third stage is called sa'nanda sama'dhi. In this sama'dhi citta only has one psychic pablum-the feeling of bliss. This sama'dhi also has a negative counterpart which occurs when the only psychic pablum is "I am not enjoying bliss.'

      The fourth stage of samprajin'ata sama'dhi is called sa'smita sama'dhi. In this sama'dhi the unit cognitive faculty has only one object-the I-feeling or asmita'. When this I feeling disappears leaving a subtler, singular flow of consciousness, it is called asamprajina'ta sama'dhi. In asamprajina'ta sama'dhi there only remains the Cognitive Faculty ( Purus'a ). When all other objects or factors disappear and only Cognitive Faculty exists, it is called purus'akhya'ti. The way to attain purus'akhyati is to maintain the ideation that purus'a is my subject and I am His object, and thus to return to one's original source with complete self-surrender. Purus'akhya'ti is only attainable through the practice of iishvarapran'idha'na.

	Pran'idha'na is devotion attained through japakriya' or repetition of one's is't'a mantra. Thus iishvara pran'idha'na is the incantation of the name of the Supreme Being with cosmic ideation. iishvara pran'idha'na does not mean to escape from the world, nor to avoid one's responsibilities like a coward. On the contrary, iishvara pran'idha'na is a dynamic spiritual practice performed with the courage of a lion. The more one masters the technique, the more the mental wave becomes straightened, and the easier it becomes. Through iishvara pran'idha'na one can reach the state of asamprajina'ta sama'dhi, yet for this attainment dhya'na is actually more effective.

	Iishvara pran'idha'na is a more effective practice for the attainment of savikalpa sama'dhi, because during iishvara pran'idha'na the mind is temporarily concentrated in the state of ekagrabhumi ( the fourth stage of mental development - the state of one-pointedness of mind ). Whatever little amount of I feeling still persists can be finally discarded through the practice of dhya'na. Asamprajina'ta sama'dhi is attained following the complete elimination of the I-feeling.

	To ideate on Nirgun'a Brahma ( Non-attributional Brahma) is impossible. Unit beings can only ideate on Sagun'a Brahma ( the Purus'a liberated from bondage ) and Ta'raka Brahma ( the Tangential Point between Sagun'a and Nirgun'a). Ideation can only occur when both the subject and object continue to exist. ideation for one who has remained free from klesha (afflictions ), karma (actions ), vipaka ( requital of sam'ska'ras) and a'shaya ( bundle of unserved sam'ska'ras ) since eternity is meaningless. Microcosms undergo unserved afflictions due to their original actions. Afflictions cause the requital of accumulated sam'ska'ras and that leads to the formation of a bundle of unserved sam'ska'ras.

The one who meditates on that Entity who has no mind or feelings will never be showered with grace. How can the ever-free Nirgun'a Purus'a shower his grace on human beings ? Only Sagun'a Brahma and Ta'raka Brahma can shower grace. Those unit beings wbo have liberated themselves from bondage will remain liberated. They become one with Sagun'a Brahma and are thus called Great Personalities or Maha'purus'a. Only they have the right to shower grace upon microcosms. Infused with divine grace microcosms make rapid progress along the path of iishvara pran'idha'na. They attain Supreme bliss by surrendering their individualities to the Supreme Entity. In so doing they liberate themselves permanently from the bondages of Prakrti. This sa'dhana' of salvation which ultimately results in sama'dhi is not a mental distortion. The mental state it creates can neither be called positive nor negative. The practice of sa'dhana' for the attainment of sama'dhi is the way to progress along the path of spiritual vigour. There is no room for escapism on this spiritual march.

A's'a'r'hii Pu'rn'ima' 1959, Hazipur, Bihar
Subha's'ita Sam'graha Part 8