VYA'TIREKA -- 1 official source: Ma'nasa'dhya'tmika Sa'dhana'r Staravinya's [Stages of Psycho- Spiritual Sa'dhana'] cross-references: also published in Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell Part 6 this version: is the printed Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell Part 6, 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. In the physical, psychic and spiritual strata there is ample scope for yatama'na. But remember, without freedom of intellect, physical and psychic progress are impossible. Of course one may attain a certain degree of progress, but that will be hard to maintain. The other day I said that the mind of a person who does not get sufficient food will always think about food. This is normal, for food is necessary to sustain the physical body. The inner spirit of yatama'na is to sincerely try to advance. The greatest obstacle on the path of progress is a lack of intellectual freedom, for it prevents one from planning independently how to advance in the physical and psychic spheres. When one is aware of this one thinks negative thoughts. It has been mentioned in the yoga sha'stra that yogis would go to countries ruled by powerful kings to be able to practice their spiritual sa'dhana' without harm or hindrance. If the king was strong the society he represented was also strong. It was only natural for those sa'dhakas to seek a well-knit and stable society to further their spiritual advancement. So for the full expression of yatama'na society should be structured in such a way that the physical and psychic needs of the people can be met. The second stage of psycho-spiritual progress is vya'tireka, which concerns human psychology. The human mind can be compared to the ayogava'ha' letters of the Indo-Aryan alphabet. These are letters which cannot be uttered independently without the support of other letters. In our alphabet there are three such letters: am'ushvar (m'), visharga (ah), and chandrabindu (nasal sound). Am'ushvar has no independent pronunciation, but if written after the letter ka, for example, will be pronounced as kam'. Similarly, when visharga comes after the letter ka it is pronounced as kah, and likewise, when chandrabindu is written above ka we pronounce it as kan. The human mind can be compared to these ayogava'ha' letters because it, too, cannot exist alone but always remains attached to some object or other. Suppose you are walking along a road without looking at the houses, animals, traffic, etc. Does this mean that your mind is disassociated from all objects?' Not at all. You may be thinking that if you don't hurry up the ration shop will be closed. So the ration shop is your mental object. You are unable to keep your mind in a state of objectlessness. The human mind attaches itself to three types of objects: physical, psychic and spiritual. In the mundane sphere the mind jumps continuously from one object to another. For example, on seeing some rasogolla's (delicious Indian sweets) you immediately feel a desire to eat them. But maybe you think, "No I shouldn't eat any. I shouldn't be so greedy. That would be very unbecoming of me." Perhaps the following couplet comes to mind: Lobhe pa'p pape mrtyu sha'strer vacane Ataeva kara save lobha Sambaran'. "Greed leads to sin, sin leads to death, This is the teaching of the scriptures. Therefore, Oh human beings, control your greed" So you tell yourself, "No, I won't eat any rasagollas." But the moment you withdraw your mind from the rasogollas you happen to smell the aroma of freshly made tea and think how nice it would be have a cup. Your mind drops the object of rasagolla, but now embraces another object: tea. You tell the tea boy, "Two cups of tea please", even though you may feel a little ashamed that you have succumbed to the influence of yet another object of desire. While sipping your tea you decide to never again allow your mind to be swayed by the desire for any other object - never, never again. But, alas! the very next second you think, "Oooh, what a beautiful shirt that boy's wearing. I should get myself one like that". So now the mind is running after a shirt. It cannot stay attached to any one object for long but jumps uncontrollably from object to object. Then, you think, "Oh dear, I'm going to be late in getting home today. I bet mum's complaining already, 'How long will I keep the food warm for him. What a nuisance. I won't wait any longer'. What shall I say when I get home? Let's see... yes, I'll say, 'Sorry I'm late today mum. I won't be late again in future." So now you are thinking about the conversation you'll be having with your mother. And the mind continues to jump from one object to another. Most of the objects in this example are physical - the rasagolla, the tea, the boy's shirt - but your planned conversation with your mother is psychic, for after picturing the image of your mother in your mind you use your mental ear to hear her words. Thus it is clear that the mind requires an object. The initiative to act comes from the mind-only after thinking about an action do we actually do it. One should also remember that if the mind constantly thinks a thought for a long time, it will certainly be materialised sooner or later. If one's mind thinks about something for a short time and then jumps to another object, that thought may or may not be materialised. But if a person cherishes a desire for a long time to eat something he will certainly it eat it one day, whatever the hurdles he has to cross. That is why the mind should not remain attached to a particular object for a long period. The best psychological cure for addicts is to put them in an environment where they will be unable to think of their object of addiction for any length of time. To proclaim, "Don't do this, it's bad," is futile, for it is a negative approach. If you say, "Don't drink wine", you are still injecting the concept of wine into the alcoholic's mind, thus making it impossible for him to forget it and kick his bad habits. You are giving alcohol negative publicity, and it again becomes his mental object. Thus whenever he gets the opportunity he will certainly drink it again. And it may be that this negative approach encourages the alcoholic to become even more addicted. It is a defective approach. These days the sign "No smoking please" is placed in many public places, but it will not reduce the amount of smoking. If society wants people to stop smoking, its approach should be to divert the smoker's mind to other objects. A chain smoker should be encouraged to get involved in various pursuits such as music, dance, songs, culture of fine arts, etc., for if the mind remains engaged in these things it will forget its object of addiction. But the person who thinks, "I'll stop drinking wine the day after tomorrow - no, let me see, why not tomorrow" can never kick the habit, for wine remains the mental object. The mind will try to materialise whatever it thinks about in the external world - this is its nature. There is a good story. An alcoholic saw the sign "Drinking is bad" everywhere he went so he decided to stop drinking. After a moment's contemplation he decided to go and see an astrologer. "Can you please tell me when the next auspicious day is?" he asked. "Certainly" replied the astrologer, "it's du'rga'saptamii, in about four months time." The alcoholic thought that would be a wonderful day to give up drinking, so why trouble himself with abstinence before it arrived. Four months later, that auspicious day arrived. At six in the morning, after drinking a bottle of wine, he resolved, "That's it! No more wine for me from this moment." Soon after he was marching past the wine shop. "No problem," he thought, "I've decided to stop drinking from today." That evening when the clock struck six he congratulated his mind for being so strong. "Well done mind, even when I marched past the wine shop you didn't ask for wine, and even though it's already six in the evening you still aren't asking for a glass. Such self-discipline deserves a reward - let's open two bottles of wine." This is human psychology! Not only does the mind remain attached to physical objects, psychic ones are equally dear to it. Great scholars probe deeply into highly intellectual subjects, and as a result of their continued study, gain success. Since ancient times human beings have aspired to fly in the sky. The lymphatic glands of the human group are developed, and thus the monkey, proto-ape, and ape groups can jump a lot, but they cannot fly. But today this human desire has been fulfilled with the help of aeroplanes. Whenever people probe deeply into fields of thought in the psychic sphere it influences the subtler sphere, and comes to eventual fruition. Similar is the physical sphere, for whatever people think is materialised if their desire is intense. The same thing also happens in the spiritual sphere. In the physical sphere the mind may run after rasagolla, a cup of tea, or a boy's shirt; and in the psychic sphere after mother's words. In the spiritual sphere, if the mind is withdrawn from all such objects and directed to Parama Purus'a, it will eventually become one with Him. But it will have to take a firm decision : "I will think only of Parama Purus'a, and not any of the thousands of other objects." So the mind must be withdrawn from all objects and directed towards Parama Purus'a In this process, and after some time, it will become one with Parama Purus'a. At that stage it will cherish no further desire for rasogollas, tea, fashionable shirts, or the mother's words. Parama Purus'a alone will be the greatest object of happiness. It is the characteristic of the mind to remain attached to one object at a time. It cannot remain attached to one object for a long period of time, nor can it remain objectless. As the mind has to select an object to maintain its existence, it would be wise to select the biggest, the best, the most lasting, and the most loving object. Parama Purus'a is the only such object. What is vya'tireka ? The mind may strive to concentrate on one object for a long period, but it will have difficulty remaining attached to that object permanently. Perhaps you have had an experience like the following one. You have been ideating, on Parama Purus'a for a long time and feel immensely blissful. Then suddenly the idea flashes in your mind, "Oh, I've got to go to Burdwan right now - my train's about to leave" and you get up quickly. The mind now switches over to the thought of Burdwan. This is the science of vya'tireka. The way it works will be discussed in the next discourse. 3 December 1980, Calcutta Ma'nasa'dhya'tmika Sa'dhana'r Staravinya's [Stages of Psycho-Spiritual Sa'dhana']