Oscillation

“Raga-dvesha-viyuktaistu vishayanindriyais-charan
Atmavasyair-vidheyatma prasadam-adhigacchati”

“But the disciplined (lower) Self, moving among sense-objects with senses free from
attraction and repulsion and mastered by the Higher Self, goeth to Peace.” (Gita, II-64)

Attraction and repulsion are the two aspects of mind that create pleasure and pain alternatively. It is hard for the mind to achieve equanimity which is otherwise called indifference. The mind oscillates between the attraction and repulsion constantly. Whenever there is attraction and pleasure, anger and fear are hidden. The desires and attachments are the two driving forces of mind and unfulfilled desires and attachments or something that is taken away or about to be taken away from us, cause anger and fear. When we get carried away by abilities of our body and mind, the fear of death is dominant. When we believe money is the driving force for happiness in life, we always carry a fear of losing our wealth. If we love our family dearly, we will continue to carry a fear of losing their love.

Attraction and repulsion can be at four stages namely a) burnt up, b) thinned out, c) concealed and d) fully-expanded. The first two are feasible only for those who renounce the desires and attachments as part of their lifestyle. One can meditate in the forest renouncing the worldly life but still may not renounce desires and attachments and another can live in the world and still renounce desires and attachments. The third and fourth stages happen to those who lead a worldly life. Sometimes, it is entirely possible for someone to thin out repulsion to have fun for a period. For example, wife could be very agitated about the general behavior of the husband but temporarily reach truce to make a special day enjoyable. It is entirely possible for a wife to forgive the husband also if he had forgotten the special day. Generally, attraction and repulsion are in fully-expanded stage when we operate in the world on a regular basis.

Desires and attachments in the mind can’t sprout without the help of attraction and repulsion. When the mind is set in motion or vibration through the current of attraction and repulsion, real Karma begins. Real Karma begins from the Sankalpa of the mind and not when the external actions manifest. Thinking itself is an action and that is precisely why fantasies are also part of Karma. Emotions and impulses also coexist with desires and attachments. The cycle of life consists of misery caused by the existence of body, body caused as the result of Karma, Karma caused by attraction and repulsion, attraction and repulsion caused by the feeling of “I” and “Mine” and “I” and “Mine’ caused by ignorance. The root cause of everything is ignorance and the only way that can be eliminated is by getting the knowledge about the Truth.

The ways to destroy the attraction and repulsion is by developing right-thinking and meditation to regulate the mind. We need to make effort to move above the pair of opposites to become eternal and enjoy infinite bliss and peace. Among many qualities of mind, the ones that need maximum effort to eradicate are desires, attachments, attractions and repulsions as they are deep-rooted. Holding everything with the mindset of Trustee is one way to detach from material possessions. Entirely eradicating desires is also hard, but we can work on a ceiling on desires. Be it family or friend, the love must be developed unconditionally with no strings attached. Serving those who need help could be another way to tame the mind and its feeling of “I” and “Mine”. Moderation in everything whether it is celebration of success or withdrawal in failure must be limited. One way to successfully achieve this is to stay in the present moment. If life exists, the mind will continue to exist. We can only stop the oscillation, and a stable and calm mind can provide something much more precious called “Peace”.

 

Dear Hari Sir,

Thank you for your first response. Like I said, desires and attachments are two driving forces of mind. They can't function without attraction and repulsion. Sometimes, excessive "I" and "Mine" feeling and anger created by such feeling in enough itself drives a person to go to any extent to achieve a goal. The perfect example is the current President of the United States. He faced serious financial crisis as he filed several bankruptcies and eventually no bank was funding him for his businesses. He managed to reach out to other financial sources from outside of the US. He hated the Washington politicians for their name and fame. Finally, when he got ridiculed in an Annual White House Correspondence Dinner, he decided to teach a lesson to everyone. He created a strategy with the help of a data analytics firm and opposition research to reach that goal. He is alleged that he collaborated with a foreign power but it has not been proven as yet. However, Russians intervened to help him and he became the President by a narrow margin.

I am giving this as a perfect example because it matches with your comments. He hated Washington politics and he became part of it under the pretext of changing it. Actually, what he was after is name and fame.

Viswa

 

Dear Smt. Jayasala:

Thank you for your response and for providing a diagram-like work flow management. I agree 100% with you that it is easier said than done and I am too far away from achieving any of what was said above. I can only try to practice a few of them like holding the possessions as a Trustee, provide service to the people in need to break the feeling of "I" and "Mine", love the family members unconditionally with no expectations, be moderate in celebration and withdrawal.

Sometimes, emotions and impulses get the best of me. For example, knowing fully well, everyone had to leave the mortal coil one day, I cried for good 15 minutes when I lost my mother recently. I felt really guilty for not around her when she passed away. Some emotions are too strong to overcome. I was wondering how to overcome the guilt and came up with the idea to volunteer for people who are transitioning from life to death in the Hospice here in the US. I underwent training programs to learn about the symptoms of death, how people might be feeling during their transition including seeing people who left long time back, calling for someone who doesn't exist, talking about going home, etc.

Now when I hold the hands of those mothers who are transitioning here in the US, I think of my mother and the guilt is slowly getting erased. I am beginning to recognize that we are all connected human-beings from the same source. It is the frame that we get attached resulting in pain and suffering and not the soul which exist in every being.

Viswa

 

@Gauri03,

The link below provides what constitute Indriyas:

Indriyam - Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

I am not well-versed in the interpretations of Hindu mythology. It is my understanding that one who conquers the demons to protect Devas (Celestial-beings) is known as Indra. In order to make the humans understand, there are many stories of Indra himself struggling to win the battle against those demons of Indriyas. In my view, this is symbolic in the human context of conquering the Indriyas through (i) Vichara (Dyana/Meditation), (ii) Will-force, (iii) Kumbhaka (retention of breath in Pranayama), (iv) Dama (restraint), (v) Pratyahara (abstention) and (vi) Vairagya and Tyaga (Determination and Sacrifice). Perfect control can be made only through Vichara.

If reaching Self is the goal, the Indriyas are the stumbling blocks for reaching our goal. From that contest, Self can be considered as the conqueror of Indriyas (Indra).

 

Dear Cheeniya Sir,

Please don't say such things as I am a naive human-being exploring various possibilities for salvation. I have learned so much from you. Moreover, meditation is a challenge for many of us including myself and I end up in silent sitting entertaining thoughts as opposed to watching them appear and disappear remaining unattached to them. Besides, what was said above are not my inventions and they are merely a regurgitation of what is said in the Scriptures and interpreted by learned people.

If you can achieve happiness even for a brief period of time without worries not taking over the mind, why would you need meditation which was intended for producing the same result? It is suggested for those who are overwhelmed with worries of this world not knowing how to control the mind that runs in various directions. Iravati used to mention that her mind's status is always happy and every time she mentioned that, I couldn't stop admiring her. When you read Sabitha's threads, one gets a feeling she gets overwhelmed with the nature and she loses memory of everything else but the nature. All three of you are blessed souls in my view.

Manava Seva is Madhava Seva. Losing "I" and "Mine" through serving others is the greatest solution to merge with the Universal Consciousness. That generation had a gift to serve skillfully, selflessly and lovingly with no expectations of the fruits. Being able to serve others itself is a gift not everyone gets the opportunity to serve.

If meditation (Raja Yoga) is chaining the Monkey, keeping it occupied in service of others is like letting it engaged in Karma Yoga. Cure for Bhava Roga (the disease of feeling we are the body) can be achieved through many ways including surrendering to the Lord like Purandaradasa and Thyagaiyar or serving the people in need like Mother Teresa or through constant inquiry and enlightenment like Adi Sankara or Buddha.