In Hindu religion we believe in Reincarnation. We need to ponder as to why we have birth-death and rebirth cycles. The reason for our birth-death and rebirth cycles is our 'VASANAS'. We need to understand the theory of 'KARMA' and the true meaning of Vasanas.
What are 'Vasanas'? In our lives, every desire we entertain will leave an impression on the shores of our mind. These impressions are called 'Vasanas'. In other words, any constant thought of a particular desire will leave an 'etching' on our mind. These are called tendencies, temptations, also called ' Vasanas '. These 'Vasanas' cause agitation in our minds. These Vasanas need to be exhausted, in other words, we need to fulfill those desires. Fulfillment of all desires is not possible, because, if one desire is fulfilled, ten desires will arise and if ten desires are fulfilled, hundred desires will arise and the vicious circle will continue. That means, we need to give importance to curtailing desires. Because, the more desires we entertain, the more Vasanas we create.
What is the cause for our desires? Why do we develop desires? Bhagavad Geeta has some succinct answer to this question. Spiritually speaking, we are innately 'full'. But, in our spiritual ignorance, we think we are not full. When I am not full, instinctively I want to fill it. This leads to desires at my intellectual level and incessant thoughts at my mental level. Thus, constant thinking of desires leads to footprints on the shores of my mind. If I cannot fulfill those desires, these 'Vasanas' keep on accumulating in my mind.
These Vasanas could be Sattwic, Rajasic or tamasic depending upon the texture of thought. All Vasanas have bondage, but, Sattwic Vasanas have least amount of bondage. I will discuss aboutSattwic, Rajasic and Tamasic gunas in a separate article later.
We need to understand the theory of ' Karma' here. Supposing a person has committed a crime in one city and moved to another city and changed his name, still a good detective will catch him. Because, he has left footprints in the previous place. Similarly, the 'Vasanas' that I have accumulated in my previous life if I did not exhaust them, will follow me to this life. In other words, the Vasanas that I have accumulated in my previous life will follow me to this life through my ' causal body'. In effect, I need to exhaust those 'Vasanas'. Past sins are responsible for my present sorrows. Present sins of mine will be responsible for my future sorrows.Sorrows ar nothing but state of agitation of the mind. The deeper meaning of sorrows is nothing but Vasanas. My past Vasanas are causing present mental agitations. If I accumulate more Vasanas in the present life, they will be carried forward in my causal body to my future life, causing further mental agitation.
For example, Arjuna, being a Kshatriya, has accumulated a lot of Rajasic Vasanas. He needed to exhaust his Vasanas. He had a beautiful field in the form of Kurukshetra battle-field to exhaust his Vasanas. But, Arjuna refuses to fight the battle and says to Lord Krishna that he does not want to fight the battle and he would rather go to jungle and spend the remaining time in meditation. But, Arjuna cannot meditate, because; he does not have an equanimous mind. That is because; his mind is filled with Rajasic Vasanas. Arjuna first must exhaust his Vasanas. That is when Lord Krishna starts Krishna cure of this Arjuna disease. Lord Krishna ultimately convinces Arjuna to fight the battle without anxiety for the fruit. If Arjuna can fight the battle without anxiety 'for the fruit', then he will not only exhaust his present Vasanas, he will not create any more new Vasanas. Vasana purgation is a pre requisite for deep meditation. Arjuna follows Lord Krishna's advice and fights the battle without anxiety 'for the fruit' and thereby exhausts his Vasanas. His mind becomes pure and equanimous. Then, he meditated and in his deepest meditation, he became aware of his true nature and got liberated and attained Moksha.
If we follow the advice that Lord Krishna gave to Arjuna, then we need to exhaust our Vasanas. To exhaust our own Vasanas,god has given us our own Kurukshetra battle field in this life. We need to follow our own Swadharma and try to purge our Vasanas. That means, we need to follow sattwic qualities of purity, nobility, self-control, compassion, charity, selfless love, and devotion, steadfastness, fortitude, truthfulness etc. Then, we must control our desires and gradually get rid of our desires. As our desires are reduced, our thoughts for those desires will be reduced and gradually our Vasanas will be eliminated. Desirelessness alone can lead to Vasanalessness. Elimination of Vasanas alone can lead to purification of the mind. Purification of mind leads to quietude. With that equanimous and steadfast mind, you can contemplate and meditate. And, in our deepest meditation, we too can become aware of our true nature as that immutable, omniscient and all pervading Brahman Which we are . As Swamy Chinmayananda says:'Man awakened to the glory of the self is 'God' '
Hence, let us arise, awake, and make an effort to gradually exhaust our Vasanas and purify our mind in preparation for meditation. I know it is difficult. We may not be able to succeed in this life. But, at least, we must start the process in this life to get head start in the next life.
Eswara Dutt.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
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Thank you Dr Eswar Dutt garu, excellent article on Vasanas n Karma! Looking for the next one i.e. about Sattwic, Rajasic and Tamasic gunas! Thanks & Regards
ReplyDeleteThank you Dr. Korabathina Garu. IN due course, I will discuss about "GUNAS".
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Eswar.