Ramana Gita Study Group Ch 6. V.1,2,3 MIND CONTROL

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RamanaMaharshi, Alan Jacobs

<alanadamsjacobs> wrote:

> Translation by Krishna Bhikshu .

>

> 1.Having thus explained the Essential Nature of the Heart,Sri

Ramana Muni,emminent among the

> Knowers of the Fundamental Truth of Things,explained the way of

contolling the mind.

>

> 2.Men [and women]are enamoured of sense objects and their thoughts

ever flow towards them .

>

> Inherent tendencies[vasanas]* are powerful and the mind is

therefore very hard to control.

>

> *Fixations in the mind[conditioned reflexes brought about by

associations]on which depends the

> reaction or response to any stimulus.They are carried over from

birth to birth and new ones formed

> in this birth .

>

> 3.It is fickle and it hops from one object to another incessantly.

>

> One should contol it by controlling the Prana*,when it ceases to

be active,as a tethered animal.

>

> *Purification of the mind brought about by the practice of

Pranayama ,subjugating the breath and

> life force by restraint .

>

> Later in the Chapter Ramana has simplified the Practice of

Pranayama to:- one deep exhalation ,

> one deep inhalation ,restraint of breath for 4 counts and then a

deep exhalation .This may be

> repeated a few times daily .See also his essay "Self Enquiry' in

Collected Works which can be

> downloaded from the Ramanasramam Web Site . Breath and mind

emanate from the same Source therefore

> control of breath leads to contol of mind and its purification to

a more satvic maturity .He also

> gives watching the flow of breath as a means, and Japa, as the

Chapter proceeds.

>

> Breath Restraint is also an option when practicing Diving Into the

Heart' see Ramana Gita Chapter

> 2. V 2.

=====

> alan

 

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Ramana Gita [translation &commentary by ARNatarajan]

 

Chapter 6

Vs1

The best of knowers of the truth, the sage Ramana, having explained

the science of the Heart, spoke of the means of controlling the mind.

Vs2

Men attached to objects and having endless thoughts due to the

strength of latent tendencies find it difficult to control the mind.

 

Commentary:

…note that verses in this chapter are spontaneous statements made by

the Maharshi and not replies to questions.

 

One has to look for the cause of restlessness of the mind. Any

action done with the sense of doership leaves a residual memory

after the action is over. Experiences of past action are stored in

the mind and give it a directional pull. When similar situations

arise, this pull from the seeds of past action, called `vasanas' or

latent tendencies, would externalise the mind. Contact with the

sense objects in the present can be expected to produce the mental

reactions of going along with or resisting a particular action,

depending on the pleasantness or unhappiness of the past experience.

If the storehouse of such tendencies is left uncontrolled, the mind

becomes a prisoner of the past and is unable to be steady or

steadfast in meditation. If mind control is desired, the question

would naturally arise, as to how these tendencies can be eradicated

or reduced. The ultimate solution is only through finding ones own

true nature, for that alone can burn away the vast mass of

tendencies. Till then, along the way, the Maharshi suggests aids.

These aids are spelt out in the subsequent verses.

 

Vs 3

One should control the fickle mind by restraint of breath. Then it

would, like a tethered animal, cease to stray.

 

Commentary:

If the mind is strong, not distracted, then self-enquiry can take

place without aids. A weak mind, dissipated mind however, needs a

prop in order to stick to a single thought stream.

Breath-regulation would serve this purpose best.

 

In his `Upadesa Saram' Ramana gives another analogy, that of a bird

being caught in a net. Then, perforce the mind's freedom would be

curtailed. Ramana says, "the mind is the rider and breath is the

horse. `Pranayama', breath-regulation, is a check on the horse, by

that the rider is checked. Just a little may be done. It serves as a

brake serves a car".*

[*Conscious Immortality – Paul Brunton -P15]

 

==============

anu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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