In the March 2012 issue of Tapovan
Prasad, there is a chapter on Swami Tapovanam answering the questions on how vikshepa vritti (mental agitations) can
be controlled and the mind eliminated in order to enter the state of Nirvikalpa Samadhi and thereby attain the
Supreme Brahman-hood. Nirvikalpa Samadhi is the state of
meditative living where the person has no traces of any EGO within him/her and
the individualism has completely merged with the Infinite Consciousness. To reach that state of samadhi, the Body-Mind-Intellect (BMI) layers have to be
transcended and all vasanas eliminated.
As Swami Tapovanam explains, the mind is
the product of the ‘satvik’ elements
of the ‘pancha mahabhootas’ or the
five basic elements (space, air, fire, water & earth) in their nascent form
(apachikaranam). Mind is the flow of
thoughts, so it is always in a state of change.
The mind has to be controlled and brought to a stillness by directing it
to an higher inspiring IDEAL. This is done
through the various methods of Bhakthi Yoga.
Depending on the vasanas in the individual, the character of the person
will be of different gunas – Tamasic,
Rajasic and Satvik. The person has to put in the effort to
uplift themselves step by step from lower gunas to the higher ones. Lord
Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita has said the following in Chapter 6, verse 5.
“Let
a man elevate himself by his own Self alone, and let him not lower himself; for
this self alone is the friend of oneself, and this self is the enemy of oneself”.
Once they reach the
Satvik guna, the mind has to be oriented to higher levels by constant thought
and understanding of the principle of ‘Aham
Brahmosmi’ (I am Brahman). Then
through constant practice of meditation (Nidhidyasanam),
the person has to stop this single thought of ‘Aham Brahmasmi’ to end
all thoughts. By that time, the person
will have his/her personality layers totally tuned to the state of Supreme
Consciousness all the time, and merges into ‘Nirvikalpa Samadhi’ -
Objectless awareness. In this state of
objectless awareness, the vasanas are
weakened and mind gets annihilated. In that Samadhi state, the glory of Brahman
with its attributes of ‘Sat Chit and Aananda’ is realized.
Hari Om.