Slokam 9

This Slokam makes a very fundamental statement of truth about attaining liberation.  Sri Bhattadri makes a firm statement that it is the concentration (of the mind?) on the Paramatha that constitutes the conscious effort on our part and is greatly appreciated by the supreme. The endowment of Moksham resulting in the merger of the Atma from the physical body is a direct result of this appreciation of our effort.

Sri Bhattadri suggests that the steady practice of Pranayama will help concentrating the mind on the Paramathama. 

There appears to be an inherent conflict in this process because:

• Our mind is made to concentrate on the Paramathma.   This is an act of immense effort that is almost a sacrifice on our part.  In concentrating the attention of the mind on the Paramathma, we are excluding all distracting forces, which are filled with temptation of sensations that the mind loves to experience. The distractions may be imaginary situations of success or sense pleasures or a combination of both. It may also be the actual pursuit of physical activity to promote a sense of worldly well being. This challenge of mental focus requires sustained practice. This is probably the reason why Man is  given a lifetime lasting a 100 years. The important thing is to make this effort.  It does not matter that we may not be immediately successful. As long as we are on this path, we will be endowed with lavishness and support of immense proportions by the Paramathma.

• The result is going to be a merger of the Jiva Atma with the Paramathma. The merger means that we are in a state of complete surrender and dissolution.

So on the one hand,  effort is required to reign in the wandering mind, which means that we basically block its avenues of normal functioning.  If we do this successfully, the mind will wander into sleep.  But  on the other hand, we have to consciously sustain its focus, which means we cannot slip away into a sleep state.

This is quite a challenge. The resolution lies in the deep roots of the thought process.

We will revert to this later.

Sri Bhattadri brings up a very important phrase in this slokam.  The phase is “Controlled Energy”.  This is a fundamental concept in the lesson of life.

Consciousness represents the manifestation of pure energy.  This energy is harnessed by the mind. An alternative way of looking at this is that energy manifests itself as the mind.  The mind starts out as a bundle of pure energy.

Mental energy manifests itself as conflict.  This conflict manifests as the perceived universe. The senses funnel the experience back to the source of the energy through the mind. The source of energy is pure consciousness. 

Modern science calls this process as bio-feedback. This is a self purification process. The process is meant to purify consciousness (the Jiva Atma), so that it can merge into the Paramathma without conflict.  If the Jiva Atma is in a conflicted state, it will not be able to merge into the Paramathma, which is the state of consciousness in its purest form.

The self correcting lessons are delivered by the events in the perceived world. The perceived world is a projection of the Jiva Atma,  or the new born consciousness, through the mind.  The projection through the mind takes the forms, shapes, sizes and events that can be perceived through the senses.  The senses then funnel the events back into the mind, which interprets the events as experience of success/failure, pain/pleasure etc. These interpretations are then converted into a storehouse of knowledge of cause and effect relationships, and held in memory, so that mistakes are not repeated in future.

Through spiritual practice, this storehouse of knowledge, is elevated to the practice of detachment and the development of Sattvic Guna. Transformation of the mind means that considerable self control needs to be exercised.

Self Control is developed through development of dual identities within the mind – one personality that is subject to the pull of temptations and the other, a contradicting personality that is built out of painful experiences, and acts as the restraint on the mind.  The dominance of one or other identities will determine the state of evolution of the individual and the impact of life on the body/mind/consciousness complex that constitutes this existence.

As the mind goes through the evolution process with multitude of reincarnations and zillions of characterizations and experiences and events and personalities, the opulence and unlimited nature of the Paramathma becomes evident even to the most obstinate mind.

Sri Bhattadri begins the Slokam by addressing the Paramathma as “Oh! One without birth.”

Sri Bhattadri goes on in the Slokam to further elaborate on how to deploy the energy harnessed through the power of concentration.

This is another major assertion in the Slokam. 

The slokam translates to: “Oh! One without birth! After successfully concentrating on You by meditation etc., if one desires liberation immediately, or in stages, brings his breath process under control through Pranayama and steers this controlled energy upwards through the six levels in the Sushumna Channel.”

So the energy is not just to be created by concentration, but actually transported out of our body-mind system, consciously.

 You could search for these and read up on them if you are interested.

The slokam has the following implied assertions;

• Our energy can be harnessed through concentration
• We can gain conscious control of this energy
• We can then release the energy from the body via designated channels.

These are major assertions that have to be understood in the correct perspective.

Energy in the conventional physical is a transient phenomenon, it fades out as quickly as it appears. The energy that is spoken about in the Slokam is permanent energy also known as pure consciousness.

Consciousness is awareness. Awareness of objects and entities and phenomena.  How can you control awareness, let alone channel it?  Unlike a physical object, consciousness is not a physical object like the brain or the body.

When we talk about control, we imply that we are consciously able to influence the behavior of the being, object or phenomena. The fundamental requirements of control are:

• Controller is different entity from the controlled.
• Controller posses a tool or knowledge of the controlled,  with which to control the behavior of the controlled.
• Controller has a reason to exercise control (for personal gain or for the benefit of the one controlled)
• In a heirarchial arrangement, control is exercised only from top to bottom.  The entity at the bottom of the chain does not control the entity at the top, although it can influence the controller.

Self control is exactly the same, except, as described, the same entity develops two identities, both of which vie for control with each other.

Control means conflict, between the controller and the controlled. Supremacy of the controller in the hierarchy has to be clearly established and recognized by the other entities.  In most of us, control is established by inducing fear.  However, control can also be established through attachment resulting from love and affection.

If it is the exercise of control in a society, a punishment is imposed for disobedience.  So there is by and large compliance with the rules and regulations and society discourages any violation by threat of alienation.  When it comes to internal self control,  there are no hierarchies.

All control requirements for spiritual evolution is internal self control.  No external bodies are there to impose the requirements or monitor progress. It is entirely voluntary. So self control is a very difficult imposition.  But it is an absolute requirement and there can be no compromises. 

Broadly, the internal hierarchy is; Consciousness, the Mind, the drivers of the mind – desires, wants, needs etc., the senses, the body and its various components.

The requirement specified in Sri Bhattadri’s slokam is not the control of the mind, which can be accomplished by splitting the identity (as mentioned earlier) but the control of consciousness and orchestrating its release from the body and mind.

As explained earlier, consciousness is awareness and it comes into play in illuminating and activating the mind. It is not a physical object or an attribute of the mind. Consciousness is the power that generates awareness and focuses the mind on objects

Consciousness has the unique characteristic of self awareness.  This self awareness is the attribute that enables the mind to develop multiple identities. So there is a highly interconnected relationship between consciousness and the mind. To begin with, the mind is at the forefront of the relationship. 

Consciousness which represents awareness is pulled in different directions by the forces that motivate the mind.  Consciousness is attached to worldly objects through the mind and its Indriyas. There is no release for consciousness from attachment as long as this relationship continues.

Once the mind is brought under control and is in a Sattvic Guna state, it is quietened down and is not influenced by the Indriyas or senses or external world. When it attains this state, our consciousness comes to the forefront. 

If this quietening of the mind is done to perfection, consciousness is detached from worldly objects and relationships.  Consciousness now exists without physical, emotional and rational association.  It has to be held in this state by exercise of complete control on the mind. Consciousness then shifts focus onto itself, since the mind is no longer distracting it.  When consciousness turns onto itself, its detachment from worldly objects attains permanence.  This is the self sustaining state that is self perpetuating and eternal.

When this happens consciousness is released completely from the influence or dependence on the mind.  In an advanced state of disconnectedness, consciousness has no attachments to worldly objects.  It does not require the sun, moon or earth or any of the elements for its survival and sustenance.  This is the Paramathma’s eternal state.

Sri Bhattadri speaks about the release of consciousness through the Sushumna channel which may require study in Tantrics to understand.  We will not attempt to delve into that in this series.

 Let it be said that the Sushumna Channel indicates that the release has to be done in stages (six levels), and we will leave it at that.