A person gets up from his bed and places the pillows in their proper place. To his utter horror, he finds four or five small snakes under the pillows!He began trembling and could not control himself. The snakes have been there throughout the night. He too would have slept keeping his hand under the pillow! Did he fear anything at that time? Not at all. It is only when the mind or Manas is associated with the situation that one experiences fear and other emotions. He was normal and fearless since the mind did not take cognizance of the presence of the snakes under the pillow. Anjaneya in his search for Sita happens to see the Asura women asleep at night! He feels guilty of peeping again and again to find Sita during that part of the night. He doubts if he had committed a sin. He questions himself and concludes that no sin was committed! If the mind is involved it is a mistake. So long as the mind is not involved in your action, you are not at fault! He was just searching for Sita and had no other intention. Thus he concluded that he was not at fault!
“ Mana eva manushyanam karanam bandha mokshayoh” declare the Sastras. It is the mind or Manas alone the cause of attachment and detachment or salvation. It depends on the angle of vision with which you see objects and things.You look at your sister with love and affection. But when you see a beautiful girl on the street your feeling is different. It is the mind that is responsible for the 'vikara’-the wrong turn that one takes in his life. When mind is trained to follow the right royal path of Dharma or righteousness there is no danger for man! If he lets it loose there is disaster! There are three vessels one containing tamarind rice, the second full of curd rice and the third filled with sweet rice! It is in front of a person who is troubled in his mind! He looks mentally deranged! What will he do? He takes some curd rice and smears it on the wall nearby! He gets some sweet rice and smears it on the head of a person next to him! What is the reaction of people? People with him apologize and say that the man's mind is not sound. Despite the presence of everything needed, it is the lack of involvement of the mind that is the root cause of all troubles of man.
In the Taittiriya Upanishad, Bhrigu, son of Varuna, wants to know the Brahman! Varuna directs him to perform tapas and find the answer himself. After penance, he dismisses Annam and Prana as not equal to Brahman! Next he performs penance again and tells Varuna, his father, that Manas is the Brahman. “Mano Brahmeti vyajanath!” He was again turned back to go and perform tapas! Meditating once again, Bhrigu concluded that Vignana, or Knowledge is Brahman! The power of discrimination, the rational sense of man, is the difference between man and the beast. “ Vijnanam Brahmeti vyajanath.” we know what is right and what is wrong but we are incapable of choosing the right path and direction! That is the prerogative of the great and exceptional people! Again and again we fall into the lurch and lose ourselves. In spite of our best efforts we land in the same slush!
For this reason the famous Azhwars have thrown all their responsibility on God! They assert that they do not know what is right or wrong.They don't want to pose as if they know everything. It is He who knows what is good or bad for His devotee. Hence they call upon the Almighty to bestow what is good for them! The knowledge of discrimination between the good and bad, the ephemeral and the everlasting, is the speciality of a wise man. Hence Bhrigu thought that Knowledge is Brahman! Varuna bade him again to go to the forest and meditate! Now it dawned upon Bhrigu that Anandam or Bliss is Brahman! Returning, he told Varuna “ Anando Brahmeti Vyajanath.”Brahma Vidya begins with Bliss or Ananada and progresses step by step and finally ends with Ananda! Ananda is indescribable and has no limitations. It is overflowing bliss. It is an inexhaustible spring of beatitude. The more you experience the more it is sweetening! It is something that we can never give up after tasting it for a day or two!
Thus if the mind is made to concentrate on the Brahman surely the aspirant can enjoy this Brahmananda! If the mind or Manas is frittered away in silly material things and mundane activities there is absolutely no chance for Salvation or moksha! The Upanishad declares that our body is the chariot and Atma the charioteer. Buddhi or intellect is the driver of the chariot and manas is the bridle! The five Senses are the horses that draw the chariot! The horses have to be controlled by the reins and the bridle! If the horses or Senses are given freedom they shall surely gallop at great speed and involve the rider in an accident! All our scriptures, Puranas and the Bhagavad-Gita insist on the control of our insatiable senses without which man can never think of moksha or salvation! The downfall of many a sage, Deva and man is the result of the loosening of the mind! We cannot have better illustrations than the great sage Viswamitra, and the celebrated Siva devotee Ravana who allowed their Senses a free run! Let us beware of the overriding influence of powerful Senses on all of us!
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