Buddhism believes that the samskaras become constituents of one’s personality by being passed on from moment to moment of its duration. The action-samskaras are transmitted from moment to moment of one’s existence, stay in one after one’s death and become active in producing one’s next birth, and so on. Ethical action will produce samskaras in the individual self for future action in this life or the later ones, paving the way for ultimate realization.
8. As long as man, unconcerned of the purpose of life, fails to perceive that the actions of his body-mind are not of the Atman, the spiritual Self, he will be completely oblivious of his spiritual nature and behave like an ignorant person, a merely body-centred being, seeking delight in the sex-dominated life of the householder suffering from its endless woes.
Ignorance arises when craving envelops the mind-stuff. This craving dries up the good and noble qualities of the mind and heart. It makes one hard and cruel. It is this craving that is responsible for bondage and misfortune. It breaks the heart of man and creates delusion in him. Caught in its whirlpool, man is unable to enjoy the pleasures that are within his reach. Though it appears that the craving is for happiness, it leads neither to happiness nor to fruitfulness in this life.
9. The union of man with woman is spoken of by great men as a new knot in their heart, added to the already existing knot of ego-sense. For, from that springs the terrible infatuation causing the extension of the sense of identification, consisting in the sense of ‘mini-ness’, with regard to house, property, son, friend, money and so on.The ego is the thought ‘I’. Of all the thoughts that arise in the mind, the ‘I’ thought Is the first. Other thoughts arise later. Holding a form, it comes into being. It stays on as the form is held. It breeds on it and grows strong. It changes form as suddenly as it assumes form.
All suffering revolves around egotism. Egotism is the sole cause of mental distress. Spreading the net of worldly objects of pleasure, it is the egotism that traps the living beings.
Indeed all the terrible calamities in this world are born of egotism. Egotism eclipses self-control, destroys virtue and dissipates equanimity. When one is under the influence of egotism, one is unhappy. Free from egotism, one is ever happy.
10. This knot of the heart, the ego-sense (Ahamkara), which is the result of tendencies created by past actions, is identical with the mind. So if man is to be totally free from the bondage to sensuous enjoyment, his mind, free from all modifications, should be dissolved in the category superior to it. Then man becomes free from the cause of bondage, namely, ignorance.
In all the experiences of happiness and unhappiness, as also in all the hallucinations and imaginations, it is the mind that does everything and experiences everything. It is the performer of all actions.
The seed of this world-appearance is ignorance. Man acquires this ignorance or mental conditioning effortlessly. It seems to promote pleasure though, in truth, it is the source of grief. It creates a delusion of pleasure only by the veiling of self-knowledge. When one becomes aware of the unreality of this mental conditioning, one’s mind
ceases to be. As long as there is no natural yearning for self-knowledge, so long ignorance or mental conditioning throws up an endless stream of world-appearance. This ignorance perishes when it turns towards self-knowledge.
11. The means to be adopted by one who wants to break this knot of the heart are as follows: Devotion to, and service of, an enlightened guru who is only Myself – the Supreme Divinity; renunciation; equanimity in suffering and enjoyment; the constant remembrance that suffering is there in any attainment in this world or in the hereafter;
intelligent reflection on the true nature of all experiences; abandonment of works for personal gains; austerity;
12. dedication of works to Me; hearing the recitals of My divine actions every day; contact with great devotees having Me as their object of adoration; singing about My excellences; non-entertainment of animosity towards any one; equanimity; tranquility; cultivation of intense desire to get over identification with home and one’s own body;
13. study of scriptures; living in solitude; conquest of the senses and vital energy; strong faith; celibacy; vigilance; restraint of speech;
14. the knowledge and insight to see My presence in everything; practice of samadhi; cultivation of equanimity; firmness, perseverance and discrimination. By practising all these, an earnest aspirant can get over the knot of the ego-sense.
A variety of ways to overcome ego-sense is listed above. The egotism covers everything like a veil. All troubles come to an end when the ego dies. Then, though living in the body, one is liberated. The ego is like a cloud. The moon cannot be seen on account of a thin patch of cloud. When the cloud disappears, one sees the moon.
Samadhi is the state in which the ego-sense is overcome completely.
When all functions of the Reason including sleep are stopped, the Reason stays in itself. But Reason is conscious and its consciousness is due to the reflection of the Cosmic Person. The reflection, with no object to know, stays in its original nature. This staying of rational consciousness in it is the samadhi. This is the aim of yoga.
When this rational consciousness does not stay in itself, the knower in it identifies itself with the functions of the Reason and assumes its forms. The final samadhi is the staying of the Cosmic Person in Him, not even as the knower. This is the stage of final liberation while in body. The earlier samadhi is only the beginning, the gateway to the
final one. In the final stage, the three attributes of Prakrti will be in perfect harmony, maintaining perfect equilibrium.
The states of samadhi – the first and the final – cannot be had merely through physical and mental exercises. The most important preliminary is the purification of one’s Reason, which is the ‘I-am’. So long as the ‘I-am’ is activated by inner functions, it cannot be pure and stable. It can be made steady by practice and detachment. Practice is effort repeated. Detachment is equanimity and non-egoistic.
To obtain these faculties one is to practise friendliness with generous people, compassion for those in distress, affection instead of jealously for those who are meritorious, and indifference towards the evil of evildoers. One is to practise self-control such as non-injury, non-stealing, truthfulness, celibacy and non-acceptance of gifts. It is significant that the preparation for achieving the states of samadhi is based on ethical action.
