[Advaita-l] Analysis of the Mind-7

[kuntimaddi sadananda]

--- Sandeep Shetty <sandeep.shetty.b at gmail.com> wrote:

>> 
> My doubt is what is the source of likes or dislikes in us for the first
> time....?
> 
> Say two persons had same South Indian Coffee for the first time.....One
> might like it ,but other person might dislike it.
> And as you said, depending on these subtler impressions on their mind, first
> person might continue to have coffee and other
> person might stop it.
> 
> But why these two people had different experieneces while having  same cofee
> for the first time (When there were no subtler impressions
> in their mind about coffee yet!!!) ....? How one person liked his first
> experience of coffee and other disliked it?
> 
> Why people have different tastes when mind is just about subtler
> impressions...?
> 
> 
> So for a person who is having coffee for the first time, why should he be
> happy or unhappy...? Since there are
> no subtler impressions about coffee yet (no vasanaas) , there are no
> agitations at the mind level which made him restless.
> But still one feels happy or unhappy immediately after first
> experience....!!!
> 
> Please clarify this.....

Sandeep - PraNAms.
First thanks for  your comments.

Regarding the first time coffee - it is an example to illustrate how an ego-centric
action can result in the formation of vaasanas.

Sometimes the prior samskaara also help to establish the vaasanas stronger - both liking
the coffee or disliking the coffee are vaasanas. Only neutral reaction gives no vaasanas.
If coffee is taken as Prasad after offering to the Lord, then that attitude neutralizes
the reactions that can arise.

Some like and some dislike due to their prior vaasanaas too. It could be one is born in a
family of coffee drinkers while the other from tea-drinkers.  Even though he might not
have tasted coffee before, one fellow may still like it and the other may hate it. Both
reactions result in vaasanas one wants to repeat it and other wants to run away from it -
that is raaga and dveSha. 

Have you not experienced first time tasting something in your life and still liking it
and would like to have a second serve. Krishna says - dhyaayato viShayaan pumsaH
saghasteShUpajAyate - By thinking about an object one can get attachment towards it -
attachment is raaga. Repulsion is dwesha.  When we meet some people we like them
instantly while others we dislike them - even though it is the first time. Obviously some
prior samskaara is playing a role in subtle form. 

Also ignorance being beginning less, there are no first vaasanas - the life is
beginningless as we discussed in part 6.


Hope this helps.

Hari Om!
Sadananda