[Advaita-l] Fw: Re: Meditation Vs nitya karma

[Amuthan]

Dear SrI Narayan Iyer,

On Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 8:18 PM, narayan iyer <z1e1b1r1a_at_yahoo.com> wrote:
>> I have always been wanting to ask this question.  How does
>> the process of chitta suddhi works?  What are the symptoms
>> that show me conclusively that I am making some progress at
>> least?  How do I know that my mind is not deluding me into
>> believing I am ascending in the spiritual progress?
>>
>> Can you please point any pointers that can help me
>> bench-mark my progress?

Fundamentally, any aSuddhi in the mind comes into being because of
avidyA. Though avidyA itself cannot be directly perceived, its effects
can be immediately recognized in its triple manifestation as rAga,
dvesha and moha. So one's cittaSuddhi can most easily be understood by
noticing how the mind reacts to various external events. Whether the
progress is in the right direction can be understood if the history of
the mind's reaction over a period of time is analyzed. As long as the
mind tends towards a reduction of these kleSa-s one can be content
that the progress is in the right direction. Though this is easier
said than done, it is (imho) the only means to unambiguously see the
effect of any form of vedAnta SravaNa or vaidika dharmAnushThAna or
dhyAna or whatever activity for that matter that we perform, on our
mind.

Of the three, the most difficult aspect to study is moha since unlike
rAga and dvesha which arise from sukha and duHkhAnubhava-s and are
accompanied by a variety of observable mental and physical reactions,
moha doesn't have any easily observable mental or physical correlate.
It is precisely here that the mind can be deluded about its own
progress since it is easy to wrongly attribute a state of calm that
arises due to certain special external factors to some progress in
cittaSuddhi. To elaborate, even when the mind is very calm, what lie
dormant are a variety of deeply ingrained self-opinions and habitual
tendencies (vAsanAs). When it so happens that some external factors
are condusive to a peaceful mental state (as say due to proper
prANAyAma or some sAlambana dhyAna or the acquistion of desired
objects or laziness and sleep (!) etc.) these views and tendencies go
entirely unnoticed and worse, do not get destroyed. And these are the
culprits who stir up the mind with further suffering when the
intrinsic impermanence of mental and physical events destroys those
special external factors that led to the state of calm in the first
place. The only way to destroy these is by the j~nAna that arises upon
proper tattva vicAra.

Useful and exhaustive description of the citta that is fit for
brahmajij~nAsa and the appropriate means to train the citta can be
found in innumerable places in the gItA whenever KRshNa talks of
sattva guNa or the qualities of sthitapraj~na-s or in the yoga sUtra-s
or in prakaraNa grantha-s like vivekacUDAmaNi.

Amuthan.