Part 5.2 - The Goal of Life

Life in the individual, in its ontological aspect is but a ceaseless striving after non-ending unalloyed bliss, eternal, immortal, perennial bliss. Scriptures have proned it beyond doubt. Sages and saints are voicing it forth ever since the down of creation that supreme bliss can and should be had in one’s own self. Thus self-realization, self-awareness or self-experience whole, aparokṣānubhuti is the summum bonum of human existence. That alone will bring to an end all our pains and miseries. But, how best are we to attain that?

Ātmacaitanya samādhi or aparokṣa jñāna is possible only when the mind becomes pure and sāttivc. Purity of mind is had only when the little ‘I’, egoism or ahaṃkāra, is curbed annihilated which means that I-ness and mine-ness have got to be abandoned. In turn, that involves purity and control of the indriyas. Unless the mind is cultured and controlled, the indriyas can not be controlled. Thus, in a circular way, we come again to the mind.

Rightly did the sages exclaim:

“mana eva manuṣyāṇām kāraṇam bandha-mokṣaḥ”

“Mind alone is the cause for men’s release and bondage.”

Practical investigation in that direction has led the sages to conclude that prāṇa and mind interdependent in their functional abilities. As long as one remains uncontrolled, the other can not be controlled. If one is under control, the other too, comes under control of its own accord. It is not enough if they are simply controlled. As long as they are not annihilated. Vāsanās will not leave us. Unless vāsanā are destroyed citta can not be destroyed. The destruction of citta alone can lead us to jñāna.

Thus we left with two corners. Firstly to bring the prāṇa under control thoughts various ordous yogic processes, and then to control the mind and withdraw it from external objects and fix it on the self. Secondly, we can try to annihilate the mind through effecting mano-laya by finding such a higher powerful principle towards which mind will naturally run and into which it will merge it self, thus entering into a state of laya. The sages found that mano-laya followed by mano-nāsa was a safer means to attain self-realisation than the ardous process of controlling the mind and culturing it which is always attended by the danger of the mind jumping into the do groves of vāsanās at any moment.

In the course of further practical investigations the sages and seers found that sound had the power to attract the mind and absorb it, so to say.

Thus mano-laya and mono-nāsa through nādānusandhāna was found to be an effective and safe means to self-realisation.