When your body is dirty, you can take a shower, apply soap, shampoo, scrubber and clean your body. We do that practically every day. When the mind is dirty, how do we clean it? Have we, in all our life, even given any shower, shampoo or cleaning to the mind? Why are we not able to do it? Because of the sangraha vritti, accumulation, and not only in terms of material things. How many pairs of shoes do you have in your home? How many shirts do you have in your closet that you wear? How many coats and pants do you have in your closet that you wear? How many ornaments and jewellery that you have, that you wear? How many trinkets do you keep? If somebody gives you anything you will gladly receive it, you will never say no. Will you ever say no to anybody when something is given to you? No. Why? Because you are getting it free and therefore you take it. The desire to take is always there, accumulate, accumulate, accumulate.
Many times when I go to people’s homes and open the closet, I see rows of shoes, all stacked neatly. Sometimes I wonder how many feet my host has. Am I in the house of a person who can transform himself into a person with many feet or am I in the house of a person who is a human being who only has two feet? Do those ten pairs of shoes, fifty shirt or hundred trinkets that you keep add any value to your life? If it does not add value to your life, remove it. It will be one less pratyaya.
A pen which was given to me by my great grandfather, it has a nib which I cannot get anywhere in the world as it is now outdated. I cannot get ink anywhere in the world; the pen is broken, yet the sentimental value is there as it was my great-grandfather’s. Sentimental value is there, but it is also junk now. Does that add any value to your life? If it adds any value to your life which is positive, keep it. If it is just lying forgotten in the corner of the drawer and ten years later you still say this is my great-grandfather’s, I am going to keep it safely and for the next ten years, then that is an emotional connection, it does not add any value. The true love for your grandfather is in your heart, not in the pen.
So what adds value? It is the concept of aparigraha, possessing less. Aparigraha is relating to possessions. Instead of accumulating, you keep what is required by you and gives value to your life. This changes the self-oriented vritti into a selfless vritti. The selfish vritti becomes selfless when you start clearing your things. Everything you are looking for gives some inspiration and value to your life, and that is aparigraha. It is not that you remove everything and you will be happy without anything. That is not aparigraha. Aparigraha is not renunciation, aparigraha is lessening the burden and just carry what you require.
When I used to travel, no matter for how long I would be out of the ashram, I only had one cabin bag. Even if I was out for fifteen days, twenty days, one month, I never took anything more than four dhotis, two kurtas and my malas. What I could not fit in my cabin bag was not my requirement, not my need and it was left behind. I never carried a suitcase with me. I never checked in my luggage. Even as a child when I went to Colombia I only had a backpack with me. I did not have a suitcase. What was in it, was me. I did not realize it was aparigraha, but today I do. My attitude was what I cannot fit in this bag is not my requirement.
Once in one convention in Australia when I was leaving, people came to the airport. At the airport, they started giving me things: a four foot high koala bear, a bag of chocolates. My bag was packed. What am I supposed to do with all that? I took everything from them, loaded it on the trolley, went through customs and sat down in front of my gate of flight. I saw a little baby, I gave her the four foot big teddy bear. I saw a little boy, I gave him a whole packet of sweets. By the time I boarded the flight, I only had my cabin bag, nothing more. Who is going to carry a four foot tall koala bear? I would have had to pay extra for the seat beside me, as it could not even fit in the overhead compartment. I did not realize it then, but today when I reflect on it, I say that was aparigraha because of an awareness, an attitude and an understanding.
The focus has to be on lifestyle and one has to observe these aspects to improve the lifestyle. We also have to broaden the concept of lifestyle to include how we understand, as conscious beings, interacting with the senses and sense objects. We are continuously interacting with the senses and sense objects. Even that realization has to come in.
The points that are relevant for today are: What gives value to my life? Even in thought. The scriptures in India have some times said strong things. In some of the sutras of yoga, it says, ‘Be ready to renounce even those close family members who obstruct your path to happiness and peace in life.’ Be ready to renounce them if they are obstructing your aspirations for peace and happiness. This is an indication of a conscious decision based on awareness of what is right and wrong. If you can make a conscious decision based on what is right and what is wrong, looking at all the aspects, you are a yogi. Otherwise, you get caught in the traps of the mind all the time.
8 November 2023, Munger Yoga Symposium II, Ganga Darshan, Munger