The mind is always split in two – one part which desires and one part which does not desire. Management of the mind has helped me along with the awareness, focus, viveka and vairagya. The mind is split in two parts, the desiring mind and the non-desiring mind. When you think, ‘I want to become peaceful,’ who is saying it? Your mind is saying it. When you say, ‘I am under stress,’ who is saying it? The mind is saying it. When you are under stress, you say, ‘I want to become peaceful and relaxed.’ At that point, the mind is acknowledging the stress and giving an indication that it needs to relax.
So there are these two minds, one which is observing and one which is experiencing the stress and the anxiety. The part that is observing says, ‘I need to do something about it.’ One aspect is anxiety and frustration, mental illnesses or distortions. The other aspect is the drashta, the witness. You have to focus on the mind which is peaceful and quiet. In one hand I can lift up a stone and hold it, and the other hand is empty. Now my right hand is heavier because I am holding a weight on it, and the left hand has nothing. One is the stress of life in the mind and the other is the drashta of the mind which says, ‘I am free’; and it can help to make the weight less. The moment you put the left hand underneath the other hand, the stress and the weight affecting the right hand suddenly is reduced by half.
Karma yoga is when you engage all aspects to balance the negative and develop the positive. It is the heavy mind or the stressed mind, which is always negative and the drashta mind is always positive. The drashta mind is constructive and creative, and the stressed mind is negative and destructive. In karma yoga, this has to be managed. The negativity has to be balanced with positivity. You cannot eradicate the negativity, yet you can lessen the weight, the heaviness of the stressed mind by fifty percent, if you bring the other hand underneath the heavy container. And why karma yoga? Karma yoga is an action which you do to find that balance in every activity of life. Therefore, the Srimad Bhagavad Gita says, Samatvam yoga uchyate – balanced action is the highest yoga. In this balanced action you are able to observe the mind through your drashta mind which is interactive in negative stress. If you are able to manage the negativity of the mind, you attain the state of purity. Yoginah karma kurvanti, sangam tyaktva atma shuddhaye. Self-purification happens as you are observing, eliminating the negative and making the effort to reduce the negative. Then peace and harmony settle in the mind.
People avoid effort. Why? They avoid effort due to routine and boredom. You can follow a routine for some time, then you get bored. This bored condition of mind makes you stop every type of effort that you know should be done. You want to do it, but you say, ‘I am doing this every day, every day.’ This is one of the obstacles of spiritual life, according to Swami Sivanandaji. Swami Sivanandaji has given a whole list in his songs and kirtans of the obstacles of spiritual life that you have to be aware of and avoid.
People do not look at that. People only sing, ‘Serenity, regularity, absence of vanity’ – something which they can never do. If you look at the obstacles that have to be avoided and you make the effort to avoid those obstacles, then serenity, regularity and absence of vanity will be natural. You do not have to make the effort to acquire them. You have to make the effort to overcome the obstacles, and the rest falls into place.
People do not want to look at the obstacles; they want to look at what can be achieved. They go for achievement rather than clearing the obstacles. When you go for achievement, these obstacles will come again and block your path. You will come to me and say, ‘Swamiji, I have been trying for so long, but I don’t think I have progressed anywhere.’ How will you progress? You are chasing a mirage. See what the obstacles are that you need to overcome. Swami Sivanandaji has given all those points. Make the effort to eliminate the obstacles and avoid the boredom which restrict the effort.
There has to be more focus on the effort. When there is focus on the effort, there is more awareness. More awareness, more satsang. More satsang, more viveka and vairagya. More viveka and vairagya, more clarity of mind. More clarity of mind, more awareness. More awareness, more focus. It is a cycle that goes on. I am caught in that cycle. I have not been able to extract myself from this cycle and to be truthful, I love every moment of it.
23 October 2022, Ganga Darshan, Munger