Indriya nigraha and danti represent control and restraint of the indriyas, the physical senses, and danti, the mental desires. It happens spontaneously, when you are able to cultivate concentration, focus your mind and be in a meditative state, not with eyes closed but in your mind, in your consciousness. In that state, indriya nigraha or the sensorial restraint, is natural. There are no spikes, no agitations, no distractions and diversions. You feel that control of senses and mind is difficult. It is not. Too many distractions dissipate your energy and focus. Your mind jumps from one branch of the tree to another like a monkey, having a bite of one fruit, throwing that to the ground, grabbing another fruit, plucking another fruit, having a bite of that fruit, throwing that to the ground. That is how we live in life, like a monkey, jumping from branch to branch, plucking a fruit, tasting it, saying, ‘I like it. I don’t like it. The other one is redder. The other one is greener. The other one is bigger. The other one is smaller.’ You pass your life in this distracted way.
The focus is gone from consuming, eating. We eat one bite, one morsel from many fruits rather than one whole fruit. Indriya nigraha means eating one whole fruit and not one bite from many fruits. That is the restraint. That is the sanyam. It is the same with danti, which is the mental component of desire. In the meditative state, there is no need, no want, no desire, only an awareness, ‘I need it or I don’t need it.’ The need is there, not the desire. When the need is there, we can have what we desire. If a need is not there, then the desire will not come up. Focusing of awareness and focusing of mind will help a great deal in going through this process of sensorial and desire control or restraint.
Before sanyam becomes part of your daily routine and life, every night before you go to sleep, review the entire activity of the day from morning till night time. See where you faced conflict, stress, anxiety. See where you had some discussion with somebody which was unpleasant. Then recognize the good things that happened during the day. Appreciate them. Acknowledge them. In the third part, think, ‘If I encounter the same restrictive situation tomorrow, can I deal with it in a different and better way?’ Start with that. It will also be a big help to create inner balance and harmony, sanyam.
A lot of your agitation and conflict arise from the subconscious and unconscious dimensions. You are not aware of them. If you can recognize where you have slipped during the day; and what the options are for you to stop yourself slipping again when you come to the same situation, then that will also help you recognize things where you get caught up and things that you can free yourself from. The review of the day is another helpful component for indriya nigraha and danti. Gradually you scrape away at the cumulative desires, greed and infatuations to experience the purity, clarity and luminosity of your nature. Then sanyam will become perfect.
23 November 2023, Kriya Yoga-Jnana Yoga Training, Ganga Darshan, Munger