The Twenty Values of Jnanam - Part 4
Atmavinigraha
Atmavinigraha means mastery over the mind. The Sanskrit word 'atma' basically is the name for whatever is meant by the first person singular 'I'. In this capacity, atma indicates many things which, depending upon the frame of reference, have a sense of 'I'. "atma' can be used for the physical body or it can refer to the vital functions of the body. Mind ca also be called atma or sometimes atma just stands for the ;ego' sense of the mind,the ahankara. Atma also is saccidananda, the timeless, limitless Awareness that is the truth of 'I'. In the context of Lord Krsna's instruction to Arjuna, atma simply means the mind or the antakarana. Vinigraha means 'restraint' or 'curbing' which, in order to avoid any connotation of coercion or repression, is translated with reference to this value as 'mastery'.
Atmavinigraha, mastery over my ways of thinking, can be relative only since complete mastery requires knowledge of the Self. It is only knowledge of Self that can completely destroy the hold of the likes and dislikes that compel and condition my ways of thinking. Thus, when Lord Krsna tells Arjuna that atmavinigraha is part of the jnanam preparatory for Self-knowledge, this qualification must be taken relative. What is relative mastery? Complete mastery is characterized by spontaneity. If I am impulsive or conditioned, I am not a master. If I am deliberate, I am not a complete master. Relative mastery means both submitting all impulse to rational scrutiny and breaking any habit of lapsing into mechanicalness.
All of atmavinigraha is a matter of alertness and awareness. If I am alert and conscious of what my mind is doing, I always have choice over my ways of thinking. With choice, I can change. I can conform behavior to values. With choice, I can learn from mistakes. With choice, I can hold to commitments in the face of distraction. Choice requires alertness which makes possible relative mastery over my ways of thinking.
Indriyarthesu Vairagyam
Indriya means 'sense organ' and artha, stands for 'object'. Vairagya comes from raga, 'passion' or 'desire' joined to the negative prefix , vi, which turn the meaning into 'dispassion'. Thus indriyarthesu vairagyam means a 'state of dispassion towards the objects of the sense organ' or 'the absence of a compelling drive for worldly pleasure and possessions'. Dispassion is not a state of inner suppression. It is a state of mind characterized by total objectivity toward the inner things of the world - the object of the senses.
Basically , a human being seems to find himself a wanting person. All my compelling desires turn upon this human sense of want. I devote myself to two of the fundamental human pursuits - the struggle for kama and that for artha. Kama is the Sanskrit word that stands for all forms of sense pleasure. Artha stands for all kinds of things which bring security in life to me: wealth, power, influence, fame and name. As a human being, there will be no end to my longing and struggle for artha and kama, so long as I both feel insecure and incomplete and think that artha and kama can complete me and end my insecurity. So long as I think that artha and kama have this capacity, I will not be able to gain indriyarthesu vairagyam. No accumulation of wealth is ever enough to silence the inner anxiety, no pleasure sufficient to bring lasting fulfillment.
It is my subjective value for things which makes what is a simple object into an object of special distinction,an object peculiarly important to me. By such objects I become bound. Why? Because I bind myself, not because the object binds me. Things do not catch and hold me. I catch them. The handle is in myself - my subjective values based upon failure to understand the limitations of things to fulfill me. When I understand, the handle disappears and I see things as they are; and, that state of seeing is called indriyarthesu vairagyam, dispassion towards sense objects.
Anahankara
Ahankara is the Sanskrit word which indicates the conception of one's own individuality; that is, the individualized I-sense of 'I do', 'I own', 'I enjoy'. An is a prefix which negates the meaning of the word it precedes. therefore, anahankara means 'absence of the sense of ahankara', freedom from an individualized I-identification.
Total nasa or destruction of ahankara means Self-knowledge. Only one who knows the truth of self is completely free from ahankara - identification with an individualized I. This meaning of anahankara (total destruction) cannot be intended by Lord Krsna because anahankara has been included as one of the values which prepares the mind for gaining knowledge. Therefore, anahankara, absence of I-sense in this context is not being given its primary meaning of Self-knowledge but instead, has a relative meaning in which it is a means preparatory for knowledge.
What is meant by relative absence of ahankara? Ahankara is ego. When I clearly, objectively examine the claims made by my ego, ego cannot but quietly deflate. No claim made by ego will hold up: neither to knowledge nor to ignorance, nor to power, possessions and accomplishments can a claim be established.
Ahankara,ego, and manitvam, pride, are closely related, two almost synonymous effects born out of the same cause, ignorance of the relationship of the individualized sense of I to the world. pride and ego, when examined, become so silly that humility really cannot be considered a virtue. Humility is simply understanding the world, including myself, because I am part of the world, just as it is. When I understand things as they are, I will be neither proud nor will I be self-condemning. Self-condemnation also is an expression of ahankara, ego. We have already seen that self-condemnation is antara asaucham, an impurity in the mind.
In correct understanding of myself and my relationship to the world there is no room for either pride or self-condemnation. I see the world - me included - as it is: the world is filled with wonderful opportunities; therefore, I make use of these opportunities as a source of learning, I make use of this vehicle, the body-mind etc., to the best of my ability. I see that personal credit for anything is irrelevant and cannot be substantiated. I simply enjoy the world as a filed for the discovery of knowledge, without pride, without egotism. This is the attitude of anahankara.
-Swami Dayananda Saraswati
Excerpted from "The Value of Values" by Swami Dayananda
Published: 12/15/98