Investigate all that is not peace and not bliss (this is engaging in vicAra). All that is not peace or not bliss is Non-existent in the sense of being transient (since it arose from mis-identification). Investigate how it arose.
Everyone would seek to 'disown' those roles that lead to non-peace and non-bliss. But rather than 'disowning', seek to know the source of this false 'ownership', which is nothing but the ego or aham vAsana. Even bodily pain stems from the root 'I am the body' identification. Depending on the strength of that identification, commensurate effort will appear to be needed to rest in the 'Effortless Natural State' of sahaja samAdhi.
Pain
arises from conjunction of an experiencer, experience and object. When
pain becomes very severe then one of the three is sought:
(1) removal of object (wishing the world experience would cease or the enemy were dead),
(2) removal of experience (flee the scene or change it or shut out the experience, one form of which is meditation itself!) or
(3) removal of experiencer (wishing oneself as body or mind were dead). None of these but for dead mind or mRtamanas is permanent and this is same as the destruction of aham vAsanA.
(1) removal of object (wishing the world experience would cease or the enemy were dead),
(2) removal of experience (flee the scene or change it or shut out the experience, one form of which is meditation itself!) or
(3) removal of experiencer (wishing oneself as body or mind were dead). None of these but for dead mind or mRtamanas is permanent and this is same as the destruction of aham vAsanA.
But by this annihilation of the ego, or mind, or lower self, one is restored to Eternal Life: Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.
Prior to this wisdom, if the mind is dominated by rajas and tamas, it may willfully perform acts of physical violence to remove the perceived object that is the cause of pain. All wars, homicides and murders are caused by such thinking. Even if rajas and tamas are only slightly dominant, such thoughts or words may arise even if they are not carried through to action. Hence, the great emphasis in Yoga SUtra on ahimsa (non-violence).
A somewhat more benign, but ultimately useless strategy, is for the mind to divert itself into new experiences. These are a form of escapism, and only result in the same difficulties being encountered in the new experience. At one level, even meditation is a form of escapism, but if it is properly directed towards abiding in the Self, it is successful in permanently establishing the mind in peace and bliss.
If the mind is highly clouded by rajas and tamas, it might try to remove the experiencer of the pain by committing suicide: here the body is perceived as the object causing pain. But this is deluded thinking because the body is inert and does not experience pain. It is merely the kshetra or field in which pain is experienced. It is PuruSha entangled with the guNas born of PrakRti that feels pain and pleasure. The disentanglement of PuruSha from the guNas leads to the ultimate realization that all is nothing but the Self. That state is always Peace and Bliss.
Prior to this wisdom, if the mind is dominated by rajas and tamas, it may willfully perform acts of physical violence to remove the perceived object that is the cause of pain. All wars, homicides and murders are caused by such thinking. Even if rajas and tamas are only slightly dominant, such thoughts or words may arise even if they are not carried through to action. Hence, the great emphasis in Yoga SUtra on ahimsa (non-violence).
A somewhat more benign, but ultimately useless strategy, is for the mind to divert itself into new experiences. These are a form of escapism, and only result in the same difficulties being encountered in the new experience. At one level, even meditation is a form of escapism, but if it is properly directed towards abiding in the Self, it is successful in permanently establishing the mind in peace and bliss.
If the mind is highly clouded by rajas and tamas, it might try to remove the experiencer of the pain by committing suicide: here the body is perceived as the object causing pain. But this is deluded thinking because the body is inert and does not experience pain. It is merely the kshetra or field in which pain is experienced. It is PuruSha entangled with the guNas born of PrakRti that feels pain and pleasure. The disentanglement of PuruSha from the guNas leads to the ultimate realization that all is nothing but the Self. That state is always Peace and Bliss.
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