SAMSKAR

NAMAH SHIVAY SHIVAY NAMAH
CHARACTER VIS A VIS SAMSKAR
Respected Learned Elders & Friends , I hereunder place before you the valued thoughts (as gathered by me) of Swami Shri Prabhavanand jee (Ram Krishna Mission) expressed in his commentary on PATANJALI YOGA regarding CHARACTER /SAMSKAR. PATANJALI YOGA IS A WORK OF COMPILATION AND REFORMULATION.
SUTRA ( सूत्र ) means : The bare thread of an exposition, the absolute minimum that is necessary to hold it together, UNADORNED by a single bead of elaboration. Only most essential words are used.
मन : (equal English word MOOD ) : Recording facility (which receives impressions ).
Budhi बुधि : (equal English word MIND ) : Discriminative Faculty ( which classifies these रेखorded impressions and in turn reacts to them.
Ahankar अहंकार : (equal English word Self Esteem ) : Ego sense. ( which claims these impressions for its own and stores them up as an individual knowledge?
Maharishi Patanjali speaks of control of thought waves, that too of permanent nature, which could be achieved by regularly practicing positive thoughts. Patanjali do not refer to a momentary or superficial control. Maharishi Patanjali never suggests for making your mind a blank. No spiritual advantage is ever gained by self violence. We have to unlearn the false identification created by ego sense.
Maharishi Patanjali explains the philosophical meaning of CHARACTER as under :
Take the example of lake/sea/river waves coming and dying. The waves do not merely disturb the surface of the water, they also, by their continued action, build up banks of sands or pebbles on the lake bottom. Such sand banks are much more permanent and solid than the waves themselves. That may be compared with the Tendencies, potentialities and latent states, which exist in the sub-conscious and un-conscious areas of the mind. These ( tendencies, potentialities and latent states ) are termed as SAMSKARS in SANSKRIT TEXTS.
The SAMSKARS are built up by continued action of thought waves, and they in turn create new thought waves. This process works both ways positive (+ve) and negative (-ve). One who exposes the mind to constant thoughts of anger and resentment, you can very certainly find that, these anger waves build up anger throughout in daily routine. Such personalities are commonly termed as Bad-tempered. The sum total of our SAMSKARS is in fact our character at any given moment. Although it is not easy to change the attitude (built up SAMSKARS ) but it is not impossible, just as a sand bank may get shifted and change its shape if there is a forceful tide or by forceful continued current. Likewise the SAMSKARS may be modified by the introduction of other kinds of thought waves into the mind.
Not all SAMSKARS are acquired during the course of a single human life. A child is born with certain tendencies already present in its nature.You may also call it Heredity. These in-born tendencies were acquired in former incarnations (births), as a result of thoughts and actions long since forgotten. Thus it may be one way of explaining that the individual (soul) is driven by existing SAMSKARS to seek re-birth in a certain atmosphere/environment, in a certain kind of family/parents, whose SAMSKARS are like its own and thereby to inherit the tendencies which it already possesses.
There are 5 (five) kinds of thought waves : (a) Right Knowledge. (b) Wrong Knowledge. (c) Verbal delusion. (d) sleep. (e) memory.
(a) Whatever our senses perceive is right knowledge, provided that there has been no element of delusion. Whatever we infer from our direct perception is also right knowledge provided that our reasoning is correct (positive).
(b) Wrong Knowledge : A mistaken view. As it happens when a piece of rope which is mistaken for a snake, which is because the cause of fear.
(c) Verbal delusion : Jumping to conclusions in haste.
(d) Sleep : A wave of thought about nothingness. That means dreamless sleep is not an absence of thought waves in mind.
(e) Memory : Memory is when perceived objects are not forgotten, but come back to consciousness. Where as dreaming is remembering in your sleep.
A repeated effort to follow the disciplines, which give permanent control of the thought waves of mind and practice becomes firmly grounded when it has been cultivated for a long time un-interruptedly with earnest devotion. Perseverance is utmost important. Determined effort of will / longing for makes practice perfect. Never mind if people laugh or sneer at us. Unless we are hypocrites, we shall not care what impression we make upon the onlookers. No failure is ever really a failure unless we stop trying altogether. Concentration upon a single object at a time may allow you awareness, examination, discrimination and joy.
PRAKRITI is said to be composed of 3 (Three) Guna’s. Satwa, Rajas, Tamas. As long as the 3 guna’s maintain equilibrium, Prakriti remains un-differentiated and the universe exists only in its potential state. As soon as the balance is disturbed a re-creation of universe begins., with one or other guna predominating over the rest. Hence we have the variety of physical and psychic phenomena which make up our apparent world. Such a world continues to multiply and vary its form until the guna’s find a temporary equilibrium once more and a new phase of un-differentiated potentiality begins.
Since I am also arduous student of Hindu system of Astrology so I have noticed ( not to claim experienced ) that the correctly / meticulously casted Natal Horoscope of a person gives the picture of one’s SAMSKARS , ones efforts and the result of it. Importantly the 1st , 5th , 9th & 10th houses require attention in this regard.
Yours Dearly ; Bhola Nath Shukla Kanpur U.P. India ( bnshukla05@gmail.com )