What are the Benefits of Clearing the Mind?

Due to our mind conditioning we see the world with filters. “According to yogic philosophy, we’re born with a karmic inheritance of mental and emotional patterns — known as Samskaras. Sam – complete or joined together and kara – action, cause, or doing). We cycle through these and over again during our lives.” (Yoga Journal). The sum of samskaras makes up our conditioning. The more we repeat them the more they get imprinted in our behavior. Samskaras can be positive like Mother Teresa’s selfless actions. Or they can be negative, like low-self esteem and the belief we do not deserve to be happy. Those filters, especially the negative ones, are hindering us from our positive evolution. 

With all these filters, we perceive a personal reality, not the universal one. For example if your conditioning is that you do not see yourself as beautiful, but people around you are telling you that you are, then you will still not be able to see it. Once we see without the filters we start seeing the world as it is. This is without our Samskaras or our perceived limitations that cause suffering. This will result in less hardship, worrying, anxiety and stress. In general it will lead towards a more balanced life. This will not only benefit your mental health but also your physical health as they are connected.
 

All there is, and more – Prakriti and Purusha

Purusha literally means man, it is the universal consciousness that does not change. Prakriti translates into nature and is in constant change. It is matter, conditioning, filters of our mind, feelings, thoughts and memories. All Prakriti comes from Pradhana (the chief cause of the material nature), the spring from which all life flows. Due to Prakriti we cannot see who we truly are. Purusha lies dormant until we clear the mind as part of Prakriti. Purusha is what sees and Prakriti is what is seen. It is taught that Purusha lies dormant until we understand that Prakriti’s permanence is an illusion. The mind needs to be freed as it is the tool for Purusha to see. Only then we see without any filters and perceive the world as it is and discover who we truly are.

In the Bhagavad Gita, known as the bible of most Hindus, it says Prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva viddhyanādī ubhāvapi, vikārāṁś ca guṇāṁś caiva viddhi prakṛtisambhavān (13.19). The literal translation of this verse is: Know that prakriti and purusha are beginningless, and their modifications and their qualities originate, manifest, from prakriti. They cannot merge into each other. (Swami Krishnanada)

Schools of Thought

According to Samkyha, one of the six āstika schools of Hindu philosophy and precursors of yoga, Purusha and Prakriti are the foundation to understand how the Universe works. (Doron Yoga Manual). It describes Prakriti as all things nature, material nature and everything we think of. This includes our thoughts themselves. Prakriti is the creative energy and the manifestation of life. Purusha is the more, the not changing soul, the pure consciousness, the universal awareness.

T. K. V. Desikacher explains the concept according to the Sutras in his book The Heart of Yoga (p. 88) as follows. Purusha is the part of us that sees. He states that Purusha can only see by the means of the mind. So if the mind is clouded Purusha won’t see clearly. If the mind clears up, Purusha can observe what truly is. It uses the mind to perceive. As Purusha lies dormant we can start working with our minds.

As Pantanjali, the author of the yoga sutras and one of the forefathers of yoga, defines yoga as the cessation of the fluctuation of the mind. Yoga can help us to clear the mind, the instrument of Purusha. The more clearly Purusha sees, the more it will make that which is seen without the filters accessible to us. Hence, yoga is a way to free Purusha from Prakriti. But do not worry, once Purusha is free Prakriti does not disappear but we see the illusions of it.
 

Why is the mind in the way of liberating Purusha?

Let us first look into why the mind is part of Prakriti and not Purusha. As discussed earlier, Purusha is constant, not changing. The mind changes and is constantly in movement. Further, in India the mind is considered as a part of the senses, like a translator of them. Senses are not constant observers but ever changing and hence a part of Prakriti. Further, the mind is personal. Purusha is detached from personal identification and can be seen as the ultimate oneness. The mind is identified with me and I and for this reason stands in opposite to Purusha. Lastly, it contains the thoughts and conditioning that creates more Prakriti. Those can be “I want more sex, because this is how I feel loved”. Those desires create the illusion of reality we perceive to live in.

“In this world of insentiency the Purusha alone is sentient.” – Swami Vivekananda

The mind is not the master, but it often behaves like it. Hence it is good to allow Purusha to do what it is meant to do, see clearly. It will show us how the mind functions and how we can work with it. To change our conditioning from negative and self-destructing behavior to new positive affirmations. Purusha will not destroy the mind but gives us control over it, showing us our strength and weaknesses and ultimately stops our suffering. Desikachar describes the clarity of Purusha with viveka (discernment). It means “to see both sides” – what we are and what we are not, to discriminate. Viveka will be present when we clearly see the difference between Purusha and the mind.
 

How does yoga help to reach Viveka (discernment)?

Your yoga practice will start helping you to get a clearer mind. As described above, the clearer the mind the better Purusha can see and discriminate from the conditioned illusions. Imagine it like turning on the light first, then cleaning your sunglasses and finally being able to see without them.
 

Three Practical tips to clear the mind

Besides doing yoga 24/7, living a mindful and aware life and letting go of control. The following yoga practices can help you to discern the things we see from the seer.

Isvara pranidhana (surrender to the supreme)

Pnatanjali describes in the sutras that the way to see clearly, samadhi (unification of mind), is the last of eight limbs. Besides that, all limbs can help to free Purusha. It is worth pointing out the fifth of the Niyamas (the second limb of Ashtanga) Isvara pranidhana. It describes surrendering and accepting that there is something higher than us. Hence acknowledging Purusha’s existence.

Bhakti yoga (yoga of devotion) and Raja Yoga (the royal path of yoga)

The Bhagavad Gita is like Pantanjali’s Yoga Sutras, one of the most important and loved scriptures about yoga. It describes four main paths of yoga.

1. Karma yoga: the yoga of action where one is detached from the outcomes of his or her doings.
2. Bhakti yoga: devotion to God or something higher. This can also be seen as stopping self worship and letting go of the ego.
3. Jnana Yoga, with the mind through the mind, the yoga of studying what is there and what is within. 
4. Raja yoga, the Royal path, which is the path of meditation.

To free Purusha, Bhakti yoga and Raja yoga should be highlighted. In Bhakti yoga we surrender to the fact that there is something higher. We accept the existence of Purusha like in Isvara pranidhana. We Acknowledge that our ego is made out of our conditionings. It is realised that it holds on dearly to not lose its justification for existence. Raja yoga is the most challenging path but also one of the most efficient ones concerning controlling the mind. It will help to awaken the seer and free Purusha. Here you can find a guide to built a strong meditation practice: Meditation Foundations and Tibetan and Zen Buddhism Meditation.

Object Meditation

A special meditation to get started on this journey can be object meditation.Perception can be divided into four levels. First we sense something. This step is called Indria in Sanskrit. Second is labeling, Manas. Third we identify, making it something personal, Ahankara. And lastly Bodhi, discretion sets in. Once we learn how to perceive only in the first step, Indria. We clear the mind from the extra filters. A nice way to practice this is object meditation. See the mountain without calling it a mountain. Perceive an object, simply see it without labeling it, Manas. Even less, do not identify with the adventures you had on that mountain, Ahankara.

Yoga Nidra (sleep)

Yoga Nidra is a beautiful technique to bypass the ego and consciousness. It works straight on the subconsciousness and our Samskaras. It is a guided meditation where the body relaxes in Savasana (corpse pose). The student is asked to follow the voice and the instructions of the teacher. Often the student will rest on the fine line between being awake and being asleep. The ego, and often the mind are dormant in this state and the words of the teacher can work directly upon the Samskaras of the student. This releases past trauma and plants new positive affirmations.

Once you acknowledge the existence of purusha you have started the journey of lifting the veil. Be patient as thoughts and doubts will naturally come into your way to defend their means for existence.

Feel free to share in the comments challenges you came across and how you overcame them, or just in general your experiences along the way. We would love to hear from you.
 

About the Author

This blog post is written by Julia Grässer, Doron Yoga Teacher alumni, who did her 300h yoga teacher studies at Doron Yoga & Zen Center. As part of her thesis she writes articles about the practical implementation of yoga in our modern times.
This series of Yoga Philosophy blog posts provides a taste of her theoretical studies. Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts here, email Julia directly at julia@warriorprincessyoga.net or visit her website.