The lotus flower has become a symbol of purity – it has its roots in the muddy waters but emerges to the surface in full bloom. Purity has been given utmost significance in spiritual traditions, but it does not come on its own; a seeker has to nurture it carefully. The Bhagavad Gītā tells us the attributes to remember for cultivating this beauty and innocence.
When we speak of purity, it is not in reference to the Self. The Self is already pure – śuddhōsi, buddhōsi, nirañjanō'si. You are pure, enlightened, and untouched by darkness. You do not have to make the Self pure.
Nor do we mean making the body pure either – can it ever be? Picture a gentleman who has just emerged from the washroom: he has cleaned himself, showered, styled his hair, and put on fresh clothes and perfume. But then, he sneezes, and a booger smears all over his cheek. Although he has thoroughly cleaned himself, the body is still filthy inside. It is filled with phlegm, stomach acid, and waste. Husband and wife may love each other very much, but they close the door when going to the bathroom. Ayurveda says if the three doshas (vāta, pitta, kapha) in your body are balanced, your faeces will have no odour – but still, the body remains filled with unsightly things.
How to Make the Mind Pure?
When I speak of seeking purity, I am not referring to the body, nor You. I am referring to the mind, the instrument through which you receive and understand the highest knowledge. This mind is impure, hence, the Guru instructs the disciple to purify it. In Chapter 12 of the Bhagavad Gītā, we find two beautiful verses describing the nature of a pure-hearted devotee:
adveṣhṭā sarva-bhūtānāṁ maitraḥ karuṇa eva cha |
nirmamo nirahankāraḥ sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ kṣhamī || 13 ||
santuṣhṭaḥ satataṁ yogī yatātmā dṛiḍha-niśhchayaḥ |
mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ || 14 ||
“The one who bears no animosity towards any being, who is friendly and compassionate to all, who is free from attachment and egotism, who is equanimous in pleasure and pain, who is forgiving and benevolent; the one who is ever content irrespective of profit or loss, steadfastly abiding in dhyāna, in command of his body-senses-mind, with unflinching conviction in Me, with mind and intellect dedicated unto Me – such a devotee is indeed very dear to Me.”
We will now explore these attributes one by one. The first is adveṣhṭā, “Do not harbour jealousy.” We get jealous if anybody is more beautiful, creative, rich or intelligent than us, whereas we should congratulate them. All forms are forms of God, so you should be happy to see the variety of divine expressions! Somewhere, It exhibits beauty and somewhere else, intelligence. Feeling jealous is a disease stemming from competitiveness and inadequacy. It soils your mind. And can you sit for dhyāna with such an agitated mind? If you wish to be on the path of meditation, make sure not to harbour jealousy.
Sarva-bhūtānāṁ maitraḥ, “Be a friend to everybody.” You do not have to know another person or gain something from them to be friendly. It is possible only if you do not have ulterior motives. Being friendly with everybody will purify your mind.
Karuṇa, “Have compassion.” Do not be rude or stonehearted – Sri Krishna says, be compassionate. However, many confuse compassion with attachment. Compassion is like a fragrant breeze, whereas attachment is like the foul smell of a garbage bin; it makes you possessive. This is why the verse continues with nirmamo, “Do not harbour attachments.”
Nirahankāraḥ, “Be egoless.” The problem with ego is that those who have it never realise it! But others will know, just as a food particle stuck onto your mouth is visible to others but not to you. You cannot see the ego if you do not create a distance between yourself and the mind. And when you get punished for being egoistic, you will feel victimised instead of realising your fault.
sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ, “Be it misery or happiness, do not choose but accept everything.” Positive and negative emotions arise in the mind, but you are different from your mind. Say, I tear my shawl while removing a thorn stuck in it. It was a piece of cloth; it does not mean I got torn. Similarly, it is like you are wearing the mind. Whether there is sadness or happiness in the mind, gyāna teaches us to separate from the mind. Misery and joy occur in the periphery of the mind only. Your feeling of “I am miserable” or “I am happy” is a confusion due to adhyāsa.
Next is kṣhamī, “Learn to forgive”. When somebody harms you, the mind tends to brood over the incident and try to retaliate. If revenge is not possible, you will resort to bad-mouthing and narrate the story to others.
Even I am subject to this sometimes. Once, two friends visited the ashram. As I was walking, one of them was standing on the road, and I walked past. Let us call her “Sheela”. She had come to meet me, but well, I did not meet her. Sheela got angry and must have been thinking, “How come Gurumaa ignored me?!” I continued walking straight and on the other corner stood her friend, whom we will call “Leela”. She was right before me, and I could not ignore her. She gave me a warm smile, and I gave her a double smile and asked about her name and welfare. She said, “Oh, it is such a good fortune that I bumped into you. What a lovely day, what a grace of God.” I told her to meet me during darshan time and walked away. Then, Sheela meets Leela. Sheela is all angry, and Leela is all happy. And both met only one person, that is me. Sheela has a bad story, and Leela has a good story. Now, am I good, or am I bad? If I serve someone as per their idea, I am good, if not, I am bad. We do not see things as they are and get angry for anything.
Sometimes, people complain that it is too hot in the ashram, too cold, or that it rains too much. They are angry about seasons; how stupid is that! I was once talking to a visitor, and the dogs began barking. He got agitated, shouting, “Why the hell are the dogs barking?” I said, “So are you!” Dogs are dogs; they are supposed to bark, which is okay – they live here. Why can you not ignore it? We do not keep an open mind. So, with jealousy, anger, ego and attachments, we create so much dirt in the mind. A dirty mind can never meditate or absorb knowledge. Thus the stress on purity.
Santuṣhṭaḥ, “Be always contented.” Have you seen people who are always discontented, or are you one of those? No matter what you give them, they will always complain. I call them “grudge-boxes”. Learnt to be contented, whatever might happen. It requires effort because the mind’s training is to be discontented.
Yatātmā dṛiḍha-niśhchayaḥ, “Have discipline and a strong conviction.” For example, if I am to meet someone at twelve, I will be there before time. Only if you are disciplined and have firm conviction can you complete your tasks properly. Once you make a resolve, do not back off. I once got my hands on a Swamiji’s notebook. He had laid down certain rules for himself, like “Always fulfil your promises”, Always be on time”, and “Never speak a lie”. If you lie, you will be scared of being caught – liars can never have a peaceful mind. Then, doing prānāyāma will not bring you peace either. That is why Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras emphasise satya, truthfulness.
Mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ. Sri Krishna says, “The devotee who surrenders their mind to Me is My darling.” If you wish to be loved by the Lord, then have a pure and surrendered mind. The same applies to the Guru. The Guru will catch your lies – do not try to be smart. She will know when you are rude, egoistic, attached to your luxuries, or fail to keep your promises.
These are the ten attributes Sri Krishna gives to purify your mind:
adveṣhṭā (non-jealousy), sarva-bhūtānāṁ maitraḥ (friendliness towards all), karuṇa (compassion), nirmamo (non-attachment), nirahankāraḥ (egolessness), sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ(equanimity), kṣhamī (forgiveness), santuṣhṭaḥ (contentment), yatātmā dṛiḍha-niśhchayaḥ (discipline and firm conviction), mayy arpita-mano-buddhir(surrendered to the Lord).
Remember these ten qualities if you are a disciple or devotee, and do not compromise. Sri Krishna promises that if you cultivate these – sa me priyaḥ – “Then I will love you.” Conversely, if you harbour their opposites, you will not be loved by the Lord or the Guru. Hence, purity of mind is indispensable.
Change Comes by Effort
Even after reading this, it still needs effort to achieve it because the mind easily forgets and commits blunders. But pick yourself up, as this is what a sādhak does after every failure. A non-sādhak will make a mistake and think, “I can never change, this is how I am.” That is not right. Say you get angry with someone, but then, you remember – sarva-bhūtānāṁ maitraḥ, kṣhamī – I should be friendly towards everyone and forgiving. Your anger will disappear in a moment. This is the importance of studying the Gītā. Every time you read it, something new opens up for you. Whenever your mind is broken, angry or in grief, open the Gītā anywhere, read one shloka, and you will get the answer.
Before eating, you wash your hands and ensure the chair and table are clean. Similarly, take care of your mind and carry no impurities. This purity comes only to those making an effort in that direction. Over time, these attributes will become part of your personality. It will give you good sleep and a beautiful mind. Then, when you sit for your sādhana, your mind will be empty.
