Question:

‘Janaka realizes that all events, all happenings, all people that were leading to all the feelings that were rising and falling was all on account of the Prakriti (3 Gunas – Rajas, Tamas and Satva and 3 doshas – vaata, pitta, kapha). Prakriti gets affected by food, atmosphere and associations. These were causing all this turmoil in the body-mind complex. I am not the body! I am not the mind! I was just captivated by this MAYA! What a joke!’

We say that the small mind causes misery then we say the Prakriti’s are the cause of turmoil in the mind…I understand the Prakriti causes the turmoil that leads the small mind to react is that so? I feel “disconnected at this point”

Answer:

Let’s understand this step by step:

Step 1:

• Everything that is happening is on account of my karmas that I did in the past [Any moment before now is the past].
• In the past, my mind had cravings/desires/likes/wants [raagas] & aversions/dislikes/rejections/not want [dveshas]. These past raagas & dveshas created Karmas which I am experiencing today
• Today,as I am experiencing these karmas, there is a danger of creating more agami karma by my today’s raagas & dveshas.
• Thus now my main goal is to refrain from creating new agami and how do I do that? By figuring out how not to be lured by raagas and dveshas. Is it clear so far?

Step 2:

• On the battlefield, how does one combat an enemy? By understanding thoroughly the moves of the enemy, right? It is only the intelligent one who recognizes that my enemy is my mind only. And raagas & dveshas are weapons of this mind with which it defeats me again and again and again!
• How does the mind use these weapons against me? By making me believe that I am the body, I am the mind and that raagas and dveshas is normal, everybody has them [In Hindi – sab karte hain].
• Now how to beat such strong weapons like raaga and dvesha?

Step 3:

• Recognize that I am not the body, I am not the mind, I am not the intellect. Body, Mind & Intellect are my tools only. I am not a slave to this mind. I am bigger than the mind. I am bigger than raagas & dveshas which are borne of the mind.
• Now, you must understand how raagas & dveshas are being born and nurtured.
• If you are constantly in the company of a person who is jealous & competitive & constantly harboring thoughts of condemning others & conspiring against others, you also start being like him/her. Thus your association with the bad company can create high levels of Rajas guna [conspiring thoughts] and Pitta dosha [jealousy] in you thus affecting your Prakriti. A new dvesha is born against some people.
• Similarly your food affects your Prakriti – alcohol & heavy, oily food, increase Tamas guna and Kapha dosha in your body/mind complex. This combination of Tamas & Kapha manifests as laziness, dullness, unenthusiasm. Thus there might be a new dvesha created toward doing something that requires attention & awareness & extra effort just as an example.
• Thirdly, your atmosphere affects your temperament. If you maintain being in spiritual knowledge, meditation, satsanga, it creates that kind of satvic energy around you & your home. This is your atmosphere. People who enter such a home feel calm & relaxed. Just like when you enter a temple/church, you feel relaxed. In such an atmosphere, Satva guna is high & there is a balance between the 3 doshas of Vaata, Pitta & Kapha. In an atmosphere, where people indulge in bad associations, bad activities and bad food, there is an imbalance & the imbalance creates raagas & dveshas.

Now do you understand Janaka’s reaization – ‘Janaka realizes that all events, all happenings, all people that were leading to all the feelings that were rising and falling was all on account of the Prakriti (3 Gunas – Rajas, Tamas and Satva and 3 doshas – vaata, pitta, kapha). Prakriti gets affected by food, atmosphere and associations. These were causing all this turmoil in the body-mind complex. I am not the body! I am not the mind! I was just captivated by this MAYA! What a joke!’