SOUCAM

Yoga sástra here tells us how to make the mind peaceful. We live with a furnace inside and it has to be replaced by a cooler. Our mind gets disturbed by changing situations outside us. But why should our mind get disturbed? Because of several reasons. In situations external to us, we have to deal with people. Nobody is independent of external situations. Man is a social animal. As long as we are in society, we are bound to interact with people. Interactions bring about disturbance.

According to yoga sástra we find ourselves in four types of situations: sukha, duhkha, punya and apunya.

Sukhè are people who are very happy. Some are less privileged, they are duhkhè. Certain of them are dhármika (religious), they are punyátmás; others are irreligious and they belong to apunya category. We are also there along with such different types of people. People of different types can be around, but one can still be happy, if one knows how to adjust one’s mind. Attitude adjustment is talked about in the sütra. Maitrè is showing friendliness for happy people.

If the mind feels jealous, angry, intolerant, always finding fault in others, not accepting things gracefully, then there is a wound inside which needs to be healed. If mind is happy in somebody else’s happiness that bhávaná (feeling) is maitrè bhávaná. When one’s friend is happy, one feels happy. If somebody who is an equal is happy, some minds cannot tolerate it.

Finding fault is a problem of the mind. Such people become unhappy if they find somebody happy. They think how can anyone be happy, smile, laugh etc? If somebody does not follow the stipulations laid down, they are unhappy. They cannot tolerate people being spontaneous! It shows that deep down there is some problem in the mind.

How do we cultivate maitrè ? If a person wants people to depend on him permanently, he would not allow them to grow. To wish others to be independent amounts to giving them freedom. That means they no more need his support. That should make a wise person happpy. But if he has a need to be needed, he cannot accept such independence. Maitree bhava is to be happy when he is not needed. If he is not needed he should feel fulfilled, that he has played his role successfully. He has done so well that the other person does not need him any more. Maitrèbhávana is wishing every one to be independent.

(to be continued in next issue)