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What is purity? How to gain it? The Upanishads are not merely enlightening, but through a process of enlightenment they also compel purity. So, by reading this verse a seeker has to focus on the task of purifying himself.

एषोऽणुरात्मा चेतसा वेदितव्यो यस्मिन्‌ प्राणः पञ्चधा संविवेश।
प्राणैश्चित्तं सर्वमोतं प्रजानां यस्मिन्‌ विशुद्धे विभवत्येष आत्मा ॥

eṣo’ṇurātmā cetasā veditavyo yasmin‌ prāṇaḥ pañcadhā saṃviveśa।
prāṇaiścittaṃ sarvamotaṃ prajānāṃ yasmin‌ viśuddhe vibhavatyeṣa ātmā ॥
(Muṇḍakopaniṣad 3.1.9)

This verse from Muṇḍakopaniṣad says – Eṣo’ṇurātmā cetasā veditavyaḥ — this Atman has to be apprehended by the mind; yasmin prāṇaḥ pañcadhā samviveśa – where? In this body, into which the five-fold prāṇa has entered; prāṇaiścittaṃ sarvamotaṃ prajānām – for all beings, the mind is completely enshrined with the prāṇas. Yasmin viśuddhe vibhavatyeṣa ātmā – When this involvement and mingling is cleared, the Atman shines forth.

You have heard that the Atman is something that should be realized. Now, the mind and the intelligence are objects with respect to the Self. This can pose a question – what is the role of the ‘object’ in realizing the Subject? Yet, in the matter of realizing the Self, it is only the mind that matters. Whether the mind is objective to the Self or not is not the point. When the mind becomes viśuddha, automatically, even if it is objective to the Self, it will start reflecting and radiating the Self.

In the case of the mirror, that which gets reflected is material and the mirror that reflects is also something material. As two materials they exist, one separated from the other by a distance.

When you go inward, inside the body, there is no such distance involved and there cannot be such differences. The mind is an expression and all expressions are ultimately of the Self alone. Through the mind-expression all plurality is made known. As the mind becomes pure, it invalidates the subject-object differentiation and starts radiating the Self. So, the purity of the mind is important.

Naturally, next comes the question – what is purity? How to gain it? I was quoting this verse from the Upanishads. The Upanishads are not merely enlightening, but through a process of enlightenment they also compel purity. So, by reading this verse a seeker has to focus on the task of purifying himself. The same Upanishad says — Na cakṣuṣā gṛhyate nāpi vācā – this Atman cannot be approached by any senses or any other instruments of perception. On the other hand, it can be approached when guided by wisdom. Tatastu tam paśyate niṣkalaṃ dhyāyamānaḥ — When he, the seeker, contemplates upon the partless and invisible Self, he perceives it. People start questioning — what does he perceive? when? how? etc etc. Why all these questions? When the mind is purified, automatically the Self will be felt.

Don’t think that this purity will come to you automatically. It requires a lot of self-effort and introspection. If you are not careful, your very approach can defeat the purpose. You must have a lot of patience. Impatience causes agitation. There are some of your traits that will not yield. What is required is a resignation, flexibility and lack of internal resistance to whatever is being said. Until this ego gets subdued and corrections take place, there is no purity.

A sādhaka himself, on account of his wrong behaviour, prevents purity. You will not know the subtleties of your ego except when you interact with the world. Some people are miserly. Some are stingy. Some are very narrow minded. Some always hunt for defects in others. This defect-seeking is the greatest defect. When your own defect is accepted, then you will have set your course on the right track. To recognize and accept this lesson takes time; it takes a lot of time.

During preparations for a jñāna yajña, somebody was once saying, “Whatever job was allocated to me, I had done fully and about the other things, I do not know”. The very manner in which he was saying this, gave proof that he was absolutely deluded and egoistic. Why did he do the job that was entrusted to him? Because it was a help and a service to a common pool. For the same reason, must he not find out what was going on, or whether there was anything else to be done? You know, that kind of humility is not easily found. So, understand very clearly that purification of the mind is an all-fold process. I think that people who serve and are given to activitiy, are far better than those who are given to mere studies.

At the same time you should understand that all these are mentioned in our śāstras. The śāstras not merely enlighten you about the Self, but also emphasize the sādhanā, the purificatory process which must be pursued by the seeker. From mere exposure to the Self and Self-knowledge, your attention should start focussing on the Self-knower.

There is a simple statement in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (7.7.52):

प्रीयते अमलया भक्त्या हरिरन्यत्-विडंबनम्

prīyate amalayā bhaktyā hariranyat viḍambanam

— Lord Hari is pleased with guileless devotion; all the other things are mere display or ostentation. Without the guilelessness, the poojas, the sacrifices, the rituals, the austerities, the disciplines, the vows — all are mere ostentation.

Lord Hari is pleased only with amala bhakti. This bhakti is far superior to all other things and even an Aśvamedha yāga is not so lofty. So, the loftiest is nirmala bhakti and bhakti flows from the heart. What then should be the pedestal, the level from where flows such a nirmala bhakti? “How and when will I have this?” When a devotee thus starts enquiring into this with a view to transform himself, that process of enquiry becomes sādhanā.

I used to tell – yayā saṃlabhate ratiṃ – Śrīmad Bhāgavatam repeatedly uses this phrase while speaking about devotion. “By virtue of which the devotee always gets a ‘ rati ’, a romantic interest; he starts finding romance in the very pursuit of devotion.” When he starts getting it – from where will he get it? Is it from Vaikuṇṭha (heaven) and is there any invisible link connecting him to Vaikuṇṭha? No! His heart becomes pure and he becomes pure and guileless. He becomes all-fold-devoted to Hari and his devotional emotion gains such brilliance that his mind itself becomes delightful. He does not seek God at all any more. He becomes devotional himself, his devotional nature bestowing delight. God is only the churning rod to churn his mind.

By means of interaction with the Guru this sādhanā will be all the more facilitated. The very idea of seeking a Guru, being initiated by him, living in his close proximity – if you properly understand all this – that itself is the best of all pursuits. When you take this up wholeheartedly, from that very moment, you will start becoming pure.

Hariḥ Om Tat Sat

22nd September 1998

(From the Book – Prabhata Rashmih Volume 1)