BMI Chart - Swami Chinmayananda's teaching aid

Swami Chinmayananda - One of the greatest 20^th century Hinduism revivalists, who went to the masses, instead of being sought unlike traditional Hindu Gurus; a towering personality who was able to explain Hinduism to a modern mind, which had been riddled with questions from modern life, science and mostly skeptics. This year, we are celebrating the 100^th year. Above all accolades, his contributions to society stands out in bringing the Bhagavad Gita to the masses, which was usually reserved for an advanced spiritual aspirant. Right next to that monumental contribution, one would argue the BMI chart as a tool to explain Vedanta.

            The genius of great wisdom lies in their simplicity to elucidate great ideas. BMI chart is a prime example. It can be used to introduce vedantic ideas to a novice, even to totally unrelated cultures in a scientific language. It can also be used to impart deeper understanding to advanced aspirants.

What is BMI?

            Human beings are uniquely endowed with a mind and an intellect, apart from a body. Vedanta aggregates the mind and intellect as Antahkarana (Internal Instrument) and the body, inclusive of the sense organs as Bahishkarana (External Instrument). Just like the body deploys the senses as instruments to detect some information in the external world, the mind and intellect are inward facing instruments.

            Human tendency is to have one or more of these instruments dominate the individual. This is not a question of right and wrong. We can simply turn around and see some are concerned about the physical plane, irrespective of other considerations, for example, social workers. Most of us are tossed by the mind and many cannot hold logic oriented discussions. They are emotional in every approach, be it being happy or sad. The bulk of the masses in the current generation will fall in this category. Then there are people who are centered around their intellect. When one thinks of Abdul Kalam or Sri Aurobindo, their intellect comes to the fore, irrespective of their field of knowledge. Though we have this observation, in reality, we may find ourselves an admixture of these traits.

            The importance of understanding these trends are important as they may aid or deter our inward journey to the SELF.

            To fully understand the BMI concept, the idea of Vasanas is central to it. I have given a basic sketch of Vasanas in an earlier article. 

            In Bhagavad Gita, chapter 13, Krishna emphasizes on idea of kshetra (the field) and kshetrajna (the knower). The Body-Mind-Intellect (BMI) is the kshetra where all experiences occur. This is the field that experiences heaven and hell. This field of birth and death is called samsara.

BODY:

            Before we dwell on the SELF or Supreme Consciousness, let us dive deeper into the BMI. The Body Perceives Objects. The perception is centered on the instrument and the biases within. Let us take any object around. A person with myopia will not perceive the same object as one with normal eyesight would. The object being the same, the perception can get distorted by the perceiver of the object. Similarly a person observing the moon with a powerful telescope will have a better perception than a person without it. It is also important to note that the mind has to be engaged during this process.

The mind however fast can only deal with one sense at a time. The senses have a limitation that they can only produce a picture of one kind. In remote sensing satellite, reflected light is captured in different bands. These bands are merged to provide a composite picture, as each wavelength captures a different piece of information. In the same way, the senses are deployed to detect information in different areas of interest. The mind collates and interprets these never-ending newsfeeds.

Amongst the senses deployed also, not all are equal. Science has repeatedly proved how the different senses impact our learning or understanding differently. Before we shift our focus to the next instrument, Mind, let us also understand that object itself operating under different conditions. We know the states of matter will alter the object. But if one were to peer closer to the objects, we see them as bunch of molecules and atoms. Atom is mostly empty space. Reducing further we land into a world of only energy and information package. 

Also interestingly, I see you as an object, but you perceive me as an object. Needless to say that there is a blending of sorts going on.

MIND:

As we just now observed, the object perception is a very biased process, depending on the mind’s level of participation. The Vasanas are the filter through which the mind can perceive any object. But the mind also performs an interesting action. Either as a reaction to a perceived object or situation (present), the memory (past) or the projected understanding (future) the mind feels emotions. This feeling can take diverse expressions. We analyzed this in detail in an earlier post on Desire – A genealogical approach.

INTELLECT:

            This internal equipment is an eastern concept where the rational analyzing faculty is termed as the intellect. The intellect generates thoughts by thinking.

PERCEIVER-FEELER-THINKER (PFT):

            The consciousness or life force in us which enables the Body to Perceive Objects is also behind the Mind to Feel Feelings and the Intellect to Think Thoughts. This Consciousness though it enables all these operations gets comingled with the BMI and identifies itself as the Perceiver-Feeler-Thinker. The lens of vasanas constantly keeps the Consciousness to be separate from the P-F-T. This constant separation is due to the EGO. Consciousness is covered by the three types of dirt, which is proportional to the vasanas – mala (dirt), vikshepa (fickleness) and avarana (dirt). Mala can be scrubbed only by selfless action – Karma Yoga. Vikshepa can be annihilated only by constant devotion to the Supreme Self in some method – Bhakti Yoga. Avarana can be unveiled only by knowledge of the Self – Jnana Yoga.

            As we understood how Consciousness can be approached by removing the dirt covering it, it basically translates to the broad methods prescribed in Sanatana Dharma – Karma, Bhakti and Jnana margas to suit the temperament of people leaning to Body, Mind and Intellect equipments. For the ones who are a mixed pattern, Dhyana Yoga or Meditation was prescribed. Swami Sivananda introduced a simplification to the modern world. Many times we are not any one type. Hence he recommends doing a little in each category every day. A little bit of nishkamya seva, a little bit of reading scriptures (Upanishads, Itihasas, puranas, Bhagavad Gita), a little bit of bhakti, a little bit of meditation, a little bit of atma vichara, a little bit of satsanga. This approach smoothens all our kinks in all areas of life.

OM:

            We already observed from the chart that vasanas play a key role in the perception of Objects by the body, feelings felt by the mind and thoughts thought by the Intellect. But little is understood about the nature of our own life or consciousness. Just like in a mathematical concept, the unknown entity is referred as “X”, let us keep OM to represent Consciousness, which we know nothing about. As we scrub the vasanas and do not let new ones to replace the existing ones, as we increase Satsanga (association with the wise – people who have an understanding of Consciousness are referred as the wise, not to be confused with worldly wisdom, which is nothing but knowledge), we perceive the play of Consciousness everywhere in the Universe.

            Narayana, represented as OM, enlivens in all beings. When EGO obstructs, it mistakes this ray of enlightenment as the individualised Perceiver-Feeler-Thinker. Consciousness can thus be realized only by the eradication of Vasanas. Just like a bright light covered by numerous layers of dirt is invisible, till the layers of dirt is removed; an understanding of Consciousness doesn't arise until the vasanas are scrubbed. Once they are gone, there is nothing that needs to be done to make the Consciousness shine, as it is the light which makes even light visible.

            Till the time one gets a direct understanding of Consciousness, we can either use Shruti (Vedas, Upanishads) or Smriti (Itihasas, Puranas) as a reference, a pointer to the pointer. It may be noted that countless great souls, rishis, realized people have corroborated their experiences to be identical with the ones stated in Shruti. Hence listening to these Wise men have been part of our tradition. 

            All the darshanas and mathas like advaita, visishtadvaita, dvaita have sprung from a simple fact, when these great realized souls after tasting this nectar wanted to share it with the ones who desire to approach the SELF.  This is where the seeming differences crop up.

            So, we have all the aids. We have BMI getting us OET through PFT. We have the scriptures which can corroborate our inner journey milestones. We have Satsanga to assist. We have four major paths guiding us based on our vasana makeup. As long as one desires to understand the real perceiver, the real feeler, the real thinker, one can be on this journey at a moment’s notice. The BMI chart is an excellent tool to any seeker to interpret subtle esoteric vedantic ideas in a common man's language.

            May that Supreme Consciousness grant us the good intellect, a healthy mind and a sound body and guide us on this journey we are all making, with or without our knowledge.

Om-Tat-Sat

References:

•        Swami Chinmayananda Explains Vasanas Through BMI chart

 

Whom does God love? - Part 1

            Every believer wants to love God, in their own way. Everyone wants to profess their love. Most display it externally and even the few who do not, internally know about their love for God. But, this is not the complete story. Just like in a love story, one person declaring their love for the other is incomplete without the other person acknowledging it; one needs a validation of one’s love from God. Very advanced spiritual seekers are only focused on having this acknowledgement. One can find this in the lamentations borne out of deep bhakthi, be it in the case of Meera for Krishna or Bhadrachalam Ramadas/Thyagaraja pining for Rama or Ramakrishna Paramahamsa for Kali.

            Most religions will give a blanket statement that God loves you specially or will bind you to accept that God’s love is given. Only in Hinduism, we get some definite clues. Though there is no question that all of us loved and cared by God, just like we love all our fingers, yet still give special place for our ring on one of our fingers, there is a clear indication of God liking certain traits which makes us more endearing in HIS eyes. 

            In Bhagavad Geeta, Krishna, gives a clear insight into what qualities in a devotee or spiritual aspirant attract HIS attention. This list must not be construed as Ishvara not liking other people, typical to Abrahamic God’s likes and dislikes. The list enumerated merely aligns the individual to quickly climb the rungs of the ladder of spiritual progress. These are more like the common denominators Krishna finds in all evolved devotees or aspirants. Hence acquiring these traits will enable the individual to mirror the mindset of an advanced seeker. All these character aids will enable in the easier mitigation of Vasanas (Read more on Vasanas – A key to understand our past, present and future)

            In Chapter 12 of Bhagavad Geeta, Krishna enumerates these traits in the 7 verses 12.13-19, highlighting the characteristics of a Man of Perfection. Swami Chinmayananda deems these 7 verses as perhaps among the best stanzas of poetic expression.  Not wanting to dilute his brilliant commentary, I have included the following snippet from his book.

            “Generally hasty students of Hinduism have learnt to repeat the accusation leveled against Hinduism by the cheap Missionaries, that in the Vedantik concept of an Infinite, Unmanifest, All-powerful, Non-dual Truth, there is no scope for any ethical scruples and moral obligations. In no other religion do we find the highest moral instructions and the noblest ethical rules so convincingly laid down and insisted upon as to the very foundation of a seeker’s spiritual unfoldment, as in the Gita. And the Gita is the cream of the Upanishads.

                Moral rules and ethical codes of behavior are in Hinduism not arbitrary commandments thrust upon its followers by a Son of God, or by a Messiah. These rules of conduct are copied from the behavior of God-men who had attained the spiritual perfection and had actually lived among us. Seekers are those who are striving hard to attain the spiritual experience of those Saints and Seers. A devotee who is trying to attune himself with these Masters of Yoga should necessarily start at least copying their external behavior and mental beauties, which constitute the moral and ethical rules prescribed in our religion.” – Swami Chinmayananda

            The interesting element of this approach is very scientific, if one were to follow the recipe, the outcome is guaranteed and not one on mere blind faith.

            In this series, we will take the first couple of these selected verses together, to gain deeper perspective. Let us not make these traits as the sour grapes beyond reach, as they are all present in a dormant state in even the worst amongst us. Most of us have one or more already developed. Swami Sivananda has distilled the wisdom of all these characteristics and much more in his book, How to cultivate Virtues and eradicate Vices. I highly encourage getting this book and using it as a roadmap to traverse the minefield of the mind.

अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां मैत्रः करुण एव च ।
निर्ममो निरहंकारः समदुःखसुखः क्षमी ॥ 12-13

संतुष्टः सततं योगी यतात्मा दृढनिश्चयः ।
मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धिर्यो मद्भक्तः स मे प्रियः॥ 12-14

adveṣhṭā sarva-bhūtānāṁ maitraḥ karuṇa eva cha
nirmamo nirahankāraḥ sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ kṣhamī
santuṣhṭaḥ satataṁ yogī yatātmā dṛiḍha-niśhchayaḥ
mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ

He who hates no creature, who is friendly and compassionate to all, who is free from attachment and egoism, balanced in pleasure and pain, and forgiving,

Ever content, steady in meditation, possessed of firm conviction, self-controlled, with mind and intellect dedicated to Me, he, My devotee, is dear to Me.

अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां – Hates no creature –  The Man of Perfection is atleast predominantly Saatvic, if not risen above the pressure of the Gunas. A Saatvic person, according to Bhagavad Gita 18.20 sloka (Sarva-bhutesu yenaikam bhavam avyayam iksate Avibhaktam vibhaktesu taj jnanam viddhi sattvikam) has wisdom permanently seated in him to identify the omnipresent, the indivisible Almighty among all beings. Once such wisdom has dawned in the bosom of the individual, he/she perceives one as a part of a cosmic individual. Will the finger poke one's eye for pleasure? How will hating any creature be even a possibility when one perceives the Cosmos as one's conscious body extent?

मैत्रः  - Friendliness – The feeling of friendliness, a spirit of warm companionship is present, in equal measure in every step, in the behavior of a Man of Perfection. There is no ego of superiority or inferiority when such a person interacts. This is typically found amongst interaction with friends. We find friends may come from various backgrounds, but such a backdrop never exists amongst true friends. We have seen such examples with Krishna and Sudama, Krishna and Arjuna, Duryodhana and Karna. Perhaps this must be the number one character of any true relationship be it amongst spouses, other individuals or even nations.

करुण   - Compassion – The primary characteristic of this trait and also with the others listed is the prominent absence of Selfishness. Compassion is fellow feeling or the sorrow of the sufferings of another, according to Swami Sivananda. This is not the feeling evinced seeing the plight of one’s family or merely humanity, but it extends more deeper towards all living beings. Vallalar, a saint from South India, exclaimed வாடிய பயிரைக் கண்டபோதெல்லாம் வாடினேன் ("Vadiya payirai kanda pothellam Vadinen"). It roughly translates to his expressing anguish whenever he saw even a wilted plant. If one sees such a feeling strongly within a limited boundary of family, nationality, religion, yet fails to have even a trace of it outside, then such a feeling definitely does not quality as true compassion.

निर्ममो  - Free from attachment - The twin aspects of attachment are Raaga (Like) and Dvesha (Dislike). This aspect, just like the others are both a preparatory step (at the beginning of this preparatory step) as well as the end result. This attachment stems from the following trait described egoism. They usually work as hand in glove. Attachment paves way to strengthening of the vasanas (Read more: Vasanas – A key to understand our past, present and our future) and the increased frequency of vrittis (mental waves) and also of increased strength. Cleaving this attachment gives us an opportunity to break this Samskara-Vritti cycle, which is behind Samsara. Since attachment is not easy to get rid off, this is a process not a mere turn on or off.

निरहंकारः  -  Free from Ahamkara / Egoism -          Vedanta views EGO as a central aspect of Maya. Patanjali refers it as Asmita. Swami Sivananda calls it as Commander in Chief (of spiritual enemy forces). Initially at lower rungs of spiritual progress one may not even encounter this potent force. This is the self arrogating principle in man. Swami Sivananda views egoism of three kinds, the first two being beneficial and superior. The first is the Supreme, undivided ego, which is eternal and pervades the world. This is also referred in the Mahavakya, Aham Brahma Asmi – I am Brahman. This is Saatvic egoism, liberates man from bondage. Rajasic egoism is the one found is Jivanmuktas, highly evolved spiritual beings. This includes the knowledge of the Self. One is reminded of Janaka, of Upanishadic lore. He acted in the world, yet was aware of the Self.

            The third is Tamasic ego, found in all humans. This causes identification of oneself as the body. This is at the root of samsara. Unless this type of Ahamkara is quelled with the help of the other two ahamkaras, one finds one tossed in the turbulent seas forever. Great sages opine, this ego is also of two subtypes – gross (sthula) and subtle (sukshma). Identification with the gross body egoism is usually a big obstacle in spiritual path and can be overcome by destroying pride, selfishness, desires and identification as body. The subtle egoism is more powerful to overcome and more dangerous. This is associated with the mind. This is the ego a rich man feels, I am a good philanthrophist. It morphs as a feeling, I did very good meditation, I am a good Yogi. It becomes a subtle underlying feeling that I am a good spiritual person, I am a good moral person.

                If you kill the commander of an army, you can very easily subdue the soldiers. Even so, if you kill the commander- egoism in the adhyatmic battlefield, you can easily subdue the soldiers, viz. lust, anger, pride, jealousy, greed, delusion, hypocrisy, who fight for their master – egoism. – Swami Sivananda

            A Karma Yogin destroys egoism by self sacrifice. A Jnana Yogin kills egoism by self-denial, self-abnegation, through vichara, by using techniques of neti-neti. A Bhaktha sees the Supreme everywhere and views himself as a mere instrument in the hands of the Lord.

            A person free from egoism is literally at the doorsteps of moksha – liberation.

समदुःखसुखः    Balanced in pleasure and pain – Equanimity – This is a very oft repeated phrase within Bhagavad Gita. We find it as a central trait in spiritual evolution. Krishna refers in sloka 2-48 as समत्वं योग उच्यते (Samatvam yoga uchate). The pair of opposites – pleasure-pain, heat-cold, censure-praise, success-failure, honor-dishonor make the mind turbulent and go between extremes.  Rooted in Atman at all times, one can develop equanimity in outlook at all times.

                Swami Sivananda’s prescription – Constantly think of the “Samam Brahman” which is seated equally in all beings. Gradually you will develop equanimity. Eradicate desires, cravings, attachments, likes and dislikes. Cultivate discrimination, serenity, dispassion, self-restraint, self-control, self-denial. You will be slowly established in equanimity.

क्षमी – Forgiveness – To err is human to forgive is divine. This is an expression of compassion, to overlook an offence or debt. Pretense of forgiveness is the most common type. Real forgiveness is rare and must be aspired. There is no displeasure to the offender, offense or even a feeling of resentment. Kshama is an antidote to anger, per great sages. This is not akin to begging pardon, be it for interruption or behavior. Forgiveness is not an act of reconciliation to the current (in)ability to act and show moral anger. Just as a mother forgives her children’s mischief, not keeping score of how many times she forgave, forgiveness becomes a mere outward attitude of deep rooted compassion.

           

संतुष्टः – Contentment – One of the greatest riches a mind can possess. Contentment is the panacea for lobha, greed.  Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty, declares Swami Sivananda. Peace of mind is tied to not the quantum of owning objects, but rooted in contentment. The doors of moksha are guarded by four sentinels – Santi, Santosha, Satsanga and Vichara. Getting one makes the other three follow. Santosha is perhaps the easiest to obtain as it is involving finetuning one’s attitude towards oneself.

            Contentment quietens the tossing of the mind due to desires. The Samskara-Vritti cycle gets altered as old samskaras do not get rejuvenated by contentment.

सततं योगी – Steady in Meditation – As one advances from concentration to meditation, one reaches a higher state of steadiness in meditation. A quick check can be made by anyone. Take a steady posture. Close your eyes and bring to your mind’s attention, your most favorite object, be it a person, thing, idea or ishta-devata. Try to maintain focus on the thing that consumes your mind, for the next 5 minutes. Watch how often the mind holds the mental picture and how often it wanders. If this happens with our most beloved object and not an abstract one like Ishvara, it merely shows the fickleness of our untrained mind. 

            Steadiness in Meditation can be understood more with Patanjali Maharishi’s Yoga Sutras. Krishna’s mention of this trait is a good yardstick to measure the mind’s effectiveness is holding onto the object of meditation.

यतात्मा - Self-controlled – Self control is the ability to rise over one’s inclinations, desires, emotions, appetite, senses and mind. The following quote succinctly and precisely sums what self-control is.

            Forgiveness, patience, abstention from injury, impartiality, truth, sincerity, control of the sense, cleverness, mildness, modesty, firmness, liberality, freedom from anger, contentment, sweetness of words, benevolence, freedom from malice – all these combined make up self-control. It also consists of respect for the preceptor and mercy for all. The man of self-control avoids both adulation and slander. Depravity, infamy, falsehood, lust, covetousness, pride, arrogance, fear, envy and disrespect are all shunned by the man of self-control. – Swami Sivananda

दृढनिश्चयः – Possessed of firm conviction – Firmness is steadiness, resoluteness, determination, consistency. It applies to the thoughts, beliefs, action, purpose, mind and soul. Unless there is a shield of firmness around all the imaginable good qualities, even they are subject to loss. Firmness has to be deeply rooted in correct knowledge, else it morphs into obstinacy. Firmness of purpose is central to a virtuous character and accompanied by wisdom.

मय्यर्पितमनोबुद्धि – Mind and intellect dedicated to Me –This is an interesting adjective that Krishna points the above four characteristics needs to be covered with – Contentment, Steady in meditation, Self-control and firm conviction. Contentment can also arise out of a tamasic resignation to fate which is not true contentment. We see many puranic asuras performing intense meditation practices, even having self-control and firm conviction to achieve some special boons. The antahkarana (mind and intellect), inner instrument, dedicated to the Supreme Being is slowly rid of all vasanas. This makes the antahkarana more purer and these characteristics shine like a jewel of the mind.

            We will see the remainder of qualities loved by Krishna in the upcoming segments.

Om-Tat-Sat

References / Recommended Reading

·            The Bhagawad Geeta – Swami Chinamayananda

·           The Bhagavad Geeta – Swami Sivananda

·           How to cultivate Virtues and eradicate Vices – Swami Sivananda

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• Whom does God love – Part 2

•  Whom does God Love- Concluding part?