The six poisons of the mind
This month we explored the ‘six poisons of the mind’. In Yogic texts these six poisons, or arishadvargas, are described as six forms of ignorance which deform our perception of the world, and ability to discern well. When we act from a place of ignorance we engage in action from a distorted sense of reality. Actions done in this state generally bind us to future unpleasant karma, this creates a lot of suffering. When we are stuck in these states we are disconnected from the truth, from others, our environment and a grounded sense of Self. We lose our inner compass.
Kaama (lust or desire), krodha (anger), moha (attachment or delusion), lobha (greed), matsarya (jealousy or envy) and mada (pride).
These states tend to appear in the most inopportune moments, twisting our perception, breaking our focus, setting off our lower states of mind. Because of the 6 poisons we forget who we are. Often we wish we could exist without them but they are actually our teachers, they show us where we are lacking insight into the truth.
When are mind is filled with one or more of the six forms of ignorance we loose sight of the truth, the mind becomes unsteady, chaotic, unorganized. This is where Yoga comes in. We offer the body and/or the mind a place where to steady the attention. In Asana for example the body becomes the object of observation. In meditation the breath or the mind itself at first is the object of observation. We place our attention on the object and add the ingredients of Abhyasa (repetition) and Vairagya (non-attachement) - continiously returning to the object of observation without attachment to the result. In this process of deep observation (svadyaya) we learn about ourselves.
Though this observation we begin to identify if and when these six forms of ignorance are present. With that knowledge we can begin to make change.
Patanjali gives us a way forth. He says that the prerequisite to a calm steady mind is that it is filled with:
Maitri - loving kindness
Karuna - compassion
Mudita - sympathetic joy - if jealousy
Upeksa - equanimity
He describes where these should be applied -
Maitri - Develop a feeling of friendliness for those who are happy. This helps in sharing in their joy instead of feeling jealous.
Karuna - Cultivate compassion for those who are suffering.
Mudita - Cultivate a feeling of joy for others who have achieved success. This is pure joy unaffected by self-interest.
Upeksa - Develop an attitude of indifference toward those who have acted in harmful ways. This does not mean to be uncaring, but rather to cultivate a non-judgmental and balanced perspective, responding without anger or resentment.
When we look at this we recognize the expansion needed to feel into where these qualities should be applied. We can begin to get a sense of where the work should be directed. That expansion gives us freedom, that expansion gifts us liberation
Some ingredients for the path:
Faith
Energy
Remembering
Concentration
Insight into truth
Can we fearlessly act from the heart, to overcome the poisons of the mind in the name of liberating ourselves and others from suffering? What is the motivation behind our actions?
A blog post by Bibi Lorenzetti - Join us in the journey