Once the self is pacified, one abides in the Self and attains everlasting bliss. If the mind becomes as firmly established in Brahman as it is usually attached to the sense objects, who, then, will not be released from bondage?
-- Yajur Veda
Bondage is a theme that runs throughout the spiritual teachings of the world. We are bound by karma according to Hinduism and Buddhism, and by sin according to religions like Christianity. If we consider a little more deeply however we discover that we are really bound by our unconscious thoughts and actions. We are bound by mind, which is based on the thought that that we are not free.
According to Yoga philosophy we are conditioned by five underlying sources of bondage. First and foremost is “ignorance.” This means the non-recognition of our true nature as the Self. The second arises from the first and is known as “ego-identification.” It is the mistaken belief that we are these limited body-mind manifestations. The third and fourth are desire and aversion. These underlying impulses drive us to distraction so that we never take the time to look inward, to allow the mind to become quiet and to recognize our peaceful and blissful core. The fifth is the fear of death. It is the tendency to cling to what is familiar although temporal.
The Self is at the core of our beings and is beyond space, time and becoming. It is in a state of blissful loving contemplation. It is the Self, which is pure awareness, who sees through the distorted lens of the mind. We are bound because we believe only in the reality of the seen. We don’t reflect upon the seer. We don’t recognize our own being. That underlying Being, who is the true “I” of each of us is always and absolutely free. In fact we are essentially beyond even these notions of freedom and bondage.
We can’t think our way out of the trap of the mind. Instead meditation means witnessing the mind’s machinations and detaching oneself from them. Through this process the mind loses its hold over us and we can break free from illusion, delusion and confusion.
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