This lecture was given on March 29, 2020, at the Vedanta Society of Northern California by Swami Tattwamayananda.

-Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras with its Sanskrit commentaries give a complete analysis of the workings of the human mind.
-Human mind is healthy by its intrinsic nature.
-When it is associated with saṃskāra-s, vṛtti-s, and vāsanā-s, it becomes agitated.
-The five stages of mental tranquility are kṣipta, mūḍha, vikṣipta, ekāgratā, and nirūḍha.
-The first stage ( kṣipta ) is constant restlessness, and the second stage ( mūḍha ) is a dormant mind.
- vikṣipta state is common to spiritual seekers – it is a pendulum swing between a noble desire and then the mind reacting against it. Mind becomes your best friend and then becomes your enemy.
-Mind is your best friend when it helps you to work towards citta-prasāda, the feeling of deep mental serenity coming as the result of having done or spoken what one ought to have done or spoken (kṛtārtha / kṛtakṛtyatā).
-Every word, action, thought done with full identification and awareness of being the doer (kartṛtva) and of being the enjoyer of the results (bhoktṛtva) leads to a residual effect in the mental system. These residual effects are called vṛtti, which can have a longer effect than the tangible results of actions. When solidified, they become tendencies called saṃskāra. When that becomes an aptitude it is called vāsanā. When the results of actions are pleasant we continue them and when the results are unpleasant we have a tendency to avoid. This continues in a cycle from life to life. That is why we get agitated.
-We must increase the store of positive saṃskāras, in order to compete with the pull of the negative saṃskāras.
-In Yoga and Vedanta the mind is analyzed in terms of experience bhoga, and then reactions – obsessive attachment (rāga), hatred (dveṣa), or fear (abhiniveśa or bhaya). These are stored in the cittam of the internal organ – antaḥkaraṇa – and can manifest as irrational liking for wrong and harmful things or the mind’s inability to do something, though we want to do it.
-The best way to neutralize negative tendencies is to continuously engage in good actions at the physical level, where we have more control. These physical activities generate spiritual energy, change the mind, refine the saṃskāras and lead to a pure mind (citta-śuddhi) as it is called in Vedanta or one-pointedness (ekāgram) as it is called in Yoga.
-With a purer mind, we gain a great sense of purpose to reach higher evolution (pariṇāma) and all our worries and desires get sublimated. When we succeed we obtain citta-prasāda and live with spiritual common sense.
-Then, mind becomes our friend. While we cannot watch every micro-movement of our mind all of the time, when the mind is our friend, we are able to look upon the whole of life with a higher perspective.
-To move out of the karma-saṃskāra-cakram and make the mind healthy, we need to solve our psychological problems at the spiritual level. Normally, we move between the kṣipta and vikṣipta states. The mind (manas) is defined as saṅkalpa vikalpa antaḥkaraṇa vṛtti, varying opposing types of speculations – stream consciousness – “Is this a human being or is this is a pillar?” In spiritual life, we are able to evolve from vikṣipta and reach the ekāgratā state.
-We should take care to guard our spiritual life by regulating our interactions with people, thoughts, and ideas: maitrī, karuṇā, mudita, upekṣa. We should remain friendly with those who have strong positive tendencies. We should be compassionate towards those who are struggling to evolve. We should have sincere admiration for those who have good qualities that we would like to obtain. And lastly, we should develop an inner filtering mechanism to protect ourselves from negative influences.
-By linking ourselves to a spiritual ideal, we become rooted in a state of inner blessedness, the state of a sthita-prajña a person of steady wisdom as described in Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verses 55 to 72.
- In Vedanta, we are linked to the unwavering Ātman. In Bhakti, a great devotee surrenders to God, and all his mental functions are linked to his or her divine spiritual ideal. One can reach that goal through bhakti, Vedanta, karma yoga, or yoga. Then, every word becomes a mantra, every thought is a meditation, every act is an act of worship, and life becomes a pilgrimage.
-Only by linking ourselves to Ātman, the spiritual reality beyond the mind, can the mind remain in perfect health.