In the ancient Indian philosophy, Patanjali's name is the most noticeable, since he evolved a methodical system of Yoga. His metaphysical aspect is the same as that of Samkhya philosophy initially expounded by Kapil in 700 BC. The basic thought in Samkhya philosophy is that "Ignorance is the cause of suffering. When an individual acquires a proper knowledge of "Purusha" (Self), "Prakriti" (Nature) and the three "Gunas" (Tamas, Rajas and Sattwas) and he is able to discriminate his own separate identity from the Prakriti, he is liberated and is free from all types of sorrow.
Patanjali (300 BC), however realized that the Samkhya system was lacking in its practical application. He observed that "Mind" and "Body" are very closely related to each other. If the body is sick, mind cannot be comfortable. He prescribed "Yoga of Eight - Steps", to obtain both mental and physical health.
These are-- (1)Yama, (2)Niyama, (3)Asanas, (4)Pranayaam, (5)Pratyahara, (6)Dharna, (7) Dhyan and (8)Samadhi.
(1)"Yama" is abstention from injury, falsehood, stealing, incontinence and possession.
(2)"Niyama" is observance of purity, contentment, austerity, study and devotion to God.
"Yama" and "Niyama" thus constitute all, what is necessary for a perfect moral life.
(3)"Asanas" mean making body postures. According to Patanjali it is "Sthira Sukham Asana" which means a comfortable posture. By maintaining a steady unshakable posture for a long time, mind gradually begins to get into a state of steadiness.
(4)"Pranayaam". This is the kriyas with the breath, which helps to bring the mind under control.
(5)"Praty-a-hara". It is aiming at taming the mind through taming the senses.
"Saayer sapt bhare jal nirmal, ulti naav travai,
bahir jatao thake rahavai,
Gurmukh sahaj samavai."
(6)"Dharan" (concentration). It helps the mind in restraining from distraction or deviation of mind from its balanced state.
(7)"Dhyaan". This is meditation aiming at gaining steadiness.
(8)"Samadhi". It is a deep contemplation.which takes the spirit above the worldly processes.
Out of the eight steps of Yoga, it can be seen that the first five are related to (1) the purity of mind, and the next three to (2) the balanced and tranquil state of mind.
Bhagavad-Gita, a holy scripture of the Hindus, teaches a number of techniques through which the mind can be subdued. Mind in the lower mental processes is swayed by the senses, by passions and emotions. In the higher mental processes (which result from the practices of Yoga), the Buddhi is the faculty of the ratiocinating mind, exercising the discriminative power in which the yogi gains the tranquility, and thus establishes himself in the "Self" and the wandering of the mind stops. In the sixth discourse on the Yoga of self-subdual, the Gita says: "Abandoning without reserve all desires born of the imagination (sankalpa), by the mind (manas) curbing in the aggregate of the senses on every side." "Little by little let him gain tranquility by means of reason (Buddhi) controlled by steadiness; having made the mind abide in the SELF, let him not think of anything."
To gain purity and the tranquility of mind is thus an important achievement in the practice of Yoga. All the yogas like Jnan Yoga, Bhagati Yoga etc. described in Bhagavad-Gita revolve round the activities of mind. Thus understanding the nature of mind, harnessing its outgoing tendencies and utilizing its own inherent power in developing its spiritual faculties, are the basis of all the yogic practices.
Prior to the advent of Guru Nanak, the seekers of Truth, who were in search of God through "control of mind", depended on the practices of Yoga. Unfortunately, they had to renounce their home and hearths, and wander in forests and mountains. This life of utter penances made them beggars in the garbs of Yogis. Instead of getting enlightenment, they were left with the begging bowls and moved from door to door of the householders. Seeing this situation Guru Nanak went to Gorakh Hatri, then to Almora, and the Himalayas. He met the Siddhas and told them the importance of controlling the mind, acquiring the spiritual requirements, the Samadhi, and all what are essentials for attaining union with God; but all this should be done while living still in the worldly life of a householder. A discourse between Guru Nanak and the Siddhas followed, which is enshrined as the Siddh-Goshth in the holy Guru Granth Sahib.
From the Siddh-Goshth, it appears that the Siddhas insisted that by controlling the breath (artificial control of inhaling and exhaling) and the practices of asanas, the mind could be controlled. Guru Nanak knew that the contortionist postures did not take you anywhere. Once the aspirant (yogi) gets into such practices he is left with the postures only, and the very purpose of these practices (that is control of mind) becomes elusive.
At one stage during the discourse one of the Siddhas inquired about the mad elephant of mind, how to stop it from wandering:-
"Ehu mann maigal kahan basieley, kahan basai ehu pawana
kahan basai so shabad audhoo, taka chukai mann ka bhavana"
i.e. "Where dwells this mad elephant of mind and where should dwell the life force,
so that the wandering of the mind may cease."
To this Guru's reply was:
"Aape aap khai ta nirmal hovai, dhavat varaj rahai"
i.e. "By annulling egoism is the mind purified, and its wandering stilled."
Guru Nanak adds----
"Ehu mann nehchal hirde basieley, Gurmukh khojat tatt lahe"
i.e. "The mind in poise dwells in the heart,
The seeker by the Guru's Grace searches and attains the essence."
On this abruptly the Siddha inquires:
"Je ehu hirda deh na hoti , tau mann kaithe rehta?"
i.e. "When our physical self does not exist, where does our conscious mind dwell?"
The all-knowing Guru Nanak's cryptic answer follows:
"Hirda deh na hoti , Avadhu, tau mann sunn(i) rahey bairagi"
i.e. "O seeker of Truth, when there is no physical self, with the vital heart,
the mind resides peacefully submerged in the Creater in the state of Shuniya."
At this stage Guru Nanak takes the Siddha to the most exalted state of mind, the
Shuniya -- cosmic quiescence, beyond which the mind has no other consciousness
Except the "Eternity"
In the concluding stage of the discourse Guru Nanak says--
"Gaon gagan jab tabeh na hota , Tribhuvan Jot aape Nirankar,
Vern bhek asroop so eko, eko shabad vidani,
Saach bina soocha ko naahi, Nanak akath, kahani."
i.e. "When the earth and sky existed not, All the three worlds, His Light pervades,
He is one and one in all appearances, colors and forms,
And a wondrous state of being,
Nanak says, without the True Name of God, none attains purity,
And such is the inexpressible story."
Naam is the beacon of Light in the territory of mind whose nature and power we need to explore. Here it is essential to know the basics of the functioning of the mind, its cycle of action and reaction and then it becomes easy to apply the doses of Naam Simran to curb the wandering of mind.
Basics of Mind
The functioning of mind is coordinated by its three different spheres -- (i) Desire, (ii) Thought and (iii) Acctivity. First desire springs up from the surface of mind to possess an object; this desire then goads the thought to take some decision and along with the desire element, it prompts the mind for an activity. This action is recorded in the memory, which in turn becomes the root cause of a further desire. The subconscious mind stores all these impressions and retain them as the past experiences. Off and on during the process of meditation these impressions of desire, thought and activity are being analyzed, resolves taken and the thoughts refined and the core centers of these elements are shifted from the Ego base to the base of Universal Self, which instantaneously produces peace of mind. In turn these exercises develop the personality of a person with spiritual knowledge, a moral character, pious habits and he appears to be a changed man. Thus around the physical body of the person, another body which is known as his mental body is chiseled out by his thought power during meditation and "Naam_Simran". The aggregate of this mental body is the person's mind and the dynamic part of it is his "Thought Power" which one utilizes for his spiritual gains.
Now if we go back to the above part of this essay, when we were discussing the Siddha-Goshth, we could see that Guru Nanak did emphasize on (1) purity of mind and (2) the tranquility of mind. So we take an inference from it that in the process of "Naam_Simran", we cannot afford to let this mad elephant of mind to go astray. "Gur(u) Ankus" is necessary for the wild mind. We therefore need constant guidance of Gurbani and "Naam_Simran" in maneuvering our thought power.
Thus having transmuted the mind into a shuddh chitt - freed from the past Samskaras and Vasnas, and with the mind equipoised in all conditions of pleasure and pain - the Jeevan Mukta Gurmukh obtains an ever blissful state of mind.