Misapprehension
Viparyayo Mithyagnanam Atadroopa Prathistam
Out of the five capabilities of the mind, Viparyaya, or the ability to misunderstand or misapprehend a situation or a person is the second.
Few are the people who can see the world with plain eyes. There are many who need power glasses. Some others see the world through coloured lenses and there are many who see the world through cracked glasses.
The mind is like a glass. When the glass is polished and clean, we can see clearly. When there is a stain on the glass, the vision also contains that stain, which is not in truth there.
The texture of the mind is dependent on the experiences a person goes through in this lifetime, his or her social, economic and environmental conditioning. And the differences we see among humanbeings at birth is because of the different experiences each one has gone through in the previous lifetimes and their response to it.
A clear mind is one that is not having disturbing thoughts. It is just like a serene surface of a lake with clear water. We can see through the lake and even the pebbles on its bed.
A disturbed mind is one that has rushing flow of thoughts. Though the telecast from the station is clear, if there is a problem with the television set, the picture will not have clarity.
To quote an example for misapprehension, we can take a rose for instance. A rose is simply a rose. A botanist will call it with a botanical name and look at it as a specimen to study due to his academic conditioning. A poet will look at it with a poetic mind and sing that life is not a bed of roses, but has its thorns too. A lover will see the same rose as a possible gift for his beloved and plan how to pluck it. A priest might be wondering how to offer it at the altar of his deity while a bee will be sipping the honey from the flower without a thought!
There will be misunderstanding and misapprehension as long as the thoughts agitate in the mindscreen in multiple, criss-crossing frequencies. When the mind is fine-tuned, with the practice of Yoga, then the screen is not agitated and helps the individual to perceive people, circumstances and situations with clarity. - Swahilya Shambhavi.
15 comments:
nice post and well explained.
Welcome!
Hi, very informative blog. Thank you for sharing. Take care. God Bless.
Welcome Venus.
"Viparyaya, or the ability to misunderstand or misapprehend a situation........"
The picture is the best explanation!
That which is still seems moving
(the trees)and the camera which was moving seems still!!
Yet another wonderful post and an even better picture! thank you!!
kitchenette soul to me
show details 7:13 AM (4 minutes ago) Reply
kitchenette soul has left a new comment on your post "Patanjali Yoga Sutra - 4":
Look at the beauty of the words strung like gems on a string. Each leads to the other!
pratyaksha is the basis for the second--anumana is the foundation for the third aagama .
Posted by kitchenette soul to aham at February 10, 2008
Yes Kichenette Soul: And this was also an instance of a photo I thought would go waste because it was taken from within the car going at a high speed. It is a reserve forest area near Downtown Chicago.
And this is also an example to show that everything has its place in this Universe!
Kichenette Soul: Somehow your comment was not published, so I went to my gmail id and copied it from there again. Yes and though I spent no time learning the Yoga Sutra by heart, I discovered that by just meditating on the verses I could go to the next verse with the linking word from the first - like a necklace of beads strung to a thread.
oh Kichenette! that was my error of perception - Viparyaya! I thought the blog had not published it by mistake and copied and pasted the comment from my email. Now I see two hours later that it has been safely published in the previous post for which it was meant! So this is a living example of instant Viparyaya!
Swahilya,
I have just discovered your blog, and what a wonderful time I've had reading it! I have been reading all your older posts, and can see how you have evolved.I found it so interesting and informative,especially the Yoga Sutras because I am learning them now, and find your comments so useful!I am happy to find so many people who are interested in the same things as I am.
Meena.
Welcome Meena. It feels good to meet like minds on cyberspace. Do keep in touch. My email swahilya.soulmate@gmail.com
And thanks for your expressive comment!
Dear Swahilya:Very intersting and thought provoking especially on application of mind and comparing the apprehension or miaapprehension to viewing thro' various glasses. I question has been racing my mind for a long time for which I never got a satisfactory answer which I am now emboldened to ask U.
Lord Krishna speaks of various yogas as means of salvation and liberation with the stress mostly on mind.Does Patanjal's deal on yoga with a specific mind related body communication and no intention on liberation.
I hope U will enlighten me
All the best
Partha krish
Dear Kichami: Thank you so much for the comment and question. Patanjali's Yoga Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita speak the same thing but they say it in different languages. The Bhagavad Gita is more like a conversation between a Guru and a Disciple teaching the different aspects of yoga like Karma, Bhakthi, Sanyasa, Jnana, Raja, Dhyana and Hatha Yogas and even Pranayama.
In Patanjali Yoga Sutra, it is a more academic explanation of the way to Kaivalya which means auspiciousness, liberation, serenity, tranquility etc. Just as Sri Krishna says, leave all paths and surrender to me - that is consciousness, Patanjali says you may attain many things with Yoga, but Kaivalya is the goal. Patanjali outlines the same path to liberation, but in the manner of a University textbook author.
Dear swahilya, you chose well to explain the matter with an image of glass. Well explanined. Thank you.
Thank you Ray!
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