and not one will like us afterwards. So is the nature of the mind. When it likes a
particular thing, the whole of the mind will pounce upon that object which it likes
and the entire resources of the mind will be there to back it up in the execution of this
deed; and when it dislikes a thing, there will be a wholesale dislike. This is the
peculiar way in which the mind works. In yoga we have to note this feature of the
mind and act on it in the manner in which it acts in respect of objects. A wholesale
view has to be taken. It is the total man that rises to the occasion for the purpose of
subduing the total mind. It is not a partial aspect of ours that is functioning in yoga.
It is a movement of the whole, towards the whole. So, we have to keep a cautious eye
on every direction—externally, as well as internally.
The circumstances which may aggravate the desires of the mind should be avoided,
though the aggravation has not taken place. It is not that the mind is always thinking
of an object of sense, but it is likely that it can fix itself upon an object when
conditions become favourable for it. Therefore, knowing that such and such
conditions may aggravate a particular desire of the mind in respect of a particular
object, it should be wisdom on the part of a seeker not to place oneself under those
circumstances which are likely to aggravate the desires of the mind even in the
future. This is because even a single desire, when it takes action, will be difficult to
control since other desires which are there will also back it up. Wisdom consists in
knowing what can happen in the future, though it has not taken place. We should not
try to understand a situation only when it has taken place, because then it has gone
out of hand. We should try to read the indications of the future by the present
conditions, using a process of logical deduction.
Therefore, conditions which are likely to stir up the activity of desire should be
avoided now itself. Anyone with a little bit of understanding will know what are those
conditions, inasmuch as we know what are the predominant desires in our mind. So,
avoid the conditions—external first, and internal afterwards. This is called vairagya,
really speaking: an avoidance of all those factors and conditions which are likely to
stimulate the mind towards enjoyment of sense. And, simultaneously, there should
be practice; this is abhyasa, which we mentioned earlier. Together with this
withdrawal of the mind from conditions which are likely to aggravate it in respect of
fulfilment of desire, there should be practice of meditation on the ideal that has been
chosen—namely, salvation of the soul.
The practice of yoga is an attempt of the mind to direct itself to the salvation of the
soul, ultimately—the moksha, or the ultimate freedom which it is aiming at—so that
it is doubly guarded in the practice. On one side, it has wrenched itself away from all
those aggravating conditions, and on the other side, it has fortified itself further by
an intensified concentration of itself on the great, glorious, magnificent goal which is
going to be its destination.