from the pleasure-seeking mind to the discerning intelligence, memory
no longer digs pits of old habit for us to fall into but becomes our true
guru by guiding us toward perfect knowledge and behavior.
By purifying memory, we purify our whole mind. For an average
person, memory is a past state of mind. For the yogi, it is a present
state of mind. We should not forget that memory records everything.
Memory is useless if it brings about a repetition of the past that im
pedes the process of our evolution. But memory is useful if it helps to
prepare you for the future and even necessary if you use it to develop.
Memory is a continuous profit and loss account through which we
can see whether we are receding or proceeding. By sorting out
wanted from unwanted memory, we allow new experiences to sur
face. The whole of the useful past is now at our present disposition.
Memory ceases to function as a separate entity and merges with con
sciousness. Patanjali said that when memory is cleansed completely,
the mind drops like the ripe fruit and consciousness shines in its
purest form. By this I mean that when memory serves as a spur to
perfect present action without taint, then it is acting in its intended
form. A cleansed memory is one that does not contain undigested
emotions from the unconscious but that deals with feelings in the pre
sent as they arise.
Imagination too can work either to our benefit or to our detriment.
It is undoubtedly the greatest gift to human beings. But the Sanskrit
word vikalpa also means fantasy or delusion. Without steady applica
tion, even the most inspiring flights of imagination must remain impo
tent, devoid of reality. If a scientist has an idea, he may have to labor
for years, experimenting, analyzing, and checking in order to bring it
to fruition, to make it concrete. A writer may dream of the plot for a
new novel, but unless he applies himself to pen and paper, his ideas
have no value. A callow youth once said to a great poet, "I have a mar
velous idea for a new poem." The poet replied cuttingly, "Poems are
II K S IV 1'. N li II It