== BLIND ATTACHMENT & CONTROLLING MOHA VRTTI ==
~ PART 2 ~
Namaskar,
So many problems and pains in this world are caused by moha vrtti-- i.e. one's blind attachment for a particular object or allurement etc. This is not something that occurs just once in a blue moon or very infrequently. Rather, this disease affects so many people each and every day, both inside and outside of AM.
Blind attachment to post, money, the opposite sex, and prestige, among others, commonly manifest in so many ways on a daily level. And, in particular, in this vaeshyan era when money is tops, then due to their blind attachment for money people go against their very existence-- against the things that (really do) matter most in their lives.
All because blind attachment, any type of blind attachment, makes a person totally irrational and impulsive, utterly forgetting their true aims in life.
HOW BLIND ATTACHMENT TO MONEY INVITES DELUSION
This moha vrtti and money are highly interlinked-- it dominates people's personal routine and can wreak havoc on their life.
For instance, in this vaeshyan era, a father or mother may overlook spending time with their young children and instead work extra hours in the evening or on the weekends in order to make more money. Yet if you ask them what is the most precious thing in their life, they will say, 'my children'. But that most precious thing gets forgotten in the wake of earning more money.
And this moha vrtti for money-- i.e. blind attachment for money-- captures so many people.
What about this one: Often times even Ananda Margiis may skip their sadhana lessons and asanas and just go running off to their job. Even though we have this sacred duty to Guru to do our sadhana regularly, for the sake of money even this most important practice gets left by the wayside.
And the examples do not stop there. A policeman's chief responsibility is to catch criminals, yet that same officer may accept a bribe and let criminals go free because of the allurement of money.
Furthermore, lawyers may go against the interests of justice in order to get more cash put in their pocket. They know their wealthy client is guilty of tax evasion or even murder, yet because that lawyer is going to collect a hefty fee from their client, he will work night and day to have their guilty person be declared as 'innocent.'
Doctors may even use short-cut approaches or perform surgeries that are unnecessary or even harmful in order to take in extra income. They are willing to go against the ethics of their profession and the welfare of the patient in order to fatten their income.
A man may be so involved in money-making that he may totally overlook the personal and emotional needs of his spouse, thereby leading to a divorce.
So this moha vrtti,or blind attachment, makes a person veer away from the main essence of their life. Whether they disregard their loving family, their cherished career, or threaten to put their very existence in jail-- all of this happens due to the strong pull of moha vrtii. That temptation and desire rattles their mental balance and makes money loom larger than everything else in their life. That is the menagerie or delusion they get swept up in. When in truth, ultimately there are so many other things in their life that are more important to them than money. But due to the intoxication of moha vrtti, they do not realise it.
MORE CASES OF MOHA VRTII
A modern man of this scientific age travels across the world to attend a mela in Varanasi in hopes of getting salvation. The man knows not to fall prey to superstition; he knows that so many of the religions preach falsehoods that contravene science. All these things he knows. Then why does he go? Because his own religious dogma-- his blind eye to that religion-- kidnaps his logical and rational mind. That is the overpowering effect of moha vrtti.
A young mother drowns her two children in order to entice her lover. The mother loves those kids more than anything else in the world. But due to moha vrtti, due to her fanatical allurement of the opposite sex, lost in the myriad of that attchment, she will destroy her own children. That is the overpowering effect of moha vrtti.
Some of our esteemed Dadas murder one of their fellow avadhutas. They are well aware about the tenets of neo-humanism. They know their oath to Guru includes watching for the welfare of everyone-- and not inflicting harm on anyone. And those same Dadas will gives lecture about how important it is to respect and love all beings. Yet due to the fire of groupism-- due to then blind allegiance to a particular group, those Dadas will go against the very values for which they have dedicated their lives, and commit cold-blooded murder on their fellow avadhuta. Such is the over-powering effect of moha vrtti.
A young professional sleeps with his best-friend's wife. A multi-millionaire is unwilling to help his elderly mother purchase a simple lamp to place by her bed. An AM sannyasi does all sorts of shenanigans to gain the post of SS.
All the above occur due to the intoxicating and mind-numbing effect of moha vrtti.
A teen-age boy kills his own father for taking away his computer. He knows killing a person means going to jail, but in the intoxication of having an internet connection in his room so that he can do his gaming-- due to the extreme pull of moha vrtti, he kills his father. So that vrtii ruins a person of all sensibility. Because now the boy will have to be sent to a detention center-- he will not have that internet connection in his room. All these consequences he was aware about ahead of time. Even then, due to moha vrtii, he killed his father.
A Bhukti Pradhan forbids certain innocent margiis from attending dharmacakra and calls the police on them. A schoolteacher molests one of her young, tender students. A retired, university-educated man laments how the world has gone to hell and that things were better in his day when women and blacks were not allowed to vote.
All of the above occur also due to the alluring and intoxicating effect of one's blind attachment. Such is the overpowering effect of moha vrtti. It robs a person of all reason and logic. They totally lose their rational judgment.
So we all must be most alert & guard against all instances of moha vrtti.
MAY NOT EVEN REALISE THEIR MISTAKE IN THIS LIFE
One other thing to be aware of is that moha vrtti does not leave overnight. Once one gets sucked into the trap of moha vrtti, then it will swallow them up for a long, long time. Maybe even their entire life. This is especially the case with money, post, power, and prestige etc.
If one gets drowned by sexual lust with a member of the opposite sex, that may last one month or 5-8 years, but usually not the whole life since that person will lose their beauty.
Whereas, when people are drunk in the allurement of post, power, money and prestige, that intoxication can go on for decades-- right up to their very death and beyond.
A person may realise their blindness when they are on their death-bed, but by then that moha vrtti has already devoured their life.
So this moha vrtti is something that should be taken very seriously. Especially as sadhakas, we must be especially careful not to let it express in our lives. Even then vigilance alone is not enough, rather a strong spiritual approach is needed.
THE ONLY WAY OUT
Here Baba clearly gives the key solution for overcoming and controlling moha vrtti.
Baba says, "The only way to free oneself from the clutches of infatuation is to superimpose the ideation of indifference and divert one’s mental thoughts towards Parama Purus'a. It may be possible to control this propensity of wild fascination temporarily by intimidation or by enacting laws, but only temporarily. Those who believe in the equal distribution of the world’s wealth, naively underestimate the power of moha vrtti. The human mind can be sublimated only by spiritual ideation, not by any high-sounding philosophy. This utopian idea has proved ineffective in the past and in the present and will continue to prove so in the future." (APH-8)
According to Baba, sadhana is the only way to keep the mind free from falling prey to moha vrtti.
In many countries and lands, harsh rules and laws are put in place against things like embezzlement, adultery, rape, etc, but these regulations can never keep the mind clear of such thoughts. That is why wherever such laws exist, those crimes & degrading behaviour are rampant.
So again, the only way to overcome moha vrtti is through our diligence in sadhana. By redirecting or channelising the mind towards Parama Purusa, towards that singular point, then the mind will be less and less affected by the degrading tendencies like moha vrtti.
BABA'S GRACE
Baba says, "'By surrendering all the colours of my mind to You, I want to become colourless.' This surrender to the Supreme Consciousness propels human beings towards Him. So this colour festival is not merely an outward play; it is purely a psycho-spiritual phenomenon. This very psycho-spiritual phenomenon is operating behind the process of varn'a'rghyada'na [offering of colours]: 'O Lord, make me colourless so that I may move towards You without any hesitation'." (NH-LOI)
Namaskar,
Gagan
Note: BABA'S DISCOURSE ON MOHA VRTII
Here below is Baba's original passage about blind attachment, or moha vrtti. The below is an excerpt from His discourse, 'The Acoustic Roots of the Indo-Aryan Alphabet'.
Baba says, "Na is the acoustic root of moha vrtti [blind attachment or infatuation]. This propensity of blind attachment is usually divided into the four categories of time, space, idea and individuality. When one loses one’s rationality out of blind attachment for one’s country,
it is called deshagata moha, “geo-sentiment”. People who live in a country where not even a blade of grass grows, where people die of starvation, and which imports huge quantities of food grains from other countries, become so infatuated with their country that they say it has
an abundance of water, has a bountiful fruit harvest, and is a net exporter of food to other countries."
"Ka'lagata moha is blind attachment for a particular period of time. One becomes so attached to a certain period of time that one is unable to discern its positive or negative aspects. Some people complain that the behaviour of the present generation of children is disappointing. They say that when they were young they could easily digest iron pans, but the present generation has trouble digesting even water! They lament the great misfortune that has befallen the present age."
"When a particular idea has a strong impact on mind, the mind rushes towards it again and again. Thieves, in the shock of the moment, always make a quick getaway from the scene of the crime. Later, however, they brood repeatedly about the place, and often return, straight into the hands of the police! A person who uses an object for a long time develops a fascination for that object. This is called a'dha'ragata moha [fascination for an object]. There are many rich people who have a strange weakness for some old, battered object such as a rickety chair with one arm broken off. I know a story about how a pretty pot made of bell-metal was the cause of a bitter quarrel among the daughters-in-law of a certain family, so bitter that it led to the eventual break-up of the family. Na is the acoustic root of moha vrtti."
"The only way to free oneself from the clutches of infatuation is to superimpose the ideation of indifference and divert one’s mental thoughts towards Parama Purus'a. It may be possible to control this propensity of wild fascination temporarily by intimidation or by enacting laws, but only temporarily. Those who believe in the equal distribution of the world’s wealth, naively underestimate the power of moha vrtti. The human mind can be sublimated only by spiritual ideation, not by any high-sounding philosophy. This utopian idea has proved ineffective in the past and in the present and will continue to prove so in the future." (APH-8)
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BABA SAYS
"Along with the theory of spiritual inheritance one Cosmic Ideology will have to be adopted and that ideology is that one Supreme Entity-- the Cosmic Entity-- is the goal of all living beings. This spiritual sentiment will keep human beings united for all time to come. No other theory can save the human race." (To The Patriots)
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