== BLIND ATTACHMENT & CONTROLLING MOHA VRTTI ==
Namaskar,
A modern man of this scientific age travels across the world to attend a
mela in Varanasi in hopes of getting salvation. A young mother drowns
her two children in order to entice her lover. Some of our esteemed
Dadas murder one of their fellow avadhutas.
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.
A teen-age boy kills his own father for taking away his computer. 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 these things & more happen each and every day around the world--
both inside and outside of our AM.
WHAT IS THE CAUSE?
Why do such things occur? As Baba tells us, a person's sense of right
and wrong gets tainted, clouded, or becomes totally lost due to their
blind attachment for a particular (a) land, (b) era, (c) person, or (d)
idea.
So many aches and pains, so many tears and sorrows, so many heartaches
and fights result from these types of blind attachment. As we know, this
tendency of mind, this mental vrtti, this blind attachment is termed
'moha' in Sanskrit.
And Baba says, of all the bondages and fetters, this 'moha' vrtii is the
worst type of attachment.
Baba says, "Of all bonds, the bond of duty is the strongest, and the
bond of moha [blind attachment or infatuation] is the worst. Humanity
will have to break the bonds of moha and increase the bonds of duty
willingly and consciously. This is the law." (NKS: Disc 13)
MOHA VRTTI SPOILS HUMAN INTELLECT
As human beings, one of our greatest gifts-- one of our most precious
treasures-- is our rational mind, our sense of vivek, our logic and
reasoning. For it is this aspect of our intellect that enables us to
decipher what to do and what not to do in this world. If nothing else,
our aim should be to always keep the mind in a balanced state-- not
swayed in any direction-- so that our sense of rationality remains
pristine and pure. Then and only then will we be truly able to serve
humanity and follow Baba.
Unfortunately, day in and day out, this 'moha' vrtii affects our
judgment and we act in ways that are unbecoming of a human being, of an
Ananda Margii. To some or more degree it happens to everyone, because
this moha vrtti is extremely difficult to control. Some vrttis are
easier to manage, but the 'moha' vrtti is quite tough.
MOHA VRTTI EXPRESSES IN FOUR WAYS
As already noted above, according to Baba, the 'moha' vrtti, or blind
attachment, takes hold of us in one of four ways.
(1) BLIND ATTACHMENT TO PLACE / DESHAGATA MOHA:
A person becomes attached to a particular place or land and this leads
them to declare that place as holy, or bar others from entering their
land, or so many things can happen. Each and every day blood spills in
the Middle East due to this type of blind attachment. And in our Marga,
also due to this deshagat moha vrtti, some have declared the dogmatic
program of mahaprayan to be something sacred-- all because they want to
glorify Kolkata. Thus due to their blind attachment for a particular
land, i.e. deshagata moha, people lose their sense of rationality and do
all kinds of senseless things. If they were to see others doing these
same things they would condemn that person. But when they themselves do
such actions it is justified in their own minds. That is what happens
when one suffers from any type of blind attachment.
(2) BLIND ATTACHMENT TO TIME / KA'LAGATA MOHA:
Many people become attached to a particular span of time or a specific
era. When thinking about that period they lose their sense of logic and
reasoning and they just glorify each and every aspect of that era.
For example, one might say that, 'During the days of the British empire,
everyone always had a full plate to eat every evening', or one might
say, 'Back when I was in high school, everyone scored 100% on all the
tests'. These are examples of illogical and false statements that people
make because they are infatuated with a particular span of time. For
that reason they totally lose their sense of rationality and vivek. When
evaluating another span of time they may have all their cognitive
faculties in tact, but if they are attached to the era of the British
raj or their own high school career, then when speaking about those
eras, their entire sense of discrimination is gone.
For example, someone in a particular group might declare that in the
days when Sarvatmananda was in power, then everything in our Marga was
perfect and no one was expelled and no AM book was distorted. Certain
people may speak in this ridiculous & false manner. All because they are
blindly attached to that particular time when their favoured group was
at the helm.
(3) BLIND ATTACHMENT TO PERSON
The blind attachment for a particular person is quite common all around
the globe. Most often it presents itself as lustful desires. For
example, when anyone is infatuated with a member of the opposite sex,
then they may think that even that person's crude mannerisms are sweet
and joyful. Or one might even excuse being beaten or cheated by that
person because they are so sexually allured with that individual. This
happens both in and out of AM. Due to sexual lust, people lose their
rationality. For crude sex, various AM sannyasis have blatantly gone
against their oath to Baba.
Then of course, this vrtti can express in other ways also. Army soldiers
may commit heinous crimes because of their attachment to their commander
who has given them the crude order.
Basically, this aspect of moha vrtti results whenever someone loses
their sense of judgment due to their blind attachment for a particular
person. It is a common occurrence.
(4) BLIND ATTACHMENT TO IDEA / A'DHA'RAGATA MOHA
The attachment to idea is broader in scope. A Dada may be attached to
the idea of holding a particular post; a schoolboy may be attached to
the idea of having an internet connection in his room; a businessman may
be attached to the idea that he should be the wealthiest landowner in
the area; a woman may be attached to the idea that all men must be
attracted to her etc.
Then in order to satisfy that blind attachment: A Dada will knowingly go
against the tenets of neo-humanism to get that post at any cost; or a
schoolboy might steal money out of his mother's purse to install an
internet connection in his room; or a businessman might strong-arm poor
families in order to capture their property; or a woman may walk around
town half-naked in order to get all the men to stare at her.
In sum, whatever idea one may blindly harbor-- whatever a'dha'ragata
moha one may suffer from-- then one will do all kinds of crude or
mean-minded acts in order to fulfill their desire.
And verily Baba outlines all of the above quite clearly in one of His
discourses-- and the relevant section of that very discourse has been
appended below in the note following the signature.
BABA'S SOLUTION
Now that we know and can easily recognise how this moha vrtti freezes
our human intellect and causes people to act in irrational ways on a
daily basis, then it becomes all the more urgent to overcome this
negative tendency of mind-- to free oneself from any and all blind
attachments.
Here let us go directly to Baba's words for the answer.
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)
Thus as Baba guides us, the only way to overcome the moha vrtti is to be
very sincere in sadhana and spiritual practices. Because only when the
mind is pointed on Parama Purusa will one forget about their blind
attachments. So sadhana alone is the answer.
Unfortunately, in the name of sadhana, sometimes people just succumb to
thinking about their blind attachments when sitting for meditation. When
practicing their so-called shuddhis, they may be thinking about the girl
they want to marry, or the job they want to get, or the money they want
to accumulate, or whatever their blind attachment may be. In that case,
their blind attachment only binds them further.
That is why Baba warns us so severely about moha. Because it is the
toughest vrtti to overcome as it takes over one's entire mental plate
and robs a person of their vivek & rational thinking.
Sometimes, as Baba points out, people try to overcome moha through
mandates, laws, and regulations. One camp may declare, 'That no group
should fight over the post', or 'No innocent margii should be expelled ,
or 'BP rights should be upheld' etc, but all such declarations just blow
away in the wind. Because rules alone cannot help one to overcome their
own blind attachment for power and control.
As Baba rightly says, only ideation on Parama Purusa is the answer. That
is the only cure from freeing oneself from any blind attachment.
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace we will get success in life and not fall prey to any
blind attachment. As prevalent and as strong as the moha vrtti may be,
due to His cosmic pull, we will not get trapped or blinded by any crude
desire, and instead we will march bravely and benevolently towards Him.
Baba says, "The very wont of the microcosms is to attain liberation by
snapping all their fetters. The only way to do that is to come within
the shelter of Parama Purus'a. There is no other way – Na'nya pantha'
vidyate yana'ya." (AMIWL-11)
Namaskar,
Phanindra
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)
