EMOTION

By

Achala Bhakthan

The stimuli input coming from the world of matter outside of us generates some changes in our Mind-set.  We are either pleased or grieved.  Both are EMOTIONS.  Pleasure i a positive emotion and Grief is a negative emotion.  Every event, as per scientific law as well as philosophical tenets, is governed by the “cause and effect” theory.  If so, are the above emotions a cause or effect?  If it is a cause, it must create an effect.  If it is an effect, then there must be a cause behind it.   Pleasure or grief cannot come from anywhere.   They are not unrelated.  They must be related to something and therefore they cannot be cause but effect.  If so, what is the cause of these emotions?  Let us examine.

When do you get these emotions or which generates these emotions?   Some event happens which generates these emotions, isn’t it?  You get the news that your wife has given birth to a baby boy and you are pleased.  You come to know of a death of a near one and you are grieved. To site a few more examples, Sucess and Failure, Praise and Insult, Good Health and Sickness are a few more sets of pair of events, which create pleasure and grief.    But have you analysed why the first one creates a pleasure and the second one a grief?  First one is a gain and the second is a loss.  Therefore, you get pleasure in gains and grief in losses.   Thus ‘Gain’ and ‘Loss’ are the causes here..  Thus you have spotted the cause for these emotions.  Let us look at these words.  What is Pleasure and Grief?  Are they tangible objects?  Are they external or internal?  Are they achievable at free will?  They are feelings originating within you.  Thus EMOTION can be explained as FEELING.   What is this feeling?  It is an inner experience of a status generated by the cause.  Our mind goes through a transformation temporarily affected by an event.  This is called Feeling or Emotion, which can be positive or negative depending upon the cause.  What impressions are left over by these feelings? Are they healthy?  Do they help us to evolve or progress?

Viewing from the materialistic plain, Pleasure leaves an impression of ‘Happiness’ and Grief leaves an impression of “Sorrow” in our Mind.  Thus, they both are by-products of these two feelings, leaving an impression, which get registered in our memory as an experienced feeling which help us to equate with other similar feelings from events that may happen in future.  Thus Happiness and Sorrow are the impressions left over by the Pleasure and Grief feelings. To answer the next question, let us analyse them still deeply.  Happiness makes us desire more and makes us run for more and more happiness.  Thus, in one way it motivates us for further action and in another it makes us restless, as we have to thrive more.  Grief makes us depressed and de-motivates us from engaging in further actions of similar nature.  More action makes us tired and no action makes us dull. Both are bad because they create mental instability or weakness. This is the Mind-set that we ultimately shape up through these emotions or feelings. Similarly all feelings do result in such a status of Mind.This leads us to the conclusion that both positive and negative emotions are unhealthy since they create a ripple or disturbance in the mind..  Someone may argue that pleasure in excess only creates grief and pleasure is conducive for progress.  Yes.  Materialistically viewed, it is correct.  But we should not lose site that pleasure is not permanent (not lasting for ever).  To make the pleasure a permanent one, we have to struggle to get more and more pleasure, seeking which will tire our mind.  We have to retain what we have and to do so, we have to continuously plan and work towards it.  This leads us to strain, which in turn makes the mind unstable.

The third question needs a deeper analysis. Evolution or Progress depends on the mental health.   No evolution or progress is possible with an unhealthy mind.   A disturbed mind is a devil’s workshop. It always runs after Happiness and runs away from Sorrow.  Thus, in both cases it never gets settled or become quite, which is absolutely essential for evolution or progress.  Progress is again a status of mind.  A mind, which is quite creates waves which move towards the goal.  Looking at the question from another angle, Past Emotions are called Impressions left over by the experience.  Present Emotions are called the Experience and the future Emotions are called Anxiety.  Future emotions, in the form of anxiety, are generated by our imagination of a result for an event in the future, about which we have no knowledge now.  Thus, Emotions (whether past, present or future) are, by nature, unhealthy as they are causing mental disequilibrim.

Similarly, KAMA, KRODHA, LOBHA, MOHA, MADHA, MATSARYA etc are the by products of Emotions.  Therefore, if you don’t allow the emotions enter your mind, these six negative tendencies are automatically annihilated.  An emotionless mind is said to be at peace, which will lead us to the practice of Mano Niyanthranam.  Let me hasten to add “Mono Nigraha” is not the aim of Vedanta but “Mano Niyathranam”.  That is the mind should be under your control. Do not be a slave to the Mind.  Mano Nigraham is a status that you experience in Samadhi, that too till samadhi continues. This status is automatically achieved once you are in Samadhi. The moment you come out of this Samadhi status (i.e. to consciousness), mind also arises because it is the by-product of ‘Ego’.   So far as you live in human body the Ego will exist, but you should practice to keep the Ego under control for which Samabhava and Sama Dhrishti are the practices prescribed.   Non-attachment at body, mind and intellectual level is the sadhana one should practice to keep the mind under control. For Mano Niyanthranam,  Pooja, Japa, Dhyana, Namasankeerthana are the methods prescribed in Kaliyuga.  Do these practices without the feeling “I am doing”.  That is more important.  Otherwise, the Ego is prominent there.

What I have referred to as “Happiness” is not the impermanent pleasure but ever-permanent pleasure that we can enjoy without any break and this experience is not in the mind.  That is the real Happiness that all human beings must aim at. Now, the question is how to achieve permanent Happiness, isn’t it?

Permanent Happiness – ANANDA – is experienced only when there is no mind., since mind is the seat of all emotions, we must keep away from emotions which are the product of stimuli brought from outside of us.  Any type of emotion/feeling arises at the mental level and due to ignorance we identify ourselves with the mind, with what is going on in the mind.  How to win over the mind?  Very simple, never own the mind.  Never identify with what is going on in the mind.  Ignore it.  Like a child - ignored by the father at its mischevious activities but sitting as a mere witness to its doings - coming to the father slowly and sitting on his lap, so also if you ignore the mind and what is going on in it, if you do not identify with it, then the mind will sink and disappear.  You need not do any tapas or perform any yagna.  Concentrate on the mind and watch what is happening there and do not attach yourself with it, be a witness only.   It will automatically disappear in due course.  No one can explain beyond this.  It has to be practiced.  I am writing from my own experience.  You may ask a question, if we stay without mind, no activity will take place.  Yes.  You are correct so far as you are concerned since you identify with the activities.  Activities will go on and the only difference is you are not there in the activity as your identity with it is gone.  You will stay apart from ownership of activity but only as a witness.  Watch the activity, do not own or get attached.  You have then won over your mind.

Doing away with emotions will bring you the HAPPINESS – ANANDA – that you long for but only after a rigorous practice for quite some time, depending on the strength of the emotions that now contol you.  To become emotionless is not equivalent to JADA as some one put it.  It is rising to FULLNESS instead.   Once you win over your mind and bring it under your control, your path to Realisation is easy, since practice of Dhyana (Meditation) and getting laya with the SELF is achieved in a mindless status only.  As Dhyana (Meditation) is a full-lenth subject and as it is already dealt with separately by me in my website "aatmeekam", I am not going further.  Also the subject taken up for this discussion is only “Emotion”.  Hence, let me end the topic here with the prayer:

May you achieve Mano Niyanthran by practicing the above!

                                                                OM TAT SAT