Weakening intrusive thoughts
Using Dhyaan to weaken the subtle kleshas
Tip: If you are new to this newsletter, you may find it helpful to review the following articles before proceeding.
Om Sri Gurubhyo Namah. Salutations to all the teachers.
“You clean your mind by watching it relentlessly. Inattention obscures, attention clarifies.”
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
Yoga is defined as the mastery over the vrittis - the movements of the mind. The vrittis can be klishta or aklishta - coloured, or uncoloured. Klishta-vrittis directly result in suffering, while aklishta-vrittis do not.
There are five types of vritti - knowledge, error, imagination, deep sleep, and memory. These can be coloured with one or more of the five kleshas - primal ignorance, “I am”-ness, attraction, aversion, and fear of discontinuity.
In order to master the vrittis, we must first clear the kleshas. Otherwise, as a result of the kleshas, we become identified with the movements of the mind. For example, if sadness appears in the mind, we think “I am sad.” Likewise, if anger appears in the mind, we think “I am angry.” If an idea appears in the mind, we think “this is my idea.” Most dangerous of all, the mental image of “me” appears in the mind, and we think “this is me.”
We most often identify with one of these movements, which appears as a voice in our head that talks to us, sometimes in the first person a la “I can’t believe I said that”, and sometimes in the second person “how could you have done such a thing.”
If you think about it for a moment, you will notice that the perception of the body is just another mental movement, coloured with the klesha of asmita, or “I am”-ness. We identify strongly with this perception, because of its ubiquity in our experience. As a result of the klesha, when it is threatened, we feel fear, anger, sadness, and all kinds of other suffering.
Given that these kleshas result in suffering, the Yogi’s goal is to clear the mind of these colourings.
Recap
Over the past few weeks, we have been discussing Dhyaan, or meditation - the seventh limb of Patanjali’s eight-limbed Yoga. Dhyaan is not a separate practice, but rather a deepening of the sixth limb - Dhaaranaa, or concentration. At first, the attention is brought to an object, called the aalambanaa, or support. When (not if) the attention wanders, it is gently brought back to the aalambanaa, and this process is repeated in order to build up sattva. You can experience sattva can be experienced when you notice, in a flash, that the mind has wandered, and decide to bring it back to the aalambanaa.
Eventually, when the sattva has become sufficient, the attention “sticks” to the aalambanaa, and the flow of attention becomes constant. This is called Dhyaan. The difference between Dhaaranaa and Dhyaan can be compared to the difference between an interrupted trickle of water and a smooth, steady flow of honey, respectively.
Dhyaan is an important tool in the Yogi’s toolkit, in that it is used to weaken the kleshas, moving them from the tanu, or weak state to prasupta, or dormant state.
Using Dhyaan to weaken the subtle kleshas
The traditional commentators compare the process of clearing kleshas to the stepwise process of cleaning a dirty cloth. At first, the bigger pieces of dirt are removed by shaking the cloth. Then, the cloth is soaked in water, removing the smaller pieces. Finally, to remove the finest pieces of dirt, the cloth is rubbed with soap.1
Similarly, in Yoga, at first the kleshas are strong (ie. udaar), and are weakened with the preliminary techniques of eka-tattva-abhyaas, the Brahmavihaaras, and the six techniques. Then, Kriya Yoga is used to weaken them even further. Next, Dhyaan, or meditation, is used to weaken them to seed form, and finally Samaadhi is used to destroy their potential to reappear in the future.
ध्यानहेयास्तद्वृत्तयः॥DhyaanaHeyaasTadVrittayahTheir vrittis [ie. those mental movements generated by the kleshas] are destroyed by Dhyaan (ie. meditation).
- Yoga Sutra, 2.11
When we practice the initial techniques of Yoga, we will find that over time, our suffering reduces to some degree. The mind feels calmer, clearer, and generally happier. However, there will still be times when we feel irritated, upset, angry, and so on. As an aside, the Yamas and Niyamas are a great way to keep track of how these mental movements affect day-to-day actions.
There comes a point where the Yogi may feel that they have made it, and that the kleshas are all gone. This feeling is most likely a manifestation of bhraanti-darshan, one of the obstacles to Yoga, and is the result of the fact that the kleshas have become more subtle than the Yogi’s current powers of perception. Ram Dass sums up this phenomenon beautifully in a quote that is apt for the holiday season:
“If you think you’re enlightened go spend a week with your family.”
- Ram Dass
Realising this, the Yogi must then further fine-tune their attention so as to be able to address the subtle forms of these kleshas in the mind.
The eight-limbs can be compared to the process of sharpening a knife. A sharp knife is useless sitting on a shelf. Sharpening a knife is only useful insofar as it can be used to cut something. In the same way, the eight-limbs help to fine-tune the power of attention, but ultimately it must be used to some practical end.
P: Ok, so once the kleshas have become subtle, I can use Dhyaan to weaken them even more?
Jogi: Exactly.
P: But how should I use Dhyaan to weaken the kleshas? What is the method?
The method to weaken the kleshas using dhyaan is known as smriti. The word smriti (pronounced smrih-tee) literally means “memory”, and is also one of the five types of vrittis, or mental whirlpools. In this context, it refers to a quality of mindfulness, or awareness, as well as an intentional remembrance of things that agitate the mind.
Specifically, this can be done in two ways:
Noticing distracting vrittis during your regular practice of Dhaaranaa
Intentionally allowing, or cultivating, agitating thoughts
This week, we will discuss the first technique, and next week we will build upon this with the latter.
Noticing distracting vrittis during Dhaaranaa
In the first method, simply practice Dhaaranaa with your aalambanaa as you normally would. If your aalambanaa is the breath, bring your attention to the breath. If it is a mantra, bring your attention to the mantra. Then, when a distracting thought arises, catch a hold of it with your attention, and notice the kleshas colouring it. Is it coloured with attraction or aversion? Is it coloured with “I am”-ness or fear? Watch it carefully, with curiosity, and lean into it with the entire weight of your attention. Then allow it to fall away, and watch carefully as it disappears back into the darkness from which it appeared.
P: Wait a second, if I’ve reached the stage of Dhyaan, won’t I be so absorbed in my aalambanaa that there won’t be any distracting thoughts?
Jogi: Dhyaan is not a stage, but a limb. Every time you practice Dhyaan, you are necessarily beginning with Dhaaranaa. And, every time you practice Dhaaranaa, there will, by definition, always be distracting thoughts.
P: So then if there are distracting thoughts, how can I use Dhyaan?
Jogi: Dhyaan happens when there is sufficient sattva in the mind to allow you to lean in with the entire weight of your attention. This practice is only possible once you can practice Dhyaan on your aalambanaa. Only then can you use it on other vrittis.
P: So then what should I do?
Jogi: First of all, this technique is only possible if you are able to get the mind to “stick” to the aalambanaa during your regular practice, and are able to do so on a regular basis. Is this the case?
P: Yes, I use the breath for my aalambanaa, and I am able to get my mind to stick to the breath without wandering almost every time I practice.
Jogi: Ok. In the beginning of your practice, do you first have a period where the mind wanders, and you bring it back to the breath repeatedly?
P: Yes, this is Dhaaranaa. But then eventually it deepens into Dhyaan, and my attention sticks to the breath, within a single sitting.
Jogi: Ok. Next time you practice, instead of bringing it back to the aalambanaa, become aware of the distracting thoughts at this stage. Notice the kleshas covering the vrittis as they arise, and “lean in” to the vritti as you would normally “lean in” to the breath. Don’t try to keep the thought alive by adding additional thoughts to it, just apply Dhyaan to it until it naturally falls away.
By practicing this technique, the kleshas covering the vritti will start to become weaker, until they eventually become dormant (aka prasupta).
To make this clear, let us use an example scenario:
You sit for your practice, in your Aasana, and practice some Praanaayaam, then withdraw your senses using Pratyaahaar. You then bring your mind to the breath, your aalambanaa.2
The mind wanders, and you return it to the breath, as is your regular practice.
Again, the mind wanders. This time you notice carefully where it has wandered off to. Thoughts about your next meal have arisen in the mind. You cooked it and kept it in the fridge, and you are looking forward to eating it after you are done meditating.
You notice that the vritti is a vikalp-vritti (ie. imagination vritti), and that it is coloured with raag (ie. attraction).
You then “lean in” to this vritti. This doesn’t mean that you start to cultivate the thought or add to it by thinking about how you will prepare it, whether you will put it in the microwave or the oven, how well you cooked it, how proud of yourself you are for cooking, and so on. Rather, you lean in to the vritti itself, as it is, with a curiosity. To use an analogy, it is less like looking at a clock to see the time, and more like looking at a clock to appreciate the beauty of its inner workings, and how these inner workings manifest themselves as the ticking hands.
After some observation, the vritti becomes less intense, and then disappears, like an ebbing wave.
At this point, return the mind to the breath.
The mind is automatically drawn towards vrittis upon which the kleshas are strong. Another way to say this is that as long as kleshas are active, klishta-vrittis where the kleshas are stronger arise in the mind more often than klishta-vrittis where the kleshas are weaker.
These kinds of thoughts are often termed “troublesome” or “intrusive” thoughts, because they arise in the mind without any intentional desire to bring them up. They simply come and go as they please, and it feels like we have no control over them.
By practising this technique using the four keys to practice, the Yogi can get to know their own tendencies, and is able to weaken the kleshas to the point that they no longer arise without the action of the buddhi (ie. intentional action).
What’s more, as attention becomes more refined through this practice, you can start to see thought patterns that were once not visible at all. This can be compared to a muddy river with fish. At first, the mud is so thick, that it seems like there are no fish. Then, as the mud starts to clear, the fish become visible. When this happens, use the same technique to clear these subtle thought patterns.
Eventually, thoughts will no longer intrude like unwanted guests. However, weak or previously suppressed kleshas will persist. The next step is to address these more subtle thought patterns. Freedom from intrusive thoughts certainly gives the Yogi a feeling of sustained peace, but there is still further to go on the journey to the Self.
Until next time:
Continue your practice of Dhaaranaa, increasing the length of your practice by an additional five minutes.
If you are able to get to a state of Dhyaan with some regularity, try practicing the technique discussed today in order to weaken the klishta-vrittis.
Either way, take note of the klishta-vrittis that arise automatically during Dhaaranaa, and see if you can discern any patterns.
Next time: Weakening even subtler kleshas with Dhyaan
For some traditional commentators, there is a further step here. In order to remove the dirt altogether, the cloth itself must be burnt. This is compared to the dropping of the praarabdha karma with the body, after death, while for others this step is the complete de-identification with the bodymind, or the destruction of avidya, resulting in jivanmukti (Freedom while living).
This example uses the breath, but it can be any aalambanaa at all.