బాహ్యానాలంబనం వృత్తేరేషోపరతిరుత్తమా ॥ 24॥
వృత్తేః = మనోవృత్తి, బాహ్యానాలమ్బనం - బాహ్యవస్తువుల విషయమున ప్రసరింపక పోవుట, ఏషా -ఇది., ఉత్తమా - ఉత్తమమైన, ఉపరతి - ఉపరతి.
చెరువులోనున్న నీరు చెరువునకుగల రంధ్రము ద్వారా బయటకు వెడలి క్షేత్రాద్యాకారమున పరిణమించును. అట్లే లోపల నున్న మనస్సు శ్రోత్రాదిచ్ఛిద్రముల ద్వారా బయటకు వెడలి శబ్దాది విషయాకారమున పరిణతి చెందును.
ఇట్టి పరిణతికే వృత్తి (అంతః కరణవృత్తి) యని పేరు. బాహ్యేంద్రియములను నిగ్రహింపగనే లోపలనున్న మనస్సు బైటకు వచ్చుటకుగాని, బాహ్యవిషయా కారమున పరిణమించుటకుగాని అవకాశముండదు అని భావము.
అవ- చిత్తమునకు బాహ్యవస్తువు సంబంధము లేనప్పుడు శీతోష్ణాది ద్వంద్వముల జ్ఞానముకూడ కలుగదు. ఒక వేళ కర్మవశము చేతను, కాలాదివశము చేతను, అట్టి జ్ఞానము కలిగినను, వాటిని సహించెడు శక్తి దీనికే తితిక్ష యని పేరు కలుగునని చెప్పుచున్నాడు.
bāhyānālambanaṃ vṛttērēṣōparatiruttamā ॥ 24॥
The water in a lake flows out through a canal into fields naturally. Similarly, our senses usually go outward attracted by sound, sight, smell, etc. This is called vritti whose roots are in the mind. When the senses are controlled, the mind is made steady and focused on the objective which is called uparati
Some pundits, like Sri Prabhupada, opine that Bhagavat Gita is all about devotion to Lord Krishna who delineates various methods to attain him. Why is Lord Krishna interested in giving the devotees the knowledge to escape from the birth-death cycle causing the cessation of the creation which he presided over?
There are two great forces that counter each other in the universe: gravity and dark energy. The former brings matter together. Greater the mass of the matter, greater the gravitational pull. A common example is our solar system. Dark energy is the opposite of gravity. Science tells us that the universe is expanding at an accelerated pace because of dark matter and dark energy that mysteriously enter the universe and push the various visible astral bodies like galaxies apart.
In the spiritual world, devotees function as gravity. They are attracted by the Lord. The non-devotees, sceptics, atheists and so on are repelled at the sight of the Lord. Thus, there is a tug-of-war going on in the spiritual world. The Lord is partial to the devotees and wants them to win this war. Hence he reveals the secrets that endear them to him.
There is another battle raging in the spiritual world between the forces of good and evil. Devas represent the good and asuras stand for evil. When the balance of dharma tilts towards asuras, Devas pray to the Lord and gain strength from him to defeat the asuras.
Yet another battle between good and evil is taking place in the material world. When evil dominates on earth, Lord Vishnu assumes a human form, destroys the evil and restores dharma. In other words, he saves his devotees from the destructive forces and protects them from evil by donning an avatar.
Uparati, therefore, is conceptually the battle between senses racing outward and mind drawing them inward. When the senses are totally uncontrolled, there is no telling the havoc they can wreak. The lives of addicts, gluttons stand as testimonials.Uparati is the process by which the mind gains control of the senses. Some meditate, others do hatha yoga, some do pooja to control the senses. Whatever method one chooses, one has to bring the cessation of vrittis which are the root cause emanating in the subconscious mind.
Some claim Adi Sankara is a saivaite and others as a vaishnavaite. What is the truth?
When you ask a saivaite about how creation happened, he would narrate a story about Siva-Sakti in artha naareeswara form who conceived the universe as a way to experience himself like sugar trying to taste itself. He says the universe is enveloped in all directions by Siva-Sakti which is like a magician or a dancer whose magic or dancing can't be apart from him. Therefore, Sakti is the attribute of Lord Siva that fulfills his desire to create.
A vaishnava, on the other hand, draws attention to Bhagavad Gita where Lord Krishna unequivocally declared himself as the creator, ruler and destroyer of the universe. The Sankhya philosophy was adopted by the vaishnavites to explain the process of creation from 24 tattvas:karma indriyas (senses), gnaana indriyas, tanmatras, pancha bhootas, purusha, prakruti, manas, budhi, ahamkaram, etc.
The argument that both Lords Siva and Vishnu create and rule the universe gives raise to two infinities. That is not permissible as there is only an infinity. Therefore, erecting walls between Lords Siva and Vishnu is a futile exercise. Whereas positing a brahman that is transcending them brings the various religious camps together. Thus, Adi Sankara, being a primary advaiti, established nirguna brahman , that has been mentioned in the vedas, as the ultimate source who assumed the forms of various gods.
