Mano Rahitya – A state of absence of mind
Shrine of Sri Vidyaganapati at the Sringeri temple : Source : Ekakshara on facebook
rahita – means without (something)
rAhitya – is a state of absence of (something).
manO rAhitya is a state attained by siddhAs after sufficient sAdhana or practice.
Sabari was a Siddha, Sramani and Tapodhana according to the Valmiki Ramayanam.
The Concept :
In Tat Tvam Asi, we have seen that ‘tat’ or That referring to the Brahman, is the same as ‘cit’ or consciousness. It is the cit that is the controller, and our bodies and the other stuff of the universe are instruments. It is the cit that is the jIva (life), the AtmA(self), the Brahman(the great), the paramAtma(the ultimate Self), the tat.. what maybe loosely and inadequately described as God.
The manas or mind seems to have no role but to sit and feel joy, pain and fear at all the circumstances that the manas and deha (body) are subjected to at the will or sankalpa of the cit.
A mind troubled by its circumstances cannot recognise that there is nothing that it can do, no way that it can influence anything and that the ‘cit’ or ‘tat’ is in control.
In their practice, the sAdhakAs train themselves to reach and stay in the Atmasthiti, or the self state., where the mind and all antahkaranas (inner senses) are still. At this time, their mind is said to dissolve into nothing and they experience the ananda (bliss) of the self. My Veda Guru tells me that some sAdhaks attain manO rAhitya and stay endlessly in that state, and some for smaller periods of time.
Those whose minds are completely destroyed in this process cannot even join their palms together or speak. Instead those whose minds are perfectly regulated and disciplined achieve greatness of the level of Sankaracharya or Swami Vivekananda. It is the ‘cit’ that decides, who goes which way.
What is the use of a mind that can do nothing and influence nothing?
The mind can be used by the ‘cit’ as per its sankalpa. The mind is as useful to the ‘cit’ as an operating system is to a computer user. But the mind will have to do what its told and if it starts feeling preferences, “I really wanted a blue desktop background” it will end up being unhappy.
The model is one of Parthasarathi. Here Sri Krishna who represents the ‘tat’ is given the reins of the chariot and the Arjuna who represents the ‘manas’ is happy to go where he is taken and do what he is told.
ahamkAra or ego comes in the way of this thinking.
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