What does it mean to Purify the Mind?

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The ultimate purpose behind the innumerable lifetimes we’ve all held on this relative plane is to make the mind one-pointed. This journey itself is spiritual growth. It is the illusory act of consciousness unraveling its true nature throughout lifetimes, which otherwise would not have been possible without its hidden power of Maya.

A one-pointed mind means keeping attention on a single point without veering away due to distractions from thoughts. It is thoughts that make up the mind, and by entertaining them, we become a thinker (ego). This creates the illusion of duality, i.e. of there being a separate self that experiences this and that. But if attention remains on itself (without attending outward), then there is no such thing as duality. The mind in this case is pure and is none other than the self since attention in this case remains unbroken, i.e. it doesn’t drift anywhere else other than being on its own pure self.

So what causes us to attend to thoughts? There are many concepts which help explain this hidden attraction. Vasanas is one such term. This concept is explained as tendencies that lay dormant in a state of potentiality that is yearned to be expressed as a manifestation. In layman terms, this is just a way to explain the imaginary force that keeps awareness immersed in its own dream superimposed on itself.  Therefore, it is vasanas that externalizes the mind and causes us to transition identities from consciousness to a jiva who now thinks and acts. This doesn’t imply that Brahman and Jiva are separate entities. It is just Brahman taking on a false identity that it imagines (i.e. Brahman seemingly turning into a Jiva while still being its own pure self). This is similar to you dreaming up a world of infinite forms when you sleep at night, while you (the dreamer), remains detached and unaffected by the contents of the dream.

It is also the nature of Rajas and Tamas that externalizes the pure mind. These are more concepts we can introduce to help explain why the mind attends outward. So how do we reverse all of this and remain fixed in what we originally were (and always are)? The simple answer is to remove Vasanas or Rajas/Tamas. The more you remove these through spiritual effort, the more you reveal sattva, i.e. purity. When there is only pure sattva (devoid of rajas and tamas), it is none other than the pure mind (i.e. the self). This is because the very nature of sattva is pure stillness. It holds within the reflection of reality. Therefore, the process of purifying the mind is absolutely necessary before realisation can take place. But if one attends to objects and thoughts, how can the realisation be possible? This is why non-attachment and dispassion needs to be practiced to purify the mind. Otherwise, non-dual wisdom remains as a conceptual theory utilized by a jiva whose mind continues to be externalized. This is still bondage.

So it only makes sense that if one wants to destroy this very experience of duality (i.e. avidya/mind), attention must be reversed and remain fixed on its own point of origin until the potential to attract outward is permanently removed. This is moksha.

Purifying the mind is the only way.

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The following questions are answered in this article:

• What does it mean to purify the mind?

• How do you purify the mind?

• What is mind purification in Vedanta?

• What is the point of purifying the mind?

• Do you need to purify the mind for liberation?