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RIGHT ATTITUDE
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4. A desire for release (mukti).
Of actions, Vedic tradition mentions three types : 1. The actions to be performed as daily or occasional duties, such as daily prayers or purificatory baths to be taken on certain occasions. These acts do not yield any positive result but neglect or nonperformance of them is a sin. They protect the person from the accumulation of new 'dirt' obscuring the spiritual qualities.
2. Acts performed with a particular motive, such as the sacrifices performed for obtaining kingdom, wealth, progeny, etc.
3. Acts prohibited by the scriptures, which bring sin to the doer.
The aspirant is required to give up the last two types and continue the first for long. Gradually his heart will be purified and he will have an inclination towards higher values. His aim will shift from the temporary to the permanent.
Patanjali compares the mind to a 'river having a shifting Current. Sometimes the Current is directed towards lower values and sometimes towards the higher values. There are five states of mind, of which the first three express the lower tendency and the remaining two the higher. The first three are: (1) the state of engrossment in external objects; (2) The state of ignorance or obscurity and (3) the state of fluctuation when the mind is unsteady, inclining sometimes inward and sometimes outward.
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