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TRANSFORMATION OF PERSONALITY-EQUANIMITY
fulness begins to shine in him without interruption. Before this light has begun to shine, the mind and actions remain apart because there is no connecting link between the two. They do not cohere and there is no co-ordination between them. With the dawn of enlightenment the autonomies of the mind and actions comes to an end and they become harmonized into a single current. This is called the unification of knowledge and conduct.
Philosophical thinkers are divided into two categories : those who emphasize the primacy of knowledge and those who emphasize the primacy of actions or conduct. This distinction first came into existence in the field of sadhana and from there it was transferred to the field of logic. Knowledge and conduct then came to be completely separated. It, however, does not hold much water in the field of sādhanā any more. We cannot keep knowledge detached from conduct. They form a unity. To speak of the two as separate is a matter of emphasis only. When the emphasis is placed on one, it does not exclude the other. However, in the course of time they came to be looked upon as separate. This gave birth to two distinct schools of philosophy.
In a state of enlightenment, the mind and the instincts go hand in hand with each other. The mind remains involved in each action and every action becomes a rational action. Every activity of the body becomes conscious activity. Even instinctive activities take place under the auspices of consciousness. The enlightened man is always wakeful. He keeps the mind associated with every action he does. His mind never remains alienated from action. This wakefulness is the consequence of the third stage of the transformation of personality. Thinking and doing become a unity.
With the further progress of sādhanā and self-consciousness a fourth transformation takes place. It brings about a dispassionate attitude of mind. The practitioner arrives at the state of vītarāga. His consciousness becomes undefiled. The influence of the passions on his mind disappears. The self does not remain conditioned by external influences and comes to itself. The practitioner becomes centred in the self. His relationship with external things ceases. He becomes selfpropelled. He develops pure and unconditioned knowledge.
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