On Life and Liberation

Author(s): Mukesh Chhajer
Publisher: Mukesh Chhajer

Page 14

On Life and Liberation
upvaas was not to mortify the body but conquer the mind. Once the mind is reigned in, the lower forms of upvaas do not make any difference. Whether they ate or not did not make any difference because the purpose of the physical upvaas had been served. What we have observed is only their physical upvaas in terms of how long they did not take the food but we also have to understand that during this process they developed tight leash on their senses. We have no way of observing their mental upvaas but their achievements should be enough to convince us that their mental upvaas was of the highest quality. It is important to realize that physical upvaas is only the first step, though a very important one.
Once the body is quiet and the mind is calm, the mind can engage in the contemplation on the soul. A person is ready to ask the necessary questions such as what is the nature of the soul, why I am here, how I came to be here, the nature of the material world, its relation with the soul, etc? Here, the real upvaas has begun. The mind is detached from the lower material world, turned upward; it is residing in the higher consciousness and ready to comprehend the true nature of the soul. The knowledge and insight gained during such time is the real knowledge. While the physical upvaas may last for a day, a few days or even longer, the real upvaas will only be observed when the mind is contemplating on the soul, however, brief that period may be. While the physical upvaas is evolutionary, the mental upvaas is revolutionary. It leads to a revolutionary change in the state of mind. Ordinarily, the mind is too restless and attached to physical objects and, thus, unable to comprehend subtle principles. However, the mental upvaas removes these attachments, frees the mind of its self-set boundaries and sets oneself up on the path to realize true potentialities of the soul. Now the mind is staying upwards, in the state where questions of mundane life have become