Intellect Organ as a Contaminant

Srila Yogeshwarananda wanted me to make notes about the intellect organ being a contaminant. This is because students may get frustrated meditating and then not getting the intended results, and not understanding why there is failure or lack of improvement in the meditation process.

There are many reasons for failure in meditation and until the student realizes what happens, he or she cannot make the necessary adjustments and will become depressed in time. This will lead to laxness in practice and eventually there will be a complete breakdown where the student will give up the effort.

Unfortunately successful advanced meditation is not as easy as many teachers propose. Stress-relief meditation is easily achieved, but advanced meditation as described for instance in chapter three of the Yoga Sutras does not come easy for anyone, not even for astute ascetics who have the correct method, and who are in touch with achievement-teachers.

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Srila Yogeshwarananda said that the effort to bring the buddhi intellect organ to a standstill so that it ceases its convention operations as per the advice given in the second sutra of the first chapter of the Yoga Sutras, is a complex one. It is very difficult to do this on a continuous basis even though by a fluke, now and then, it happens in meditation and may be observed by the yogi in his mind.

The truth is that the buddhi intellect organ contains contaminants. The core-self for its part falls under the influence of this organ and as such contamination flows from the intellect to the core-self even during meditation practice.

There are several methods for isolating the core-self from everything else which is in the psyche but there are only a few special techniques. One is to put the core-self in the naad sound resonance influence. Another is to retract the core-self from everything else so that it perceives and feels nothing other than the very core and its interest.

When the core-self receives signals or energy from the intellect, at that time contaminants flow to the core-self these cause failure in the meditation attempt. To stop this influence, the core-self should escape into the naad sound resonance and wait it out in that energy until it feels that the buddhi intellect organ ceases its convention of thinking, processing memory and imagining.

When the intellect ceases its conventions, the core-self, while remaining in naad, should focus energy into the intellect to feed it with neutral energy. At this stage the self should check closely to be sure that the intellect did not resume its contaminant energy flow into the core-self.

There should be a one way flow of energy from the core-self to the intellect organ.

If the student finds that there is a two way flow that means that the contaminants are flowing.

This means that the energy from the intellect is flowing into the core-self delivering contaminants which in part then flow back to the intellect orb. This type of meditation is incorrect. It should be a one way flow from the core-self to the intellect and not from the intellect to the core-self back and forth.