MIND : ITS MYSTERIES AND CONTROL : 20.5.1.

Chapter 20 Vasanas :5.1.

5. How To Destroy Vasanas.1.

1. Sama :

Vijnanamaya Kosa serves as a great fortress for the aspirant.

From there he can attack the Vasanas when they try to emerge from the seed-body (Karana Sarira) into the mind.

Through the practice of Sama, the aspirant should destroy the Vasanas one by one with the help of Vijnanamaya Kosa (Buddhi).

He should crush them as soon as they try to raise their heads on the surface of the mind-lake.

He must not allow them to sprout forth.

This is Vasana-Tyaga.

This attack or fight is from inside.


When a Vasana or Sankalpa arises in the mind, the mind gives a push to the Antar-Indriya.

From the Antar-Indriyas, this push is communicated to the Bahyakaranas (external instruments) such as hands, legs, eyes, ears, etc.

The practice of Sama stops this very push which is the root cause of motion of all the Indriyas and Karanas.


Sama is peace of mind produced by the eradication of the Vasanas (Vasana-Tyaga).

The Antahkarana of a man who possesses this virtue is cooler than ice.

Even the coolness of the moon cannot compete with coolness of the Antahkarana of a man of Sama.

Generally, the Antahkarana of a worldling is a blazing furnace.

A man of Sama is neither exalted when he gets a desired object (Ishta) nor depressed when he gets an undesired thing (Anishta).

He keeps a balanced mind always. He has no enemies.

The happiness of an emperor is nothing, nothing when compared with the supreme spiritual bliss of a man of Sama.

Sama is one of the four sentinels of Moksha.

If you have Sama, you will get the company of the other three friends, viz., Santosha (contentment), Vichara (enquiry into Atman) and Satsanga (association with the wise and saintly).

Next : 2. Dama

Swami Sivananda
To be continued  ....