Read a Sample: The Eight Meannesses of the Heart

In Chapter III of The Holy Science, “The Procedure,” Swami Sri Yukteswar lays out the step-by-step path to freedom. At its heart is a short series of sutras on the eight “meannesses” that contract the human heart, and on the magnanimity that shines forth when they are removed.

The excerpt below is from Chapter III of the new 1920 edition, published by Crystal Clarity Publishers, with the Sanskrit sutras newly translated into English.

The sutras

Freedom from all fetters (snares) comes as a result (of attaining Virya, firmness of moral courage). (12)

The eight fetters (meannesses of the heart) are hatred, shame, fear, grief, condemnation, race (prejudice), (pride of) pedigree, and (a sense of) self-importance. (13)

(By removal of these eight meannesses) manifests the magnanimity (Viratwam or Mahatwam) and innate courage of the Chitta (heart). (14)

Then one becomes qualified to undertake the householder life (grihastha ashrama) as well as to practice the sadhana (spiritual discipline) of Asana, Pranayama, and Pratyahara. (15)

How the meannesses of the human heart are removed and magnanimity appears

Firmness of moral courage (Virya) when attained removes all the obstacles that stand in the way of salvation. These obstacles are the eight meannesses of the human heart: hatred, shame, fear, grief, condemnation, race distinction, pride of pedigree, and the sense of respectability (that brings self-importance). Removal of these obstacles ushers in Viratwam, or Mahatwam, the magnanimity of the heart; this makes man fit for the practice of Asana (remaining in steady and pleasant posture), Pranayama (control over the flow of life force, Prana, in the involuntary nerves), and Pratyahara (introversion of the sense organs and the voluntary nerves). These practices enable man to satisfy his heart by enjoying the objects of the senses in the right manner, and are intended for Grihasthashrama, the life of the householder.

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