When Sri Rama was a young prince at Ayodhya, he once asked his father, King Dasharatha, for permission to visit holy places. During these travels, Sri Rama’s mind was engaged in spiritual inquiry. After coming back, he showed utter disinterest in the royal pleasures, and the day-to-day affairs of the kingdom.
King Dasharatha was worried at Rama’s sorrow, but Rishi Vasishtha understood that Sri Rama was lost in spiritual thoughts. He then called Sri Rama and engaged in a long philosophical discussion. This dialogue was written down by Rishi Valmiki in the form of a book called Yoga Vasishtha.
It is considered the earliest work on Vedanta. One of the things Rishi Vasishtha explained to Sri Rama is the seven stages of knowledge. He said that in yoga meditation, a seeker needs to master seven stages to achieve liberation and obtain knowledge of truth.
1. Shubh Icchha: Desire to engage in good activities and self-improvement. Instead of sitting idle, one should be motivated to read some good text or gain knowledge in the company of learned persons.
2. Vicharana: Discretion or reasoning. It means associating only with people of good character and performing only good acts while shunning bad ones.
3. Tanu Manasa: Purity of mind. The mind needs to be restrained and should not run after the mindless and fruitless pursuit of pleasure like endless scrolling on the internet.
Mind should be fixed on our objectives in life, not merely on enjoyment. 4. Satta Patti: Self-reliance.
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