What are Vasanas in Vedanta?

Vāsanā (Sanskrit; Devanagari: वासना) is a behavioural tendency or karmic imprint which influences the present behaviour of a person. It is a technical term in Indian philosophy, particularly Yoga, as well as Buddhist philosophy and Advaita Vedanta.

What are Vasanas and samskaras?

Vasana means “to remain,” “to dwell,” “to persist [in memory].” In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali defines vasana as a dynamic chain or concatenation of samskaras. Vasanas are our inherent latencies and tendencies, resulting from our previous actions. They govern the psyche unless overcome by tapas and nirodha parinama.

How do I change Vasanas?

Increase your Sastra-Vasana in the beginning. Occupy your mind with the study of standard philosophical books. Thereby you can decrease your Deha-Vasana (thought of the body) and Loka-Vasana (desire for name and fame, Kirti, Pratishtha, etc). Later on, you will have to give up Sastra-Vasana also.

Are Vasanas good or bad?

Vasanas can be good or bad: for example, responding with love when someone is in need or, in contrast, responding defensively because a situation triggered a negative memory. Vasana can also mean a desire for or expectation of something or knowledge derived from memory.

How are samskaras formed?

According to yogic philosophy, we’re born with a karmic inheritance of mental and emotional patterns—known as samskaras—through which we cycle over and over again during our lives. The word samskara comes from the Sanskrit sam (complete or joined together) and kara (action, cause, or doing).

What are two types of samskaras?

In Hindu traditions, a human being is born at least twice – one at physical birth through mother’s womb, and second at intellectual birth through teacher’s care, the first is marked through Jatakarman sanskara ritual, the second is marked through Vidyarambha or Upanayana sanskara ritual.

What is Vasana in English?

/vāsanā/ mn. passion uncountable noun. Passion is a very strong feeling of sexual attraction for someone.

What do you mean by samskaras?

Definition of samskara 1 : a purificatory Hindu ceremony. 2 Hinduism & Buddhism : a mental conformation or latent karmic tendency shaping one’s present life.

What is the purpose of the first samskara?

It is a rite of passage that celebrates the birth of the baby. It is the first post-natal rite of passage of the new born baby. It signifies the baby’s birth, as well as the bonding of the father with the baby.

What are vasanas and why are they important?

Vasanas are the main obstacle to our well-being and happiness in life. They are the Tin Man in us, the robot, the automaton. They are the gruff troll, the witch, the ogre. All the fairy tales about these beings are, in the end, about vasanas.

What did Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi have to say about vasanas?

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi often stressed the importance of removing vasanas (tendencies) for Self-Realization in his talks. The following are key excerpts/selections from Talks with Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, as well as other Sri Ramana books, on this very important topic.

Which Vasana obstructs self-realization?

Bandha hetuh is the vasana that obstructs Self-Realization. Their fruits are reaped in three ways: (1) of our own will ( swechha ), (2) by others’ will ( parechha) and (3) involuntarily ( anichha ). These have been Jnanis like Gautama, Vyasa, Suka and Janaka.

What is the difference between nididhyasana and adridha and Vasanas?

Hence it is adridha (weak) and becomes firm after the vasanas have been eradicated by nididhyasana (one-pointedness). M.: The thoughts are only vasanas (predispositions), accumulated in innumerable births before. Their annihilation is the aim. The state free from vasanas is the primal state and eternal state of purity. D.: It is not clear yet. M.: