If the five noble values-of-life enumerated herein are lived, they, in their aggregate, effectively produce the “tapas of the mind.” SERENITY OF MIND can be gained only when our relationship with the world at large is put on a healthier basis of understanding, tolerance, and love. One who is an uncontrolled sensualist can have little serenity or composure. Mind runs out through the sense organs into the sensual fields to eke out its satisfactions.
The driving force that sets the mind on its endless errands is an intellect, ever seething with desires. Quietude of the mind can be gained only when it is protected from both the inflow of the stimuli from the tempting sense-objects of the outer world, and the whipping desires that march out from the intellect to drive the mind out into the fields-of-enjoyment. In fact, a seeker who has discovered for himself a divine ideal — in the contemplation of which his mind forgets to run about, or his intellect overlooks to send out new desires — alone can hope to win the serenity of the mind (Manah-prasada).
KINDNESS (Soumyatwam) — That warm feeling of affection for all, which readily rises in a heart of true devotion and love, is kindness. And that kindly seeker who lives in this divine attitude towards all things and beings around, will have no chance of entertaining the feeling that he is outrageously molested by, or even temporarily upset with his environment.
SILENCE (Mouna) — We have already noted that “not speaking” is not “Mouna.” In this stanza, while enumerating the “austerities of the mind,” Lord Krishna speaks of “silence.” It is neither a contradiction, nor a mistake. Silence of speech must arise from the relative silence of the mind. Thus Mouna means that noiseless inner calm, which one comes to experience when corroding passions and exhausting desires are no more building up in one’s mind. “Mouna” (silence) can also mean “the State of Muni,” implying “the State of constant contemplation.”
SELF-CONTROL — The three above-mentioned qualities — serenity of composure, constant kindness towards others, and unbroken, calm silence within — are impossible unless we are able to control our inner nature deliberately. The animal in us is generally very powerful, and unless we are ever vigilant, the lower nature in us may upset our inner balance and equanimity.
HONESTY OF MOTIVE — Self-control is not possible unless our motives are pure and serene. Without any definite goal in life, without planning our onward march towards the ideal, we are apt to fall a victim to the various temptations en-route, and exhaust ourselves in the bylanes of life. To stick constantly on to the grand road to success is to assure for ourselves a happy pilgrimage to Truth. The urge in us that motivates all our mental activities must be inspiring and divine, or else the chances are that we will be undermining our own perfections and ruining our own chances of making life a great success.
The above three stanzas thus give us a clear picture of what is true Tapas, in our bodily contacts with the world outside, in our speech and in our mental life. The very same Tapas is pursued by different people, and even when they do so, with equal faith, each of them is observed to gain different results. This is not accidental. The people who do Tapas (Tapaswins) are of different temperaments: the ‘good’ (Sattwic), the ‘passionate’ (Rajasic) and the ‘dull’ (Tamasic). According to their governing temperaments they act differently, with different tempo and with different emphasis, so that they come to reap diverse results from the different types of tapas performed by them.
IN THE FOLLOWING STANZAS, THE THREE TYPES OF ‘TAPASWINS’ AND THE NATURE OF THEIR TAPAS ARE INDICATED:
