Vishuddha means extremely pure. That is the ultimate quality which can manifest and it is called Vishuddha Sattva. When the Sattva mixes a little with Rajas (activity) and Tamas (inertia, inactivity), it paves the way for movement, change and rebirth in the life of a human being.
Sri Adi Sankaracharya says in the Vivekachoodamani that in that state of mind which is pure, Sattva, the light of consciousness, is reflected completely. That light enables us to see the world of thoughts and feelings within just as the light of the sun illumines the insentient world of names and forms.
In Mishra Sattva, there is a touch of Rajas and Tamas. However, since Sattva Guna is predominant, the activities of the person have a divine touch to it—the quality of not being boastful or proud, the five disciplines of non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, a disciplined student life and non-hoarding, the practices of cleanliness, contentment, austerity, study of self and surrender to god, intense faith in the words of the teacher and the path shown by the books of knowledge, devotion and a burning desire to be free manifest.
The results of cultivating the quality of very pure Sattva are a cheerful mind, the experience of one’s own self, supreme peace, contentment, a blissful personality, an abidance in the supreme self. The person who attains to that experiences joy at all times and in all sorts of circumstances.
The three qualities when they are in an unmanifest condition together form the causal body—that part of our personality which is the cause for the subtle body comprising the mind, intellect, memory and ego and the gross body made up of five elements. The special state of existence the three qualities have during the day is in sleep. In this state all sense organs and the movement of the mind through the organs of action are also stilled.
By all means the mind is restful in this state without performing the usual task of measurement and analysis. It rests in a seed state of consciousness. The seeds that are present in the mind are nothing but thought and feeling seeds. We are constantly getting thoughts and feelings. They are due to the constant sprouting of seeds of consciousness in the mind. This experience is there in the waking and dream state. In the deep-sleep state, the thought seeds are in the lull of stupor and hence we don’t experience anything and know nothing. This is a common experience for all in the world.
The writer is Sevika, Chinmaya Mission, Coimbatore (www.chinmayamission.com); email: brni.sharanyachaitanya@gmail.com