Varńárghyadána, or Guru Pújá: why every thought has a color, and how offering the colors of the mind to the Supreme helps us let go of attachments and calm the mind.
In yoga there is a practice for letting go of one's attachments: varńárghyadána, or Guru Pújá. This practice belongs to higher yoga, and it should be done in an "elevated" frame of mind. But if it is done for real, sincerely, it bears good fruit and speeds up spiritual progress.
Sometimes varńárghyadána is even more effective than meditation. Meditation is done to attune oneself, to enter a state of non-attachment, in which a person is ready to let go of everything and enter the flow of spirituality.
If the goal is reached, a person becomes truly free.
Varńárghyadána (varńa means color, dána means to give) translates as the giving of color. Its other name is Guru Pújá (meaning an offering to the Guru). It is a practice in which we offer the colors of our mind to the Guru.
In the broad sense, the Guru is the one who dispels darkness: removes it from the physical, psychic and spiritual spheres. Only the Supreme Consciousness can be the Guru, the real, true teacher, and no one else. The source of all knowledge is the highest spiritual sphere.
We can see ideas realized on the intellectual level everywhere: rockets fly into space, trains run on rails, computers work. But in essence the creator of all these things is the Supreme Consciousness. It is the supreme Guru. It is at the feet of such a Guru that we strive to lay down the colors of our mind.
The point is not what we can attain; the point is what we can renounce
Every thought that arises in our consciousness is a vibration. A thought has both a sound and a color, and a certain wavelength. Every emotion also has a color. Looking at the world through the prism of these emotions, we lose the objectivity of our perception. For example, can a mind tormented by anger see clearly the person at whom the anger is directed?
In such a state everything good connected with that person is forgotten. Or, say, someone has a strong attachment. Can they see the object of their attachment clearly if they cannot imagine life without it? Can they judge all its qualities objectively? No. The presence of thoughts, the mind's vrttis (propensities), distorts our perception of reality.
In psychology, a good example of the close link between color and a person's mental state is the Lüscher test. It consists of choosing colors and arranging them in order of how attractive they seem at the moment. A color does not arise in our mind for no reason. There is a close link between the state of the mind and color. Our mind spontaneously visualizes the color that is most attractive to it right now.
There is an idea of "letting go of an event." In the practice of varńárghyadána this process of "letting go" is carried out. We give all the thoughts that trouble the mind, each tinged with its own color, to the Supreme Consciousness. It is a kind of request for help: "Free me from these thoughts." We want peace. It is not a request for any material object.
This is done in order to get out from under the power of our attachments and aversions, to cleanse the mind and bring it into a state of harmony.
Just as the moon is reflected in a calm lake, the Supreme is reflected in a calm mind
In meditation we strive to reach a permanent state of happiness. We are still left with the sense of our little "I" that does things. During meditation it may seem that the mind is completely still, but if you look into its very depths, you can find that there is no calm there. Some of these thoughts, even unconscious ones, are in constant motion, like waves in the ocean. And each of these vibrations has a certain color.
In the practice of varńárghyadána we make the effort to give away the colors of our mind, to make the mind colorless, so that its distortions no longer affect us. The lotus flower, though its roots are in the mud, always stays clean, however dirty the water it grows in. If you can calm your mind even for a second and reach perfect calm, your little "I" will merge with the supreme "I," and you will become the Creator itself, experiencing a state of bliss.
The Supreme Consciousness, as the Creator of this universe, always knows best which obstacles we need to overcome to purify the mind. Varńárghyadána is an act of trust in the Supreme: "You know for certain what is best for me. Lead me; I trust You completely."
I entrust myself to You and am ready for any paths along which You will lead me. I have set the sails and raised the anchors. I am ready to cast off from the pier on a wonderful voyage with You. I have spread the sails and am ready to fill them with the wind, with which I will go forward into the open ocean.
The whole meaning of the spiritual path lies precisely in overcoming all limitations, ceasing to build barriers and to cling to boundaries, and becoming infinite, precisely by realizing that you are He.
If varńárghyadána is done as a ritual, there will still be an effect, but not as strong. The practice is quite difficult. The most important thing in it is sincerity. You give your attachment to the Supreme and are ready to accept whatever events the Supreme considers best for you.