The Eight Vasus

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(Continued) The eight Vasus are different powers within us. These powers can do many things but cannot control the five senses. Once an impulse comes in through the senses, these powers take over the thought formation process. Our culture gives great importance to thoughts. However, the sages tried to develop the powers working behind thought formation. We will take the Sanskrit name of each Vasu and see what power it indicates within us: Dhara/Earth: That which holds and supports. The power of holding a thought or a problem can be increased by practising visualisation. Anala/Agni: The power that gives thought a form, making it recognisable. The disciple develops this power so that one day he can recognise that he already had that which he was searching for. Anila/Wind: The wind comes and goes. If it blows when the clothes are wet, they dry easily. This is the power of recalling at the right time. In the midst of battle, Karna could not recall the mantras his guru had taught him. Similarly, when we are hypnotised by anger, we cannot recall what to do. Aha/Atmosphere: Each thought and every word we utter or hear comes with its own mood or atmosphere. One filled with hate will have a negative and heavy mood and one filled with love will have the opposite mood. The disciple develops this force by separating from and observing his moods. Pratyusha/Pre-Dawn Light: The gap between the end of night and beginning of day. It is the power of holding attention in different gaps, such as between inhalation and exhalation, between two thoughts and finally, between death and birth. Dyu/Seen Twilight: Bhishma, or the apparent cause behind every manifestation. Soma/Moon: As the moon reflects the light of the sun, the mind reflects the light of the soul. Dhruva/Pole Star: In every thought there is one centre around which different energies move. It is a psychological counterpart to the nucleus of a cell. These are the eight Vasus or powers or energies behind every manifestation, whether as a thought within us or as an event outside of us. A disciple learns to control these mighty forces by observing his thinking instrument.