Obstacles in the Mind

Vikshepa is an affliction of the mind that consists of worldly distractions; various spiritual exercises (sadhanas) are undertaken to overcome it and realize the Divine. The sadhanas include meditation, concentration and performance of good deeds for achieving purity of
mind. When one succeeds in overcoming Vikshepa, one is confronted with avarana (akin to a thick covering in which one is enveloped). This covering is known as maya (delusion). It envelops everything in the universe. The eyes with which one can see everything that is outside cannot see themselves. Likewise, Maya, which reveals the entire universe, cannot reveal the Divine. Because we are enveloped in Maya, we seek worldly pleasures and do not seek our own Divine essence. 'Yaddhrushyam than-nashyathi - Whatever is perceptible, is perishable.' In the pursuit of fleeting and impermanent pleasures, we are throwing away the permanent, the unchanging and the real elements
in human life.
Baba (thought for the day)

This is again about obstacles, but it is more about the affliction of the mind. And it is telling us that we have to overcome Vikshepa and I got a text about yoga sutras, where it is explained what makes it easier.
There is never arguing about it if we focus on the higher self. If some things seem not okay, we wait for the insight, what is present in the mirror of the heart and it is reflected in that mirror and in listening to his words we get the right conclusion about it.


Here are impurities or obstacles explained a nice way and it is also telling us that we have to look at it a certain way, obstacles are predictable and to expect.

http://www.swamij.com/yoga-sutras-13032.htm

Nine kinds of distractions come that are obstacles naturally encountered on the path, and are physical illness, tendency of the mind to not work efficiently, doubt or indecision, lack of attention to pursuing the means of samadhi, laziness in mind and body, failure
to regulate the desire for worldly objects, incorrect assumptions or thinking, failing to attain stages of the practice, and instability in  maintaining a level of practice once attained. (vyadhi styana samshaya pramada alasya avirati bhranti-darshana alabdha-bhumikatva anavasthitatva chitta vikshepa te antarayah)

Distractions (chitta-vikshepa) come first: These two principles (chitta-vikshepa and antarayah) are not just lumped together as one concept. They are separate, though work together. Seeing these two as separate reveals a big key to Yoga. First, one of these nine states of mind or mental impressions arises, and attention engages with them. They literally distract the attention from whatever else it was focused on at the time. That distraction comes first.

Then, they become obstacles (antarayah): However, the second part of the process is that this distraction (chitta-vikshepa), once the engagement of attention remains fixed on the distraction, then also becomes an obstacle (antarayah), which is alive and rich with its painful disturbing qualities. Thus, it is a two part process, of the distraction occurring and then being followed by its becoming an obstacle. If the first part (the distraction) did not happen, then the second part (the obstacle) would not surface as being a problem.

Distraction and disturbance: Distraction and disturbance are two different principles. Notice that there first must be distraction, and that this is followed by disturbance.

That is interesting, because of the interview and Baba called it too much direct and indirect disturbance. He said it to the lady I had met before Darshan we sat together in line and were talking about babies. I was pregnant and she had a ten year old daughter and she was thinking about a second child. Baba took the group in the interview room and said to her, 'one is enough, too much direct and indirect disturbance'. After the interview she came to me and said that Baba was only talking about babies and that she thought she had to tell me. After that talk with her, there was no doubt that 'one was enough' and
I am glad I never thought of having another one knowing what I know now about the relationship and I never forget what he said and for me it didn't sound very good when he said, 'too much direct and indirect disturbance'. It was for me clear after that and I never thought of going into having more children.

In that sense it should be more about distraction only. Key to the obstacles is to not be distracted: How to break the link between the distraction and the subsequent pain as an obstacle is then the key to freedom. It is suggested in sutra 1.32 (below) that the means of doing this is through making the mind one-pointed, or focused in such a way that the distraction does not come. In turn, the obstacle does not surface. It is an amazingly simple principle; so simple, in fact, that it is very difficult to entice ourselves to believe it and to practice it. Nonetheless, the ability to focus the mind is critical and worthy of great effort to cultivate.

 
If someone is only taking advantage of it, it is not an issue of one pointed focus to make sure the distraction doesn't come in the mind, it is just taking advantage of it on the mind level.
To keep the focus we went for it and it didn't work out, as it was not about one pointed focus and the result was also not  like one pointed focus.
We got aware that it was a battlefield, but that was before he said it and we listened to it in his thought for the day. But we were on the side of Krishna, the Pandavas and the friends and it was a real shock to realize that we were in a relationship with someone who was at the other side and we were not aware that the world was the scriputres as
he said yesterday. It was just clear that something felt totally wrong and that it was terrifying and a shock. It was awkward to wake up in such a situation, it felt awful and dangerous. He often talks about good company and I had talked with him about it all along and now that, it was like no use what I am telling, he doesn't hear it anyhow.
He is not in the right position to hear it.

The Patanjali sutras help to clarify it as it is about right focus and one pointedness what makes us going on and it should be a good result, but if we are in bad company it will not be the same and in that situation it was impossible that we could feel okay.
We had the insights long ago, but in thinking it over we get aware of  it and we learn by it and he is telling us how to understand it and that is how we absorb the wisdom.

Vikshepa is an affliction of the mind that consists of worldly distractions; various spiritual exercises (sadhanas) are undertaken to overcome it and realize the Divine.

Baba is telling us that there are different ways and it is about meditation and concentration, but we have to know the difference and if we don't know? It is all about purity of the mind and we know we need meditation practice to purify the mind.

When one succeeds in overcoming Vikshepa, one is confronted with avarana (akin to a thick covering in which one is enveloped).

That sounds predictable, after we overcome Vikshepa, we meditate and purify the mind, there is avarana and we have to get aware of the obstacles, that could be the part where we went into a bad relationship.

VIKSHEPA are disturbances that can stem either from the outer world or our inner world. We can protect ourselves and take precautions against external disturbances like noise, heat or cold; but attacks from inside, such as fears and complexes, are only prevented with difficulty. Nervousness, worry and annoyance are internal disturbances
that churn up our mind and obstruct us until we are able to get to their root cause.
ĀVARANA is the curtain of ignorance that dulls the mind. This veil is the reason for us not recognising who we really are, as the following story illustrates:

And here we find the answer, afterall Vishepa are disturbances, they stem either from the outer world or the inner world and that is what Baba said once in an interview, too much direct and indirect disturbance.
It is possible to protect ourselves and take precautions against external disturbances, we meditate in a silent room and we see that it is neither too hot nor too cold, but as it is explained here the attacks from the inside, such as fears and complexes, are only
prevented with difficulty.

Nervousness, worry and annoyance are internal disturbances that churn up our mind and obstruct us until we are able to get to their root cause.

That is what we are dealing with here. It is about that disturbances and as he is telling us, we are only able to go beyond the internal  disturbance if we are able to get to their root cause. They churn up our mind and obstruct us – and that is important. Here it is not just about letting go or better we will only be able of letting go when we got to the root cause. We cannot just meditate and  it is gone, not until we are able to get to the root cause. That is what happens in thinking it over we go into details and see it clearer as time goes by, it is done by time and it is going to the 'root cause'. We have to find the 'root cause'.

And Avarana is the curtain of ignorance; it makes it impossible that we can see it.
Our Ātma (the Self) is itself God. But in the west we believe that God is a long way away and that we are weak, sinful creatures. To discover our true Self we need only look in the inner mirror of our soul. But many are too afraid and deliberately close their eyes. It is our
destiny to claim our divine inheritance. Instead we prefer to eke out a poor and wretched existence.

We deal with the mind and the samskaras, the impressions in the mind
and that is a mind pattern. We see it always a certain way or think in
the same lines and if we are not able to let go, we cannot experience
the higher self or that 'pure love' Baba came to give.
Either we are too afraid and we deliberately close our eyes and that
is Avarana or what is it?
Are we too afraid or do we deliberately close our eyes?
Or do we just assume that Baba will give even if that is also an
obstacle and an illusion?
He cannot give if we close the eyes and he cannot give if we don't
listen to him and go on deliberately closing our eyes going on decided
that he will give, but we don't listen to him, there will be no
giving.

It is our destiny, divinity is our destiny, there is not difference
between the higher self of Baba and our higher self, only he knows it
and we do not know it.
That thick covering Baba mentions here we also know as Maya, illusion.
It is the outer appearance, the world and what we see with the senses
as real, when in reality is only what we think it is and not what it
really is, but it is in the whole universe and it makes us go in
self-elevation, thinking it is this and that and great and I am such
and such, and how wonderful and what a special person I am …, that is
all imagination only and has nothing to do with reality.
It is the imaginative faculty of the mind that takes advantage of the
delusion in the Universe to get into self-elevation. And that is what
we met with him and he did it with some help. He went into
self-elevation constantly talking about his big friend in his room he
lived and who was a VIP, it gave him more value and it make him look
more attractive and like a devotee and he did the same with mediation,
he said when he was initiated he knew he would always do it, but he
never did. That didn't make sense to me, only when I see it in that
light and we understand the mind how it takes advantage of the
delusion and lives in self-elevation it actually does make sense.
This covering is known as maya (delusion). It envelops everything in
the universe. The eyes with which one can see everything that is
outside cannot see themselves.

But Baba reminds us that the same way Maya reveals the entire
universe, it cannot reveal the divine, and therefore, we have to take
another approach.
Maya works with the senses and sense-perception, so we have to do go
inside, we have to meditate and go beyond the mind.
If we are enveloped in Maya, we think that is 'our life' and we go on
like that and by that we seek actually worldly pleasure and not the
divine essence.
To get to the divine essence we have to meditate and go beyond the mind.

He uses the example whatever we can get with the perception and senses
is perishable, it is fleeting and not real. Bliss and divinity is not
fleeting pleasure of the mind, but bliss and true, never changing. If
we live in Maya we are throwing away the permanent, the unchanging and
that what is real.

Likewise, Maya, which reveals the entire universe, cannot reveal the
Divine. Because we are enveloped in Maya, we seek worldly pleasures
and do not seek our own Divine essence. 'Yaddhrushyam than-nashyathi -
Whatever is perceptible, is perishable.' In the pursuit of fleeting
and impermanent pleasures, we are throwing away the permanent, the
unchanging and the real elements in human life.