There are mental blocks to understanding the truth.
Hinduism calls these psychic blocks that prevent the understanding of the truth, as the three “granthis” meaning three “knots”.
1. Selfishness: This is called Brahma Granthi – ‘Matter & materialism’-Knot of attachment to physical self and pleasures. – Forgetfulness, negativity, ignorance, fear, sadness, depression…
2. Emotional attachment; This is called Vishnu Granthi – ‘I can do’-Passion, anger, hatred, greed, obsession, jealousy, egotism, aggression……
3. Attachment to power; Rudra Granthi – ‘Not truthful seeking’- Attachment to psychic powers.
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…. but power is not the goal of meditation. Power is politics, all kinds of power is politics. And power corrupts ― all kinds of power ― it corrupts unconditionally and absolutely. It always corrupts.
-Osho, Nirvana: Now or Never
……The ego is a knot. The ego is the link between spirit and matter. This knot is said to be the knot of the radical ignorance in which we are steeped. When this knot is cut asunder, by Enquiry, we reach the Centre of the Real, that is, Heart. The ego -thought which is of the form ‘I am so and so’ consists of two parts, ‘I am’ and ‘so and so’. The part ‘I am is’ the consciousness and the other part ‘so and so’ is the insentient matter. The ego ’I’ serves as a bridge between the Consciousness from which it originates and the matter with which it associates. Thus the ego knot is the link between the Self and the body. The Self is Consciousness and the body is the matter. This Knot is also known as the ‘chit-jada-granthi’ because it is the granthi or knot which ties the inert body to the consciousness.
….if one enquired, ‘What is this mind?’, there will be no mind. To understand and grasp this truth, we must have clarity regarding the ego knot. What is a knot? Knot is an arrangement, a device, to bind together two disparate entities. Two pieces of ropes can be tied together by means of a knot, or a rope may be tied to a bucket, or a thread may get twisted and knotted. But the knot we are discussing is not an ordinary knot. This knot seems to divide the One into two and even seems to bind That which is impossible to bind. This ego knot seems to bind the unthinkable; that is, the Self, and the body, or the consciousness and the insentient matter, or life and lifelessness, together.
But how can the Eternal, All-pervading Consciousness-Existence be bound to the body which is subject to birth, death, decay and disease? Sri Bhagwan reveals that there arises a ghost or a phantom-like, third entity that seems to act as a link between the Infinite Consciousness of the Self and the body and which in truth is the basis for the appearance of all illusion whatever.
……. this is the famous or infamous knot which derives consciousness from the Self and superimposes it in the body, creating a false sense of sentience in the insentient body, which subsequently gives rise to the ‘I am the body’ idea. Therefore, this is our so-called ego or the ‘I’-thought. This ego alone is the basis of myriad identifications.
-Ramana Maharishi (www.arunachala-ramana.org )
When the non-dual Self is realized in nirvikalpa samadhi* , the heart‘s ‗knot of ignorance‘ is completely destroyed.
….The knot between the conscious (Self) and the inert (body) has come about due to ignorance about our essential nature, we take the ever-luminous Self to be the insentient body. This knot is not real. is only imaginary; however, due to timeless (samskaaraas) tendencies gathered over, it unties with great difficulty.
-Viveka Chudamani
‘When the brain is deeply attentive, listening to what is being said—a state of the active present—and simultaneously self-examining then attention has the quality of fire.’ This intensity of listening and simultaneous exploration cuts the Gordian knot. Perception no longer flows in a linear stream. ‘Consciousness as the movement of time and measure is not.’ The whole brain is operative.
-J.Krisnamurti (Fire in the mind- Pupul Jayakar)
Reference;
1. http://www.speakingtree.in/spiritual-slideshow/seekers/science-of-spirituality/knots-of-heart/133844
2. Exploring Chakras: Awaken Your Untapped Energy By Susan G. Shumsky.
3. http://nirananda.wordpress.com/2011/12/31/behold-the-mother/
4. http://www.yogarasa.org/practice-menu/pranayama/17-granthis-blocks.html
5. http://www.arunachala-ramana.org/forum/index.php?topic=6273.3200;wap2
6. http://ancientindians.wordpress.com/
7. Vivekachudamani – Adi Sankara
8. Fire in the mind (Dialogues with J.Krishnamurti) – Pupul Jayakar.