Eknath Easwaran's Commentary
If we could interview a negative tendency, say, Resentment, it might say, “I don’t worry! I’ve been living safely in this fellow’s mind for years. He takes good care of me – feeds me, dwells on me, brings me out and parades me around! All I have to do is roar and stir things up from time to time. Yes, I’m getting fat and feeling grand. And I’m proud to tell you there are even a few little rancors and vituperations running around now, spawned by yours truly!”
So he may think. But when you repeat the mantram, you are prying him loose. You are saying, in a way that goes beyond vows and good intentions, that resentment is not part of the real you. You no longer acknowledge its right to exist.
We use something genuine to drive out impostors that have roamed about largely through our neglect and helplessness. We move closer and closer to our divine Self, because these impostors, resentment and ill will, are no longer coming between us.