The Nature of Mind

Where is Mind? 

        We all have heard lots of stories about absent-minded Professors. They often forget their spectacles, pen and wrist watch although these are verily present on their own person. Then where is the Mind? The mind is very much present, but it is engaged elsewhere. It can do one task at a time. It cannot think of this here, as well as, of that elsewhere. It always dwells on something. Either it can chant the name of the Lord or indulge in wishful thinking. But, in fact, the mind is omnipresent in the sense that it is a part of the universal mind and each mind is connected with every other mind. Therefore each mind, wherever it may be, can be in communication with the whole world. But, then, to say, ‘I was absent-minded, I did not see it, or I did not hear it’ means that it is the ‘Mind’, the controller of the senses; and, in the absence of the Mind’s active interest, the senses cannot communicate what they have seen or heard. Thus, even though the eyes have seen and the ears have heard, they have not communicated the message to the Mind, or the Mind has just not received the message. The Mind is otherwise engaged and is not responding to the particular sense at that point of time; hence it is said to be absent. Hence, it is called absent-mindedness. But, there is another important aspect of Mind here. Yogins try to achieve a state of Mind wherein they will be able to concentrate on all the various senses and their functions as well as the inner Consciousness. This state of ‘conscious awareness’ is very important and everyone must strive for this attainment. This way, one can explore the Mind as well as utilize the full potential of the Mind. Here, the Mind gets into a transcendental state, a state of contemplation on its own accord. This is the ideal state for meditation! One must learn to be in that state of transecndence as long as possible to realize the Self, the Atman.

         As to the existence of the inner instrument called ‘Mind’, the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad [1.5.3] clearly demonstrates how we can think, rejoice, feel, will, imagine, remember, regret without using any of the ten sense organs (Jnyanendriyas and Karmendriyas); and, that goes to prove that there exists a distinct inner instrument called 'Manas' (Mind). It is also 'Anthahkarana' and it dwells in the 'heart'.

        The Mind can also perform the functions of the sense organs like hearing, feeling, touch and smell without actually using the sense organs; rather, mind can operate on its own and feel the touch, or hear the sound and even see things without the aid of the sense organs. Desire, resolve, doubt, faith or want of faith, steadiness or unsteadiness, shame, intelligence, fear, etc. are all but Mind only. The body consciousness is the mind in action. The slightest touch or a prick makes you aware of it through the presence of mind; and, you will not feel it in spite of the skin touching it if the mind is not connected to it. But, the scientists search in vain for a physical organ called mind. It is essentially an organ, but a subtle one, that exists and operates round the clock.  It is a terrific force that can look backward, skip and jump effortlessly in matter of no time. Hence the question ‘what is Mind’ is easily answered!

       Mind is said to be the ‘anthahkarana’, the inner instrument of the knowing Self, closest to the Self, transparent, and composed of subtle matter. It is not the source of light. There is no consciousness inherent in the mind. The mind receives the radiance of consciousness from the knowing Self, whose inner instrumentit it is, and illuminates all things including physical light. Though having no light of its own the mind appears to be luminous. That is why we often say, ‘I got a flash of new idea!’ New light is shed on a ticklish problem, and ignorance is removed (by knowledge). Shining as it does with borrowed light of consciousness, the mind is an effective instrument of knowledge.    

        Mind has the power of looking back into itself. With the help of mind, we can analyse the mind, and see what is going on in the mind. Just as the hardest substance diamond is cut by diamond itself, the strongest mind can be controlled by mind itself, through will power and rigorous practice. Mind is always present, omnipresent and everybody can feel it, sense it, see -through it, if only efforts are made to learn the technique. One can see through the mind of the others. Mind can be transparent. The effect of a depressed mind or an elated mind is clearly visible on the face. A Jnyani or a wise man of spiritual attainment can exercise his spiritual power to know the mind of others; he can foresee things. Meditation, Dharana, sama and Dama, Prathyahara and such other moral, ethical and spiritual /yogic practices will bring enormous powers to read the mind.

          According to Hindu Manovijnyana, constitution of the mind includes the permutations and combinations of the three Gunas- Tamas, Rajas and Sattva. This explains the variety of human nature and vascillating nature of mind. Many forces dictate the performance of the mind. Mind operaes at different planes or levels like the sub-conscious (lower), conscious (normal) and super -conscious (higher). The last one is the pure state where it is identical with Atman. “Pure mind is pure buddhi and that again is pure Atman” according to Swami Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.

     Mind has four faculties in its operational or functional aspect.

     ‘Manas’ (Mind) is that modification (vibration) of the internal instrument  (Mind) anthahkarana that considers pros and cons of a subject.

     ‘Buddhi’ (Intellect) is that modification (vibration) of the internal instrument (Mind) that determines (discrimination).

     ‘Chitta’ (Thought) is that modification (vibration) of the inner instrument (Mind) that remembers (memory).

        ‘Ahamkara’ (Ego) is that modification of the inner instrument (Mind) that is characterised by self-consciousness.

    In every external perception these four functions of the mind are involved. These four functions are so swift that they appear almost instantaneous.

      The Mind manifests itself in ‘scattering’ (pleasure or pain), ‘darkening’ (dullness which tends to injury), ‘gathering’ (struggling to center itself), ‘one- pointed’ and ‘concentrated’ (Samadhi) conditions. Man feels dull and passive in the ‘darkened’ state and feels restless in ‘scattered’ conditions of the mind.  Yoga helps to make the mind ‘gathered’ and ‘one-pointed’ and this is ‘Mind control’. This helps to prosper in materialistic world as well as spiritual world. This helps to reach Superconsciousness. Thus, such persons who attain this ‘one-pointedness’ will surely shine!      

        Mind, or ‘Chitta’ is the mind-stuff or mental substance. It takes various forms that constitute ‘Vrittis’. Vrittis are thought waves, virtually a whirlpool in the mind-lake, ‘manas sarovar’.  If the mind thinks of an apple, the apple is formed in the mind-lake and if one thinks of milk, milk is formed in the mind-lake. These thoughts of objects go on rising in the form of waves and subside in the mind -lake, ocean of chitta or the sub-conscious one after the other without any break. These Vrittis cause restlessness of mind. These Vrittis, or thought waves, or modifications get transformed as parinama or effects.

        According to Para-psychology, the power of thought is the greatest force. One can achieve anything with the ‘thought force’. Coupled with the ‘thought force’, a strong will, determination, and a strong faith rooted in ‘Ritam and Satyam’ would create wonders. Indian metaphysical science recognizes three fundamental and powerful faculties: Adhyatma Vijnyan, Para Manovijnyan, 'Yoga Vidya’. Even one of these will greatly help solve the problems of life. Contemplation on a thought produces vibrations; as in case of telepathy, we can induce a certain thought process in another person by sheer contemplation. Pure love and pure mind alone can develop this sort of thought force. We know that radio waves can be transmitted to any corner of the world. Both radio waves and thought waves travel through ether and thus we can achieve world peace through yogic practices.

        Mahatma Gandhi, Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King, Mahavira, Gautama Buddha, and others have successfully tried these methods and have swayed the world under their thought force. It is not wrong to say that if a man ‘wills’ something and puts on it a great force of thought like one does through yoga vijnyan then no power on this earth can stop him from achieving his goal. Mahatma Gandhi was a great yogi in this sense and he achieved freedom for the country through peaceful means. He used ‘Shanti’ mantra and ‘Satyagraha’, i.e., pleading for truth (‘Satya’ means truth and ‘agraha’ means pleading through ‘thought force’) to achieve this goal.

      What is this ‘thought force’ or Chitta Vritti? And, how to harness this force? Thought force is the vibration, or waves of thoughts that generate according to our samskara, or memories in the mind. This is called ‘Chitta Vritti”.

      Why do these 'Chitta Vrittis', the thought waves, arise from 'Chitta', the ocean of mind?  The latent impressions (Samskaras) and the subtle desires or the ‘Vaasanas’ cause the thought waves. Thought waves are very powerful. When a Vritti subsides it leaves an ever-lasting impression called ‘samskara’ in the subtle sub-conscious mind. This ‘samskara’ is also the ‘sanchita karma’ or accumulated karma, fruits of past deeds.

       These Vrittis are of two types: 1.Higher Vrittis like kshama, love and piety; 2.Lower Vrittis like anger, lust, and jealousy. Higher Vritti can control the lower Vritti. All the lower Vrittis can be controlled. And, finally all the Vrittis can be controlled. A person who can control his Vrittis shall acquire enormous power and he becomes a ‘Siddha’. Destroying Vrittis we acquire more mental strength (Manas-Shakti) and spiritual strength (Atma-bala). When the Vrittis subside we can see the real Self, just like we can see the floor of the lake when the waves subside and water becomes still. The thought-waves, chitta vrittis cause the disturbances that prevent us from seeing the Atman in the heart (Hridaya Sagara) where the Hridaya Kamala blossoms; it is also the source of sensitivity, ‘anthahkarana’.

       The whole universe is created by Vrittis, the 'thought waves' of Mind only. In other words, it is our 'manobhava', or the psyche, that makes the world. Thought is a finer force supplied by food. If the food is pure, thoughts become pure. One whose thoughts are pure speaks powerfully and produces deep impression on the hearers by his speech. A pure thought is sharper than the razor’s edge. Thought culture is an exact science. Thoughts should be carefully observed and controlled. Thoughts can be transmitted from person to person. One can move the world by thought force. Thoughts of great Yogis are recorded in the Aakasha. We are all surrounded by ocean of thoughts. We are all absorbing some and repelling some of these thoughts. Through yogic practices, we can change impure thoughts into pure thoughts. Due to the thought waves present in the aakasha, Anaahata dhvani comes and these can be heard by pure dhyana and meditation with pure mind and pure heart.

       Thought is as much a thing as a piece of stone. It has weight, colour, shape, size and form. We utter the words, ‘I have a big idea’, or ‘I have got a beautiful plan’. Thought is a dynamic force caused by the vibrations of psychic prana (or sookshma prana) on the mental substance. It is a force like gravitation, magnetism, cohesion, or repulsion. Thought moves and travels. Thoughts have tremendous power; they can heal diseases and produce deep impressions. Thoughts play a very important role in one’s life; that is why, it is said, ‘Yad Bhaavam, tad bhavati’ meaning ‘as you think, so you become’.

        There are symbolic thinking and instinctive thinking like fear of death. There are habitual thinking like going to take bath or food and drink. There is impulsive thinking like lust, greed, or hunger. Instincts are more powerful than impulses and difficult to stop. Thus, human behaviour is controlled by his thoughts.

       Ghora Vrittis or impure thoughts of mind include anger, indignation, resentment, rage, fury, monstrous wrath, etc. Mudha Vrittis are laziness, carelessness and half-sleep state. The three vrittis of causal body are moda, pramoda and priya, these are things that one would like to possess, enjoy and love. Ajnyana Vritti operates in deep sleep. Anger,‘I’ and ‘mine’ are egotistic. All these Vrittis are bad and these should be annihilated by the enquiry, “Who am I”?  This will help totally to eradicate these vrittis. Pranayama will help in controlling these Vrittis. If mula-ajnyana is removed, all Vrittis perish by themselves. Karmendriyas and Gnyanendriyas should be kept under control of buddhi. Meditation will greatly help in controlling Vrittis.           

          Man is in constant pursuit of happiness. Each and every activity of his is directed towards enjoyment and happiness.  He enjoys sensual pleasures with his body; gets emotional joy with his mind, and delights in rational findings with his intellect. It is an unending pursuit of happiness. This pursuit of happiness ends in a person who has realized his Self. He is a happy, contented and fulfilled man who has discovered his supreme Self. The nature of the real Self within is infinite bliss. The mad pursuit of happiness continues till a person realizes his real Self within. He uses his body, mind and intellect towards the enjoyment of worldly pleasure since he is ignorant of the real happiness derived from the inward spiritual journey.

Where the Mind and Senses Cannot Reach

        Kena Upanishad seeks to locate the source of man’s being, and to expand his self-consciousness until it has become identical with God-Consciousness. It seeks to answer the basic questions like the source of all our ‘being’, our existence, and it leads the mind from the gross to the subtle, from effect to cause.            

           It is quite obvious to seek the answer to the question whether the Mind is all-powerful to shape our lives or, there is some other force guiding the Mind to our destiny. This is a very interesting question. Many times we take decisions that are determined by buddhi under the influence of ‘vrittis’, thought force coming from Mind. These determine the actions the consequences of which are not known to us; our descrimination fails here. Many times we fail and suffer. Hence the questions:

         “By whom commanded and directed does the mind go towards the objects? By whose command does the lifeforce, the first cause, move? At whose will do men utter speech? What power directs the eye and the ear?”

       “ Is the Mind all-pervading and all-powerful, or it is just impelled by some other force? Who sends forth the vital energy, without which nothing exist?”

        The answer to all these questions is: “It is the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind, the speech of the speech, the life of the life, and the eye of the eye”.

         An ordinary man hears, sees, thinks, but he is satisfied to know only as much as can be known through the senses; he does not analyse and try to find that which stands behind the ear, or eye or mind. He has no Consciousness of ‘That’ which enables his senses and organs to perform other tasks. Immortality is attained when man transcends his apparent nature and finds that subtle, eternal, and inexhaustible essence which is within him.

      According to Vedic Sages, the mind in its ordinary state is only another sense organ. This mind is limited; but,’when it gets illumined by the light of the cosmic intelligence, ‘the mind of the mind’, then it is able to apprehend the First Cause or that which stands behind all external activities.

       Knowledge means the union between subject and object. This union can be attained only by practise, by contemplation and not by theory. The word knowledge is used ordinarily to signify acquaintance with phenomena only. But, man must transcend this relative knowledge before he can have a clear conception of God. One who wishes to attain ‘Soul-Consciousnrss’ must rise above matter-  ‘Spiritual Consciousness is not merely a question of mind and brain, it depends on the awakening of our latent higher Consciousness’. This explains our predicament in this sensate world.

       Vedanta helps us to develop spirituality through which Self-realization is possible. Vedanta is the sum and substance of all the Vedas and Upanishads. This spiritual knowledge makes us more self-reliant, self-sufficient and independent. It puts us right on top of the world. Spirituality gives us immense happiness that no other source can offer. Spirituality keeps us ever successful, happy, and peaceful. It procures all the material happiness through spiritual practices like Dhyan, Contemplation, and Meditation. The spiritual practices elevate our status and we begin to operate at a higher level. With spirituality, the body, mind and intellect work in harmony and the vision is broadened and deepened. With spirituality, our understanding will be superb and our intuition becomes divine. Success is assured in all our worldly pursuits for success is the result of the divine grace and intuition rather than the efforts of our finite senses and our gross mind.         

        Aruni’s son Svetaketu’s spiritual education as depicted in Chandogya Upanishad highlights the need for, and the significance of ‘shruddha’, or creative faith, for man when confronted by the mystery of unknown behind the known. After 12 years’ stay in the Gurukula from the age of 12 to 24, having studied all the Vedas, Svetaketu returned home conceited, arrogant, and proud, regarding himself as very learned. Aruni asked him, did you ask from your teacher ‘for that teaching (about the one behind the many) through which what is unheard becomes heard, what is unthought of becomes thought of, what is unknown becomes known?

  “Where from all these entities are born, by which, being born, they abide; into which at the time of dissolution, they enter, seek to know that; that is Brahman” (Taittiriya Upanishad, III. 1). In order to know the world, know your Mind. The Mind is the world; your Mind is your World. Prapancha is what you have created around your self, your Mind. You see the world through your Mind. There is no world for you beyond your Mind. As you think so is your world- "Manonmatram Jagat; Manah kalpitam jagat". Your world is constructed bit bit by your own Mind and you dwell in it until finally you shatter it and come out of it! The Mind is everything. It is its own creation and it is its own destruction. It is the Brahman. It is the creator, the sustainer and destroyer. It is the ‘asat’ always changing, dynamic and vibrant; and it is ‘sat’, it is Brahman, the ‘Truth’. Know your Mind, know your Self that is covered by the Mind, you will know the World. That is it. Om! Tat Sat!

       Mind is the repository of wealth. There is a very beautiful story about the secrets of the mind. Once the Gods were discussing where to hide the ‘power that grants everything’ that man wishes for. Some Gods suggested Heaven as the place; but, others said, Man can reach Heaven too, and there is no use of hiding it there. The argument went on and the Gods knew the tenacity and perseverance of Man and finally agreed to hide the power in the Mind of the Man. They all agreed that, “it is one place where he will not search”. Thus, we have enormous resources, wealth that cannot be valued in terms of US Dollars or Gold, Diamond and Platignum hidden in our own Mind. But the waves, the chitta vrittis disturb the still lake of Mind and we cannot see the bottom of the Mind-lake, ‘Manas Sarovar’. When the Mind Lake is clear, undisturbed, one can see the enormous wealth in it. Meditation will help to calm the Mind (by Sama) and see the hidden treasures!

The Nature of Mind

   The Suprme Lord, the Creator, has created Man truly in his own form. He has created the Great Elements: air, water, fire, earth, sun and moon, the stars and their planets. He has created space and time. He has created the rivers, mountains and valleys, plains and swamps. He has created the oceans. He has created from these building blocks all the plants, animals and human beings, of various forms and sizes. Having created these bodies of various sizes and forms according to functions, He gave the ways and means to experience the world of objects and beings. He has given the five sense organs that are the windows to the world of objects. He has given the support and background for experiences of sense objects in the ‘consciousness’. This ‘consciousness’ is the part of the eternal ‘Supreme Consciousness’ by which man sees, hears, tastes, touches and smells. Man enjoys happiness through the means of this ‘Consciousness’.

  The Supreme Creator has also given ‘intelligence’, or ‘buddhi’, which pervades all creations. The ultimate outcome of all these experiences wisely enjoyed is happiness and bliss. Only for this happiness and bliss, the human beings do all righteous deeds as well as resort to crime.

   Mind is the judge that decides the information that the five sense organs feed the sensations to the brain. The brain itself is one of the great wonders of creation that distinguishes man as the creator in the image of his Creator.

   Mind is Brahman. Mind is one of the creations of the Creator that stays with human beings till death. Mind is matter, made of matter and deals only with matter. Mind turns everything into forms and images. Even the limitless space and the eternal time, the mind wants to give shape and form. It wants to hold eternal time and limitless space within itself. Mind has enormous space like the sky, or ‘Akasha’.  The Mind is made of time and place, and, the mind influences and in turn get influenced by the environment in which it lives.

  The mind exists only in relativity and duality. Since the mind is the servant of the ‘ego’, it promotes the body and drives the senses to achieve this superiority. Mind exists with the ‘other’. Since this ‘other’ is the support of the mind, the mind vanishes when the ‘other’ is finished or merged with the person. For this to happen, mind depends on time. Since mind is a factor of time, it wants to beat time and overcome time at all costs. The chief occupation of all human beings, in addition to finding food, is to overcome time.  The mind wants to be at all places at all times, exclusive for others.  In other words, it wants to emulate the Self, or the Soul in us, which is one and only one, whose nature is undivided consciousness. But this universal undivided Consciousness is covered by mind, which is the cause of misery and unhappiness. This mind is like a coloured filter over the light which restricts the intensity, distorts the images and changes the forms and function of the light whose nature is illumination.

  The mind distorts the sensations and the information it receives from the sense organs as good or bad, likes or dislikes, right or wrong as well as mine and others.  Even though any sensation is the same to all beings, it is interpreted as pleasure if it is accompanied by mind; the same sensation turns into pain if it is rejected by the mind. If the sensation experienced is not very common, it becomes exclusive and it boosts the ego. Therefore, the humans go to climb the mountains, swim oceans, read and write volumes of books, and tortures oneself standing on fire. These sensations satisfy the ego but dulls the mind and the senses. 

  Mind is finite and limited. It is a factor of the past and touches only upto the present. It cannot think of the unknown. It stops when it faces the limitless and the eternal. When it looks at the sky, or stares at the mountains or ocean, it stops. It looks itself and it is no more. It has become as large and formless that it has lost its ‘being’. When the mind is no more what is experienced is bliss. Otherwise, whatever mind thinks is only sensation. When it is free from all thoughts, all impurities, it is no more. Mind is active when it is active or worrying. All thoughts good or bad, holy or unholy, noble or disgusting, evolving or depressing, all are impurities. To be free from all thoughts is to be free from all impurities. When all these impurities are removed the mind is one with ‘pure consciousnesses.

     The mind is the creator of sensations. It is the super creator. It creates images; it sees images in the absence of objects. It hears sounds when there is silence. It smells when there is no odour.  It tastes food when there is no food.  It imagines when there is nothing. It creates during waking hours as well as in dreams.

      Since it is the nature of the mind to think in terms of only images, in terms of finite and limited forms, it has no intelligence. The intellect is the tool; the mind makes use of it for achieving its goals. When the mind is associated with the intellect, it becomes thinking or planning. Devoid of intelligence, it is only worrying or imagining. The faculty of intelligence is normally made use of by the mind during the waking hours since it is not very far from reality during this waking period. Impossible things are created by the mind during the dream sequences.

         Mind is time and mind is anxiety. The mind is always in becoming and reaching. Mind is never now and here. Mind is ‘there’ and ‘afterwords’. Suppose we are in a journey and we are eager to reach the destination, the journey becomes irrelevant. We are eager and anxious to reach the destination. However, fast we are traveling, we feel it is very slow. This urge to beat the time and space and reach the destination or goal is the mind. In case we are on a holiday and we are enjoying the journey, the destination becomes irrelevant. The journey itself becomes goal and we enjoy every moment of it. The journey is here and now. When there is no desire to reach, mind is no more and there is no more ‘time’. More time it takes, we are happier.

  As long as our ‘doing’ itself becomes the goal, as long as the journey itself is the goal, we are free from time. There is no ‘reaching’ or ‘becoming’. It is ‘here’ and ‘now’. There is no time in the dynamic movement that is its own end. This is a very simple formula of getting rid of tension and anxiety, and, hence sickness. Here, the Rule of Mind Management Technique is: “Enjoy whatever you are doing; Totaly involve yourself in it”.

 Students who are worried about examinations should carefully note this. As long as their destination is passing the examinations and obtaining the degree certificates, they will have anxiety and tension. This very anxiety and tension will prevent them from achieving their goal. But, the moment they realize that ‘learning’ and not the ‘examination’ is their goal, tension and anxiety ceases to be, and learning becomes a pleasure.  Learning should be the goal rather than the examination.  When learning becomes the goal than mere passing examination, the tension and anxiety of passing examination disappears.

    Mind is the filter. It blocks the reality and the truth when the mind ‘is’ and truth ‘is not’. When the mind is present, the reality is far off. Mind is thoughts, mind is desire and mind is imagination. When the mind is working, it is not in touch with ‘now’ and the real. Mind is projecting, imagining, thinking and worrying. It is in the grip of illusion. Mind is the illusion and mind is ‘Maya’.

   Mind is darkness and is made of ignorance. Mind is the product of past. Mind is matter and all matter is gross, however pure it is. Only when the matter ceases to be, it becomes light and takes off. All matter is packet of light and energy. Mind is the mass and therefore, rooted to earth and bodies. Mind can think of bodies, forms, limited and finite; when the mind is face to face with the unlimited and eternal, it becomes silent. Mind has stopped. Only reality ‘is’ when the mind ‘is not’ there.

                   Mind is matter and all thoughts are impurities.

                The impurities of Mind are the urges, impulses, and emotions like envy, hatred, anger, fears, jealousy, lust, greed, conceit, temptation, etc. born out of rajas and tamas- the two lower Gunas. These create disturbance in the mind by creating raga, attachment and dvesha, aversion and thus rob us of peace and tranquility. These impurities cover the pure shining ‘consciousnesses. The consciousness is ever present and even awake. It is one and is the purest. This mind, which is nothing but thoughts, the desire of objects and perishable things, which has no reality, covers this consciousness. Just as the pure mirror is covered by dust and smoke and obstructs vision and reflection, so also this mind covers the pure consciousness and the reality.

               This mind is ‘Maya’. The illusion that brings about further creation of perishable and finite objects that further covers our pure consciousness.  This mind cannot overcome ‘Maya’, the illusion, since the mind itself is ‘Maya’, the illusion. It cannot eliminate self. It is just like lifting our own weight by ourselves. The mind can be removed or dissolved by the ‘Higher Being’, the Self or the Soul. Since the mind is the creation of the Supreme Self, and the soul or the individual self has taken a body due to its inseparable attachment to mind, this Maya can be overcome only by the Supreme Self by the Grace of the Lord Almighty. If we take one step in this direction, He will take a million or a billion steps to redeem us or liberate us from this illusion or grip of the mind, called ‘Maya’.

                     ‘Avruti, the veiling power is the effect of the preponderant tamas, which makes things appear other than which they are. It is this ‘aviveka’ that causes the action of the projecting power. Absence of right judgment or contrary judgment, want of definite belief and doubt are the result of the veiling power due to the preponderant tamas aided by tamasic food samskara. Hence, the projecting power, the ‘ignorance’ gives ceaseless trouble.’ [Viveka Chudamani, III. 13-15].

                   Hence, an austere life, sattvic food, and devotion to the Supreme Lord, the Almighty, and total surrender to Him will deliver us from all the troubles and ceaseless transmigration and bring everlasting peace.   

EXPLORING THE HUMAN MIND

  The study of human mind is a vast field covering all branches of science as well as philosophy- encompassing the ‘without’ and the ‘within’ of Man. The holistic or the systems view of mind seems perfectly consistent with both the scientific and the mystical views of consciousness, and thus to provide the ideal framework for unifying the two. The systems view agrees with the conventional scientific view that consciousness is a manifestation of complex material patterns- a manifestation of living systems of a certain complexity. Biological structures of these systems are expressions of system’s self-organization, i.e. mind. In mystic view it is manifestation of cosmic mind- direct experience of cosmic consciousness goes beyond the scientific approach. The systems view gives a more meaningful scientific framework for approaching the age -old questions of nature of life, mind, consciousness and matter.

   Human beings who evolved as social animals cannot keep well, physically or mentally, unless they remain in contact with other human beings. Human kind emerged through the very process of creating culture and needs this culture for its survival and further evolution- mutual interaction display similar patterns of self-organization.

   It is the nature of the mind to be creative. According to Vedanta, “Creative intelligence is in-born; it comes attached to the soul and the prana. It is the driving force, the sustainer, Vishnu, Sri Hari Narayana”. Modern science also recognizes this fact. The more the depths of the mind are plumbed, the more abundantly they produce. (Capra, F.pp.50-51). According to Paul MacLean, the human brain consists of three structurally different parts, each endowed with its own intelligence and subjectivity, which stem from different periods of our evolutionary past.

    The brain stem is the innermost part of the brain. It is concerned with instinctive behavior patterns already exhibited by reptiles. It is responsible for many kinds of compulsive behavior and biological drives. Surrounding the brain stem is the limbic system, which is well developed in mammals and in the human brain- involved with human emotions and expression.

    Subcortex- the two innermost parts of the brain are strongly inter-connected and express themselves non-verbally through a rich spectrum of body language. The outermost part, the neo-cortex facilitates higher abstract functions, such as thought and language. The neocortex originated in the earliest evolutionary phase of mammals and expanded in the human species at an explosive rate. It got stabilized about 50,000 years ago. This explosive rate at which it got stabilized is astonishing and unprecedented in evolutionary history.

   By developing our capacity for abstract thinking at such a rapid pace, we have lost touch with the realities of life and have become the only creatures who often fail to cooperate with and even kill their own kind- not one or two, but the whole of mankind. Our evolution continues to offer us freedom of choice. We can constantly alter our values and attitudes to regain the spirituality and ecological awareness we have lost.

    Living organisms are intrinsically dynamic. Their visible forms are stable manifestations of underlying processes. Process and stability are compatible only if the process form rhythmic patterns- fluctuations, oscillations,, vibrations, waves. The new biology shows fluctuations are 2crucial in the dynamics of self-organization. They are the basis of order in living world; ordered structures arise from rhythmic patterns.

   The components of ecosystems are inter-linked through cyclical exchanges of matter and energy; civilizations rise and fall in evolutionary cycles; and the planet as a whole has its rhythms and recurrences as it spins on its axis and moves around the sun. Rhythmic patterns allow individuals to express their distinctive personalities.

    The mind is responsible for the dualities. The subject and the object; the seer and the seen, the perceiver and the perceived are all better explained as maya; but the physical science tries to go deep into these aspects in the “Unified Field Theory”.

    The Vedantic truth of the unity of the Consciousness -Field will become revealed to sub-atomic physics when it resolves its present contradiction involved in viewing its ‘observer’ in terms of classical physics, while viewing its ‘observed’ in terms of the quantum field probabilities.

     In his book, ‘The Cerebral Cortex and The Mind of Man’, the neurologist Wilder Penfield states:

   “In a sense, therefore, the higher brain stem, together with that portion of the cortex which is being employed at the moment, is the seat of consciousness. It is the ‘physical basis of mind’, this hypothetical mechanism of nerve cell connections. When a man is conscious, one may conceive that, within his brain, impulses are passing along a million insulated nerve fibers that compose this complex, impulses that are some how, coordinated into the orderly sequences of deliberate thought.” 

    “What is the relationship of this mechanism to the mind? Can we visualize a spiritual element of different essence capable of controlling this mechanism? When a patient is asked about the movement of a part of his body, which he carries out as the result of cortical stimulation, he never is in any doubt about it. He knows he did not Will the action. He knows there is a difference between the automatic action and voluntary action. He would agree that something else finds its dwelling place between the sensory complex and the motor mechanism, that there is a switchboard operator, as well as a switch board”. Nature has given man alone, among all her species, the organic capacity, through his cerebral system to detach consciousness from thralldom to the organic system and refine it and raise it to higher and higher levels; and this is the role of evolution at the human stage.

The Bhagavad-Gita on Mind Control

    The Bhagavad-Gita is a treatise on Manas (Mind) and Manoniyantran (Mind Control). It dates back to 14^th century B.C. It deals with the true nature of the individual and of the supreme reality, and knowledge and wisdom. When you come to the Gita, you have the presentation of truth in all its simplicity, which helps us to take us through life’s problems. It frees us from all attachments to joys and sorrows, so that we may be attached to truth only. It gives us absolute calmness and a freedom from all conditionings- external and internal. It gives us independence and freedom; what more does on require? One who attains this remains fresh, in spite of life’s aging and retains the freshness of a new- born baby till his death. This is the philosophy of Bhagavad-Gita that helps us to remain fresh at the end of the journey as at the beginning.

      Man wants a good deal of guidance. The Bhagavad-Gita is an eternal source of strength and guidance. It gives us the whole philosophy of life in the famous oft-repeated mantra:

    ‘Karmanyeva adhikarasthe maa phaleshu kadaachana’.

    Meaning, ‘Your rights are only in your duty, never in the fruits’.   

    Our ancient sages were bold enough to ask the students to challenge the teachers. Love of truth and reason dominated their lives and works. They were undeterred by fear of blame or lure of fame. The reality as enunciated in all vedas and upanishads is the product of sustained philosophical inquiry. No other religion or philosophy in the world is so open and challenging as our ‘sanatana dharma’, which came to be known as the ‘Ancient Hindu Religion’. Its values hold good for all times to come. It is universal and more scientific and forms the basis of modern science and technology. The roots of modern physics explaining field theory or nuclear energy and molecular biology or psychiatry are evident in the Vedas and culminated in the Upanishads, the vedanta, the sum and substance of which are found in Bhagavad-Gita.          

    Sri Krishna stands for ‘Consciousness’. He dominated the scene in Mahabharata. He was highly respected by one and all; the kings and the lowliest of the lowly men. He was totally detached. He did not want any kingdom for himself. He etched out a place for himself in every heart by his sheer love as “Gopala’, the Cowherd- the Master of the Sattva Guna personified by the cow. People believed Sri Krishna to be incarnation of God, or ‘avatara’ of God. He gave ‘divya drishti’ to Arjuna and revealed the “Divya Swaroopa’ of the Almighty since the normal bodily eyes of Arjuna could not sustain the power of the Lord. This is yet another clue to those who want to vision God in their normal sensate body and mind.