Notes about Mind

Due to momentum (prarabdha) a flow of thoughts passes which is illuminated by the Self. If one examines closely, there is no physical location of the m


ind inside the body. It is of the nature of Sukshma sharira, or the subtle body and hence doesn’t have a “gross” or a physical nature like the brain etc. It is also to be noted that Mind is an English word and does not correspond to an exact word in Sanskrit.

 

Popular misconceptions

 

Thoughts constitute the Manas or loosely the Mind. However, there is no separate physical or a gross entity called the mind inside which intellect, memory or ahamkara reside collectively. Together, the manas, intellect, memory and ahamkara are called Anthah-karana or the inner equipment. Science has not been able to pinpoint such an apparatus nor has science been able to confirm thoughts by way of experiments. All that science has been able to do is map electrical activity in the brain each time different thought-types occur. So, all that there is – thought and more thoughts!

 

These functions of the anthah-karana are therefore different types of thought alone*

  •         Mind: nature of mind is that of vacillation or indecision
  •        Intellect – is a decisive and discriminating thought. It also draws on memory and projects future thought possibilities.
  •         Memory – is a storehouse of thoughts about the past
  •      Ahamkara – is an appropriating thought which “owns” the actions and binds them to a jiva

[*Source: Tatvabodah]

 

Thoughts about the past and thoughts about the future - both these dictate our actions with support from gnanedriyas and karmendriyas’

 

In the jiva, there can be only one thought at any point, which gets illuminated. In every thought there inheres the I-thought [ahamkara], which, due to ignorance, leads to the perception of the existence of the jiva. It is the momentum of prarabdha that brings a stream of thoughts that are good/bad. It is the discriminative thought that chooses the appropriate thought based on our pravritti or our tendency.


Conclusion


All thoughts arise and fall in Brahman. Of themselves, they have no independent existence. The Mandukya says that the waking world is experienced as a thought in the mind and so is the dream world – therefore both worlds therefore are not satyam but mithya.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the author

Om Sri Gurbhyoh Namah! The timeless tradition of Advaita continues even today. The author is a follower of that long lineage of teaching that has seen Swami Dayananda Saraswati leading by his thought leadership in recent times – a process which was set in motion by Adi Shankara. The author is an ordinary individual grappling with the very questions described at the beginning of this piece. The author believes that one needs a firm conviction to solve any problem – either pertaining to this life or the life after. This Truth is so commonplace, profound, and yet invisible to the naked eye or the finest intellect even. It is obtainable easily by the one who strives earnestly for it.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amatra or Turiya, Atman and Brahman – the Self as per Mandukya

Image
  Pranava or OM   The Mandukya Upanishad is a principal Upanishad in the Athraveda. Mānduka, its etymological root, refers to a “teacher” or ‘spiritual distress” as per Monier’s dictionary. When the world begins each time in its cyclical evolution after pralaya, as per nasadiya suktam*     न अस॑त् आ॒सी॒त्   नो इति॑   सत्   आ॒सी॒त् । ná ásat  ā s ī t n á  u sát  ā s ī t not the non-existent existed, nor did the existent exist then At the time of evolution, there was no sound or soundless-ness as we more commonly understand it. Om or Pranava is the “primordial” or the first sound in the universe. Before the Pranava, there was no sound. It is important to note that both, sound, and absence of sounds, are present only in duality, therefore. This sound is also called as “shabda Brahman” by the shaktas.   Amatra – the infinite   Now let us examine Amatra. In Sanskrit, Matra denotes a quantity or duration ...
Read more

Are you looking for the Purpose of Life

Image
Are you looking for a purpose in life?   Have you wondered about the purpose of life? Why must one be born, live a life of ups and downs, start a family and eventually perish? Is this a repetitive cycle and is it ordained? If not, why must all of us go through this? Death seems to be a finality of life. All that one has earned – name, fame, power, money, respect, good deeds – all seem to be powerless at the final step. Upon retrospective evaluation it seems to make one’s accomplishments in life meaningless, entirely. People normally come to this point in their life either having achieved a pinnacle in this life yet feeling a longing or due to a keen observation of their surroundings. If the above resonates with you, read on.  What is the nature of this inquiry? When one dies does that person take the miseries, sufferings, building, cars, wealth, or any one single accomplishment of their life with them. It would seem that any number of achievements of a person’s life remain ...
Read more