11. From a Carnal mind to a Spiritual mind……

The entire human lot can be broadly classified into two categories; one is Bubhukshu or those with carnal mind and the others Mumukshu or those who are spiritual inclined. A Bubhukshu is fond of worldly pleasure and like to enjoy the life to the maximum extent. A Mumukshu is the one who is intensely yearning for liberation from the cycles of birth and death.

Bubhukshtva is a power that drives one to be Srujanatmaka (creative) and Rachnatmaka (constructive). In the process a Bubhukshu who is more concerned of the affairs of life will be obsessed with worldly things like money, status, possessions, reputation which are to satisfy him. Hence to achieve them he can go to any extent.

“Bubhukshitah kim na karoti papam” asks a Sanskrit saying, which means “How can a carnal mind not commit sin?”  

Mumukshutva is a power that gives strength to develop Vairagya (dispassion) and Bhava Virakti (detachment). With these two traits an individual can resist the temptations of the senses which could lead him to get engrossed in the worldly pleasures which might affect his self discipline while he is threading the path of self-realization.

The Vedanta is essentially is basically to lead us to excel but occasionally it is misinterpreted to suite our reasoning. Amazingly Vedanta does not say one has to avoid societal values all together. There is nothing wrong in owning a home, a car, having material possessions, having a successful career or raising a family, loving them and providing for them. We need carnal things to survive and enjoy. In fact Upanishads inspire both a Mumukshu as well as a Bubhukshu in equal terms. That is the reason behind the emphasis of the four goals of human life namely Dharma (Righteousness), Artha (Wealth), Kama (Desire) & Moksha (Liberation). While wealth and desire are like river flowing at a very high velocity the individual should see that the river does not breach the banks which are righteousness and liberation. 

Vedic tradition talked about “Ashrama” meaning stages of life where our duties are performed as our age progress. There are four in all namely Brahmacharya (Student life), Grihastha (Householder life), Vanaprastha (Hermit life) and finally Sannyasa (Reclusive life). Though it is not possible to lead such a living in this modern lifestyle we can adopt our mind to this. When an individual is in the first two stages the carnal mind is required to support and live on but after entering the third stage the carnal mind has to be totally subdued. The mind tries to evade and procrastinate like a new bullock that is yoked to the plough for the first time. But it will not get any support if the farmer (Awakened Being) behind the plough is bent upon taming it at all costs. Ultimately the mind will be left with no alternative but to submissively assent to be yoked to the plough and transcend from carnal tendency to spiritual thinking. 

The prerequisite though is that when the individual enjoyed the materialistic and carnal living he has to manage it properly by not getting entangled with the desire of ownership……. What say?????

10. Mind Dwells in my Brain as well as my Heart and plays a Dual Role!!!

Mind is not just a cluster of thoughts it is also subtle matter. It is not visible or tangible and its existence is nowhere seen. It has a magnitude which is immeasurable. It does not require a space in which to exist it can travel throughout the body. But it is said that it dwell either in my brain or heart. The mind which operates from my brain is different from that which operates when in my heart. When mind perceives a thing from the brain its output is Yuktartha (Rational) and while it is relating through my heart it is Bhavapurna (Emotional). Mind enters into a dual role and this is how it functions while in my brain and in my heart:-

Mind thrives on thoughts when in my brain but blossoms into feelings when in my heart.

Mind in my brain search for pleasure while in my heart it is contented with pleasant.

New treat is what my mind in the brain yearns for whilst old retreat will bring joy to my mind in the heart. 

Mind in my brain has doubts whereas when it is in my heart it flourishes in faith. 

Mind in my brain breeds arguments but when in my heart it wishes acceptance. 

Mind when in my brain tries to overlook nonetheless when in my heart it wastes no time to appreciate. 

When in my brain the mind craves for things while from the heart it only wishes. 

Mind dwelling in my brain analyses every event however in the heart it understands the event. 

Mind housed in my brain searches for logic on the other hand when in heart it just wants something to laugh. 

Mind anchored in my brain divides in contrast when it is in heart it unites. 

Mind from the brain wants to see through my senses but the mind in the heart wants to go beyond my senses. 

Mind in brain provides logic nevertheless when the mind dwells in my heart it offers wisdom. 

Mind in my brain wants change whereas the mind in my heart seeks for the unchanging TRUTH. 

Mind in my brain has deceived me many times by promising happiness in future but my mind in heart has saved me many times giving Peace, Contentment, & Happiness HERE and NOW. It is also easy to make my mind transcend to  Bhavathita (Emotion free) and then from there to Gunathita (Quality free) and become Amalah (Crystal Clear)!!!

So I have let my MIND remain in my HEART for a long time than allowing it to be in my BRAIN………. I am sure that I am right in doing so!!!!!

9. Does Mind dwell in both HEART as well as BRAIN????????

Mind is not only a means by which one can think and question, but it has a much more capacity than that. Thinking, questioning and recognizing are the intellectual aspect of the mind which are quite necessary. If one probes further there is another most important function that the mind does that is to reflect. Reflecting from where? From where do the ideas originate in us? Could ideas get created separately apart from the thinking mind? This is what is needed to think to know more about mind and its dwelling.

We know that life has never had a beginning and so can have no end. In such an event we are unable to date the origin of idea. We humans are thinking species since ages on this earth and implemented our thinking capacity to benefit our lifestyle. So our ideas have been bettered and have shaped for good since millions of years. How has these ideas been passed on to the generation and generation over so many million years????? Where were these ideas present????? 

Answer to these questions is that they are impressed, implanted, imbibed on a substance which theology calls it SUBTLE body or ASTRAL Body (Sukshma Deha). This Subtle body is our Mind and Intellect. Not even a small data is lost and every impressions, thoughts, feelings are permanently ingrained. Therefore, the mind of every human being has the power to reflect on many of its impressions under any conditions and at any situation. Some may call it intuition, or instinct or sixth sense. Sukshma Deha has the impressions of our unfulfilled ambitions and untold desires at the time of death. To fulfill those ambitions and desire a new body is required in the next life. Those unfulfilled impression and untold desire along with ideas and reflecting mind constitute our Subtle Body or Astral Body. Now where this dwells in an individual is most mysterious.

Sage Patanjala the author of Yoga Sutras identifies heart as the seat of individual consciousness and the center of life and a necessary organ for balancing the mind and to attain bodily equilibrium. TCM, Traditional Chinese Medicine recognizes heart as the bridge between the body and the mind. Kundalini talks of Anahata Chakra (Heart Chakra) being the associated with Unconditional Love, Compassion and Spiritual Growth.

“There is a brain within our heart and there are neurons in our heart similar to the ones in our brain, and the existence of neurons in our heart has led to the creation of a whole new area called neurocardiology.  Now we know that because of these neurons our heart has a capacity to think. These neurons are like a wire that is connected to the brain. Studies indicate that some of these neurons are going directly to the brain without any intermediary. They are going from very important sites in the heart to very strategic locations in the brain.” Says Dr. Abdullah A. Abdulgader, Director of  the Prince Sultan Cardiac Center in Al-Hasa. 

To justify this there is a case in America where a woman by name Claire Sylvia received a heart transplant at a hospital in Yale, Connecticut on May 29, 1988. Some years after the operation she felt like drinking beer, something she wasn’t particularly fond of. Later, she observed an uncontrollable urge to eat chicken nuggets and found herself wanting to visit the popular chicken restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken.  She also began craving for green peppers which was something she hadn’t particularly liked before. Most unusually she started walking like a man. On investigating further her daughter came to know that the donor of the heart for her mother was a teenager Tim Lamirande who had met with a motorcycle accident in 1988. He was addicted to chicken nuggets, green peppers and beer.   

If this theory has no meaning how can a Muslim kid of age 5 years recite 700 slokas of Bhagavad-Gita???? OR two and a half year old kid could give a Tabala performance OR a three year kid could tell the capital of 122 countries and 28 states of India, Science has to go deep into this subject by consulting the ancient scriptures to get a break through to this mystery.

Isn’t it???????????? 

8. Cut short the Life Span of your Mind for a Single Day....!!!

Charvakas (advocates of materialism) ask, “Bhasmi-bhutasya dehasya punaragamanam kutah rnam krtva ghrtam pibet yavad jivet sukham jivet”

Meaning- Once this physical body is burnt to ashes after death there is no question of having a next life. So long as you live, live happily, make a loan and relish ghee. 

Yes, on the surface their statement is true as we have never seen anyone coming back after the body is buried or cremated. But the real question is what happens to the “I” does that get eliminated when the body is disposed?
 

What is that “I”?

“I” is a thought or a collection of thoughts that give rise to what is called “Mind”. So in brief Mind is the storehouse of numerous thoughts and experiences that has been experience in this life as well as many past lives. This “I” is a vital spark that transcends the body. The body might decline, degenerate and decay but the “I” thought is never touched by death.
 

This “I” thought which lies in the mind has unfulfilled desires and untold ambitions is what this blog is trying to talk about. The hindrance of this physical body and the inconsistency of our achievement have made us unable to fulfill all that we desire in the short span of life. Unfortunately when this physical body loses it ability to continue this “I” though does not and cannot fulfill the desire and ambitions. It needs the support of a physical body not necessarily a human body. Hence that remaining residue of unfulfilled desire and untold ambitions leap forth our “I” thought to that specific condition in space and time so that the unfulfilled longings can materialize. That is the reason for the “I” thought to don a new body and this is termed rebirth. The conclusion is that “I” thought has to take a body in the way of rebirth to fulfill its unfulfilled desires, this agony continues for ever in the future life also and this is termed as Samskara Dukha (Suffering due to Instincts) in Vedanta.
 

Is there as remedy to minimise this “I” thought? Yes, that is what is called “Manonasha” (Destruction of Mind). A Vichara (contemplation) of “Who I am?” is the best and most effective method. This will annihilate the “I” thought that is the reason for the rebirth. This is the Vedantic method of realising the unreality of the Mind through philosophical thinking. But then we are in the physical world what to do with the “I” thoughts that gets generated in this life span. Some say Manolaya (Dissolution of Mind) helps and it can be experienced in Nada Yoga (Merger with Music) and also by performing Pranayama (Breath Control) but unfortunately this phase is a temporary absorption of the mind. There are possibilities that “I” thought could spring back again into action.
 

This “I” thought is the source and the seed that manifests as a huge tree called Mind. All thoughts are centered on the little “I”. If a little effort is made to find out what the “I” is then it will fade away into an airy nothing. The food for the “I” thought is mainly the unwanted and uncontrolled thinking. “I” thought gets destroyed when there is no imagination of unwanted. The experience of the world is due to your imagination but positive one not the negative. 

In totality if the way you live is transformed such that you cut short the life span of the “I” thought to single day it is possible to see that there is no rebirth. Is it possible to live with a new mind daily??? Yes, definitely it is possible. Start by using mind on monthly basis and gradually get down to weekly basis and ultimately day to day basis. Everyday when you go to sleep it is deluge in your mind. It would be just like a smart housewife keeping her kitchen clean by clearing unwanted rubbish when she decides to close the kitchen for the day. She is not immature to say she will not cook as she wants the kitchen spick and span............... will she?????

7. Pain of the Mind is worse than the Pain of the Body.

Pain is a unpleasant feeling experienced both physically and mentally by an individual. Once we understand how our mind behaves to pain we can avoid unintentionally maximizing the pain and intentionally minimize it and make our self more comfortable. If we observe some people are better at handling pain than others, how is it possible????

Research says that some people are more sensitive to pain than others and also state that how much the pain hurts actually is in once own mind. They say a patient who has optimistic thinking is more effective than any powerful painkiller in relieving pain. At the onset, if pain is in physical realm, and if we take medication to ease it and still can't get rid of the pain then it may be more mental than physical. This pain consumes us and takes toll on the tranquility in us. Pain is such an uncomfortable feeling that even a tiny amount of it is enough to ruin every enjoyment in life. The trick here may be to keep ourselves busy with some other thing and try to divert the attention of our mind. It can be mental or physical diversion or a combination of both. 

Meditation for a short period of time or walk in the beautiful garden or watching an exciting program can possibly help keep our mind off the pain. It may be surprising to know that the effect of the pain is not as bad as they were, if we have displaced its presence in our life.

There is a story of a princess who had a sore eye problem and she felt irresistible to scratch the eye. Being a princess, she was a spoiled brat and was lamenting all the time. She would not let the royal doctors to attend her or to apply medicine; she would invariably refuse any treatment and kept on scratching the sore spot on her eye. In this way it became worse and worse, until finally the king proclaimed a large reward for whoever could cure his daughter. After some days, a man arrived to the palace and claimed to be a famous physician, but actually he knew nothing about medical science.

He affirmed that he could certainly cure the princess and hence was taken to her chamber. After he had examined her for about an hour, he exclaimed, “Oh, I'm so sorry!”

“What is it?” the princess inquired.

The man said, “There is nothing much to worry about your eye, but there is something else that is really serious to be attended.”

The princess was anxious and asked, “What is it that is so serious to be worried?”

He hesitated and said, “It is really bad. I shouldn't tell you about it.” 

No matter how much she persisted, he declined to tell her, saying that he could only talk at the presence of the king.

When the king arrived, the man was still unwilling to disclose his findings. Finally the king commanded, “Tell us what is wrong. Whatever it is, you have to tell us!” 

At last he said, “Well, the problem of the eye is very insignificant. That is not at all a problem. The big problem is that the princess will grow a tail, which will become at least nine feet long. It may start growing any time. If it has to be treated the princess has to detect the first moment it appears, and then I might be able to prevent it from growing further.” 

At this news everyone was deeply concerned. And the princess, what did she do? She stayed in bed, all day and night, focusing all her attention to detecting when and where the tail might appear. Thus, she forgot about the sore eye and did not scratch the eye and so after a few days, her eye was cured.

 
This is how we usually react to pain or problems in our life. We focus on those little pain and problem and it becomes the center around which everything else revolves. This kind of attention never let the pain or problem to relieve or resolve. Pain and problems can’t affect us unless we let them.

6. Can we transcend Mind and go beyond it????

Every Master irrespective of whichever philosophy tells us to transcend the mind to comprehend the Truth. The word transcend does not mean to drop the mind and go beyond it. Is it possible to drop the mind?

Suppose I drop my mind which I can never do in this life span would it not stop my existence? Even to drop my mind I need my mind isn't it?

Though I do succeed in going beyond the mind by dropping my mind I would need my mind to know about it and amazingly the moment I drop my mind I become non existent. Is there a way to know that the realm of mind is crossed, if so who is the one who comprehends it? Even to comprehend one has to have the mind. Then were the Masters and Guru telling us something which was impractical? All these talks seem to be confusing isn't it??

No, there is no confusion at all. The Gurus and Masters who want us to go beyond the mind were pointing to the Conscious Mind. Conscious Mind is from where we think. It is the thinking mind and most of us conclude that we have only the thinking mind. But we have another mind which does not think it is just a storehouse of all the memory its capacity of virtually unlimited. It is the Subconscious Mind       

The Conscious Mind is contained in the Subconscious Mind like how the tree is contained in a small seed. While the Subconscious Mind is the un-manifested tree in the seed the Conscious Mind is the manifested tree outside the seed.

The involuntary action like breathing, heart beat and blood circulation is because of this Subconscious Mind which follows the direction of the Conscious Mind without fail. For instance, if I want to lift my leg I just think and a desire to do is created and my leg gets lifted. I do not need to think of how and which muscles precisely is needed so that my leg gets lifted.

Now the moment I question myself who lifted my leg I would say without batting my eye “I lifted my leg” here my Conscious Mind is takes the credit and becomes the doer while in reality it is not the doer it is just the one which desired for the leg to be lifted. Since I identify with the Conscious Mind I assume that I am doing everything. This thought that “I am doing everything” is the foundation for the EGO. The thoughts get manifested to action on the behest of my Conscious Mind with the authority of my Subconscious Mind. My Conscious Mind does the entire tantrum while the Subconscious Mind is neutral in nature as it is non-judgmental.  

The Conscious Mind can be made to be serene by becoming indifferent to the flow of thoughts. In fact the spiritual practices are aimed at reaching this stage. It is not correct to say that in this state there are no thoughts at all, but in this state there is a control on unwanted thoughts.

Now what are unwanted thoughts?

Any thought which has a constructive prospects and goes on to become actions which benefit the individual in particular and others in general are superior thoughts. In contrast those thoughts which have destructive prospects and goes on to become a burden to others though it benefits the individual are unwanted thoughts. Just as weeds grow uncontrolled and deprive the crop of its energy from the soil, the unwanted thoughts cloud the Conscious mind.     

When uncontrolled unwanted thoughts stops what remains is the Subconscious Mind. In this mind one finds Bliss because of its neutral nature. The ego dissolves because the Conscious Mind is not dominant; the identification of the Self migrates from the Conscious Mind (Ego state) to the Subconscious Mind and identifies itself with it. The Subconscious is nothing but the field of unlimited possibilities.

So can I ever go beyond the mind? In reality it is a very big NO.

5. Intellect is a better option than Conditioned Mind!!!

Science says we all are evolved organisms and initially we were complex chemical combinations from which we became single-celled, went on to become multi-cellular creatures then fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals to ape-like ancestors and finally Homo sapiens that we are today. Accepted that we have evolved as the Darwin theory has explained. We need to know what is that which takes us to a level higher than animals. Man is considered a social animal. What made him be social animal???

We have many things in common with animals like the way we eating, commuting, reproducing, and protect ourselves. One more extraordinary trait is the fact that animals are conditioned by their environment and by experiences. Just imagine how an angry and vicious animal can be trained to be gentle at the hands of a ringmaster. Though the natural instinct of a few animals is to behave wild, man has conditioned them to be his slave. And while animals some have this adoptive mind which needs no one to interfere like for example it took thousands of years for the giraffe species to have long neck so that they can eat the acacia leaves on the tree tops. It was the adoptive mind at work. But having said that animals can use their conditioned and adoptive mind to better their live only in four features namely food, shelter, sleep and procreation. It does not and cannot use its mind to go beyond these.

We humans have intellect (Buddhi) along with mind (Manas) which can be used to change the way we live and excel from one position to the better. When I say to live a better life it is not life of comfort, an animal with conditioned mind is able to find means to make its life comfortable. The intellect has to be used to understand things in spiritual aspect. Intellect is an ability to choose Shreya (Beneficial) against Preya (Pleasant). If we can use our intellect to choose then we can strengthen it by having confidence on it when a choice has to be made. All we need is awareness to choose our intellect instead of our conditioned mind or adaptive mind.

Is Intellect different from mind then???? Yes, if intellect is the program the mind is the processor. Intellect is higher than mind if the intellect is the boss the mind is its secretary. Mind provides all the necessary inputs for the project that is imagined by intellect, suppose the intellect has decided to go to a place the mind provides the route and the means to reach the same.

Often conditioned mind is mistaken as intellect. When we see animals which behave extraordinary we say they are intelligent but they are either using their conditioned or adaptive mind. If they were intelligent they would have started to think like we human about emancipation. It is unfortunate to see some humans also use conditioned mind and adaptive mind instead of the unique faculty called intellect. Conditioned mind is limited and it is like uploaded non-writable files while intellect is infinite with lots of writable files which can be uploaded or downloaded. 

A conditioned mind is a small package of typical thoughts. When a conditioned mind seeks answer to questions it has to search for answers within that small package since it cannot go beyond it. Intellect can provide answers to any of the questions the mind puts to it simply because it is connected to something which the mind cannot comprehend to. Reading scriptures and knowing about them is in a way conditioning of mind but with those input if we use our intellect we will know the essence and significance of what the scriptures say, so that we can put those to use in our daily life. Intellect is sharpened by the unconditioned UNIVERSAL CONSCIOUSNESS.

4. Can the Invincible Mind be controlled??? If so who can???

 

Our actions are constantly propelled by whims and fancies of the Manas (Mind). Mind is the faculty of perceiving and also processing the information that is perceived through passions, emotions, feelings and impulses. We also have another aspect called the Buddhi (Intellect) Intellect is the faculty of discrimination. The functions of the intellect is to thinking, reflecting, reasoning, discriminating, judging, and distinguishing between pairs of opposites. Mind operates in the field of known while intellect tries to reach beyond the known to know the unknown. Hence knowledge is gained by intellect.

There is constant conflict between Intellect (Buddhi) and Mind (Manas) that is witnessed by Consciousness (Atma). This is never seen in animals. Let us suppose a landlord who happens to leave his house for a few days orders both his housekeeper and the dog not to venture out of the house in his absence. Even though both have violated the order, the dog has no inner conflict and sleeps happily, but the housekeeper is sleepless because of guilt. The intellect which is the talking conscience pricks the mind, this is called guilty conscience. If mind listens to the intellect and order the sense organs then there would be no conflict between the mind and intellect. When we say we have a disturbed mind then we have done something that our intellect does not want us to do.

The mind has to be controlled by intellect, and in turn the mind has to have control over the sense organs (Indriyas). If our sense organs are horses of a chariot, the mind is the leash that is held by intellect, the charioteer. The chariot will move in the right direction only if the charioteer has control over the horses through the leash. The mind is like the supervisor in the factory of life, and directs the senses. The mind does a wonderful job of carrying out directions, but it is not supposed to be the key decision-maker in the factory. That is the job of intellect. If intellect is clouded, then the mind has a habit of listening to whoever is speaking the loudest in the factory. If this happens there is chaos in the factory, same is true in our life the mind has to heed to the words of the intellect if it starts to listen to what senses says there is chaos. It is this chaotic situation which make it difficult to experience inner peace. If the Mind is not controlled by Intellect any number of sessions of Meditation will be a futile effort……… What say????