MIND

We have already seen how the human body is so exquisitely designed to pick up signals from the Pancha Mahabhuta Elements from which the world and the body are built. The ears pick up sound which characterizes the Akasha Tathwa. The skin picks up the sense of touch which is the special characteristic of the Vayu/Prana Tathwa. The eyes pick up light, form and colors which characterize the Agni Tathwa. The tongue picks up taste which is the characteristic of the Jala Tathwa. And the nose picks up smell which is the characteristic of the Prithvi Tathwa.

When we say ‘picks up’ what do we mean? All the sense organs mentioned above are connected by a network of nerves to the cerebro-spinal nervous centers. Nerves are physical connecting pathways for the signals which are electrical in nature. These signals are processed by the Brain, first in the Medulla Oblongata in the rear part of the Brain, then in the Frontal Lobe where the signals are classified and understood. Based on the nature of the signals, reverse signals flash back to the organs of action, that is, the hands, the legs, the mouth, the reproductive organ and the excretory organ. Indian thought broadly endows the human body with these five sense organs (the receivers) and the five organs of action (transmitters). If one goes into further detail, there are plenty of other parts which may get activated, such as eyelids, or the cornea, or the nostrils or the facial muscles or the tear glands or even the hair on the skin (when goose pimples arise) and so on.

The Brain plays a decisive role in determining these reactions. Many other actions also result which may not be visible such as a faster heart beat, the release of perspiration, or flow of saliva. The incoming signals from the sense organs result in actions of various types. This reflex action takes place many times automatically and immediately. For example, it is remarkable how fast the eyelids can close on the appearance of a foreign object. It is as though the Brain is fully programmed to deal with a wide variety of contingencies.

Over the last century or so, there has been a great and continuing debate, particularly in the scientific community about the nature and location of Mind and Brain. Solid arguments have been put up that Mind is the Brain. There has been an opinion that Mind is a kind of offshoot or part of the Brain. However, there has also been the opposite view expressed that Mind appears to be distinct from the Brain.

Indian thought seems to distinguish the two clearly. Brain is considered to be a part of the Body. It is a purely physical part of the Body and is similar to the Nervous system. It has been possible to observe electrical signals in the Brain. However, the Mind is subtle and is part of a nebulous unmeasurable world of its own. The Mind is definitely interconnected with the Brain. Some think that the pineal gland in the Brain may be the point of connection. Some near death experiences have given the experience of Mind working while the Body and the Brain appear to be dead.

This question stood unresolved for most of the last century. However, the advent of the computer and the internet gives us a metaphor in the physical world which may explain the phenomenon. The Brain is akin to the computer which has a computing power of its own and a memory bank also of its own. However, when anything unknown to the computer has to be studied then one resorts to connecting with the Internet. The Mind is akin to the Internet.

The Mind and the Brain are closely interconnected. The basic programming for survival as a human being comes programmed in the Brain at birth. It is like a Basic Operating System. Then as life evolves and the child grows up it continues to pick up new information which is continually fed into the Brain. The Operating System develops through applications.

The Mind is a vast ocean of information and knowledge in the form of memory. When the Brain is confronted with a new situation then it has to refer to the Mind for guidance. The Mind then checks through its data bank and either recognizes the new situation or files it anew. The fresh guidance received from the Mind is stored in the Brain and will become useful for a future contingency.

The Mind has been studied more from its effects than from knowledge of its contents. From a careful study of the way people behave or act some knowledge of the capabilities of the Mind has been obtained. It is still insufficient and there are more questions than answers.

Vedanta, however, is categorical in defining the Mind. In the Mandukya Upanishad, for instance, the Mind is described as consisting of nineteen components: Manas, Buddhi, the Subtle Aspects of the five Sensory organs, the Subtle Aspects of the five Organs of Action, the Five Pranas, Chitta (Memory) and Ahamkara (Ego).

‘Manas’ stands for the flow of thoughts. Like the flow of blood characterizes the Body, thoughts are the stuff of the Mind. Thoughts have content and feeling. Content defines the nature of the thought and feeling is an emotion associated with the thoughts.

‘Buddhi’ stands for the discriminative, analytical faculty, normally called the Intellect. It is a power of the Mind to classify, identify, judge, correlate, analyze and compile. It is a faculty which stands apart from Manas and is independent.

The five Sensory organs have a replica in subtle form in the Mind. That is how the Mind is able to recognize certain signals from the Brain and advise suitable action.

The five Organs of Action have a replica in subtle form in the Mind. That is how the Mind can initiate responses to certain situations which may be new and unrecognizable by the Brain.

The five Pranas is an interesting concept in the Vedanta. The life-giving and life-sustaining subtle force called Prana is conceived to comprise five different forces which help operate the Body. They are ‘Prana’, ‘Apana’,’Vyana’, ‘Udana’ and ‘Samana’.
Prana is the basic life sustaining energy which is inhaled and helps maintain the respiratory system in the body. Apana is the energy that helps exhalation and excretion. Vyana sustains the circulatory system and glandular secretions in the Body. Udana is the energy mainly concerned with the faculty of speech and the assimilation and retention of knowledge. And Samana is the system that maintains digestion and overall equilibrium of the Body.
Prana, which is plentifully available in the atmosphere as well as in many natural locales such as rivers and grass and forests, is the main nutrient and life-sustaining force for both the Body and the Mind. We will explore this later in the blog. For the moment let us recognize how important it is in the operation of the Mind.
Chitta which represents memory is the data bank of experiences and knowledge. It comprises both the data collected during this lifetime as well as the stored memories from earlier lives. It plays a very important part in defining the personality and behavior of a human being.
Ahamkara or Individuality is that specific shade of self identity that sets the particular human being apart from all others and gives him/her a unique identity.
Chitta and Ahamkara, although separately mentioned in the Upanishad, are closely related and so are often referred to as one concept, Chitta-Ahamkara. In English it is referred to as Ego or Egoity.

So the Mind of a particular person stands separate and unique in relation to the vast ocean called the Subtle Universe. This is similar to the Body of an individual which stands separate from the entire Material Physical Universe. The genetic formulation of a Body differentiates it from all other living and non-living objects in the Physical Universe. Similarly the individual Mind stands separate from all the other individual Minds which populate the Subtle Mental Universe.

However, the individual Mind is capable of transacting and communicating with the Subtle Universe. It is rather like a fish in the ocean which retains its individuality but is still in the ocean and so can transact and communicate with other living beings and non-living matter in the ocean. This explains the phenomenon called ‘telepathy’, for instance, where a person seems to be able to receive mental ideas from someone far away. It also explains the phenomenon called ‘hypnosis’ where one person is able to control the thoughts of another person.

The individual Mind of a human being is thus able to communicate with the Brain of that person and also with the Minds of other people in the Universe. The Mind of a person interpenetrates the Physical Body and envelops it in a kind of aura. Some scientists claim to have developed a special type of photography called ‘Kirlian Photography’ which is said to photograph this aura.

The Mind is a fulcrum with the Body on one side and the Soul on the other. It acts to connect the Body to the Soul. We saw the analogy of the telescope earlier. The Soul expands into the Mind which can expand into the Body. Just as the Pancha Mahabhutas evolve sequentially from each other, starting with the Akasha Tathwa and proceeding to the Vayu Tathwa to the Agni Tathwa to the Jala Tathwa and ultimately to the Prithvi Tathwa, in similar manner, the Soul (comprising mainly the Akasha Tathwa) evolves into the Mind (comprising the
Vayu/Agni/ Jala Tathwas and finally evolves into the Body (comprising the Prithvi Tathwa).

SOUL ------------MIND ---------------BODY

This triple aspect of a human body reproduces the Universe:

SUVARLOKA -----BHUVARLOKA-------BHULOKA

This triplicity also refers to the three states of consciousness:

DEEP SLEEP------DREAMING--------WAKEFULNESS

The OMKARA symbol thus represents in a symbolic form both the Individual and the Universe.

The existence of the independent Mind is proven by the state of dreaming. During dreaming, the individual human being is not conscious of his/her Body. Images flash in a dream drawn from the Chitta (Memory) and events seem to take place that may have some vague relationship to the waking experiences and many times cannot even be recognized by the individual. These unrecognizable experiences are said to be from experiences from past lives stored in the Chitta or Memory. The Mind is a storehouse of not only today’s experiences but many past experiences. Sometimes the individual Mind may pick up bits of information from the Subtle Universe too.

The Mind is often likened to a monkey because it is extremely mobile and active, moving from one idea to another. This happens because of the flow of thoughts which is incessant and continuous. The thoughts only stop during Deep Sleep when Mind itself seems to vanish. In Deep Sleep the person is not aware of either the Mind or the Body. There is no perception of thoughts and feelings. That is why the Deep Sleep state is called ‘Blissful’ or ‘Restful’.

Because of the close interaction of the Mind and the Body through the Brain, the contents of the Mind influence the actions and behavior of the Body. If the Mind is restless and active, the Body seems to display the same restlessness and tension. If the Mind is restful, placid and calm, the Body also seems to become peaceful. The Pranas never stop working even in a calm Body. Breathing continues, the heart keeps beating, blood circulation and the actions of various glands continue.

Similarly, if the Body is stressed and fatigued, then the Mind could get disturbed and stressed. When the Body needs nourishment, then the Mind could get tense. Anger is often the result of hunger.

If the Mind develops a desire arising from a memory, or arising from something seen by the eyes, then the Body could respond to fulfill the desire.

Life is lived through the work of the Mind and the Body. If the Body-Mind connection gets broken, the meaning and the means of life could get affected and life, although present, becomes meaningless. Close co-ordination between Mind and Body is essential to live life properly. The movements of a gymnast showcase the close co-ordination between Mind and Body. When one sees a star cricketer wield his bat one can see the close co-ordination between his hand, his legs and his mind.
The Mind and the Body are the wherewithal, the main means by which we lead a successful and meaningful life. But is that the end of it? From where do they get their energy? What makes them tick?

To answer these questions it becomes necessary for us to try and understand the third important part of the Human System, that is, the Soul or Atma. We will explore this in our next blog.

This month we would like to remember a great sage called VYASA. He is said to have been a contemporary of Sri Krishna some 5010 years ago during the end of the Dwapara Yuga and the beginning of the Kali Yuga. He was a great scholar. He wrote the account of the life of Sri Krishna in two masterly treatises, the SRIMAD BHAGAVATHAM and the MAHABHARATHA. Both are a combination of history, philosophy and sociology. They record the achievements and events during the life of Sri Krishna and the establishment of a new World Order where the sanctity and importance of the Vedas were re-established. This became necessary because of the drastic demolishment of them by several inimical entities. Sage Vyasa was also instrumental in getting the Vedas written down and classified into four groupings so that they would be preserved for posterity. These groupings are called the Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharvana Vedas.

Vyasa entrusted the propagation and preservation of each of these groupings to His disciples and got them to establish schools of learning and research called ASHRAMAS. From these schools, long lines of teacher-disciple relationships got established and the Vedic knowledge was preserved in a world which during the last 5010 years has seen lots of conflagrations and wars and destruction. It is said that during Sri Krishna’s time the whole world as it existed then, was immersed in the Vedas and Vedic way of worship and life. However in the intervening years from then to now, much of the world has lost its Vedic connections although Vedic thought seems to come through at odd places. The Vedas and the Vedic thought and ideas have been preserved in India and continue to be actively practised even today. Vyasa is thus called VEDA VYASA. He is said to have compiled the eighteen chief PURANAS. He is also credited with the compilation of the BRAHMA SUTRAS which give the essence of the Vedas in a highly condensed form. He built the Vedic thoughts into the BHAGAVAT GITA which is the philosophic centerpiece of the MAHABHARATA. Thus because of his massive and major contributions to the preservation of the Vedic thought he is remembered each year at the time of the Full Moon in July. This occasion is called GURU POORNIMA or VYASA POORNIMA. Let us also remember Him on this occasion this year when it falls on July 25.

We hope you are finding these notes interesting and helpful and we trust you are able to see the emerging correlation between Spirituality and Life.

We continue to look forward to your comments and posts as also your active participation.

Warm regards and God Bless