Mind : ( 24/10/2012. )

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): The Effect of Dharana or Concentrating the Mind : ... : Part - 2. At the very commencement of the Vibhuti Pada of this great work, the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali introduces us directly t...

Part - 2. At the very commencement of the Vibhuti Pada of this great work, the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali introduces us directly to the quintessential essence of the practice of yoga. In comparison with this attitude which is adopted in the Vibhuti Pada in such right earnest, everything that has been said and explained in the Sadhana Pada should be regarded as preparatory. In fact, this is exactly what the author feels. When we come to the point of concentration of mind, which is the subject with which the Vibhuti Pada begins, we are face to face with a tremendous atmosphere. It looks, as it were, that everything is up in arms against us, and every atom of creation becomes aware of our existence. What actually happens, and what one has to encounter at the time when one is ready for the concentration of the mind according to the techniques prescribed in yoga, is not clear to many people. This is because we have the commonplace notion of the concentration of the mind, such as t...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): The Effect of Dharana or Concentrating the Mind : ... : Part-1. At the very commencement of the Vibhuti Pada of this great work, the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali introduces us directly to the...

Part-1. At the very commencement of the Vibhuti Pada of this great work, the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali introduces us directly to the quintessential essence of the practice of yoga. In comparison with this attitude which is adopted in the Vibhuti Pada in such right earnest, everything that has been said and explained in the Sadhana Pada should be regarded as preparatory. In fact, this is exactly what the author feels. When we come to the point of concentration of mind, which is the subject with which the Vibhuti Pada begins, we are face to face with a tremendous atmosphere. It looks, as it were, that everything is up in arms against us, and every atom of creation becomes aware of our existence. What actually happens, and what one has to encounter at the time when one is ready for the concentration of the mind according to the techniques prescribed in yoga, is not clear to many people. This is because we have the commonplace notion of the concentration of the mind, such as the ty...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): The Relationship between Brain and Mind : Last Par... : Discussion : between a devotee with Swamiji ( Q - A ) The Ultimate Reality is Substance, according to Spinoza. You may call It God,...

Discussion : between a devotee with Swamiji ( Q - A ) The Ultimate Reality is Substance, according to Spinoza. You may call It God, if you like. He calls It the Universal Substance, and It is conscious of Itself. That Self-consciousness of Universal Substance is called God, and you are inseparable from It, ultimately. But in the act of creation, due to the interference of space and time, this separation consciousness has arisen, unfortunately, and each part of the Universal Substance began to assert itself as something totally different from It. A part of that mind gets separated from the total whole; It asserts itself as I am so-and-so, even down to the insects and the atoms. And, then that consciousness of isolatedness from the Cosmic Substance solidifies itself into sense organs, and instruments of action – called the body, the brain, the heart, the lungs, and so many things. So, actually, I am slowly, unconsciously, jumping into a cosmological subject, which I wanted to ...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): The Relationship between Brain and Mind : 4. : Discussion : between a devotee with Swamiji ( Q - A ) They are making a muddle. Their idea is not correct. They are not two ...

Discussion : between a devotee with Swamiji ( Q - A ) They are making a muddle. Their idea is not correct. They are not two different things. If the mind and brain were two different things, you would be feeling that you are two persons, like a split personality. But do you feel that you are two persons? You are one whole, integrated, solid being. How did this consciousness arise, if there are two things operating in your personality? Are you two fractions put together? Do you feel that you are a dual individual? Or, do you feel that you are a total whole? What do you say? Spanish Visitor: I feel like a total. SWAMIJI: Then, how did these two things come there? You cannot be made of two things, and then feel that you are one. It is impossible, so there is a mistake in the concept of the mind being inside the brain. It is not so. It is a different thing altogether. The mind is not inside the brain. Actually, the brain is a solidified form of the mind itself; as w...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): The Relationship between Brain and Mind : 3. : Discussion : between a devotee with Swamiji ( Q - A ) How the individuality arose is a cosmic question. It is a question of cosm...

Discussion : between a devotee with Swamiji ( Q - A ) How the individuality arose is a cosmic question. It is a question of cosmology and creation, and there we go beyond psychology. Your question is partly a psychological question, but when you go deep, it becomes a cosmological question of creation itself; it is very deep, farther than how the mind works. Then, you have to know how the individuality has started at all. There, we go beyond ordinary human concepts of experience. This is my answer to your question. Spanish Visitor: Thank you, Swamiji. SWAMIJI: They say the mind is inside the brain. From where did the brain come? Their idea also is that the mind is different from the brain. Spanish Visitor: Yes. They say so. SWAMIJI: Is the mind touching the brain, or is it separate from the brain? What is the relationship between the mind and the brain? What is the brain made of? What is the mind made of? You see, you have already accepted that they are two things. ...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): The Relationship between Brain and Mind : 2. : Discussion : between a devotee with Swamiji ( Q - A ) Everything in the world, right from inanimate matter up to the human level,...

Discussion : between a devotee with Swamiji ( Q - A ) Everything in the world, right from inanimate matter up to the human level, maintains a self-identity, and it will not become another thing. You are what you are, and you cannot be something else. That self-identity consciousness, which maintains itself and cannot become other than what it is, that is the mind, and it operates universally everywhere in the cosmos. It is not only inside you. When it operates as an individualised affirmation in one particular centre, it becomes an "I" in the case of some person; and when it operates in another person, it is the "I" in another. When it is in an insect, it is the "I" in the insect. When it is in a tree, it maintains an individuality of its own, also; it has its own mind also, in a biological state. It is not so very conscious, but it is biologically alive, in protoplasm and other things. Essentially, the whole mind is cosmic. It is operating e...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): The Relationship between Brain and Mind : 1. : Discussion : between a devotee with Swamiji ( Q - A ) Spanish Visitor: Swamiji, what is the mind, and how do thoughts originate?...

Discussion : between a devotee with Swamiji ( Q - A ) Spanish Visitor: Swamiji, what is the mind, and how do thoughts originate? How do these thoughts originate in our mind? SWAMIJI: When your personality starts, when you come into being, the mind also comes into being, because you are the mind itself. The one who is speaking to me just now is the mind speaking, and it originates the moment the Mr. so-and-so that you are originates. When did you originate? How did you come into being? Mind is the consciousness of individuality, and the moment individuality arises, the consciousness of individuality also operates, simultaneously. In early babyhood, it is in a very minute incipient form. When the individuality becomes more and more mature, the consciousness of individuality, which is called the mind, also becomes more and more clear. When you were a little baby, your consciousness of your individuality was very vague. Now it is very clear, as in broad daylight. So, b...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): Defence Mechanisms of the Mind : 8. : A political manoeuvre is adopted by the mind by the manufacture of certain mechanisms psychologically, which are usually called by p...

A political manoeuvre is adopted by the mind by the manufacture of certain mechanisms psychologically, which are usually called by psychologists as defence mechanisms. These defence mechanisms are very peculiar structures – like bulldozers and tanks which we have in armies and public works – which the mind manufactures for its stability, security, sustenance and permanent establishment in the world of diversities. These defence mechanisms are terrible machineries which the mind manufactures and keeps secret, unknown to people, like secret weapons which one may wield, not allowing them to come to the knowledge of other people. If everyone knows what weapons we have got, then they won't be effective, because others also may manufacture the same weapons. So we keep our weapons very secret and use them only when they are necessary, in warfare or on a battlefield. Everyone has these weapons, and they are not made of material objects. They are psychological apparatuses which the ...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): Defence Mechanisms of the Mind :7. : So even in self-control there are varieties. It is not the same type of technique that we adopt uniformly and universally, as previ...

So even in self-control there are varieties. It is not the same type of technique that we adopt uniformly and universally, as previously mentioned. Though it is true that everyone is hungry and everyone needs food, universally and uniformly, it does not follow that we all have to be given the same food. The whole world cannot be served the same kind of diet merely because everyone is equally hungry. In the same way, even though self-control is a universal necessity for the purpose of higher spiritual regeneration, the methods of practice may vary in detail according to the conditions of the individual in the stages of evolution, the circumstances in which one lives, and various other such relevant factors. The dependence of the mind on externals is also, therefore, variegated. It is not a uniform type of dependence. Therefore, each one has to investigate into the peculiar type of dependence due to which one is suffering. This requires leisurely thinking. A hurried mind cannot ...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): Defence Mechanisms of the Mind : 6. : Every person is totally dependent – we are not independent, as we imagine ourselves to be. If we were not dependent, we would n...

Every person is totally dependent – we are not independent, as we imagine ourselves to be. If we were not dependent, we would not be annoyed or upset, nor would we get angry. We would not be disturbed. These almost daily appearances or phenomena in the mind show that we are hanging on to certain other factors for our existence and action; and when those factors do not appear to be conducive to our way of thinking, we get disturbed. There is no independent person in this world. Everyone is dependent, and to imagine that we are independent is foolish, because if we were independent there would be no botheration for us or worry of any kind, at any time. The dependence of the mind on things is, again, of various kinds, and it arises on account of the make-up of the individual personality itself. Broadly speaking, there are various phases of the individual – the physical needs and the psychological needs experienced by us daily which make us hang on to things, like slaves. W...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): Defence Mechanisms of the Mind : 5. : This is the sort of attitude we have to adopt in respect of the Supreme Absolute. We run to it for every little thing, even if it is s...

This is the sort of attitude we have to adopt in respect of the Supreme Absolute. We run to it for every little thing, even if it is such a silly thing as a small need of our physical body. We cry only before that, and we do not ask for anything anywhere else. This sort of utter and total dependence on the Supreme Being for everything, at all times and all places, is called brahmabhyasa. This will cut at the root of all misconceptions of the mind. But this is a very difficult practice that is meant for very advanced seekers, and not for beginners. Hence, the Yoga Vasishtha prescribes other psychological methods of mind-control apart from this utter dependence on the Absolute, which is meant only for very advanced practioners. Psychological techniques of mind-control are of various types. We have to determine the weaknesses of the mind first. The weak spots and the vulnerable areas of the mind have to be detected before we tackle the mind's functions in respect of objects. E...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): Defence Mechanisms of the Mind : 4. : Part-4. As discussed previously, a sense of reality harasses the mind in respect of the objects of sense, and as long as anything...

Part-4. As discussed previously, a sense of reality harasses the mind in respect of the objects of sense, and as long as anything appears as real, it cannot be abrogated or rejected; and we cannot close our eyes to it if it has already been declared to be real. The mind will find difficulty in withdrawing its orders to the senses in respect of their movement towards objects as long as it cognises a worthwhile reality in the objects of sense. Why does the mind see a sense of reality in the objects of sense? It is due to a peculiar situation that has arisen, which is the reason behind why the mind is accepting these perceptions through the senses. What is this peculiar situation? The situation, precisely, is a misplacement of the values of life by a limitation of consciousness to a location called the individual. Therefore, yo buddhe? paratastu sa? – there is something higher than the buddhi (the intellect) and the mind, in which we have to take refuge in order that even the...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): Defence Mechanisms of the Mind : 3. : Part-3. All of these are inside the body – not in the sense of pebbles in a bottle, but inseparably permeating everything that is i...

Part-3. All of these are inside the body – not in the sense of pebbles in a bottle, but inseparably permeating everything that is in the body, or that is the body. We cannot separate the intellect, the mind, the senses, the prana, the body, etc. One is involved in the other, so it looks like a compound that has been created by these elements. For some purposes they look like different functions, but for other purposes they look as if they are a single force, acting in different ways. So, self-control would mean a judicious control exercised over every function inside, including the physical functions, the function of the prana, the senses, the mind and the intellect. All of these have to be harnessed in a given direction. According to ancient systems of spiritual practice, self-control is effected by three main methods: the control of the prana, the control of the mind, and concentration of consciousness. These are the three standard methods of atma vinigrah or self-control....

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): Defence Mechanisms of the Mind : 2. : The degrees of self gradually go on increasing in their comprehensiveness as we rise higher and higher, so that it becomes necessary...

The degrees of self gradually go on increasing in their comprehensiveness as we rise higher and higher, so that it becomes necessary that at every step the immediately succeeding stage, which is more comprehensive, acts as the governing principle of the category of self just below. An analogy would be the syllabi or curricula of education – we do not suddenly jump into the topmost level of studies. There is always a governing principle exercised by systems of education, wherein the immediately succeeding stage determines the needs of the immediately preceding condition. The self, as far as we are concerned at the present moment, can be regarded as that principle of individuality which comprehends all that we regard as 'we', or connected with us. Our self – the individual self, for all crude, practical purposes – is the bodily self, the physical self which is hungry and thirsty, and which feels heat and cold, etc. That is the immediately visible gross self. Whether it ...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): Defence Mechanisms of the Mind : 1. : The term 'indriya nigrah' means sense-control; 'atma nigrah' means self-control. Both these terms are often thought ...

The term 'indriya nigrah' means sense-control; 'atma nigrah' means self-control. Both these terms are often thought of as having a synonymous meaning and are used as such, but the term 'self' has a larger connotation than 'sense', as we already know. So the term 'self-control' should mean something much more than what is indicated by the term 'sense-control', because the senses are only a few of the functions of the self and not all the functions, while self-control implies a restriction imposed upon every function of the self, meaning thereby the lower self, which has to be regulated by the principle of the higher self. The self that has to be controlled is any self which is lower than the Universal Self. The degrees of self gradually go on increasing in their comprehensiveness as we rise higher and higher, so that it becomes necessary that at every step the immediately succeeding stage, which is more comprehensive, acts as the g...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): The Harmonisation of Mind and Breath : Last Part -... : The Heart and Not Just the Logic : Last Part . Through the stage of pratyahara, we come to the threshold of the mind. That is why ...

The Heart and Not Just the Logic : Last Part . Through the stage of pratyahara, we come to the threshold of the mind. That is why the difficulty is greater here than with asana or pranayama. While in the earlier two stages of asana and pranayama we were a little removed from the mind and mental processes, we are now coming to the borderland of thinking itself, and we are touching the vital points of the mind when controlling the senses. We will realise to our surprise that pratyahara is a very interesting subject of study, and it involves many minor processes of analysis of mind in its emotional aspects. When we touch pratyahara, we have touched our own weak spots. That is why we would not like to touch it, either in ourselves or in others, if possible. We know what a weak spot is—a spot which we would not like to touch. Now we are about to touch it, and when this happens we are completely in dismay, and we do not know what to do with ourselves. But it has to be done one day ...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): The Harmonisation of Mind and Breath : : The Heart and Not Just the Logic :-2. Hence, emotion is not a bad thing, because it supplies the power. However, we also kno...

The Heart and Not Just the Logic :-2. Hence, emotion is not a bad thing, because it supplies the power. However, we also know what power means—it can be used for a proper and good purpose or for a destructive purpose. As emotion is an amoral something which is necessary in us, and it can be diverted either to this side or that side—like a double-edged sword or like fire. Can we say fire is wholly good or bad? No one can answer this question. We cannot say fire is good or bad. It is good if it is used for cooking our meals or warming ourselves in winter, but it is bad if it is used to set fire to somebody’s house or to devastate cities. Force is neither good nor bad. It is an amoral energy of the universe. Emotion is the manifestation of force in our personality, and this force usually works as sensory activity through the function of the prana, as we have seen. This is both the difficulty as well as the necessity in the regulation of the activities of sense. For this ...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): The Harmonisation of Mind and Breath : : The Heart and Not Just the Logic-1. This is exactly the way in which the mind will receive teachings when they are pre...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): The Harmonisation of Mind and Breath : : The Heart and Not Just the Logic-1. This is exactly the way in which the mind will receive teachings when they are pre...

The Heart and Not Just the Logic-1. This is exactly the way in which the mind will receive teachings when they are presented in a logical form. There is a beautiful saying of Pascal: “The heart has a reason which reason does not know.” The heart has a logic of its own, and the inductive and deductive processes of the schools of logic are alien to the logic of the heart. Whenever we listen to any logic, we say, “Yes, yes, but...” This “but” will not leave us at any time. The “yes, yes” response is the logic of the head, while the “but” is our heart speaking. There will always be a “but” for every thinking that we do in this world. It is this “but” that prevents us from successfully practising pratyahara. Just observe—we have an objection for everything. We never listen to anything wholly, nor can we agree with it completely. When I say “we” here, I mean by that our emotions. The heart speaks a language of its own, and the language of the heart is the most powerful ...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): The Harmonisation of Mind and Breath : : Subjugation of the Senses : We are brought up in such a way in human society, right from our childhood, that we have been taught t...

Subjugation of the Senses : We are brought up in such a way in human society, right from our childhood, that we have been taught to think in terms only of the senses. To now revise the way of thinking and sensory activity is a herculean task. It requires a new education altogether, which we are trying to have nowadays when we seem to be too old to learn anything new. The old impressions of our early upbringing, from childhood onwards, have an impact on our present way of thinking, and again and again the old mind starts saying: “What are you doing to me?” The new child is unable to answer these questions of the old mind within. “Just keep quiet; don’t pursue this,” says the old mind. Many times we listen to this old whisper, because it is rare that we can completely hush this inner voice of the habituated mind which has been our way of thinking since childhood. After all, what would be the effort that we will have to put forth in the practice of yoga, and for how many years...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): The Harmonisation of Mind and Breath : : Subjugation of the Senses : 1. More difficult than asana is pranayama, and more difficult than pranayama is pratyahara. We wil...

Subjugation of the Senses : 1. More difficult than asana is pranayama, and more difficult than pranayama is pratyahara. We will find that the higher rungs are more difficult to attain than the lower ones, so that we may be perfect in asana but not in pranayama. We may be a little adept in pranayama, but not in pratyahara and dharana, because the higher things that we have to reach in yoga are more and more invisible and out of physical control. They become ethereal and more pervasive in their activity. That which is more pervasive is also more difficult to subjugate. The senses are difficult to understand. We do not know what a sense organ means, so how can we control a sense organ? Why should we control the sense organs—and even if we try, what are the means that we are to employ? Doubts of this kind may also occur to the minds of students of yoga. “What on earth am I going to achieve by this withdrawal, and into what am I going to withdraw?” ’Withdrawal’ means withdra...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): The Harmonisation of Mind and Breath : : Prana and the Mind : 5. ( Last Part ) Our mind is like a reservoir of energy, and it has streams—five streams at least. The sen...

Prana and the Mind : 5. ( Last Part ) Our mind is like a reservoir of energy, and it has streams—five streams at least. The sense organs are streams of force. The prana is the propelling inclination of force which sends this energy to the channels of sense. The mind, the senses and the prana are thus connected. If the mind is the reservoir, and if the senses are the channels through which the water of the reservoir flows, the prana is the inclination that is needed for the water to flow through the channels. The prana therefore is the propelling energy. If there is no inclination, the water will not flow. The inclination towards an object of sense is the work of the prana, the channelisation is the senses and the force is the mind. The mind supplies the motive behind the activity—both of the prana and the senses. It is difficult to find an equivalent in the English language for what is meant by the ‘psychological organ’. It is something which has in it the seed of the fo...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): The Harmonisation of Mind and Breath : : Prana and the Mind : 4 As a matter of fact, in concentration of mind we forget the existence of the body itself, so that we do n...

Prana and the Mind : 4 As a matter of fact, in concentration of mind we forget the existence of the body itself, so that we do not know what posture it is occupying. It all depends upon the interest. Most important of all things is interest, which takes various forms such as love, affection, concentration, etc. Interest is paramount in yoga, just as interest is paramount in every field of activity in life. Where there is no interest in anything, there is no success. Interest depends, at least to some extent, on understanding. When we do not understand a thing, we cannot also have an interest in it. Through this laborious process of the analysis of the techniques of yoga, we have tried to bring our minds up to the point of grasping this important conclusion, namely, that the limbs of yoga, as well as the organs of the body and the mind—all of these in their totality—approach the total which is Reality. It is not a part moving towards the whole. We do not know what is movin...

Mind : ( 24/10/2012. ): The Harmonisation of Mind and Breath : : Prana and the Mind : 3. Likewise, there is a deliberate mustering of all the forces which constitute the limbs of yoga. The whol...

Prana and the Mind : 3. Likewise, there is a deliberate mustering of all the forces which constitute the limbs of yoga. The whole soul practises yoga. In this attempt at the total concentration of the personality in yoga, it is difficult to say which limb is more important than the other and which is subsidiary to the other. The logical arrangement of asana, pranayama and pratyahara, in that order, is only for convenience in understanding and for ease in practice. It does not mean that they actually have to be arranged in that order. The process of pranayama in yoga is a technique of the harmonisation of the vital energy through the simultaneous employment of the intermediary process of pratyahara, or the withdrawal of the senses, leading to a harmonisation of the thinking process. As I mentioned, in deep concentration the senses may stop functioning temporarily, and the breath also is held. When we enjoy a beautiful landscape when the sun is about to set, our whole atten...