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184
CHAPTER – VI
CONCLUSION
Discussions on mind can never be concluded. Studies on mind can be
traced in India back to ancient times. Thoughts on mind formed an integral
part of India‟s philosophical quests. It emphasised on the transformation,
modification and the cessation of mind. Words like ātman, Prakṛti, puruṣa,
antakarana, manas, buddhi, chitta, Ahaṃkāra, anna, prāna, rayi,
samskara, vasana, all come as essential terminologies used in the
discussion on mind.
Ancient Indian psychology recognises three types of gunas
(sattva,rajas,tamas) and their interactions, out of which evolve different
traits and temperaments of personality. Formulation of theories or
treatment of illness was not the ultimate aim of these thoughts.All these
thoughts and their practice were governed by the principle „loka samgraha‟,
which means the welfare of the whole world. Designing human life in
harmony with the rhythm of the whole existence so as to realize the
absolute truth has been the eternal goal of Indian Philosophical tradition
throughout the history.
The establishment of psychology as an independent scientific discipline
has brought tremendous development in the history of psychology. But
later on the call for extreme scientificity, and the dogmatic trend in
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confining oneSelf within the framework of a particular school or system had
its adverse effects.
Shadows of scientific psychology
The search for extreme scientificity had its own consequences in the field
of psychology. As S.K. Kiran Kumar observes in his essay „Indian Thought
and Tradition: A Psychohistorical Perspective‟, “As a result, much of what
rightfully belongs to human experiences was relegated to the background
as non-scientific, as “not me”, resulting in what may be termed here as the
“subconscious region of psychology”, in the Freudian sense. For
behaviourists, it is the „unconscious region‟! Whatever that is termed as
mainstream scientific psychology, with which many psychologists identify
as “me”, can be called the conscious region of psychology by analogy. In
other words, through the behaviourist era, many concepts like
consciousness, dreams, free-will, extrasensory perception, intuition,
wisdom, transcendence and others were not considered a valid subject
matter and often one does not find them in textbooks of introductory
psychology. Even if they are, their discussion revolves around certain
limited aspects related to that is accepted as scientific. For instance,
discussion on dreams involves the physiological correlates rather than the
phenomenology of dreams. Consciousness is discussed in terms of
reticular formation and higher cortical processes. Similarly love is
discussed in terms of its underlying glandular basis or cerebral correlates.
This exclusionist and reductionist approach in psychology has been a point
186
of dispute ever since its inception and its adequacy and validity as an
appropriate paradigm for psychology are being increasingly questioned in
recent years (Bem and Looren de Jong, 1997). A conflict has always been
there between the subconscious and the conscious regions of
psychology”.1
The Indian attitude
The Indian mind did not give an independent educational status to its
psychological thoughts. It didn‟t develop as a branch of knowledge
separately. It got manifested in philosophy though it came to its applied
form in Āyurveda. “For ancient seers and sages delineation and discussion
of mind and its functions, was like describing the many places visited by a
traveller in his travelogue, whose destination is something far away from all
those places. Therefore we do not find readily available models, theories
and systems of Indian psychology”.2The philosophical outlook of life of the
Indians had played its own role in the formation of such an attitude.
The theory of self
The formulation of the „theory of Self‟ which assumes that „Self‟ remaining
as the witness of all activities internal and external, might have
philosophically played a role in creating such a disinterested attitude
towards psychology. Empirical studies including all forms of arts and
science are considered in India only as catalysts or facilitating agents in
the search for experiencing the Self. Modern studies on consciousness
and mind also reveals the supreme importance of the concept of „Self‟.
187
Antonio Damasio in his book „Self comes to Mind‟ says: “the Self is the
only means to know the mind, we are entirely dependent on the Self‟s
presence, capabilities and limit….It is extremely difficult to imagine the
nature of the mind process independently of the Self, although from an
evolutionary perspective, it is apparent that plain mind processes preceded
Self processes”.3But one thing to note here is that Self is conceived here
not in the same meaning as it is in Indian philosophy. For instance we can
feel the difference in the idea when Damasio says “the upper reaches of
Self are still been modified by all manner of social and cultural interactions
and by the accrual of scientific knowledge about the very workings of mind
and brain….The good news, however is that the Self also has made
reason and scientific observation possible and reason and science, in turn,
have been gradually correcting the misleading intuitions prompted by the
unaided Self.4
Damasio conceives a constantly evolving Self whichindeed goes
contradictory to the concept of Self in the Indian Philosophy.Indian
Philosophy comprehendsSelf as the substratum of knowledge.5 “The Self
is without an inside, without an outside, and consists entirely of wisdom”
says Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad.6 Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad again says
“that which, resting in the mind; which, the mind does not know; of which
the mind is the body; which controls the mind from within, this is your Self,
inner controller, the immortal”. (B.U. III:7:20). The Upaniṣads repeatedly
reinforce the idea, “it is the unseen seer, the unheard hearer, the
unthought-of thinker, the unknown knower. Other than this there is no
188
seer, other than this there is no hearer, other than this there is no thinker,
other than this is no knower. This is your Self, the inner controller, the
immortal, what is other than this is suffering”. (B.U. II:7:23).
The Methodology of seers
The unique methodology in which the mind itself is the object, the
instrument of observation and the laboratory, was adopted by the ancient
seers. Attention is turned inward, through a discipline which the Upaniṣads
call „Nididhyasana‟ (B.U. IV:5:6) or „Tapas‟, (Ti.U.III:2:1)which denotes a
state of intense wakefulness. In the world of Upaniṣadic knowledge where
adventurous experiments are done incessantly to know and go beyond
mind, any inquiry into such a world demands dedication and Self
experimentation as pre-requisites. Knowing the fact that objective
appreciations where the inquirer remains as a passive observer,do not
help the present study but, limits the search within the frame of objective
analyses.
Here it is interesting to review the salient features of the concept of mind in
the, Upaniṣads.
Philosophical roots
An important feature of the studies of mind in India is that it is deep rooted
in philosophy. Thoughts on mind along with its nature and functioning form
an integral part of Indian Philosophy. This feature is a hurdle for a student
to appreciate the views. But this feature gives unusual philosophical
strength to the concept of mind in return. The strength of the Indian
189
thoughts on mind is that it does not conceive a person as a separate
fragment, but in a deeper level as an entity which is one with all. This
holistic approach harmonizes human being with himself, with others and
with whole existence. All kinds of fundamentalist thoughts are but the
inevitable outcome of this feeling of separateness. A greater psychology,
as Aurobindo explains, remained as an eternal inner current throughout
Indian philosophy.
Antahkarana – the inner instrument
The technical or general name for mind in Hindu scriptures is
„antahkarana‟, antah (inner) karana (instrument). For easy and simple
communication the manas or mind and the antahkarana are often equated.
On the basis of functional differences (Vrittibheda) the antahkarana is said
to have four parts, viz, manas, buddhi, chitta and Ahaṃkāra. Sri Saṇkara
in Brahmasutra Bhashya gives this classification as “
(Brahmasutra Bhashya, II:4:6).
The manas does the sensory and motor functions, and feels pleasure and
pain; it receives sensations, processes the sense-data, coordinates with
other components of the internal instrument, makes concepts, thinks,
stores sense-data and retrieves them, the buddhi is the discriminating and
decision making psychic path; the Ahaṃkāra is the Self-feeling, Self-
defending and Self-preserving psychic path; the chitta is recalling,
postulating and imagining psychic path. Yoga Vasishta gives detailed
definition to each of them. Antahkarana is threefold according to
190
Sāmkhya.7They are manas, buddhi and Ahaṃkāra. Here Chitta is
included in manas.The antahkarana is the most important component of
subtle body. It is made up of 19 components. (Ma.U. IV). They are five
subtle sensory potentialities, the five subtle motor potentialities, five
prānas,manas, buddhi, chitta and Ahaṃkāra.
Desire - the primal seed
Rig Vedic hymns say that it is desire that initiated the whole process of
creation.
“Now first arose desire, the primal seed of mind
Sages, searching in their hearts by wisdom found the bond,
Between existence and non-existence”8.
Identification of the role and relevance of desire – a function of mind, can
be seen even in the dawn of Indian Philosophy. The continuation of this
Vedic thought can be traced in Upaniṣads also. The AitareyaUpaniṣad
begins with a similar idea. “In the beginning this was the Self, just one,
nothing else blinking. He thought, let me create worlds”. In
TaittirīyaUpaniṣad II:6 it is said “He desired, let me become many”. Here
also we see the repetition of the same idea. The word which repeatedly
used is Kama (desire) which implies the inner urge. This inherent urge of
which the reason is unknown is conceived as the principle behind the
endless cycles of creation and destruction.
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Locating mind
The dwelling place of mind is conceived as heart in AitareyaUpaniṣad II:4.
No definite location ofantahkarana is specified in various schools of
philosophy. MundakaUpaniṣad, in verse II:1:3 says that “from him breath
and mind are born”. Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad I:5:3 says that mind
pervades everywhere in the body.
Mind-individual and cosmic
The concept of individual mind and cosmic mind is introduced in Aitereya
Upaniṣad. The concept comes along with the description of cosmic person
and creation. As all individual bodies form the part of cosmic body,
individual minds are the part of cosmic mind that is,mind of the cosmic
Puruṣa. The wants and drives of the mind is poetically described through
the narration of Devatas falling into the great ocean of worldly life and
thereby afflicted with hunger and thirst.
Mind – the instrument of knowledge
The Upaniṣads proclaim the oneness of the whole existence and mind is
said as the effective instrument to know this truth.
“It can be grasped only by the mind
There is nothing various here”.
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This assurance on the efficacy of the instrument, mind, can be seen in
Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad (IV,4:19) and in KaṭhaUpaniṣad (IV,II). The
active role of mind in sense perception is clearly established in
Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad in mantra I:5:3. It says “I had my mind
elsewhere; I did not see. I had my mind elsewhere, I did not hear, for one
sees with the mind, hears with the mind”. The role of mind in perception is
profoundly discussed in Indian Philosophical systems. “The Sāmkhya
Doctrine of perception is based upon dualistic metaphysics. But the
Sāmkhya does not advocate the Cartesian dualism of matter and mind
because both these are made up of the same stuff, viz the ultimate reals,
eg:Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, and bother are unconscious”9.
“The Samkarite agrees with the Sāmkhya in holding that the mind
(Antahkarana) goes out to the object and assumes its form, so that the
form of the object corresponds to the form of the apprehending mental
mode. This account of Sāmkhya – Vendanta runs counter to the account
of Western Psychology, according to which, the object comes into contact
with a sense organ and produces an affection in it, which is carried to the
brain and this affection produces an impression in the mind. Western
Psychology gives priority to the object that acts upon the mind or subject.
The Sāmkhya-Vedanta, on the other hand, gives priority to the mind or
subject which goes out to the object, acts upon it, and assumes its form10
.
The role of mind in internal perception is specifically recognized in
ChāndogyaUpaniṣad VII:18:1. The verse explains “when one thinks, one
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understands, if one has not thought, one does not understand. If one has
thought, one does understand, you must seek to know thought”.
Mind – the ineffective instrument
Though an efficient instrument in the hands of the knower, mind becomes
ineffective to know the knower. In the realm of absolute reality mind
doesn‟t work. It dissolves and ceases to exist. The sense organs along
with the mind cannot grasp or explain the nature of reality. The
KenaUpaniṣad explains the situations beautifully.
K.U. I:3)
“The eye does not go there
Speech does not go, nor mind”
The TaittirīyaUpaniṣad also describes the same situation in a similar
manner.
(Ti.U.II,4)
“From which speech along with mind,
Turns back without winning it”
The KaṭhaUpaniṣad repeats the same idea.
K.U. VI:12)
“It cannot be won by speech or mind or eye”.
194
Sri Aurobindo observes that “In the just idea of the ancients, man is
essentially the thinker, the Manu, the mental being, who leads the life and
body, not the animal, who is led by them”11
. In an extremely beautiful
language Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad expresses the inability of all senses
along with mind in knowing the reality. The beautiful expression goes like
this.
“
(B.U. III:4:2)
“You cannot see the seer of seeing
You cannot hear the hearer of hearing.
You cannot think of the thinker of thinking,
You cannot know the knower of knowing”.
Through these instances the Upaniṣads convey an idea of mind which in
the realm of reality proves ineffective.
Mind – the creator, the infinite
Mind is conceived as the world of experience in Upaniṣadic literature. The
Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad describes that the whole emotional world is mind
itself. The non-difference seen by the Upaniṣadic seers is something
which is to be analysed more. Listing some of the operations of the mind
Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad concludes in mantra I:5:3 “all this is mind”. “The
Upaniṣads declare that the mind in us is infinite, it knows not only what has
been seen but what has not been seen, now only what has been heard but
195
what has not been heard, not only what has been discriminated by the
thought but what has not been discriminated by the thought12
.
Mind and food
Discovery of the relation between food and mind is another original
contribution of Upaniṣad to the mind studies. In ChāndogyaUpaniṣad
Uddalaka Aruni says that “food, once eaten, is divided into three. The
grossest element becomes faeces; the middling, flesh; the subtlest, mind”.
(C.U. VI:5:1) Aruni explains “Good lad, when soured milk is churned, the
subtle part of it rises to the top, that becomes butter, in the same way,
good lad, when food is eaten, the subtle part of it rises to the top. That
becomes mind. (C.U. VI:6:1-2). Aruni proves it with an experiment in
which Svetaketu himselfgets convinced with this view. The division of food
into two parts, that is the gross part and the subtle part really goes in tune
with the division of body into gross and subtle. It is interesting to note that
matter has a gross from and a subtle form. The scientificity of such
divisions is yet to be proved. Anyway the Upaniṣads consider mind as a
form of matter, whether it is gross or subtle and it stresses on the very fact
that mind gets weakened on starvation and get strengthened by proper
intake of food. It is through this day to day experience that Aruni proves
the relation between mind and food. The division of food can be
represented as follows.
Subtle part - Mind
Food Middling part - Flesh
Gross part - Feace
In ChāndogyaUpaniṣad VII:26:2 it is prescribed that “the purity of food, is
the purity of being”. Saluting food, Tittiriya Upaniṣad proclaims, “food is
Brahman” (III:2:1) and I am food. (III:10:5). Here, the mind body dichotomy
196
which remained as an unresolved problem in Western Philosophy is
logically solved through this concept.
Mind as matter
In Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad III:7:20 it is said “that which resting in the
mind, is other than the mind which the mind does not know; of which the
mind is the body; which controls the mind from within”. Almost all the
Upaniṣads go in terms with this view. KaṭhaUpaniṣad views mind as reins.
Tittiriya Upaniṣad put forward the „Kośa theory‟ in which mind is
considered as one of the sheath enveloping the Self. All this views
reinforces the same idea that “mind is the body; of that which controls the
mind from within”.
In Yogavāsiṣṭhamind is conceived both as Jada (insentient) and
Ajada(sentient)
(Yo.Va.3,91,31)
Mind not a bye product
Neuro scientists and materialists, consider mind as a bye product or part of
brain activity. But modern scientific studies acknowledge the fact that the
function of mind cannot be explained in terms of mechanical or
physiological laws, because most of their functioning is beyond the grasp
of any of the senses. Vendata does recognize the vital role played by the
brain in the mental activities. But at the same time, the concept of the
197
identity of the brain and mind is rejected by Vedanta13
. It is inferred that
the brain is an apparatus of mind. In Indian Philosophy it is assumed that
mind being an active constituent of the subtle body destines and designs
the present life and the life in future.
The theory of transmigration of soul and the theory of rebirth which forms
corollaries to the theory of Karma accept this idea. Through this we can
elucidate that brain works within the realm of mind and not vice versa.
Sir.Karl Popper and Sir. John Eccles in their book, the Self and its brain
(1977) adduces strong evidences for mind affecting the brain. They have
conviction that mind, as associated with consciousness have some control
over brain. They distinguished mind from brain, the later serving as an
instrument of the former14
. The claim that many lower organisms which do
not have brain or spinal code possess mind can also be remained here.
Mind and prāna
As we saw the theory of prāna is another outstanding contribution of the
Upaniṣads to Indian Philosophy and Psychology. The life principle behind
all the activities – physical and mental and the indebtedness of sense
organs and mind to prāna is established in the Upaniṣads. The supremacy
of prāna in a living organism is described in Bṛhadāranyaka VI:1:7-14,
Chāndogya V:1:6-15 and Prasna Upaniṣads II:4. The primordial energy of
the universe including the biological and psychical energy without which an
organism or even the cosmos cannot exist was discovered and named as
prāna. The verses from PrasnaUpaniṣad (P.U. II:5-13) make this point
198
precise. In the „afterword‟ of Ekanath Easwan‟s book „The Upaniṣads‟,
Michael N. Nagler says that through the introduction of the theory of prāna
the „seers‟ seem to undertake the training required to perceive the life
process in a direct way and explain life with the most powerful theory and
put a science of health on a firm basis15
.
The merging of mind in Prāna is described in PrasnaUpaniṣad III,9. The
Philosophy of Classical Samkhya can be traced in this Mantra. The
ChāndogyaUpaniṣad in mantra VI.8,6 discusses the same view.
The innate impressions in mind
One of the surprising features of the discussion on mind in Upaniṣads is
that the „seers‟ have discovered something which lies beneath the
conscious layer, playing a decisive role in the character formation and
mental evolution in human beings. The concept of vasanas (mental
impressions) can be seen in Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad IV:4:6. The
Upaniṣad says:
“He with his action, is attached
To that same mark to which his mind is bound
When he reaches the end”.
Vasanas are mental residues of actions of an individual. N.C. Panda in his
book „Mind and Super Mind‟ observes that “the Karmic impressions are
potent and dynamic. Some of them are dormant to be manifest later in a
dynamic way”16
.
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It is the concern over the action that becomes decisive in the formation of
impressions. The more we are concerned, the deeper will be the
impression. Thoughts in Indian Psychology have penetrated deep into this
matter. According to the Indian philosophical thought it is the vasanas that
get phenomenalized in the present life as instinctual behaviours. It is
postulated that citta, being a component a subtle body, survives death and
hence the vasanas of previous births do not disappear by death. N.C.
Panda gives a thought provoking description, “Science and psychology
have not yet explored the mechanism of the action of instinct. It is simply a
word to express that some behaviour is innate. If there is an instinct factor,
it is not located in the brain; neither is it in the spinal cord, nerve fibre or
nerve cell. The unicellular organism, devoid of nerve cells and fibres,
exhibits instinctual behaviour. This is a clear evidence of the non-neural
location of instincts. The genes or DNA‟s including RNA‟s (some virus
contain RNA only), are responsible for cellular reproduction and protein
synthesis. So far we do not have any information to claim that instinctual
behaviour is stored as traces in the genetic code. It is innate and
unlearned. Hence we rule out the environmental origin, although the
environment may, in certain situations, provide the sign stimulus”17
.
The unconscious mind
The concept of unconscious mind, according to western psychology is
conceived as seat of accumulated karmic impressions in Indian
200
Philosophy. But Indian psychology does not divide the mind into watertight
compartments as conscious or unconscious.
The innate dormant world of vasanas form the unconscious mind, any part
of the mind may be conscious, any part of the mind may be subconscious
or unconscious. While explaining Dhyana and Samadhi in Raja Yoga,
Swami Vivekananda says “We have two planes in which the human mind
works. First is the conscious plane, in which all work is always
accompanied with the feeling of egoism. Next comes the unconscious
plane where all works is unaccompanied by the feeling of egoism… In the
lower animals this unconscious work is called instinct. In higher animals,
and in the highest of all animals, man, what is called conscious work
prevails”18
. One of the remarkable contributions of Indian psychology in this
matter is that it never stopped with the discovery of subconscious or
unconscious mind. It proposed the super conscious state with the same
logic which is used to prove the presence of unconscious mind. Swami
Vivekananda continues in his Raja Yoga, “But it does not end here. There
is a still higher plane upon which the mind can work. It can go beyond
consciousness. Just as unconscious work is beneath consciousness, so
there is another work which is above consciousness, which also is not
accompanied with the feeling of egoism. The feeling of egoism is only on
the middle plane. When the mind is above or below that line, there is no
feeling of „I‟, and yet the mind works. When the mind goes beyond this line
of Self consciousness, it is called Samadhi or Super Consciousness”19
.
201
Dream analyses
The waking state, the dream state and the deep sleep state are collectively
known as Avasthatraya (triple state) in Indian philosophy. Analysis of
dream state had enriched the psychological thoughts of India. By dream
analysis, it is not meant that the dreams of individual were analyzed for
detecting some unconscious urges, so as to correct some personality
disorders. In India three states of consciousness were studied theoretically
as a part of its philosophical enquiry. Analysis of the three states is called
„avasthatraya viveka‟ and it is done to establish the presence of a
changeless witness, the pure consciousness or the ātman behind these
transient states. Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad in verses IV:3:9, II:4:10,
IV:3:14 and II:1:18 explains the mechanism of dream elaborately.
MāndukyaUpaniṣad analyzes dream stage in its 4th mantra.
Various theories on dreams were formulated by the later philosophers.
The school of Advaita Vedanta uses Avastathraya Viveka for
demonstrating the illusory nature of the world. Satyajith Layek in his book
“Analysis of Dream in Indian Philosophy” has collected and systematically
arranged the discussions and thoughts on dream phenomena. The word
swapna (dream) comes in KaṭhaUpaniṣad once (II:3:5), in PrasnaUpaniṣad
thrice (IV:1, V:6), in MāndukyaUpaniṣad thrice (IV, V. X), in
AitareyaUpaniṣad once (III;12), in ChāndogyaUpaniṣad four times (V:2:8,
VIII:6:3, VIII:10:1, VIII:11:1) and in Brihadaryaka Upaniṣad eight times
(IV:3:7, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19).
202
(B.U.II, 4,10).
“There are no chariots, nor chariot horses, nor roads there, but he creates
chariots, chariot horses and road. There are no pleasures, nor enjoyments,
nor delights there, but he creates pleasures, enjoyments and delights.
There are no ponds, nor lotus –pools, nor rivers there, but he creates
ponds, lotus-pools and rivers. For he is a maker.” This verse stands as a
classical example of the discussion on dreams in the Upaniṣads.
Doctrine of five sheaths
Tittiriya Upaniṣad introduces the doctrine of „pancha kośa ‟. The doctrine
introduces a concept in which Self is said to be encased in five sheaths,
food as the outermost and joy as the innermost.It is in the anuvaka 2 to 5
of the second chapter (Brahmanāsndavalli) that the conceptualization of
Jiva as a multilayed entity, is presented. A beautiful description in the form
of a teaching session can be seen in Bhṛgu Valli (third chapter).Here Bhṛgu
guided by his father Varuna, undergoes repeated successive meditation
sessions for realizing that which is real. He passes through the planes of
203
existence where food, vital energy, mind, knowledge and joy were
experienced as reality. A striking idea is there within this doctrine. It is the
notion that the mental plane is not the highest that human beings can
reach. There are higher or lower plains of life through which human beings
can ascend or descend. The sheaths are not mutually exclusive, rather
they are interpenetrative.
Consciousness – The Central theme
The centrality of consciousness makes Indian thoughts on mind distinctive.
This is considered one of the remarkable contributions of Indian
Philosophy to the world of psychological thoughts. Mind is considered as
insentient (Jada) in Indian Philosophy. How can the insentient, non
conscious mind design and execute thoughts and responses. Here
comes the role of Self which is viewer consciousness. When the light of
consciousness is reflected on the Anthakarana, that become lightened. In
KaṭhaUpaniṣad it is said
“
) (K.U.V.15)
“The Self is the light, everything reflect its light.
It is by its light, everything is lit”.
K. Ramakrishna Rao in his essay „Introducing Indian Psychology‟ says “In
contrast to the bio-centric bias of Western psychology, Indian psychology
has consciousness as its core concept. Centrality of consciousness is its
204
defining characteristic. Consciousness is considered to be a primary
principle irreducible to brain states. The brain does not generate
consciousness; it simply reflects consciousness and often by filtering,
limiting and embellishing it”20
.Ekanath Easwaran in his book „The
Upaniṣad‟ says that Upaniṣad cannot be considered as mere philosophical
works. Upaniṣads do not explain or develop a line of argument. They are
darsana „Something Seen‟, and student to whom they are taught was
expected not only to listen to the words but to realize them, that is, to make
their truths an integral part of character, conduct and consciousness21
.
The mantra, „Prajñānam Brahma‟ proclaims the very need of experiencing
consciousness as the ultimate reality itself.
Mind turned inward
Indian Philosophy while analysing the nature of mind, its strength and
weakness, treats it as an important investigative or probing tool of the inner
world of man. In KaṭhaUpaniṣad the unusual use of senses and mind is
described
(Kaṭha II, 4,1)
“The Self-born has bored five holes, facing outward;
Hence when sees outward, not within oneSelf. (antharātman)
A certain wise one, desiring immortality, turning is gaze around,
205
Has saluted within at the Self”.
Through this verse it is clear that using the senses and mind in its normal
mode of functioning, the inner world can never be known. Knowing this,
the senses along with mind were withdrawn from the external world and
was turned inward. The discovery of using the senses and mind in an
opposite way as it is designed to use in normal life marked the beginning of
the spiritual tradition in India. When the whole apparatus is turned inward
the modification of the mind ceases to exist and the Self gets discovered.
Thus the invaluable use and importance of mind was discovered in the
Upaniṣadic period itself. According to Indian tradition, the study of mind
becomes meaningful only when the instrument, mind, is used to know the
Self.
From mind to no-mind
It is clear that the psychological thoughts of India starts with the study of
the nature and function of the mind. But it ends where the mind becomes
no-mind. When the instrument, mind, is used to see one‟s Self, rather than
perceiving or analyzing the outer world, it starts losing its existence as
mind in the ordinary sense. The mind which acted as the differentiating
principle, now, renders a new realm of experience. Slowly the world of
distinctions starts disappearing. The person sees the Self in everything.
The division of outer and inner world disappears. What remains is the non-
dual truth. Overwhelmed with joy the seer declares “I am immortal”. He
addresses the world.
(Svet U II:5)
206
O! Children of immortal bliss, hear me!
Joy of the seer comes out not through language but by continuous
exclamation of joy. “Havu! Havu! Havu!”(O! bliss, O! bliss, O! bliss. Tittiriya
Upaniṣad III:10:5). Here language gives way to sound symbols, which are
more natural, denotative and spontaneous. The seer concludes his
experience in metrical prose: “I have overcome… the whole universe. I am
light like the sun”.
Chidambaram – the sky of consciousness
In KaṭhaUpaniṣad it is said “the person, a thumb in length, in the midst of
the Self, ever resting in the hearts of people”. (Kaṭha VI:17).
ChāndogyaUpaniṣad gives further descriptions. “The space within the
heart is as big as this space. Both sky and earth are concentrated within it.
Both fire and air, both sun and moon, both lighting and constellations, what
one has here and what one does not have here – everything is
concentrated within it”. (C.U. VIII:1:3). The usage hridayakasha (the sky
within the heart) can be seen in the Tittiriya Upaniṣad,I:6, which says that
the Self resides in this space. The same expression appears in
Bṛhadāranyaka Upaniṣad II:1:17. The mantra says even the mind stay in
rest in the sky with in the heart, when the person is in deep sleep. The
space within and withoutan individual is said to be infinite. Merging of the
individual consciousness into cosmic consciousness is the essence of
these mantras.
207
Indigenous thoughts for enriching international outlook
Incorporating indigenous ideas is the right way for enriching true
internationalism. The domination of certain streams and the deliberate
denial of thoughts from the rest of the world prevailed in the field of mind
study for a long period. In this world of rapid information exchange such
attitudes have given way to broader outlooks. Psychology seems to attain
maturity, realizing its interdependence to all other branches of knowledge
and need to handle human beings from a holistic, broad based integral
framework.“Now at the start of 21st century, there is a strong preference for
cross-cultural psychology and indigenous psychology, which in fact, have
challenged the validity of Euro-American psychology or more commonly
known as main stream psychology……However, cross-cultural psychology
as well as indigenous psychology can join their forces with mainstream
psychology to offer more powerful theories. Thus psychology is marching
forward becoming truly international and inter cultural.”22
The continuing researches in the West have now reached new heights and
have attained new turning points. Scientists have now started using typical
metaphysical expressions like consciousness, awareness, understanding
etc. “The tremendous impact of relativity, quantum mechanics, particle
physics, neurophysiology and astrophysiology has brought today a new
awareness of the importance of philosophy and consciousness arising out
of science. The uncertainty principle with its rejection of strong objectivity
and emergence of an omnijective (subjective + objective) universe and
demolition of causality, Bells Theorem and the fundamental inter
connectedness of the world, the discovery of an extra-cerebral
consciousness and Schrödinger‟s wave equation leading to an observer –
208
created universe, all these new truths emerging out of 20th century
scientific discoveries have pushed science to the realm of philosophy.
Scientists witness a revolution in science, tending towards philosophy and
Eastern Mysticism.”23
The philosophical and analytical studies on mind in Indian Philosophy end
where the mind itself ends.The physiological studies on mind in West
strengthens and reinforces the presence of mind and cognitive
process.Lokasangraha (welfare of the world) and Sakshatkara (Self
realization) are the watch words of Indian philosophical psychology. This
interesting fact is the worthiest contribution of Indian thoughts on mind and
the terms like (Amanah) Chittavrittinirodhah),
(manojavam), (manojyothi), (manasom
anah), manomayakośa ) exemplify the culmination of
Indian thoughts on mind at its best. In Indian philosophical literature the
discussion on mind and body with all its shades and colours stands firm on
the substratum-the unbroken fundamental consciousness. Based on an
objective unbiased inquiry, it becomes clear thatUpaniṣads, are not just the
expositions of the experiences of the seers, but they are theeternal
sources with endless possibilities for discourses and debates in the world
of philosophy.
209
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