MIND and Indian Philosophy

The conception of the mind (also known as antaHkaraNam) varies in the

different systems of Indian philosophy, as stated below.

The nyAya-vaisheShika system considers the mind to be an eternal

substance, atomic in size. The prAbhAkara school of pUrva mImAmsA

holds the same view. The bhATTa school of pUrva mImAmsA maintains

that the mind is all-pervasive and is in eternal contact with the all-

pervasive Atman; that Atman and mind, in contact with each other,

function only within the sphere of the body with which they happen to be

associated; and the possibility of several cognitions arising at the same

time cannot be ruled out. The sAnkhyA and yoga systems consider the

mind to be of the size of the body.

According to advaita vedanta the mind is a subtle substance (dravya). It

is neither atomic nor infinite in size, but it is said to be of madhyama

pariNAma, medium size, which may be taken to mean that it pervades

the body of the particular jIva to which it belongs. The mind of each jIva

is different. It has a beginning, as is proved by such shruti statements

as, “It (Brahman) projected the mind” (br. up. 1.2.1). (VedAnta

paribhASha).

The mind, which is called ‘internal organ’ (antaHkaraNam), is produced

from the sattva part of all the five subtle elements together.

It is known by four different names according to the function. The four names are-

manas, buddhi, chittam and ahamkAra.

(Sometimes only two names,

manas and buddhi, are mentioned, as in Panchadashi.1.20, the other two being included in them). The function of cogitation is known as the manas or mind. When a determination is made, it is known as buddhi

or intellect. The function of storing experiences in memory is called chittam.

Egoism is ahamkAra.

The word ‘mind’ is also used to denote the

antaHkaraNam as a whole when these distinctions are not intended.

Chandogya upanishad, 6. 5. 1 says: “The food that is eaten becomes

divided into three parts. The grossest part becomes excreta. The medium

constituent becomes flesh. The subtlest part becomes mind(antaHkaraNam)”.

In his bhAshya on this mantra Shri Shankara says: “Getting transformed

into the mind-stuff, the subtlest part of the food nourishes the mind.

Since the mind is nourished by food, it is certainly made of matter. But it

is not considered to be eternal and partless as held by the vaisheShikas”.

There is difference of opinion among advaitins on the question whether

the mind is an indriya, organ, or not. VAchaspati Mishra, the author of

bhAmatI, considers the mind to be an indriya.

PrakAshAtma muni, the author of vivaraNa, takes the view that the mind is not an

indriya. The author of VedAnta paribhAShA also takes the same view. This difference

is reflected in the different theories held by these two on the question of

how Self-knowledge arises from the mahAvAkyAs like ‘tat tvam asi’, as

explained below.

According to one theory, known as the prasankhyAna theory, attributed

to MaNDana Mishra, the knowledge which arises from the mahAvAkya is

relational and mediate, like any other knowledge arising from a sentence.

Such a knowledge cannot apprehend brahman which is non-relational

and immediate (aparoksha). Meditation (prasankhyAna) gives rise to

another knowledge which is non-relational and immediate. It is this

knowledge that destroys nescience. In this view the mind plays an

important role in the production of Self-knowledge.

The view of Sureshvara is the opposite of the above. Knowledge of

brahman arises directly from the mahAvAkyas. Whether the knowledge

given by a sentence is mediate or immediate depends on whether the

subject-matter of the sentence is mediate or immediate. Since Brahman

is immediate, the sentence which gives knowledge about it does produce

immediate knowledge. The difference between the two theories is that,

while, according to Sureshvara, the knowledge of the Self arises from the

mahAvAkya itself, according to BhAmati the knowledge of the Self arises

from the mahAvAkya only with the help of the mind.

Following the view of MaNDana, VAchaspati Mishra holds that the

mind is the instrument for the attainment of Self-knowledge. Following

the other view stated above, PrakAshAtman, the author of VivaraNa says

that the mahAvAkya itself is the instrument, though the knowledge no

doubt arises in the mind.

The mahAvAkya gives rise to Self-knowledge by making the mind

take the ‘form’ of brahman. This is known as akhaNDAkAra vRitti. The

question arises-- since brahman has no form, what is meant by saying

that the mind takes the form of brahman? This is explained by SvAmi

VidyAraNya in Jivanmuktiviveka, chapter 3 by taking an example. (In the

first place, the word ‘AkAra’ in these contexts should be taken as

meaning ‘nature’. Otherwise the terms ‘the form of pleasure, pain’, etc.,

will also be illogical). A pot made of clay is full of the all-pervading space

as soon as it is made. Filling it afterwards with water, rice or any other

substance is due to human effort. Though the water, etc, in the pot can

be removed, the space inside can never be removed. It continues to be

there even if the mouth of the pot is hermetically sealed. In the same

manner, the mind, in the act of being born, comes into existence full of

the consciousness of the Self. It takes on, after its birth, due to the

influence of virtue and vice, the form of pots, cloths, colour, taste,

pleasure, pain, and other transformations, just like melted copper cast

into moulds. Of these, the transformations such as colour, taste and the

like, which are not-Self, can be removed from the mind, but the form of

the Self, which does not depend on any external cause, cannot be

removed at all. Thus, when all other ideas are removed from the mind,

the Self is realized without any impediment. It has been said-“One

should cause the mind which, by its very nature, is ever prone to assume

either of the two forms of the Self and the not-Self, to throw into the

background the perception of the not-Self, by taking on the form of the

Self alone”. And also—“The mind takes on the form of pleasure, pain and

the like, because of the influence of virtue and vice, whereas the form of

the mind, in its native aspect, is not conditioned by any extraneous

cause. To the mind devoid of all transformations is revealed the supreme

Bliss”. Thus, when the mind is emptied of all other thoughts Self-

knowledge arises.

In mANdUkya kArika, III. 35 it is said:--

The mind loses itself in sleep, but does not lose itself when under

control. That very mind becomes the fearless brahman, possessed of the

light of consciousness all around.

In his bhAshya on mANDUkya kArika, III. 46 Sri Sankara says:--

When the mind becomes motionless, like a lamp in a windless place, it

does not appear in the form of any object imagined outside; when the

mind assumes such characteristics, then it becomes brahman; or in

other words, the mind then becomes identified with brahman.

In his bhAshya on gItA, 6.19, Shri Shankara says: A lamp does not

flicker when it is in a windless place. Such a lamp is compared to the

mind of a yogi whose mind is under control when he is engaged in

concentration on the Self.

From the above three quotations it is seen that the mind remains

dormant in deep sleep, but in concentration on the Self the mind

becomes identified with brahman.

The mind, being made of extremely subtle and transparent substance,

receives the reflection of the consciousness of the Self. Because of this, it

appears to be sentient, though it is really inert. All knowledge arises only

through an appropriate modification of the mind, corresponding to the

object of knowledge.

Panchadashi, 2.13 says that it is the mind that examines the merits and

defects of the objects perceived through the senses. The conclusion

which the mind comes to will depend on the proportion of the three

guNas in it at the time.

Mind is the cause of bondage, as well as of liberation.

AmRitabindu upanishad, mantra 2, says that the mind is, verily, the

cause of bondage as well as of liberation; engrossed in objects of sense, it

leads to bondage; free from attachment to objects, the same mind leads

to liberation.

bRihadAraNyaka upanishad, 1.5.3 says: “Desire, resolution, doubt, faith,

lack of faith, steadiness, unsteadiness, modesty, knowledge, fear—all

these are only (forms of) the mind. The meaning of this statement is that

all these arise in the mind. The mind takes an appropriate vRitti when

any of these arises. These are known by the witness-consciousness as

soon as they arise, without the help of the external sense-organs. They

are therefore called ‘sAkShi pratyakSha’ or perceived by the witness-

consciousness directly.

The mind is the cause of happiness and unhappiness.

A person is happy when other living beings or inanimate objects are

favorable to him, and unhappy when they are unfavorable. A thing or

person is considered favorable when that thing or person responds in

the way desired. If a son obeys his father, the father is happy; if he does

not, the father is unhappy. A person is happy with his car or any other

object as long as it functions well; if it does not, he is unhappy and

wants to get rid of it. It is thus clear that happiness and unhappiness are

only states of the mind, but are wrongly thought to be caused by external

objects. Happiness is the result of the mind becoming calm. The mind

becomes calm temporarily when a particular desire is fulfilled, and then

happiness is experienced. But soon another desire crops up and agitates

the mind, causing unhappiness. Thus it is clear that lasting happiness

cannot be attained by the fulfillment of desires. The br. up, says

“etasyaiva Anandasya anyAni bhUtAni mAtrAm upajIvanti”—All

creatures enjoy only a particle of this bliss (the Bliss that is the very

nature of brahman). We wrongly think that happiness comes from

external objects. All the happiness that we enjoy is only a reflection of

brahmAnanda in the mind when the mind is calm.

Detachment is the key to lasting happiness.

True and lasting happiness can result only if the mind is permanently

kept calm. This can be achieved only if desires, which are the cause of

mental agitation, are completely eliminated. We are therefore led to the

conclusion that total detachment towards all worldly pleasures (Vairagya)

is the only means for the attainment of true and lasting happiness,

which is brahmAnanda.

Vairagya is the most essential requisite for a person who wishes to

attain Self-knowledge, which alone will lead to eternal bliss. It is said in

vivekachUDAmaNi that one who attempts to attain Self-knowledge

without cultivating dispassion is like a person trying to cross a river on

the back of a crocodile, mistaking it for a floating log of wood. He is sure

to be eaten up by the crocodile midway.

The essential requisite for a spiritual aspirant is purity of mind. There

are six enemies of the spiritual aspirant and all these arise in the mind.

These are desire, anger, greed, infatuation, pride, and jealousy. Of these,

the first, desire, is the cause of all the other five. That is why so much

stress is laid on the rooting out of desire from the mind. 

The chandogya upanishad explains how the mind can be made pure.

ch. up. 7.26.2 says: AhArashuddhau sattvashuddhiH—---

“From purity of food follows purity of the internal organ (mind). From the

purification of the internal organ unfailing memory results. When

memory is attained, all the knots of the heart are cut asunder”.

Shri Shankara explains this passage thus in his bhAshya: By food is

meant all that is enjoyed through the senses. What is meant is that all

enjoyments should be free of all defects such as attachment, repulsion or

delusion. When all enjoyments are pure, the internal organ becomes

pure. From the purification of the internal organ there arises continuous

memory of the Infinite Self. Then follows the destruction of all the bonds

born of nescience which had become hardened by the vAsanas

accumulated over innumerable lives. Therefore one should ensure that

everything that one enjoys is pure.

THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND

The subconscious mind is termed “Chitta” in Vedanta. Much of your subconscious consists of submerged experiences memories thrown into the background but recoverable. When you show symptoms of losing your memory, as you grow old, the first symptom is that you find it difficult to remember the names of persons. The reason is not far to seek. All the names are arbitrary. They are like labels. There are no associations along with the names. The mind generally remembers through associations, as the impressions become deep thereby. You can remember in old age some passages that you have read in schools and colleges. But you find it difficult to remember in the evening a passage you have read in the morning. The reason is that the mind has lost its Dharana Sakti (power of grasping ideas.) The cells have degenerated. Those who over work, mentally, who do not observe the rules of Brahmacharya and who are afflicted with much cares, worries and anxieties, lose their power of memory soon. Even in old age you can remember old events as there are associations with events.

The mental processes are limited to the field or consciousness alone. The field of subconscious mentation is of a much greater extent than that of conscious mentation. Messages when ready, come out like a flash from the subconscious mind or Chitta of the Vedantins. Only ten per cent of mental activities come into the field of consciousness. At least ninety per cent of our mental life is subconsciousness. We sit and try to solve a problem, and fail. We look around, try again and again but fail. Suddenly an idea dawns and leads to the solution of the problem. The subconscious process was at work.

Sometimes you go to sleep at night with the thought “I must get up very early in the morning to catch a train.” This message is taken up by the subconscious mind and it is this subconscious mind that wakes you up unfailingly at the exact hour. Subconscious mind is your constant companion and sincere friend. You repeatedly fail at night to get a solution for a problem in Arithmetic or Geometry. In the morning when you wake up you get clear answer. This answer comes like a flash from the subconscious mind. Even in sleep it works without any rest incessantly. It arranges, classifies, sorts all facts and works out a proper satisfactory solution.
This is all due to subconscious mind.

With the help of the subconscious mind you can change your vicious nature by cultivating healthy, virtuous qualities that are opposed to the undesirable ones. If you want to overcome fear mentally deny that you have fear and concentrate your attention upon the opposite quality, the ideal of courage. When this is developed fear vanishes away by itself. The positive always overpowers the negative. This is an infallible law of nature. This is Pratipaksha Bhavana of the Raja Yogins. You can acquire a liking for distasteful tasks and duties by cultivating a desire and taste for them. You can establish new habits, new ideals, new ideas and new tastes and new character in the subconscious mind by changing the old ones.

The functions of Chitta are Smritti or Smarana, Dharana (attention) and Anusandhana (inquiry or investigation). When you repeat a Mantra it is the Chitta that does the Smarana. It does a lot of work. It turns out better work than the mind or Buddhi.

All actions, enjoyments and experiences leave their impressions in the subconscious mind in the form of subtle impressions or residual potencies. The Samskaras are the roots of causing again Jati, life and experiences of pleasure and pain. Revival of Samskaras induces memory. The Yogi dives deep inside and comes in direct contact with these Samskaras. He directly perceives them through the inner Yogic Vision. By Samyama (concentration, meditation and Samadhi) on these Samskaras, he acquires knowledge of previous lives. By doing Samyama on the Samskaras of others, the Yogi gets the knowledge of their past lives also. When you desire to remember a thing you will have to make a psychic exertion. You will have to go up and down the depths of the different levels of the subconscious mind and then pick up the right thing from a curious mixture of multifarious irrelevant matter. Just as the mail sorter in the Railway Mail Service takes up the right letter by moving the hand up and down along the different pigeon-holes, so also the sorter in the subconscious mind goes up and down along the pigeon-holes in the subconscious mind and brings the right thing to the level of normal consciousness. The subconscious mind can pick the right thing out from a heap of various matters. A Samskara of an experience is formed or developed in the Chitta the very moment when the mind is experiencing something. There is no gap between the present experience and the formation of a Samskara in the subconscious mind. Smrithi or memory is the function of Chitta (subconscious mind). It is a separate faculty or category in Vedanta. Sometimes it is Antarangata (comes under the mind). In Sankhya philosophy it is included in Buddhi or Mahat Tattva. The Chitta of Patanjali Rishi’s philosophy of Raja Yoga (Yogaschitta Vritti Nirodha) corresponds to the Antahkarana of Vedanta.