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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

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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‟.

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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

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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

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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

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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”.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

.

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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).

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(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

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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

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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,

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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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