The Modern Mind and How it Works🔗

'Our mind is our major dilemma'

Paramahamsa states that as long as the mind is the servant and we are the masters, all is well. The minute we give power to the mind to become our master, then the confusion starts. All the energy gets imbalanced within us and leads to a state of dukkha, dis-ease.

What is this energy all about?

According to the Vedic understanding, the human being has seven energy bodies of which the physical is the grossest. Of these seven, the first three are relevant to us. The first is the physical body or jagrat shareera. This is the body that moves, talks, writes and carries on with similar activities.

Next comes the dream body, sukshma shareera. This is the body we use to move from place to place in our dreams.

The third is the karana shareera, which we use when we are in deep sleep. This body does not move.

The second and the third bodies, (sukshma and karana shareera) meet the physical body (jagrat shareera) at seven places along the length of the physical body. These seven points are known as the chakra, which are spinning wheels or vortices of energy. There are seven major chakra and a number of minor ones, but the seven major ones are responsible for our physical and mental well being.

These chakra were discovered by the Vedic seers thousands of years ago. Medical science has proven that there is an endocrine gland that corresponds to each of these seven chakra. Together they are responsible for maintaining the homeostasis of the body.

Chakra are boundless energy centers. They are not physical entities in our body. They are metaphysical representations as they belong to the auric body. Kirlian photography has enabled us to capture these chakra and prove their existence.

Chakra are very intimately connected to our emotions. Whenever we experience a particular emotion, depending on whether it is positive or negative, the chakra will expand or contract accordingly. When we are functioning at an optimal level, the size of the chakra is that of a cartwheel; otherwise, it shrinks to the size of a coat button.

These seven major chakra deeply influence our physical, emotional and mental activities. They have great power. They are energy centers which, when cleansed and energized, empower us to experience the seemingly impossible. We then lead a vibrant and blissful life.

Our dis-ease is only an imbalance in any one of these chakra because our body and mind is very deeply rooted in our inner consciousness. By keeping these chakra in a healthy state we can see a transformation happening in us at the physical and mental levels.

The state of our mind plays a major role in how we perceive the world and in turn how we view ourselves. Our perception in turn determines our energy levels, which in turn is responsible for deciding whether the chakra are blocked or opened.

So what is the role of the mind in blocking the energy from flowing into our system?

We see what we want to see, we hear what we want to hear and our attitude and behavior gets shaped by our perception of the world. So how do we perceive the world? What are the mechanics behind the perceptual process?

The following diagram shows us the mechanics of the mind and how it

How the mind works

Everything we perceive is taken in through all of our five senses. The diagram above shows how the information that enters through our eyes is processed. It is representative of all other senses too. However, for purpose of clarity we are using the sense of seeing as the example to illustrate this process.

When we see something, first the eye sees it. The eye is merely a camera, which faithfully records the outside world. The energy that sees is not the eye. This energy is called chakshu in Sanskrit. The nature of this energy is to digitize the information seen by the eye. It is something like a digital signal processor (DSP). The signal or the input is converted into a digital file by the chakshu. It has to be understood that this conversion happens to the information received through all the five senses, not just the eye.

This file goes to the memory (chitta). In the memory, the work of analyzing the information begins. This is done through the process of elimination, 'It is not this, it is not this.' Identification does not occur here. For example, when we see the yoga teacher in front of us, this information is taken up by the digital signal processor and passed onto the memory. The memory does not identify the object in front of the eye as a yoga teacher, rather it says what 'it is not'. For example, it says, 'This is not an animal, this is not a tree' and so on. The identification of the fact that it is a yoga teacher standing in front of us does not happen here.

Then the file goes to the mind (manas). It is the mind that does the job of identifying the information. It says 'this is a yoga teacher.' Unlike the memory which says, 'this is not', the mind concludes, 'this is it'. Next, the entire file takes a quantum leap to the ego and our ego decides our next action or decision based on our past experience. If we have had past experiences with yoga teachers that have been pleasing and beneficial, we will decide to practice yoga again with a teacher. If, on the other hand, we have not had a pleasant experience in a yoga class, we will take the decision to leave the class.

Try to understand this process. We see the yoga teacher. The eye passes the information to the digital signal processor, which in turn passes it to the memory, which does the job of eliminating unwanted information. Then the memory passes this reduced information to the mind, which does the job of identification. Then the whole file takes a quantum leap to the ego, which makes the decision based on our past experiences.

The time for the process between the eye and the mind is logical and conscious. It happens with our complete awareness but at great speed.

The time for the quantum leap from the mind to the ego is mostly unconscious. It happens without our awareness.

Why does this happen? Why do we decide unconsciously and regret later?