Mind and you

 The Mind and You

to catch hold of the mind, 

keep it at rest and at one place.

  first condition:

do not allow it to run all over the

body. Once it goes where there are aches and pains in

the body, you cannot hold it. Therefore  keep

the body in a clean and healthy condition.

That is why in meditation, (when we want to observe our mind)

we keep the body at rest, in a steady and comfortable

posture.

That mastery over posture comes from exercising

and from practice.

When the body is at rest, you can

observe , watch and hold the mind

on whatever you want.

you can observe how the

mind functions.

When the mind is moving about, you cannot observe it.

 That is why the first condition in mind culture is to keep the body in good condition and at rest.

Hierarchy from Senses to Self

mind has to obey our will

which is a higher faculty  than

the mind. This is called Buddhi .

mind is  separate  from "me"

we have five sense organs

sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. 

When  mind wants to reach out  or "know" about something... it uses one or more of these organs and gets the desired knowledge. 

  senses or Indriyas are lower than the mind as these are instruments 

we  use expressions like: 

"my mind, my buddhi,  my senses  my body".

 If all these are mine,(belonging to me)

who am I... the owner of these..then? 

We are not or do not become them. 

so  my senses, my buddhi,

my body and my mind, 

are the

Entities my  self owns and therefore are definitely separate from my self.....instruments used by self

 Who am "I" then? 

 to find out who this "I" is is the 

goal of spiritual life. 

this I is called Atman. Or self .

  Self...rider

Body...chariot

Intellect... charioteer 

mind the reins, 

senses the horses. 

He, reaches the goal

whose senses are well-trained, and

whose mind is strong and kept well in the hands of the intellect

all the  parts of the body have to be

subordinate to the intellect and carry out his will. 

 the hierarchy 

The senses and

the body must be under the control of the mind, 

the mind under the control of the Buddhi the determining

faculty, and 

the Buddhi under control of self