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