The Hindu view of life accords great importance to the mind since both abhyudaya (worldly prosperity) and nihshreyasa (spiritual progress) depend upon the condition of the mind. An impure mind binds the soul to transmigratory existence whereas a pure mind leads to moksha or liberation.¹

While recognizing the importance of the mind as a distinguishing unique feature of human beings, the Hindu scriptures and the various systems of Hindu philosophy have given different views about its content, nature and function. A study of the mind, therefore, will not only be interesting but also useful in one's personal life of spiritual evolution.

What the Mind Is

The Chhandogya Upanishad² declared that the mind is 'annamaya', made up of the subtle essence of food. It also asserts that purity of food conduces to purity of mind.³

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad⁴ describes the mind as having been produced from Isvara or Hiranyagarbha (Creator). It also declares, though indirectly, that the soul or the Self (atman) knows the external world through the mind (vide 1.5.3).

The Sankhya and the Yoga systems consider the mind as a product evolved from the insentient prakriti, a direct product from ahankara (the ego-principle) and hence made up of the three gunas--sattva, rajas and tamas. It is also, therefore, jada or insentient but can reflect the consciousness of the purusha or the atman (the soul).

The Nyaya-Vaisheshika schools consider the manas or the mind as one of the dravyas (fundamental or basic realities) out of which the world is eventually created. It acts as a link between the soul and the sense-organs by which the external objects are known.

Certain cults of Shaivism and Shaktaism (Tantras) advocate the theory that mind is a limitation or a modification of pure consciousness.

As regards the size of the mind, some systems like Nyaya and Vaisheshika hold it as anu (atomic) while others (Advaita Vedanta) consider it as Vibhu (all-pervading).

Importance of the Mind

The ultimate purpose of human life is to attain moksha or liberation from transmigratory existence. This is possible only when sadhana or spiritual practice is undertaken as per the dictates of the scriptures. Sadhana consists mainly in purifying the mind through personal morality, social ethics and religious observances. When the mind becomes completely pure, the atman inside is automatically revealed.

Impurities of the mind are of three types: basic impurity due to its being a product of the three gunas (sattva, rajas and tamas); impurities carried over from the previous lives, technically called 'samskaras'; impurities due to the sins and evils committed in this life.

The third one can be offset by the performance of expiatory rites prescribed in the holy books as also by experiencing the suffering brought about by them. The second type of impurities have to be counteracted by trying hard to cultivate the opposite, good tendencies. When these are carried out, along with nididhyasana or meditation on oneself as the pure atman (ultimately one with Brahman) or any aspect of God, the rajasik and the tamasik contents of the mind gradually get attenuated and the sattvik part gets predominance. When this process is completed, realization can come in a flash.

Mind and the Atman

Most of the Hindu philosophicalsystems consider the mind either as an upadhi (limiting adjunct) or as a quality of the jivatman (the individual soul). It is through the mind that the jivatman knows the external world or gets internal experiences.

Functions of the Mind

There are several ways of looking at the functions of the mind. Works on Vedanta generally define the mind as 'antahkarana' (the inner organ) and state that it has four aspects: manas (general thinking and cognition); buddhi (discriminative faculty); ahankara (ego-sense); citta (mind-stuff, responsible for memory).

According to another view, it has three qualities or functions or modifications: jnanatmaka (cognitive); avegatmaka (emotional); prayatnatmaka (volitional).

Cognition, again, can produce either prama (true knowledge) or bhrama (false knowledge). The latter includes samshaya or doubt also.

Prama or true knowledge can be produced by six ways out of which pratyaksha (direct perception), anumana (inference) and aptavakya (verbal testimony of reliable persons) are universally accepted. Shabda or Shruti or Agama is an extension of the last, as applied to things beyond the ken of the senses.

The emotional functions of the mind can be listed as follows: sukha (pleasure or happiness), duhkha (pain or unhappiness), iccha (desire) and dvesha (hatred).

Many other kinds of emotions are also recognised, such as bhaya (fear), hasya (laughter), vismaya (wonder) and so on.

Vedantic works often mention three states of consciousness with a view to proving that the atman (the soul) is the pure spirit beyond them. These three states--all of the mind--are jagrat (waking state), svapna (dream state) and sushupti (deep-sleep state).

Extra-sensory Perceptions

Besides these states of the mind normally experienced by all, there is another, the extra-ordinary or the extra-sensory perception. Highly evolved spiritual persons have attained these states like clairvoyance, clairaudience and so on, which have been described in the standard treatises of yoga like the Yogasutras of Patanjali⁵ (150 B.C.). However these have been considered as obstacles to the final emancipation since they tempt the sadhaka to misuse them.

Conclusion

The main purpose behind the study of the mind is to facilitate its ultimate purification leading to the realization of the atman or the Self. Though there are differences of opinion regarding its nature, the processes of purification are almost universally accepted.

References

1. Amrtabindu Upanishad, 2.
2. Chhandogya Upanishad, 6.6.5.
3. Ibid. 7.26.2.
4. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 1.2.1.
5. Yogasutras of Patanjali, 3.16.55.