ANALYSIS OF THE MIND : VEDANTIC VIEW

     Psychology, in simple terms, can be defined as the study of the mind and its operation. According to Vedānta (Upanishads) the mind, the sensory system and the vital force (manas, indriyas and prāņa) constitute what is called the subtle body of man (sukshma ṡariram). This comprises our psycho-physical system which is the source of all our experiences, emotions and awareness of the phenomenal world. Of these the mind is the principal organ responsible for our existence, awareness and the total experience that constitutes life itself. Ᾱchārya Ṡankara makes this amply clear, “When it (mind) is destroyed, everything else is destroyed, and when it is manifested, everything else is manifested” (Vivekachudāmani, 169). All human experiences are rooted in the mind and our world of experiences is woven out of the mental sheath. Once this source is destroyed, the universe ceases to exist for man. However, yogis through rigorous practices arrive at this no-mind state and at this state they transcend the phenomenal world to reach Samādhi, the spiritual unity with the Absolute. The Zen philosophy also speaks of such transcendental state.

    “The universe is moved to and fro by the mind in the manner of clouds moved by the wind” (Yenaiva bhrāhmyate viṡvam vayuneva abhra mandalam); that is how Ᾱchārya Ṡankara describes the operation of the mind (Vivekachudāmani, 180). At the operational level mind has many layers each pertaining to a particular aspect of experience. All sense objects, gross or fine, without exception are products of the mind. The differentiation of objects in terms of body, name, caste, order of life, and tribe (ṡarira varnāṡrama jatibhedān) are all products of the mind. The differences in. The sense of likes, dislikes, pleasure and pain etc are all mental creations. Even the sense of communal and social identities of human beings originates at the level of the mental faculty.