Mind Vs. The Intellect
Our mind is our instrument of thinking. It is a seat to emotions like: love, compassion, anger, greed etc. The mind brings us desires, intentions, imagination and ideas. It uses sense organs to feel happiness via external stimuli.
What it doesn’t understand is that all these stimuli are temporary. In essence, the fault of the mind is its attachment to our thoughts.
There’s something more superior than our mind and that’s our intellect. The intellect is subtler than the mind and a very powerful instrument that leads our life. Like the mind it also is made up of thoughts. Intellect has thoughts like observation, understanding, creativity.
However, the intellect is also not without faults. When we don’t use our intellect well, we indulge in confusion, indecision, dullness and self-doubt.
So, what is the solution to eliminate the faults of the mind and the intellect. Through constant inner reflection, we can correct the course of our thoughts that don’t serve us well. Introspection helps us that we are inherently blissful, when we don’t attach our happiness to any person or material.
The 3 Defects Of The Mind Are
1. Mala: impurity
2. Viksepa: tossing
3. Aavarana: veil
One can remove these 3 defects by following the principles of Karma yoga. – The act of selfless service with gyana (intellect) + bhakti (devotion) + karma (action).
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Think like a man of action and act like a man of thought. ~ Henri Bergson
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Vasana Causes Restlessness And Bondage
Vasana is the cause of restlessness of mind. As soon as a Vasana manifests, there is an intimate connection between the mind and the object through overflowing Vishaya-Vritti-Pravaha. The mind will not retrace its steps till it gets the object and enjoys it. The restlessness will continue till the object is enjoyed. The Vritti will flow towards the object till it is obtained and enjoyed. The common run of men cannot resist or suppress any Vasana owing to weak will.
It is the Vasana in the mind that causes attraction towards objects and brings about bondage; with the disappearance of Vasanas, bondage naturally vanishes. There will not be any attraction, admiration or excitement for any object outside, if there is no Vasana inside your mind. It is the Vasana that is at the bottom of all your miseries and troubles. There is no pain from Isvara-Srishti (objects created by the Lord). Water quenches your thirst. Breeze gives you comfort. Sunshine enlivens you. Fire gives warmth. It is Jiva-Srishti that brings about bondage. Ahankara, anger, Abhimana, attachment are all Jiva-Srishtis. Have Suddha Sankalpa, but no Vasanas.
Copyright: Mind: It’s Mysteries And Control By Sri Swami Sivananda
How To Journey Inward
When we indulge our mind in introspection, we start pruning our mind of thoughts just clutter our thinking process. This leads to an enhancement of the quality of the mind.
Happiness or suffering is a mental event. Good or bad – is determined in your consciousness. You can change the way you feel by changing how you respond to anything life presents you with.
Step 1: instead of changing yourself or others, its mindful inaction.
Step 2: Fleeting nature of our emotions, anger or fear or happiness.
The Science Of Thinking
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About The Article Author:
Our mission with FutureSTRONG Academy – to grow children who respect themselves, their time and their capabilities in a world where distractions are just a click or a swipe away.
I see myself as an advocate for bringing social, emotional and character development to families, schools and communities. I never want to let this idea out of my sight – Our children are not just GPAs. I’m a Writer and a Certified Master Coach in NLP and CBT. Until 2017, I was also a Big Data Scientist. In December of 2044, I hope to win the Nobel. Namasté.
Write to me or call me. Tell me what support from me looks like.
Rachana Nadella-Somayajula,
Program Director & Essential Life Skills Coach for Kids and Busy Parents
About Sanatana Dharma
ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः।
अनेन वेद्यं सच्छास्त्रमिति वेदान्तडिण्डिमः॥
Brahman alone is real; the universe is mithya – neither fully real nor unreal, but an appearance. The individual self (jiva) is none other than Brahman itself, not separate or different. This is the true teaching of the scriptures, as revealed by Vedanta. ~ Verse 20 from Brahma Jnānavali Māla
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