Some thoughts on Pur Mind

[Guest guest]

Namaste.

 

The discussion on pure mind and “Self” takes us to the very definition

of ‘mind’. Mind is the flow of thoughts and not just thoughts. No

thought is good or bad. Only the rate of flow of thoughts can be good or

bad. Exercises like meditation helps to regulate the flow of thoughts

leading to the tranquility of the mind. As long as the mind exists,

thought flow will be there. ‘Self’ is beyond the body-mind-intellect

complex; it is the source of power for body-mind-intellect. I can

identify thoughts only when I identify myself with the mind. So, the day

I learn to de-identify myself with the mind, the mind ‘dies’ for all

practical purposes. When the mind dies, the Self reveals. A “pure mind”

is a necessary and sufficient vehicle that helps to transcend mind

itself. Pure mind helps to burn our vasanas in the fire of

discriminatory knowledge. In the end, the very mind itself should be

burnt in the fire of absolute Knowledge. One of the common analogies

Shankara uses to explain this is as follows. When a dead body is being

cremated, a stick is being used to push the bones of the body into the

fire. At the end, even that stick is thrown into the pyre. So also is

the case with the mind in relation to Knowledge.

 

S.Chandran