Definition of mind

Mind-stuff is made of a highly rarefied matter of "Satva substance" in the elements. Gossamer-like it spreads in the body with its tentacles deeply rooted in the senses, working through sense organs. Its base also goes far above, rooted as it is in the universal or cosmic mind "chid-akash". It serves as a link between the material body and the conscious spirit or soul in the body which is enlivening both the mind and the body. Like fire it is a good servant but a bad master. (Mind is active in all three worlds, the physical, astral, and causal, and can delude us in all the three worlds.)

So long as the soul is in the mind zone it is a prisoner. It is engulfed by the mind and is subject to it and has to obey the dictates of the mind. The mind and the soul combined in their turn are locked up in forms – causal, astral, and physical successively. The mind feels shy of going in and coming in touch with the Sound Current, for there it loses its identity and freedom. Instead, it is prepared to go to the extent of sitting in trenches in the face of bullets to win a bottom victory, or will gladly face the risks of crossing the Atlantic to gain a name or establish a record.

What constitutes desire?

All conceptions in the mind are desires. At present the mind desires those things it cannot get. When it realizes the truth, the whole of nature will be at its beck and call. Mind is nothing but a storehouse of karmic impressions coming down from the beginning of time in an endless series of incarnations. The body cannot but perform karmas, and karmas fashion the body and all that is of the body and bodily relations. The entire world is a play of karmic impressions stored in the mind by the people of the world. This is why the world is termed as "mano mai shriti" or creations of the mind.

The mind by itself is not conscious. It is the consciousness of the soul that the mind reflects. Anyone whose soul is under the mind’s influence and control becomes an image of the mind, for he forgets his true self. We call this ego or I-hood for one thinks, "I am everything". God plus mind is man and man minus mind is God.

Sant Kirpal Singh
 

Question: What are the attributes of mind?

Sant Kirpal Singh: Mind has four facets or attributes:

1. Chit, to wit; it may be likened to a lake in which countless streams of impressions are imperceptibly pouring in all the time.

2. Manas: It is the thinking faculty of the mind which cogitates over such impressions as rise on to the surface of the lake in the form of ripples and waves just as the breeze of consciousness blows over the waters of the "chit – lake" and sets in motion an endless chain of thoughts one after the other.

3. Budhi or intellect: It is the faculty of reason, ratiocination, discrimination and finally decision, after considering the pros and cons as presented by the "manas". It is the grand arbiter that tries to solve the problems of life which come before it.

4. Ahankar or ego: It is the self-assertive faculty of the mind for it likes to assume credit for all the acts done, and thus prepares a rich harvest of karmas that keep one moving up and down in the giant wheel of life.
All actions leave an impression behind which dull minds fail to decipher. Only when the mind develops, and this it does when we travel within and upwards, the memory revives and the record becomes intelligible.

 

 

We should now understand: What is the mind? This is a general question. Guru Nanak says, "If you control the mind, yon can control all – the world over." The mind is a hindrance between the soul and God. So Masters tell us, "If you are ready to develop to know God, you must first put one step on your mind and control it and the other step that you will take will reach you to the house of your Father."

A talk given by Sant Kirpal Singh, 28 November, 1972 at Anaheim, California

 

Q. Kindly define mind.

A. Mind-stuff is made of a highly rar­e­fied mat­ter or Satva sub­stance in the ele­ments. Gos­samer-like it spreads in the body with its ten­ta­cles deeply rooted in the senses, work­ing through sense organs. Its base also goes far above, rooted as it is in the uni­ver­sal or cos­mic mind chid-akash. It serves as a link between the mate­rial body and the con­scious spirit or soul in the body which is enliv­en­ing both the mind and the body. Like fire, it is a good ser­vant but a bad mas­ter.

Q. Where is the seat of the mind?

A. The seat of the mind in the body is in the eye focus as that of the soul, but slightly towards the right cor­ner of the left eye while that of the soul is slightly towards left cor­ner of the right eye.

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