Understanding human
mind is not a new phenomenon. It is something each one of us enquires about at
some point or the other. The most interesting and the most amazing thing to
note is that we try to understand human mind through itself. It’s like thinking
about thinking. Can we think without a mind? Not really! But that doesn't mean
that I am my Mind because I am not my Mind. I am not my Body. I am above all
these things. I personally associate myself as a being with a mind, body and soul
and consider mind and body as sheer instruments to experience the nature of
life. If there is anything absolute in nature, it is the soul- the
indestructible, all-knowing self- which is above form and formlessness.
With this foundational
basis let me present my understanding of how I perceive brain, mind and heart.Out of these three, I
see brain as just an instrument, mind as a steering wheel and heart as the
secret keeper/memory keeper/the treasure trove of truth- on the abstract level
and an instrument/lifeline on the physical level with soul being the helmsman.
To understand it
better, you can picture life as an ocean where each soul represents a helmsman
with mind being its steering wheel and body, the ship. Brain is an integral
part of mind-a source of information/reservoir, processor and distributor of
information and heart on an abstract level – the consciousness. To ensure we
are heading in the right direction, I feel, it is important that our mind
should work in alignment with our heart. And I feel most of us have experienced
this state -when our mind works in alignment with our heart, it is completely
at peace. Whenever there’s turbulence or distress, we find it difficult to
steer through, may be because it is then we find it difficult to connect the
mind with the heart and hence, the concept of meditation proves its
significance here. So, in short, it is all about how we direct our minds to
shape our lives. Whoever has said, you are the Captain of your soul was so
right in his conviction.
I would like to close
this post with a quote from Eckhart Tolle’s
book, The Power of Now, “It
wasn’t through the mind, through thinking that the miracle that is life on
earth or your body was created and is being sustained. There is clearly an
intelligence at work that is far greater than the mind. When the mind
reconnects with that, it becomes a most wonderful tool. It then serves
something greater than itself.”
