Part XLII
- Mind and Matter Part 2
It is taken for granted that everybody knows
who they are. Most of them have a high opinion
of themselves (superiority complex) and some
have a low opinion of themselves (inferiority
complex), but everyone has some opinion about himself. Since
everybody knows who they are (or at least they think they
know who they are), no educational system offers courses on
this. All the educational systems are only trying to teach
us about 'this', this being any of the objectifiable sciences,
such as chemistry, physics, psychology, medicine, how to do?,
etc. It sounds ridiculous to say that we can become experts
in 'this' without knowing much about our selves. The ironic
thing is that we ourselves misunderstand ourselves,
although we complain most of the time that it is others who
do not understand us.
In one of the Upanishads a student gives a huge
list of his expertise in many fields (in our
terminology more than 60 PhDs), yet repents that
he is still restless and does not have peace
of mind. The teacher says you know everything
except yourself. Essentially, knowledge of 'who
I am' is not for academic interest like knowledge
of any of 'this'. The teacher says that it is
the very foundation of life itself. Without knowing
yourself, it is impossible to have proper contact
or relationship with the world. All mental suffering
(suffering is mental only) results from this
lack of understanding. Hence Vedanta says ignorance
of one's own true nature is the root cause of
human suffering.
If we ask anybody 'who are you?', we get a big
account of who he is. Some people have pages
and pages of their bio-data, in response to the
above question. If we examine any bio-data, including
our own, all it tells is - I am 'this', I am
'that', etc, starting from physical dimensions
to intellectual accomplishments - pages and pages
of information about 'this and that', but nothing
about our self. The subject 'I' is different
from the object 'this' - and our fundamental
confusion arises from identifying the subject
'I' with the object 'this'. Analyzing this problem,
Vedanta says that, when I do not know who I am
(self-ignorance), then I take myself to be what
I am not - I am 'this or I am 'that'.
Subject consciousness or self-awareness is intermixed
with object-consciousness, awareness of this.
This confusion arises due to the lack of correct
knowledge about 'who I am'. Now the question
is: does this confusion arise because the subject
consciousness and object consciousness cannot
be easily separated in the mind? Is this inherent
in the structure of the mind? If someone says,
after reading this, that he definitely knows
who he is, then Vedanta says that only means
he does not know who he is. This is
because, he is only conceptualizing or objectifying
who he is and in the very objectification, he
misses the subject, himself. Then how does one
ever know who he is? Vedanta provides definite
clues by which one can evaluate his self-knowledge.
These clues are for self-evaluation and not for
others to evaluate him about his self-knowledge.
In the western theories starting from Rene Descartes
to Sigmund Freud, conscious mind is identified
with 'ego' or notional 'I', which is nothing
but the notion that 'I am this' - this being
whatever I think I am at that time. Hence the
famous statement of Descartes, 'I think, therefore
I am. Hence we posed the question before - Can
I ever be conscious of myself without simultaneously
having objective consciousness – i.e. without
the duality present in the form of I and this,
as 'I know this' and ultimately 'I am this'?
Related to this, can the mind operate in the
realm where there is subject consciousness alone
without simultaneous object consciousness? 'I
am'... 'I am'... 'I am'... period, without any
'I am this'... 'I am this'... 'I am this'...
etc.
This identification or equation of the subject
'I' with an object 'this' forms the fundamental
conditioning of the mind discussed in the introduction,
where 'this' that I identify with depends on
the conditioning of my mind. Thus I am an Indian,
I am an American, I am a theist or atheist, Hindu,
Christian, Muslim, dvaitin, advaitin, believer
or non-believer, etc - identification with concepts,
traditions, theologies, beliefs, etc. Deconditioning
therefore involves declutching or removing this
confused understanding about myself. How to do
the deconditioning without reconditioning myself
with different notions is the secret of Vedanta
- therefore Vedanta is not another religion or
path but is like a mirror which shows who you
are in contrast to who you think you are.
This is not a fanatical statement but a statement
born of the experiences of many sages, since
time immemorial. The beauty is that the solution
is not up there in heaven or after the death
etc, but right here and right now. Since the
truth that is infinite has to be eternal, that
also includes here and now. Hence Vedanta is
the means of knowledge (pramANa) to know the
truth of oneself, since any other means of knowledge
including all scientific investigations relies
on objective analysis or analysis of 'this' and
is therefore not valid for the analysis of the
subject 'I'. Science can never prove or disprove
the truth about myself, since its field of enquiry
is limited to objective analysis or analysis
of 'this' and not about the subject, I. This
also establishes that western method of analysis
of even the mind as an object of investigation
will never give the total picture of the mind,
since it can only deal with the 'this' aspect
of the mind which is the inert part and not the
consciousness aspect of the mind that deals with
self-consciousness and object-consciousness.
It is clear from the perpetuation of many theories
and postulates about the nature of the mind that
it is not amenable to grosser objectification
and analysis by conventional scientific tools.
The inherent problem is that we are using the
mind to investigate the mind. So called tools
that are normally used in scientific experimentation
are not fully useful in the inquiry into the
mind other than at the gross or clinical level.
There is also confusion in that mapping of the
brain is equated to mapping of the mind - it
is like investigation of the hardware to find
out about the problems in the software. Experience
of pleasures and pains, emotions of love, compassion,
fear, anxiety, hatred, etc are not easily quantifiable
to determine cause-effect relations since they
are subjective.
Understanding the mind would help us to control
our mind or redirect the workings of the mind,
instead of the mind controlling us. This is more
important to maximize the efficacy of the mind
than trying to change the 'set-up' or the world
at large to improve the standard of living. Pressures
of modern society are contributing to more and
more mental problems. Man may be more comfortable
with modern gadgets but they make him only comfortably
unhappy. Absolute eternal happiness is the goal
of every being and the key to accomplish that
lies in understanding and utilizing the mind
properly. In the following we present various
classifications of the mind based on its functions
and utilities, since understanding of the working
of the mind is the first step in controlling
it and redirecting it properly.
Proceed to the next
essay.
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