Mind: The Illusion Of Thoughts
The world is a game of thoughts. The mind is a medium for exchanging thoughts. It is a collection of a multitude of thoughts. The tool of the mind is intellect, which helps us in making decisions. Wherever our attention goes, thoughts of the mind begin in that direction. If your attention goes to a garden, your mind reaches there and thoughts about the garden begin. Thus, the mind is wherever attention is.
It can be roughly said that there are two minds inside us. One is the conscious mind while the other is the subconscious mind, also known as the inner, intuitive, or the instinctive mind. The difference between the two minds is the same as that of air and storm. The work of the conscious mind is visible, while that of the subconscious is invisible. The subconscious mind works quietly, while the conscious mind feels every feeling, thought, and action; and never stays still. The subconscious mind is a combination of memories, intellect, and programming by the conscious mind.
Consciousness operates the mind. The mind with the help of intellect gives instructions to the subconscious mind to program it. Consciousness is like electricity current while the body-mind is like a bulb. A bulb cannot operate without electricity. And without the bulb, the electricity cannot express itself as light.
Consciousness, the conscious mind and the subconscious mind – all three are required for living in this world. The Self/ the creator has created these entire three facets for its divine play. Like how a dancer uses her feet and other parts to dance; the Self/the Consciousness too operates through different bodies to continue its cosmic drama. Your ultimate purpose is not to get entangled in the drama and to know that you are the Self. Actually it is your mind that gets entangled.
The mind is such an entity which cannot be seen in the body but we always accept its existence. At this moment if someone asks you where is the mind, the answer is: your eyes. This is because at this moment you are reading with your eyes. In the meantime, your mind went to your brain because it thought about this question but you did not realize it because it is so fast. The speed of the mind is incredible due to which you are unable to catch it. Suppose you are able to read 200-300 words in a minute, but the mind can listen to about 800 words per minute. Hence it brings rest of the 500 words in the form of other thoughts, and that is why you are unable to focus the mind.
Although the mind can grasp 800 words, it should be content with just one or two words. When the mind attains understanding of the truth, it stops comparing, judging, assuming, labeling, and so forth. The part of the mind that does all such activities can be called as the ‘contrast mind’.
The contrast mind compares and judges everything. It splits everything into two—black or white (bad or good), like the contrast control feature of the television or computer. This is the mind that gives rise to fear, worry, envy, insecurity, deceit, assumptions, anger, excitement, and so on. In fact, it is the root cause of all the miseries in human life. It is only present in humans. It is the one that blocks us from seeing the truth. This mind assumes a separate identity for itself and says—my work, my name, my actions, my religion, my country, my sins, my virtues. It compares and contrasts every event, every thought.
The first thought that arises within us when we wake up in the morning is the ‘I’ thought. There are variations to this ‘I’ thought, such as:
I woke up.
Now what is the first thing that I should do?
My eyes are a bit heavy today; is it time for me to wake up?
The words could be different, but all of them pertain to the individual or personal ‘I’.
With the advent of the ‘I’ thought, other thoughts begin to follow. By now, the senses too are awake. It is only after the ‘I’ thought that the contrast mind forms, which then judges everything as “this was good” or “this was bad”. This is precisely what is sorrow. This is precisely what is bondage. This is what is ignorance. This is what is illusion. This is the obstacle in attaining the truth. This is the black cloud shrouding the sun (Self or the truth). This is what causes the eclipse. This is the speck that has got into your eyes and is not allowing seeing something as obvious as the large mountain.
The contrast mind likes to break and see everything in parts. It divides everything in at least two parts. After breaking, it then compares the two parts with each other, due to which it always lives in envy and hatred. In order to compare, it constantly sways and churns between the past and the future. After comparing, it judges the two parts on its scale. After breaking them into good and bad, it thinks, “If this is good, is it more good or less good? If that is bad, is it more bad or less bad?”
In this way, the contrast mind becomes a curtain between you and the Self. When the contrast mind comes to know that it is the one shrouding the Self, it surrenders and drops and the intuitive mind is free to operate in all its glory.
Furthermore, the contrast mind labels every incident and compares it. Suppose a glass of milk spills over and breaks. If you consider this as just an incident, there is no sorrow or misery. But in most cases the contrast mind invites sorrow with thoughts such as, “Whoever had kept this glass there has no common sense at all. It was such an expensive glass. And the milk has been wasted too.”
Let us understand this ‘labeling’ with the help of an analogy. Many of us are aware that machines are used in companies to stick labels on objects. Imagine you are given such a machine and told that this machine can stick labels to anything. If that machine falls in the hands of children, you know what will happen…they will not only stick labels to tables, chairs, doors, cupboards, they won’t even spare people, because they enjoy doing it. It’s clear from this analogy that you have already received a labeling machine in your childhood. This machine is your ‘contrast mind’, with the help of which you not only stuck labels on yourself, but also on others. It continues to compare between two labels every moment, saying this is good and that is bad, this is better and that is worse… In this way the contrast mind applies labels and gives rise to joy and sorrow.
So how do we get rid of such labels? “Who am I?” is a remarkable question which helps us to get rid of such labels. The power of labels begins to disappear.
Suppose you get a phone call and you are unable to recognize the voice. In that case you immediately ask, “Who’s speaking?” You ask that when you are doubtful. Similarly when you doubt yourself, you look at yourself in the mirror and ask, “Who are you?” This means you suspect that what is seen in the mirror is not the reality. This is an auspicious state.
Now let’s understand why the power of labels diminishes on asking “Who am I?” In the example of the phone call, if it was one of your relative who was playing a joke on you by speaking in a different, made-up voice, then he will start speaking in his real voice shortly after asking, “Who’s speaking?” In the same way, by asking “Who am I?” to yourself, the real you manifests in a short time. That is why this question is important. This is called Self enquiry. Now let us understand what ‘Self enquiry’ means. Doesn’t every being want peace and bliss? Behind everything you do, isn’t it happiness that you seek? Every action you perform is for happiness. But this happiness is lost in the storm of thoughts. And thoughts, whether good or bad, always shroud the light of your true self.
When you are in deep sleep, there are no thoughts. There is pure consciousness, Self, or being. Just as a spider weaves a web out of itself and then takes everything back, in the same way thoughts arise from the ocean of the Self and manifest this world. Then these thoughts disappear at night and along with them the world too disappears. This game of cosmic illusion goes on uninterrupted, day after day.
To push aside the curtain of illusion, it is essential to go to the origin of these thoughts. With rigorous, continuous, and repeated Self- Enquiry; where you ask ‘Who Am I?’ you are able to see all the facets of the mind, in its various colors and forms. As a result the mind weakens and finally surrenders and drops. (The mind will disappear; what never was, will become nothing).
Enquiry is for the death of the mind, the mind which we term as the ‘contrast mind’. Thereafter your true self will Shine Forth.
Summary: Mind is a collection of a multitude of thoughts. When the mind attains understanding of the truth, it stops comparing, judging, assuming, labeling, and so forth. The part of the mind that does all such activities can be called as the ‘contrast mind’. ‘Self Enquiry’ is for the death of the mind, the mind which we term as the ‘contrast mind’. Thereafter your true self will Shine Forth.
The above article is an excerpt from the book: WHO AM I NOW – Beyond mindfulness into no-mind
