some thoughts on the mind

[nanda chandran]

MurthygAru writes :
>and we think we are limited by this embodiment,

What made you think so?

Thinking is nothing but a stream of thoughts. Intellect, Ego, Mind are
all just different representations of thought, according to the nature
of the thought.

As Rene Descartes said, "I think, therefore I am". I is an entity who
thinks. Here if the I and the thought are not individually identified,
then there's only thought and no thinker. But if there's no thinker,
then how's it you can remember the thought of the past? A thought of
one instant cannot know the thought of the previous instant, because
it's an altogether independent entity. So there's something that
remembers the thoughts.

But then the next question is "ARE YOU THIS" which remembers?
Remembering previous thoughts is common experience.

But then if you're this that remembers, then you are apart from the
thought. If you're apart from the thought you should be able to
cognize thoughts as and when they happen. But is this the case in
reality? WE ONLY KNOW THE THOUGHT OF THE PAST MOMENT, BUT NEVER AS
THEY HAPPEN. So for all practical purposes, though we can infer a
witness to the thoughts, we are unable to distinguish it from the
thoughts.

Thoughts are of both pleasure and pain. Since the witness is unable to
distinguish itself from the thoughts, it,  as a results both enjoys
and suffers. One level higher to the thoughts, is the body. The
concept works the same way with the body too as with the thoughts. The
Witness + Thoughts + Body is what we generally refer to as the "I".

The process of distinguishing the Witness from the thoughts is the
process of separating the Purusha from PrAkriti of the Patanjala Yoga
system or the Brahma Vidya of the VedAnta. In the former the stress is
on controlling the thoughts and in the latter, on discovering the
witness (which is nothing but you in essence, devoid of thoughts).

_______________________________________________________________
Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com