Swami_Krishnananda The_Chhandogya

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of the mind, the capacity of the mind. Mind is superior, naturally, because unless the
mind functions well, there would be no speech, no nomenclature and no learning. Just
as, says Sanatkumara, two small fruits like mulberry or berry can be held together in
the fist of the hand, just as the palm of one s hand folded contains within its fold two
small fruits or objects, so does the mind contain within itself both speech and name.
Speech and name are contained within the mind. This is the power of the mind.
Whatever we do, we do only through the mind. We know it very well. We think first
before we express ourselves in speech or utter a name. We think, Let me do work, and
then we start working. We think, Let me have this, and let me have that, and then we
put forth effort in that direction. We begin to perform various types of actions in this
world, after thinking first. So, thinking is prior to every other deed or effort.
Mind is supreme in life. It is well known to every one of us. The mind is practically our
own self. When we refer to ourselves usually, in practical life, we are referring to the
mind only. It is me, we say. What do we mean by me ? We are referring to the mind,
nothing more than that. And mind has assumed the selfhood, by superimposition of
characters. Selfhood really does not belong to the mind. As the mirror shines in sunlight,
so does the mind assume selfhood by the transference of the character of the Self into
itself. So, for all practical purposes in life, mind is the self and it is the individuality
within us. The mind is responsible for anything that we achieve in this world or in the
other world, because what we call world is nothing but the field of experience. The range
of our experience is the world in which we are living. And all the experiences of our life
are nothing but the expression of the actions that we perform, behind which there is the
mind that thinks. So, our world of experience is actually controlled and directed by the
mind. Therefore we may say that, in a sense, mind is the world. As the mind is yourself
in this empirical realm, O Narada, meditate on mind as Brahman, the Absolute, says
Sanatkumara.
The Chhandogya Upanishad by Swami Krishnananda
88
Whatever the mind can think, that should be brought within the purview of the object of
meditation. This is perhaps the last stage which ordinary people can reach in
meditation. What can they do beyond the level of the thoughts of their mind? So, we
should try to find out what are the possibilities of the mind, and bring all of them
together into a stage of harmony, in an artistic manner. The pattern of thought should
be beautiful. It should be complete. This is the meaning of the term absolute here. We
have to remember this again. The absolute is the completeness of any particular
concept, whatever the concept be. So here, we have to reach the ultimate point possible
by the mind. The arrangement of the conceptual objects should be such that nothing
should be left out of purview. The reason for the movement of the mind away from the
object chosen for meditation is the presence of a subtle feeling within, that there is
something outside the object beyond it, above it, higher than it. The mind should
include every blessed thing, so that there is no chance of the mind going away from the
object. The mental object here is not any particular symbol of a physical object, but
includes everything that the mind can think. This is the object of meditation instructed
in this section.
So, O Narada, here you are in the mental realm of meditation. Consider mind as all,
and master it in such a way that it becomes one with your Being, and does not remain
merely an external function of your outward living over which you have no control. It is
yours. You are a master of your mind; it has become you, says Sanatkumara.
This generally does not happen in practical life. Though we say that the mind is me , we
are not masters of the mind. There are many occasions when it is revealed to us, to our
surprise and sorrow, that the mind is not our self, though wrongly we do say, my mind
is me . If mind is me , well, I should be a complete master of it. But it is not the case. As
the wind blows, the mind goes in various directions, and we are drifted in the direction
of the wind of the mind. So the mind acts as a master. It does not act as our own Self. So
it is not true that the mind is the true Self. But it has to be absorbed into the Self in
meditation in order that it gets controlled. Complete control of a particular thing is
exercised only to the extent of the absorption of that particular thing into one s own Self.
Anything that is one with us is controlled by us, and of that we are masters. We are not
masters of anything that is outside us. So, in the realm of the mind, we should be
masters. We should control the mind completely and rule over it, by identification of our
true Being with everything that the mind can think. This is one stage in the process of
meditation.
Revered Sir, is there anything greater than mind? asks Narada, and Sanatkumara
replies, Yes, surely there is will, sankalpa, which is greater than mind.
SECTION 4
WILL
In the gradation of meditation, we have seen that the mind is superior to the function of
speech, of which all the names are manifestations, because from the mind proceed all
psychological activities and everything that is expressed through speech. But, behind the
mind also, there are forces which are more concentrated in their nature, and by an
analysis of the activities of the mind, we will realise that this is the activity of specified
The Chhandogya Upanishad by Swami Krishnananda
89
thought. There is a creative will operating as the directive intelligence. This will is
termed sankalpa in Sanskrit. A determination or will in the mind precedes action. So,
will is prior to the general thinking faculty of the mind.
1. Samkalpo vava manaso bhuyan-yada vai samkalpayate atha
manasyati, atha vacam-irayati tam u namnirayati, namni mantra ekam
bhavanti, mantresu karmani.
Will, which is creative in its character, is superior to ordinary thought. When there is a
will or a determined activity of the psychological organ, there arises the general thinking
of the mind. Then follows the expression thereof by means of speech. Everything that we
utter or recite or chant is a form of speech. And the quintessence of speech in its most
sacred form is the body of mantras in the Vedas. The mantras contained in the texts
called Brahmanas in the Vedas direct men to specified actions by means of injunctions.
The mantras are like fire, great forces of directive intelligence. The mantras imply
within themselves indications as to how they are to be utilised in a particular
performance. So, actions which lead to specific results and the consequent experiences
in life are all rooted in the hints given in the mantras themselves, which are specified [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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