Theory of knowledge

[Raghavendra]

nanda chandran wrote:

> The contact of a particular sense with an object activates the mind. The
> mind in turn is
> also capable of activating the senses.

Now, according to you the mind is _not_activated before the contact with an
object activates it. But what sustains the mind in its inactive state ? How
do you know that the mind is not active before the contact ?

> In the example of your encounter with the bug :-), there may be two
> situations : 1. You're in the state of svapna or dream or 2. You're in
> the state of sushupti or deep sleep.
>
> With the former, the consciousness is up and running, with the object
> being the dream itself. So when the bug bites you, your sense of feeling
> is aroused and subsequently the mind is also contacted. At this point in
> time, since you're aware of the bug, the dream is broken and the bug
> becomes the object.

According to you, consciousness is 'absent' during deep sleep. A
subject-object relationship is absent. But consciousness is not. There seems
to be a clash of terminologies here rather than that of ideas. What is it
that stays during all the three states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep ?
How do you know that you were in deep sleep ? Is not a continuum felt ?
Don't you feel like you have existed for the past 10 years ? The underlying
substratum is termed 'consciousness' here and not what you lose when you
become unconscious.

>
> When you're in deep sleep and the bug bites you, again the sense of
> feeling is aroused which in turn arouses the mind. Here you should note
> that what we're referring to the mind is just thought itself. Where the
> thoughts originate, even Shankara pleads ignorance (or so I think).

Please quote a reference in this regard.

> So
> from a state which is neither consciousness nor unconsciousness, the
> consciousness is activated, with the bug being the object. And here also
> the deep sleep state is lost.

What is that state ? As said earlier, it is a clash of terminologies rather
than that of ideas.

Namaste,
Raghavendra.