The mind according to Sri Shankaracharya.

[Jagannath Chatterjee]

Dear Kiran,

At least you know sanskrit. I haven't learned the
language. So I can only quote those slokas I have
roted.

--- Kiran B R <kiranbr at ROCKETMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
> > Everything begins in and ends with the
> > mind.
>
> Agreed. But before it ends in the mind, will all
> those
> things which begin in the mind come to be in the
> material world? Or is "ending in the mind" a way of
> saying "I wanted to eat grapes. I cannot reach them.
> So I do not want to eat grapes now"?

Not necessarily. By mind I meant the collective mind.
Since ages men have wanted to fly. Today they can.
Scientists talk of getting ideas in sleep. I think
they subconsciously tap the collective mind.

A friend of mine has been witness to a very
interesting incident. A retired Professor in
mathematics of the Ravenshaw college at Cuttack met a
unlettered fakir and asked him a mathematical
question. The fakir gave the correct solution claiming
he had access to the collective mind.

>
> > I have read in the Bhagavata (sorry can't remember
> > the
> > details, mere hand waiving I guess) that whatever
> > that
> > occurs to the mind can come to pass.
>
> But then, that mind in which things are being
> concocted should be allowed to concoct without any
> restrictions. And those concoctions must also come
> to
> pass. Of course, such powers should not be expected
> in
> non-braHmajnAnis.

The conjuring up power existed with both the Devatas
and the Asuras. Neither were brahmajnanis I guess. It
is a siddhi.

> capability of the human mind to detach itself from
> material objects does not prove the unreality of the
> world. That is, it does not prove that the world is
> "unreal". Doing so is like closing one's eyes and
> exclaiming that there is no light.

The reality of the world is subjective. The world is
real so long as we are in it. When a thorn pierces you
it is difficult to act like a brahmajnani and say that
there is no pain. So, as long we are in the world, we
have to take the world for real. When we are fully
convinced otherwise the world becomes false.
>
> As far as I know, there is no mention in any
> of
> Sri Shankara's works as to why ALL the different
> minds
> conjure up objects following the same laws of
> physics.

I think it is the collective mind that is deluded.
Thus, automatically, the individual mind is also
deluded. That is also the reason why all perceive the
same objects and sequences in the world.

Regards
Jagannath


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