[Advaita-l] MIND

[sriram]

Dear member
According to psychology mind is very difficult to define though it can be explained at length.The seat of the mind is at brain only and not heart-physiological-and the entire thinking process involving all the areas of the brain is collectively called the mind.One can say the flow of thoughts constitutes the mind.When one is unconscious due to lack of oxygen to the brain mind does not work-that is thought process is not possible.The frontal portion of the brain called amygdala plays a very important part in guiding the action of the individual according to past experiances-bitter or pleasant.Till research is going on as to what exactly is this grey matter called brain and why it functions the way it functions.Generally the brain takes care of the organism`s survival by commanding appropriate action to execute by the limbs of the organism again it is limited by design.Who has designed like this why not in another way is the matter of vedantha.
Advaita speaks of manas which we usually take it to mean the mind.Thoughts are ever rising and some thoughts are put into action but many a thought get unfocussed but resurface again according to the vasana`s of the individual.Thoughtlessness may be called samadhi state but the individual should be conscious of that state.Whether this is tenable I donot know.
Our philosophy being a subjective science -I call it a science as it is built logically brick by brick -faith in vedas as the corner stone.
It is my conclusion that mind has no independent existence apart from the brain.
R.Krishnamoorthy.