The Functional And Resting Mind (Opinion) Poem by Varanasi Ramabrahmam

Outside the physical world is perceived by the mind through sense organs - eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. What all we say outside the physical world is nothing but the projection of mind in mental forms; perceptions.

Thus as far as human beings are concerned the outside physical world is a mere perceptive phenomenon. Its existence is in the form of mental impression. Human beings undergo four phases or conscious states of mind knowingly or unknowingly.

Outside physical world is a series of perceptions of the mind in a wakeful mental phase through sense organs appearing on the mental screen. What all a human being says outside the physical world is, his mind's perception through sense organs in wakeful phase.

Thus all the outside physical world dubbed by human beings exists as a mere perceptive projection of mind as far as an individual is concerned. And he acts and reacts through action organs - movements of hand, leg, vocal chords, reproductive organ and bowels. Human beings communicate through action organs in the Wakeful phase of mind.

Similarly what is perceived by mind through mind in a Wakeful state is recorded as an inner mental world. The tuning of mind to this inner mental world - the impressions of the outside physical world - and retrieving them is nothing but a thought or feeling. This phase or conscious state of mind creates a dream state of mind. In this state of mind the mind is not tuned to sense organs. But action organs will be active according to thought or feeling or mental functioning or perceptions.

Also the cognition -related experiences are recorded and retrieved by mind in Wakeful and dream phases of mind. The collection of records of these cognition-related experiences identifying individuals with their self-consciousness, constitutes the individual's memory. The simultaneous working of wakeful and dream phases of mind together with active sense and action organs, constitute the cognition and communication processes of humans.

When the mind is taking rest and no mental functions are taking place, sense and action organs are not tuned to the mind and are dormant, the phase of deep sleep of mind or Sushupti is created. No cognition, communication or thinking, feeling, activating memory, takes place during this phase. Mind is not in the working phase or state or mode.

Then there is the fourth conscious state of mind rather, the mind-transcending phase, when, then the mind is tuned to sense and action organs and is in a ready state to function but not in functioning state. If willed mind functions. But the mind is not in a functioning state and is in a rest phase. This is called Wakeful-sleep or Jagrat sushupti phase of mind.

Human mental functioning starts after awakening from deep sleep, first memory getting activated and egoistic mind instantly appearing, starts thoughts and feelings according to the experience activated. The appearances of the inner mental world and outside physical world - through tuned mind to sense organs - simultaneously take place. These two appearances are simultaneous and are mere perceptions or thought forms. Cognitions and communications start happening through sense and action organs, rather deep sleep is converted to dream and Wakeful conscious states of mind. Because sense organs are activated by tuned mind function, we see, hear, smell, taste and experience the touches and hotness or coolness.

So all outside the physical world is perception of mind through sense organs in Wakeful state of mind. It is a mere appearance on the mental screen. This appearance is called Mithya or unreal or illusion by Sankaraacharya and not the outside physical world.(If in the wakeful phase of mind either sense organs are defective - blind, deaf, etc. - that part of the outside physical world is absent to the individual. Either scenes, sights to blind and sounds to the deaf don't exist to him and can't and don't form an inner mental world; or the mind is not tuned to the outside physical world through sense organs - the individual is in a dream phase of mind, the outside physical world doesn't exist for him.)

In the dream phase of mind, the mind is tuned to the inner mental world. And thoughts and feelings are retrieval of impressions of perceptions of outside physical objects, created as inner mental world, caused earlier through sense organs.

The simultaneous existence, appearance and interplay of wakeful and dream conscious states of mind do all the mental functions and facilitate cognition, re-cognition and communication processes to happen. This is the way the mind works and our inner mental and outside physical worlds are. Both are appearances on the mental screen as thoughts, feelings and experiences in a forward and reverse way, in speaker and listener. These appearances are stated as unreal in Advaita thought. This is the essence of the famous Advaita expression:

ब्रह्म सत् जगत् मिथ्याजीवो ब्रह्मैव न अपरः

What is always present is Brahman as Awareness and individual is same as Brahman and is not different.

Meaning: The individual bereft of self-consciousness is Pure consciousness or Unoccupied Awareness or Content-free Contentment.

An individual as "I" is not a person but is Conscious awareness sans activated memory, feelings, thoughts, cognitions or communications.

The real identity of "I" is the experience of Peace, Bliss, Silence and filling the Consciousness.