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Upadesa Sara

Sloka 18

I-thought is Mind

When we apply the definition of the word ‘illusion’ to the mind we realize that it too is an illusion. An illusion cannot exist without a substratum. The experience of the mind is only due to the non-apprehension of its real substratum.

Knowledge of the substratum would remove the illusion called the mind. For such knowledge to take place, Ramana Maharshi further analyzes the mind as we presently experience it.

vrttayas-tvaham-vrttimasritah,
vrttayo mano viddhyaham manah.

vrttayas – thoughts; to -now; aham-vrttimasritah – depend upon the ‘I’ – thought; vrttayo mano – thoughts in the mind; viddhi – may you know; aham manah – ‘I’ -thought is the mind

Now, thoughts make the mind. All thoughts depend on the ‘I’­ thought. Therefore, know the ‘I’-thought’ to be the mind.

The mind is the continuous flow of thoughts. The thoughts are of innumerable objects. These objects may be perceivable gross objects or emotions like desire and anger or ideas and concepts. Each thought must necessarily have an object. In the thought, “This is a pot”, the pot is the object of the thought. Moreover, the thought, ‘This is the pot’ cannot arise without a knower of the thought, the subject of the thought. Therefore, the complete thought is – ‘I know this is a pot’. Here ‘I’ is the subject and the ‘pot’ is the object. Innumerable thoughts of such objects, in a perpetual flow, is called the mind. Usually, we seek to gain peace by trying to quieten and control this flow. We are not very successful in our efforts because the flow is wild, swift, and forceful.

On further inquiry, we understand that innumerable thoughts are in fact made up of only two thoughts. They are the ‘this’-thought and the ‘I’-thought. In the thought ‘I know this pot’, ‘I am’ is the ‘I-thought’ (aham vrtti) and ‘pot is’, is the ‘this-thought’ (idam vrtti). The ‘this’-thought keeps changing in each thought, but not the ‘I’ thought. That means that the objects of the thought keep changing but the subject remains the same. From innumerable thoughts, we now come to the analysis of two thoughts.

Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi leads us a step further. Each of the ‘this’-thought depends on the ‘I’-thought and therefore, the mind is made up of not two thoughts, but only of ‘I’ – thought. Only after the thought, ‘I am’ has arisen, we are capable of knowing any object. This is made clear when we analyze the deep sleep state. In deep sleep, the ‘I am’ – thought is not known and hence no objects are known. On waking up we first realize ‘I am’ and then alone the world of objects and beings around us like the table and the chair are known.

By the above analysis, we understand that the thought ‘I am’ or ‘I’ -thought alone is the mind. If we wish to solve the problem of the mind, it becomes necessary to understand the ‘I’ thought. Identifying with the body-mind-intellect, we say ‘I am fat’, ‘I am sad’, or ‘I am bad’. This false identification is the cause of our delusion and grief. This is because we do not really know the pure Self.

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