It's all in the mind!

The aim of education should be to convert the mind into a living fountain and not a reservoir. That which is filled by merely pumping in, will be emptied by pumping out.

- John M. Mason

Almost all the leading religions and philosophies have paid close attention to the mind. Their approaches may be different, but the fact remains that the theories and views offered to the layman are quite mind boggling. It is not easy to understand the nature and location of the mind without which no human activity is possible. If you cut open the human skull, you will find the brain with its millions of cells and neurons. However, nobody has found an organ called the mind although its existence cannot be denied.

Finding the location of the mind has been an age-old philosophical problem. Is the mind located in the brain? Or is it found in any other part of the body? Is the brain synonymous with the mind? Some modern scientists tend to believe that the brain and mind are the same.

Those who adopt this stand are known to believe in Monism according to which the key to understand the human mind lies in understanding the nervous system that is closely connected with the brain. Psychologist Carlson, however, holds a different view. He says the mind is a consequence of the functioning of the human body and its interactions with the environment.

Buddha found that thoughts flow from the mind

Wherever it is located, the mind is a storehouse of tremendous power. Certain modern psychologists believe that it is the mind that uses the brain for various functions. In a way, the mind is the product of the brain and the central nervous system. Whether the mind is dictating terms to the brain or vice versa, there seems to be a close connection between the two entities. For instance, when a person's brain malfunctions, his mind too is adversely affected.

Psychological research

Biologically, it is the brain that sends signals to various parts of the body. According to modern psychological research, the mind can send various messages through neurotransmitters. The researchers claim that it is the mind and not the brain that should take the credit for being the seat of analysis, learning, judgement, memory and higher levels of thinking.

If you look at it seriously, the mind is a strange entity. It learns through trial and error. It gathers and stores various experiences for future use. However, individual minds have different capacities for learning and various other activities. As a result, those who follow the same course of studies will show different levels of performance in an examination. The good news is that the mind is very flexible and expandable to get the desired results. Most of us have not properly understood the mind's capacity to do so.

Another strange quality of the mind is that it can observe itself unlike any other physical organ. Philosophers and psychologists observe their own mind and come up with gems of thought. In meditation, we try to keep the mind under control to observe its nature. Nobody can stop us from doing so. As the leading Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti once said, your body can be imprisoned, but nobody can imprison your mind.

Lotus eaters

We are fast becoming a nation of lotus eaters who rely on astrologers and other soothsayers who are ready to predict what is in store for us in the future. In developed countries people try to energise their brain to achieve success in different fields of activity. It is time that we took a close look at our own attitudes and beliefs if we really want to succeed in life. It is said that an average man uses only about 10 percent of his brain capacity. Most people are reluctant to learn difficult subjects and energise their brain.

In Buddhism, the mind is referred to as mana, citta, and vinnana. Even the Pali word for man, manussa, means someone who has a developed mind or consciousness. Long before modern psychologists found that thoughts flow from the mind in an endless process in lightning rapidity, the Buddha expressed the same view millennia ago.

According to Buddhism, the mind is born at the moment of conception. Known as patisandi vinnana (relinking consciousness) the mind is conditioned by Kammic forces. As a result, we have different types of people: intellectuals, imbeciles, cheats, fraudsters, criminals, rapists and what not. Western psychologists who do not believe in Kammic forces say such differences occur due to genetic factors.

A close study of the mind is bound to give tremendous pleasure for those who want to expand it and absorb the higher thought processes in the world. There is no limit to learning and the mind is ready to accommodate any load of knowledge worth acquiring.