Purpose of the Mind

To bring a sense of purpose and better quality into our lives we must look at the nature and working of our very mind itself. The mind is meant to absorb information, transform it into knowledge and lead it into action. Action and speech determined the quality of our life and these comes from the mind itself.

First let us understand the nature of absorption of the mind. Wise man who have delved into the truth of this have said that most people’s minds are as hard as a rock. Just as a rock is impervious to water, information that falls on a hard mind bounces off without a trace. A hard mind offers immense resistance to previously absorbed information that prevents the flow of knowledge and action.

Our mind must be as soft as a sponge for maximum absorption. Just as water can be easily absorbed by the sponge and squeezed out, a soft mind easily absorbs information and allows free flow of knowledge into action. The two processes are reversible –a soft or open mind can be easily hardened and a hard or closed mind can be easily softened.

What makes our mind hard or closed? Ancient sages have said that this is an automatic, front-line defense mechanism for the protection of our belief systems based on our state of ego. If we encounter an idea or a situation that is not in line with our thinking, we immediately closed our mind by putting up a block against it. Ego creates mindset. Mindset is a protective mechanism of self-defense because we are scared of what others think about our notions and beliefs. This mindset is self-destructive. For example, a simple discussion develops into an argument and leads to a verbal or physical fight.

Mere gathering of information by our mind is useless. We must transform this into knowledge. Our mind must be extremely pure to be able to perform this conversion efficiently. The results of an impure mind will rebound while the work of a pure mind will reach out for common welfare.

A pure, soft mind is gateway to divine living. Thinking positive isn’t enough, you need to think divine. Only then can we soften and purify our mind. We should review the working of our mind at least three times a day. Was my mind aggressive or calm? Did my words and actions hurt or bring joy to people? An object that slips out of our hand can be recovered, but an inappropriate word that slips out of our tongue cannot be erased. Self-review will free our mind of all obstruction. Ideas and inspiration flash freely in a pure mind to transform information to knowledge.

Three basic steps can be followed: First, allow others the freedom to be as they are, without imposing your mindset of thoughts and ideas. Second, have faith and belief that God is in you. Third, spend some time quietly everyday thinking about your inner self and chanting the name of God. This way our mind which seeks information can be changed into a mind meant for the transformation of our very life itself from human to Divine.

The light that comes from the sun illuminates the whole world, and that which is in the moon, and in the fire; know that light to be Mine.  - Bhagavad Gita 15:12

There is a light that shines beyond all things on earth, beyond the highest, the very highest heavens. This is the light that shines in your heart-Chandogya Upanishad