MIND OVER MATTER

The mind is insentient, and so is the matter. The matter is what is perceived, observed, and measured through the sensory mediums. The mind is the subtle sensory instrument powered by the medium of consciousness. The matter is the grosser element. The relationship between mind and matter is unique because it resolves the classic "body-mind complex problem" by declaring that mind and matter are not two different substances but two poles of the same phenomenal continuum. Both belong to the objective domain of Prakriti (primal matter). The mind is simply subtle matter, while the physical universe is gross matter. Neither possesses inherent consciousness. However, the apparent interplay between the mind and matter needs to be seen on the paradigm of seer and seen, or knower and known. Although they apparently look like separate entities due to Maya, or Avidya, or ignorance, they are the offshoots of the primary unmanifest Brahman, or Absolute Existence. All the apparently distinct entities emerge from the will of Brahman and collapse back into the same Absolute Existence after the fading of their manifestations. All the manifest objects are subject to the limited adjuncts of space-time as well as the cyclic laws of the Samsara Chakra, or the wheel of birth and death—birth, growth, decay, and dissolution. The core paradigm is Absolute Existence, which is eternal, infinite, uncaused, imperishable, omniscient, omnipotent, Self-luminous and Self-effulgent. However, creation is a manifestation of the will of Brahman. The premise is when anything manifests, it moves or grows to an optimum level and then starts fading, decaying, and finally being absorbed in a cyclic manner. The crux is what manifests is seen, or object (Drishya), and that not is seer, or subject (Drik). The former includes the phenomenal universe and the mind, which are insentient. The mind is subtler, and the universe is grosser. The mind includes thoughts, ego, and emotions. It is observed by Atman, or Self, as a witness. But for the grosser element, the mind is the observer. In that way the mind is over matter. In the case of the latter, it is Pure Consciousness, sentient, the ultimate observer, changeless, and Self-luminous and Self-effulgent. The mind, unlike Atman, or the Self, is not Self-luminous or Self-effulgent. It is inert and lacks consciousness. The upanishadic teachings say the mind can't perceive on its own because it's made of subtle matter. It behaves like a mirror and appears conscious only because it reflects the light of the true self, which is Pure Consciousness (Atman or Brahman). Jivatma, or individual self, refers to an essence of consciousness that silently observes the mind as an instrument. Brahman, or Pure consciousness, is existence One only. It is the substratum of the entire manifest and unmanifest dimensions. The mind, not the Self, as an instrumentality, is vulnerable to the forces of opposites—bondage or freedom—emanating from the external domain, depending on how it is used. However, if the mind is inflected through the medium of Atman, or of Self, it sees everything as one singular organic whole, an inseparable essence of Brahman. Otherwise, it sees everything as separate, disparate entities having their own independent existence. And the instrument of that superimposition is Antahkarana—Manas (mind), Buddhi (intellect), Chitta (subconscious mind), and Ahamkara (ego). Without mental modification there is no “this” and "that", no near and far, and no body as mine and the world as others. The world, as "world", is a manifestation of the mind. This understanding is why Yoga Vasistha (3.1-14 chapters) says the universe is Manomaya, or cosmic mind-made. Yoga-Vasistha (book 3, Utpatti Prakaran, or of Creation) asserts that the universe is purely a cosmic mental projection—an optical illusion arising within the infinite, eternal, imperishable Pure Consciousness, or Brahman. In Yoga-Vasistha, Sage Vasistha is explaining to Sri Rama that the entire universe is fundamentally an architecture of thought. He highlights the extreme difficulty of overcoming mental programming compared to changing physical circumstances. The world is a dream of cosmic mental architecture. That way, the phenomenal universe has no independent, solid existence. It exists in Brahman the exact same way a dream world exists in the mind of a sleeping person. It is because the mind creates the matter. The manifest universe is nothing but the Sankalpa (thought, imagination, or intention) of the Cosmic Mind and exists within Pure Consciousness. Pure Consciousness is Absolute Existence, everything is within, and nothing is outside. As He is complete in every respect, there is nothing of any separate or independent existence. Ultimately, Yoga-Vasistha reveals that because the world is an illusion, there is nothing that exists separately or independently. So, nothing was ever truly "created" or "born". Only Brahman, or Absolute Existence, exists, unchanged, eternal, and infinite.

1.  Outline

Yoga-Vasistha (3.88.18) delineates "It is easy to destroy what is made by the hand and to shut out the sensible objects from our perception, but who can annul or disregard what is ascertained by the mind?" Yoga-Vasistha explains that the material things are fragile and temporary. One can smash a stone statue, burn down a house, or tear up a document, manipulate, reshape, or destroy through physical effort, but to shut out the sensible objects from the mental perception is difficult and impossible. It is also relatively easy to control one's external senses temporarily. If one does not want to see something, one can simply close his eyes. If one does not want to hear a sound, one can cover one's ears or move to a quiet room, but who can annul or disregard what is ascertained by the mind? Similarly, a physical boundary cannot block an intrusive thought, and closing one's eyes does not erase a deeply ingrained belief, trauma, memory, or desire. When the mind has "ascertained" something—meaning it has accepted a concept, a limitation, or a delusion as an absolute truth—that mental reality dictates one's life completely. Whatever belief is deep-rooted in the mind cannot be removed by anyone except the owner of that mind through Self-introspection, Self-enquiry and forgetfulness of the ego based on the body-mind-intellect complex. If one's mind firmly believes, "I am this limited, to this Samsara Chakra, or wheel of birth and death," no amount of external wealth, luxury, or physical comfort can make one feel liberated. Conversely, if the mind realises its true nature as an inseparable essence of Brahman, or Pure Consciousness, no amount or degree of physical compulsiveness can checkmate in the Self-realisation process. Yoga-Vasistha urges the seeker to stop fighting the external world and start examining the mind. True freedom does not come from physically changing one's environment but from dismantling the deep-seated conceptual structures "ascertained" by one's own mind. One can transcend the mental domain by inward discrimination, detachment, dispassion, and discipline. It involves meditatively subduing the mind to move inward to realise the Self-luminous and Self-effulgent Atman, or Self, a state of living liberation. Transcending the mental architecture is easier to say than to practise. Yoga-Vasistha says the universe is a "Mano Matram Jagat". Whatever is imprinted in the mind is difficult to erase. To explain these incredible ideas, Yoga-Vasistha employs engrossing, multi-layered allegories to convey these amazing concepts. Indu and his sons, Queen Lila and King Padma, Karkati the Demoness, and the origin of Sage Vasistha are some of the most well-known stories. Yoga-Vasistha (3.85.1-39, 3.86.1-51, 3.87.1-12, 3.88.1-21) describes these concepts through a famous story of Aindava (the ten sons of the Brahmana named Indu). Wherein, Sage Vasistha teaches Sri Rama on "Mano Matram Jagat", or the entire universe is nothing but a manifestation or projection of the mind through consciousness. In this Sage Vasistha narrates the story of a pious Brahmana named Indu and his wife, who prayed intensely for children. They were blessed with ten sons. As these sons grew up, they desired the highest worldly and cosmic status to become Creators (Brahmas) of the cosmic order. To achieve this goal, they sat down in rigorous, unwavering meditation, mentally constructing and fully identifying themselves through their consciousness as the creator deities of their own universes within their consciousness. Sage Vasistha describes the physical transition and the intense mental absorption of the ten brothers' immersion into Brahmahood, or the state, status, or essence of being a Brahmana. It represents supreme cosmic consciousness, liberation (Moksha), and the ultimate state of Self-realisation where a person transcends physical identity and sees all creation cosmo-organically as one. The world is not an external, independent entity; it is a modification of pure consciousness. Just as the ten brothers created ten parallel realities through sheer mental focus, our universe exists because of the collective expansion and habituation of the cosmic mind and consciousness. In this sense, Brahmanhood is achieved through deep meditation, wisdom, and detachment from external sensory reality—not merely by birth.

 2. Scriptures

In the cosmic order, order is the fundamental basis of the rule of order from unmanifest to manifest, from grosser to the subtler and the subtlest, and from astronomic to the subatomic levels. And for all this, scriptural validation is ingrained. Brahman, or the Supreme Self, is described, according to Mundaka Upanishad (2.1.2–3), as formless, unborn, Apraṇa (without vital force), and Amanas (without mind), pure and higher than the Imperishable. From Him arise prāṇa, mind, the sense organs, and the five elements (space, air, fire, water, and earth). Matter (“food”) itself is said to emerge from Brahman through Tapas (penance). This places both mind and the material world as subsequent, dependent products rather than independently conscious. In Chandogya Upanishad (6.5 and 6.6), food eaten divides into three parts: the coarsest becomes faeces, the middle becomes flesh, and the subtlest becomes the mind. The text repeatedly states, “mind is made of food” (Annamayaṃ manaḥ). Adi Shankaracharya's commentary draws the implication that the mind is therefore a material, elemental substance—not eternal, partless, or independently sentient as some other schools claimed. The same chapter links rāṇa to water and speech to fire, reinforcing that these inner instruments are modifications of the elements. Śvetāśvatara Upanishad (4.9–10 and 1.8–10) says Prakriti (primordial matter) is identified with Maya and called perishable. Brahman is transcendental as well as over both the perishable (matter) and Jivatma, or the individual self. This supplies the later distinction between inert Prakriti and pure consciousness. Kaṭha Upanishad (1.3.3–11, 2.3.7–8) says mind is the “reins,” higher than the senses but lower than Buddhi (intellect) and Atman (Self). It is an instrument to be controlled, not the knower. Taittirīya Upanishad (2.1–5) teaches about the Manomaya-kośa (mind-sheath), one of the outer coverings, and the innermost is Anandamaya, or infinity bliss, or Brahman Itself. Brihadaraṇyaka Upanishad (1.5.3) says desire, doubt, faith, fear, etc., are all “only the mind.” The organs themselves are inert and function only because of the inner Self. Similarly, Amṛitabindu Upanishad (1–2) states that the mind is of two kinds (pure and impure) and that “mind alone is the cause of bondage and liberation.” When attached to sense objects, it binds; when free of objects, it liberates. The Upanishadic texts treat the mind as the decisive but ultimately transcended instrument, not the conscious Self. How the “inert” conclusion is reached. The Upanishads consistently distinguish the Self (Atman, or Pure Consciousness) from everything that can be objectified: body, Praṇa, or vital breath, mind, and the external world. The Upanishadic texts classify mind and matter as inert, or Jada, because they arise from the elements or Prakriti and can be observed, controlled, or dissolved; they seem sentient only when the Self's light is reflected in them. 

3. Remarks

Just as a sleeping person creates a vast, vivid world of mountains, cities, and people entirely inside their head, the waking world operates on the exact same mechanism, asserts Yoga-Vasistha (book 3, Utpati Prakaran). When you wake up from a night dream, that dream world vanishes because it was made entirely of pure mind. Similarly, the waking universe is a prolonged, collective dream (Dirgha Svapna). Scriptures say perception dictates reality. One does not experience the world as it is; one experiences one's perception of it. The mind colours everything with preferences, fears, memories, and labels. Strip away the mind's labels, and the structural "world" collapses into a single, seamless fabric of existence. Sankalpa, or intense mental resolution, propels one in a single pointed direction. This is the outcome from the story of the Aindava brothers, or Indu and his sons, of Yoga-Vasistha. The story proves that whatever the mind deeply contemplates, identifies with, and wills (Sankalpa), it eventually materialises. Matter is simply highly condensed, habituated thought that mind transfers into a concrete shape.

-Asutosh Satpathy