Gita Rahasya -Tilak 139

Karma Yoga Sastra -Tilak

CHAPTER VI THE INTUITIONIST SCHOOL AND THE CONSIDERATION OF THE BODY AND THE ATMAN (ADHIDAIVATA-PAKSA AND KSETRA-KSETRAJNA-VICARA) When external material has come inside through these doors, the dealing with it afterwards is the function of the Mind. For instance, when at noon the clock strikes twelve, it is not the ears which understand what o'clock it is. Just as each stroke falls, aerial vibrations come and strike the ears, and when each of these strokes has in the first place created a distinct effect on the mind, we mentally calculate the sum of all these phenomena and decide what o'clock it is. Even the beasts have got the organs of perception, and as each stroke of the clock falls, it causes an effect on their mind through their ears. But their mind is not sufficiently developed to be able to total up the number of strokes and to understand that it is twelve o'clock. Explaining this in technical language, it is said that although a beast is capable of perceiving individual phenomena by themselves, yet, it is not able to perceive the unity which results from that diversity. In the Bhagavadgita, this is explained by saying : "indriyani parany ahuh indriyebhyah param manah", i.e., "the organs are superior to the external objects, and the Mind is superior to all the organs". As has been stated above, if the Mind is not in its proper place, we do not see anything although the eyes may be open, nor do we hear anything though the ears may be open. In short, the external material comes into the factory of the Body through the organs of perception to the clerk called 'Mind', and this clerk subsequently examines that material. We will now consider how this examination is done, and how it becomes necessary to further sub-divide that which we have so far been broadly referring to as the 'Mind', or how one and the same Mind acquires different names according to difference in its functions. All the impressions which are created on the mind through the organs of perception have first to be placed together in one place and by comparing them with each other, one has first to decide which of them are good and which bad, which acceptable and which objectionable, which harmful and which beneficial and when this examination has been made, we are induced to- do that thing which is good, beneficial, proper, or doable. This- is the ordinary course. For instance, when we go into a, garden, impressions of the various trees and flowers in it are made on our minds through our organs of perception. But unless our Atman has acquired the knowledge of which of these flowers have a good smell and which a bad one, we do- not get the desire of possessing a particular flower, and consequently perform the Action of plucking it. Therefore,, all mental activity falls into the following three broad divisions, namely : (1) having acquired the knowledge of external objects by means of the organs of perception,, arranging all these impressions, or carefully classifying them for purposes of comparison, (2) after this classification has- been made, critically examining the good or bad qualities of the different objects and deciding which object is acceptable and which not; and (3) when the decision has been made,, feeling the desire to acquire the acceptable and reject the unacceptable, and getting ready for appropriate action.