How did the Rishi's discover the Eternal Truth?

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   As we discussed in the previous page, Rishi's (seers of Eternal Knowledge)  developed methods of inner enquiry into the mystery of the universe equally exact and reliable in practice as the most rigorous scientific study.  They started their search from the simple body and sense organs and journeyed deeper and deeper to the core of the "Being".

What is this "Being" or Soul?  Internal Physical examination performed  on a human body finds no Soul anywhere in the body. Vedic tradition alone gives answers for these questions through inquiry method devised by Rishi's.

  The Rishi's approach is scientific, simple and can be experimented and experienced. Their query started from the perceivable gross-physical body composed of  the five sense organs. They started with the sense organs because we perceive everything only through the sense organs.

Body and Sense organs: However, enquiry of the nature of the five sense organs of eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin, it is clear that these physical organs cannot perform independently of some intrinsic/subtle (internal) factor. The eyes may  be turned towards objects but nothing need to be seen.

   We all had this experience of having  eyes fixed but without the sight of the teacher in a class-room. Not to say about the physical presence of ears in the classroom without hearing a single word spoken by the mathematics teacher. So what is this subtle/intrinsic factor that makes an physical sense organ  perceive the world full of sensational objects?

Mind and thoughts:
       The intelligent Rishi's discovered that mere presence of these physical sense organs alone cannot perceive the world. All sensational perceptions of the world is registered as "thoughts". Every thought (Vrithi) is attributed to a form (Gana). The flow of the thoughts is called as Mind.  Thousands of thoughts arise every day.  Most of the arise through the interaction of the sense organs  with the world of objects. Other thoughts are created  independent of the physical body and sense organs but based on the memory of the existing thoughts.

        So the mind is what helps perceive this world of objects. With this perception of materialistic world along with the body of sense organs, the  Mind also creates a personality within, which we called individuality.  Without the mind there is no world for the individual, even though the world may exist for other minds. In other words, using the body as the center point, the Mind creates a world in relation to the body of sense organs. 

       In sleep, the mind creates a "real-like" dream world with thoughts completely unaware of the world in which the body exists. That is, in the waking state, the Mind makes us to feel a real world based on the body and sense organs. In the dreaming state our mind makes us to feel a real-world independent of the our existing body.  This shows that the mind alternates in two worlds with the thoughts it generates. This is the solid proof that it is the mind that creates the world.

Intellect - the decision maker:

     We are always performing actions, action of speech, hearing, tasting, smelling and movements. The cause to do all these actions are thoughts in the mind. In other words, the thoughts in the mind are expressed as actions by the body organs.

     Though many thoughts of actions arises in the mind, there is a choice making in executing the type of actions.  at every moment. The decision maker in executing the choices is called as the intellect. There might be a conflict between the individuality and the intellect in choosing the type of actions to be performed. The outcome of choice then depends on the strength of the individuality verses the strength of the intellect.

       The power of the intellect is to give information on the pros and cons of  result of an action based on inherent knowledge. Some past experiential knowledge may help the individuality to yield to the decision making of the intellect.

      Example, when some one feels to steal an object belonging to another person, the inherent intellect warns of the consequences of that action. Again it is the war between the strength of individuality and the Intellect (supported by past personal or other's experience of crime-punishment)  that decides the type of action that will be performed.  

    At any instance, immaterial of the choice of action,  the Intellect gives an opportunity to with-draw (pull) the mind from actively wandering state to a state of stillness, or focusing state or so called concentration state.  This concentration state is a bridging state towards the "Awareness" state.

   Concentration is anchoring of the wandering Mind by the intellect. This is the state which leads to discovery or any creativity. We experience this all the time. Every moment is not a discovering or creating moment because of the wandering nature of the mind.

Nature of the mind is to brood over the past or to be anxious of the future. Our mind is never at rest. Always thinking thoughts of what good or bad happened in the past or anxious and fearsome of excited about the future. 

So the mind is never in the present. It is always in the past or in the present. It is the intellect that pulls the mind for brief seconds to the state of the present.

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