Both ancient and modern psychology recognize mind as the most important constituent in the make-up of the human being. But the identity of view about the mind between the two schools stops there. That the mind is, its origin, its working, its training, its goal, are all differently explained by the exponents of the ancient Eastern and the modern Western schools. Most of the Occidental psychologists have not seriously examined the old Eastern views; the Indian scholars who are familiar with the psycho-philosophical propositions of Patanjali and others are either not inclined to recommend them for application—perhaps because their own conviction is not strong enough—or else they are not in a position to insist upon a proper try-out, let us say, in schools and colleges.

It is not our purpose here to argue the case for ancient psychology. We can show how very logical, thorough and satisfying are its propositions. Further, taking the aid of ancient philosophy, we can show how much more reasonable are its propositions than those of modern schools on such questions as the genesis of the mind and the goal it is expected to reach. In this article, however, we desire to confine ourselves to a less debatable subject—the control of the human mind.

Every human being possesses the thinking organism. Its control and culture are fundamentally dependent upon the recognition of the Thinker, which is other than and superior to his organ of thinking. The human Soul is the Thinker and his mind is an organ or instrument which he uses to understand the universe around him. The Thinker is Manushya, the Man; the organ of thought is Mind, Manas. This very fundamental is a matter of dispute and discussion, and even when the Soul is recognized as distinct from the mind it is often regarded as the product of the mind, wholly dependent upon the body, its senses and its brain. It is essential, however, to put forward this fundamental proposition for the ordinary man or woman who is interested in the practical task of schooling his own mind. For, unless the controller of the wandering mind is recognized, its control is not possible. What good is a school to any boy or girl where there is no teacher to instruct him or her in reading, writing and arithmetic?

The Soul has been called the great Guru; the Soul is the controller of the wandering mind, the instructor of the listening mind, the admonisher of the wrong-going mind, the guide and friend of the perceiving mind. Take the Soul out of the picture and mind-schooling becomes an impossibility. It cannot be taken out of the picture; some substitute will have to be found, or else the admission must be made that the mind must follow its own nature and go its own way—wicked or weak, selfish or strong, ruthlessly destroyed or destroying.

It is essential that the dual principles of Soul and mind be recognized at the very outset. The schooling of the mind, first, last and all the time, is done by the Soul, the real man, the Manushya. Books, teachers, and all other outer means are aids which the Soul uses. The teacher at school assists the boy or girl—the real learner. The finest and most capable of teachers cannot enlighten the mind of an idiot or bring forth beauty of character in a congenital fiend. Half the battle is won by any parent at home or any teacher at school when he perceives, not vaguely but definitely, this highly important and fundamental fact—that behind the learning mind of the pupil is the learner himself, the Soul. From a clear perception of this fact other valuable ideas will naturally and logically arise, e.g., that of reincarnation as an actual law of human evolution.

In self-education and self-improvement this fact plays an equally important part. Let a person see that he is the Soul and that the mind is but his instrument, and once again half his battle is won. For such recognition will lead that person, if he is logical and mentally honest, to seek out the principles of the spiritual psycho-philosophy of the ancient sages.

The second fact about the mind is this: it is a mirror in which the Soul can cast a perfect reflection if other things do not utilize it to cast their reflections upon it. The body with its brain and senses not only contacts the outer universe, but also, because of the desires and feelings which animate it, impresses the mind with a million images. The eyes see and the ears hear, and the things seen and heard affect the desires of the blood—they may be good or bad, beautiful or ugly. Old desires are reawakened by these sights and sounds, and new desires are aroused. These desire-pictures impress themselves on the mirror of the mind and delude the very consciousness of man, rendering it oblivious of the existence of the Soul. In our civilization, this forgetting of the existence of the Soul is a common phenomenon. Neither at home for the infant, nor at school for the boy or the girl, is any serious attempt being made to point to the Soul, above and beyond, or to be more accurate, within the mind. The adult finds it somewhat difficult to trace out the Soul within the mind because that mind is full of impresses which show forth as his beliefs, his views, his opinions, etc.

The action of the senses and of the desires on the mind is unduly encouraged by modern culture. The result is that the human mind has become the organ and the instrument of the senses and the desires, and has ceased to be the organ and the instrument of the Soul. Desires and senses have usurped the place of the Soul and they now exploit the mind. The exploitation of labour by capital, of the patriot by the politician, of the devotee by the priest, is nothing compared to this archetypal exploitation of the mind by the desires and the senses. Most human beings are thus exploited; only a few, those who perceive the Soul as a reality and recognize the mind as its instrument, resist that great exploitation. They alone undertake the task of really schooling the mind. They see the truth of the remark of Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita that there is a state of man in which Kama, passion, beclouds the Atman, the Soul, and that it is a highly objectionable state.

Mind is placed between the Soul and the desires which animate the senses and which in their turn are activated by the senses' contacting the universe of sights, sounds, smells, tastes and touch. The vibrating universe is the same for all human beings, but in each person it produces, through the fivefold response of the sensorium, different effects.

Science trains the senses to contact the outer universe. Philosophy helps the mind to understand the processes taking place in the universe. But the control, purification and culture of emotions and feelings are neglected. It is generally believed that to be a great physicist or chemist or astronomer one need not be a moral man. Similarly, it is held that to speculate upon the Absolute, the nature of Reality, of Space, of Time and of Motion, one need not be a moral person. Ethics and Morality are not demanded as necessary concomitants of scientific or philosophic training. The result is that modern scientists and philosophers have not been able to see the great psychological facts presented above. Their knowledge, great as it is, has not truly benefited humanity. The general complaint is that modern science and philosophy have not removed the carnal and cruel tendencies of human nature.

Only when the schooling of the mind is undertaken according to Eastern Wisdom and the Soul is utilized to check the mind, and the mind in its turn trained to think along lines of purity and altruism will our knowledge prove beneficial to us. At present the power which education brings to the mind is utilized by men and women to fulfil their personal greeds, their selfish ambitions and their secret and lusty passions. Verily, what The Voice of the Silence says is true: "The Mind is the great Slayer of the Real."

The first step in right schooling of the mind consists in the following instruction, also to be found in the same little book:

Withhold thy mind from all external objects, all external sights. Withhold internal images, lest on thy Soul-light a dark shadow they should cast.

We see external objects with a mind coloured by desires and passions. Thus we allow ourselves to be exploited by our lower nature: the longings of the senses, the intense desire for possessions, the fiery ambitions, all lead us to put false values on things. These longings and desires for things impress themselves on the mind and these internal images cause further excitation. These internal images are memory-pictures which become active periodically and produce results. A memory-picture arousing the desires makes us seek the aid of our mental intelligence and thus prostitution of the mind occurs. When our desires are fulfilled the vibration of greed in us is enhanced; when they are not fulfilled then the vibration of anger is enhanced.

In training the mind, therefore, the Soul as controller has to be sought and the feelings, desires and emotions have to be so weakened that they do not fasten upon the mind. The blending of the mind and the Soul, effected even in a small measure, will enable the individual so to handle his desires that they themselves will become added channels for the activity of the Soul. The mystic, the occultist, the yogi, is not devoid of love; his love has become divine, that is, impersonal. That all-seeing love has to be unfolded in us and the mind-Soul alone can succeed in bringing it to birth. Love sees correctly, understands accurately, and therefore acts justly. It is said that to understand is to forgive; but this love which understands is not blind; it is illumined by the knowledge of the mind, which knowledge is the light of the Soul.

Is there any subject of greater value to us than this? All wish to control their minds and to gain concentration, and many go wrong, chasing shadows of false teachings. All aspire to unfold charity and love and compassion, but caught in the maze of personal affections and attachments they miss the way toward the Light of that Divine Love which is both Wisdom and Peace. The Great Buddha's short statement is profound:

As a man thinketh so he becomes.

Nice discriminations are troublesome....It is so much easier to make up your mind that your neighbour is good for nothing than to enter into all circumstances that would oblige you to modify that opinion.

—George Eliot