SOME FACTS ABOUT THE MIND
“The mind” is defined in a human or other conscious being the
element, part, substance, or process that reasons, thinks, feels, wills,
perceives, judges, etc.
Psychologically,
it is described as the totality of conscious and unconscious mental processes
and activities.
The English poet John Milton
(1608-1674) said: The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of
hell, and hell of heaven.
Some other thinkers believe that narrow
minds think nothing right that is above their own capacity. According to a stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome known as
Seneca (died 65 AD, Italy) : A great, good, and a right mind is a kind of
divinity lodged in flesh, and may be the blessing of a slave, as well as of a
prince. It came from heaven, and to
heaven it must return; and it is a kind of heavenly felicity which a pure and
virtuous mind enjoys, in some degree, even on earth.”
As humans, we expect our minds to be
peaceful but they are not. A number of thoughts both disturbing and comforting go
on coming at every moment of the day and the night. They are there even we are
sleeping.
The mind often becomes a
battleground of conflicting thoughts, ideas, feelings, perceptions, hopes,
disappointments, joys, and sorrows etc.
Given below is a stanza from a haiku
poem written by a Japanese poet:
“Alone,
I go through a tiny village,
A
dark winter day.
A
dog barks and barks……
Of
course, your skull is a very tiny place-
but
still so full of crowd, so many images, so
many
dreams, so many projections,
so
many thoughts, almost incalculable.
To
conclude, here are the precious words of the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400)
:
My
mind to me a kingdom is; such present joys therein I find, that it excels all
other bliss that earth affords.
********
G.R.Kanwal
14 August 2025
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