Quite the Quest

Tag: mindandsoul

  • The Chariot Metaphor

    The Chariot Metaphor

    Not a nuance, first mentioned in the Katha Upanishad, where Lord Yamaraj compares the mind, body, and soul to elements in a chariot. Let me first give a brief of this exact metaphor.

    The pathway on which the chariot travels are the sense objects, meaning things in this world that can be sensed or felt. The chariot itself is the body, the physical body. The horses pulling the chariot are the senses. The reins are the mind and the charioteer is the intellect. Where does that leave the soul?

    Let’s say as a dilettante I managed to decipher the distinction of mind, body and soul because each of them can be identified as the self. I would have to bet on the charioteer, probably the most important component being the soul. Don’t I decide where my chariot goes? Apparently not! There’s an even more prime piece to the puzzle. The traveller. The traveller!! The soul, the highest reflection of self is simply the passenger. The senses felt, the road taken, the mastery on the reins, the mindfulness and the calculative turns made doesn’t really matter to the self, the traveller. He chooses the destination and enjoys the ride. The most bejewelled, the fastest, the most advanced chariot would not make any difference.

    The traveller is you taking a ride in this body guided by your mind maneuvered by the intellect. Just enjoy it.

  • The unrecognised self

    The unrecognised self

    The Kena Upanishad starts with an unknown student asking his teacher how it is that he can experience all of life. What part of you truly experiences it. Let me break it down, for instance the experience of sound, fragrance, touch, remembrance of memories, thoughts of anxiety or fear, emotions like sadness or pride . Is it the ear, nose, your skin or is it your brain with its defined sensory or motor areas. Do you think just a few chemicals at synapses and a low voltage current that passes through the bajillion nerves in the brain is completely enough to explain how we feel so distinctly, so vividly. It doesn’t add up ( at least to me). There is something more and personally I feel it’s there somewhere very deep that I need to look hard. But I’m ridiculously sure it’s there.

    There is me, a ME inside me that experiences it all. I want to emphasize EXPERIENCE here. Imagine the thoughts u feel are not coming from you but they are floating around there somewhere and you experience it like as if you felt a touch. Equal, similar chemicals similar current, just the location of the nerves changes.

    I want to make a distinction and maybe call it the mind and you. Your mind is also a tool which makes you experience life. Its just that its not physical and it’s too internal which made it difficult for us to make the contrast.

    So thats me, my self , or soul if you will. The words here are to just to send the message. Call it what you may but recognize that self who truly experiences life. That’s only the start.