This is part VIII of our series on understanding our physical body. Karma is the law through which God acts. Law of karma is very simple. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, Newton’s III law. The three types of gunas also play their role in influencing the mind. Mind is the cause for all attachments, attachment to our body, attachment to wealth, attachment towards family etc. Attachment is nothing but bondage. Mind makes you to become a bonded labourer. Mind can be pure and impure depending upon the inputs it receives from the sensory organs. When the mind is pure with satwik qualities, self realisation is possible. With the other two gunas viz.rajas and tamas mind becomes impure. Wherever there is impurity, divinity will not be there. This is why our physical body should be kept clean. A single action alone cannot determine the quality of mind. It is only the frame of mind that counts. If the frame of mind is inflicted with qualities of rajas and tamas you will not get liberated from the bondage of birth and death. If your mind is endowed with satwik qualities, it paves way for liberation. Again liberation in this birth or in future births depends upon karmic account. The first lesson the mind should learn is discrimination, discrimination of good and bad. A good mind should be capable of discriminating effectively and willing to renounce. Renouncing means not taking credit for what you have done. When there is renunciation, no demand arises.

When mind is endowed with the qualities of discrimination and renunciation, individual consciousness moves to universal consciousness. Individual ego is destroyed and we identify ourselves with others’ happiness. We identify ourselves with every other living being. When we are able to identify ourselves with every living being our individual consciousness is transformed into universal consciousness. Universal consciousness is the Brahman. All along our mind was enjoying all the sensual pleasures. The impressions of such pleasures will always be there in the mind. Such a mind will always have a tendency to manifest on these impressions. So, the control of the mind is of paramount importance. A mind is said to be free only if all its impressions are wiped out. A free mind is a pure mind. When the mind becomes pure, it removes all the blocks and veils in realising the Self. When the mind removes the blocks and veils, the concept of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ goes. With this our miseries and sufferings also go. We get liberated from the cycle of birth and death. With all these discussion, we would have come to a conclusion how bad and wicked is our mind. Then the question arises as to how to make our mind good and noble. Mind can be made good and noble by providing it with knowledge. What mind can do with this knowledge? Mind converts this knowledge into wisdom. This wisdom enables the mind to discriminate between good and bad. What we are discussing here is the spiritual wisdom. Spiritual wisdom enables the mind to distinguish between maya and real. Real is the Brahman. We have to negate mind as Brahman as mind is subject to changes. Mind depends upon sensory organs for its functioning. In spirituality Brahman is always the subject. Therefore mind becomes an object. It is obvious that an object cannot become a subject. Our aim is to know the Brahman. The Brahman can be known only by the mind. The mind needs knowledge to identify the Brahman. How does the mind get knowledge? It derives knowledge from the sheath of knowledge.