​What is the difference between the atman and the mana?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

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Thank you. What is the distinction between atma and the mind? Why is the atma sometimes called atman? The mind is the root, R-O-U-T of consciousness. The soul is the root, R-O-O-T of consciousness.
The root is the point from which it originates. Root is the path through which it passes. So the soul is the origin of consciousness.
The mind is the pathway of consciousness. So going to an earlier example I had given, say somebody is watching a cricket match. So now say the T20 World Cup is going on in India and somebody is watching a cricket match here.
So they are sitting here in Australia and there is a TV set and through the TV set, their consciousness goes from here, from Australia to India. So the soul is like the observer. The mind is like the TV set.
And the TV set through its whole technology links the consciousness of the observer who is in Australia with the observed reality that is happening in India. So the body is like the observed reality in India. The soul is like the observer, cricket fan in America.
And what links the body and the soul together is the mind. So the mind is the root, the channel through which consciousness comes from the body, from the soul to the body. And the mind also has its, just like there can be on a TV, there can be multiple channels, multiple programs.
And suppose if we have a very advanced television and if we switched off last time our television on a particular channel and next time we start the channel, start the TV immediately, that same channel starts off again. Just like there can be in a TV default settings. So certain volume starts off, certain programs start off, certain kind of transmission happens.
So like that our mind is like a software, as I said. So it has its own programming. And that’s why the mind tends to direct our consciousness in particular directions.
So if somebody is the strongest programming in the mind is money. So if somebody comes in with great affection, gives them a birthday gift, they look at the birthday gift and say $500 or $20, not very important. Now that person has given you $20 may have given you far greater affection than somebody who has given something with $500.
But if money is the primary programming, they will evaluate everything in terms of money. So all of us, our mind has certain primary attachments. So attachment means what? That is the primary program along which the mind runs.
And it interprets everything according to that. So bhakti essentially means you’re changing the mind’s default programming. It’s changing the mind.
The mind equates happiness with XYZ, happiness with money, happiness with power, happiness with sense gratification, whatever it is. But bhakti means changing the default programming. Learning that happiness means devotion to Krishna.
With devotion to Krishna, I can do all my responsibilities. I can have power, I can have money, I can have family, I can have fame. But those will not bring me happiness.
It is my connection with Krishna that will bring me happiness. So the mind, so the soul is here, the mind is here, the body is here. And through the body, the world is there.
So what we need to do is the mind’s programming that is there, it needs to be reprogrammed so that it’s first connection with Krishna. So we look at this world, but we don’t see the world independently. We see the world as belonging to Krishna and meant for Krishna’s service.
So the mind is the channel and the soul is always eternal, soul is always joyful. But as long as the mind is impure, the soul’s consciousness gets caught in wrong things. And that’s why the soul cannot experience its joyful nature.
And that’s why Krishna says that we have to purify the mind. Prashanta manasa mienam, yoginam sukham uttamam, upaiti shantarajasam, brahmabhutam kalmasam. So in 6.27 in the Bhagavad Gita he says, when the mind becomes shanta, the mind becomes peaceful, at that time what will happen? We’ll experience shanta manasa mienam, yoginam sukham uttamam.
The yogi will experience highest happiness. Does that answer your question? Any other questions? Yes.