​When we take a decision does the soul or the mind take the decision?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So if you have to take a decision between yes and no, who takes the decision? Is it the soul or is it the mind? The decision maker is the soul, but the decision proposer is the mind. Just like say we are working on a computer and we are surfing one particular website.
At that time, suddenly a pop-up window comes up. Now when the pop-up window comes up, it doesn’t automatically take us to that website. We have to choose.
We click on it, then we go to that window. We go to that site. But the pop-up comes up on its own.
On its own means, how does it come up? There is some programming over there and probably if it is customized advertisement, then based on the kind of searches we have done earlier, on the same page, if I visit, I might get, when I log in with my ID, I might get to see something. And on the same page, you might see some other advertisements. So that is customized.
So like that, the mind has its own default settings. Just like there may be default settings in our computer, in our browser, in our machine. Similarly, the mind has its default settings.
And based on its default settings, certain pop-ups come up. So for example, if I feel hungry, I can eat any food, but if there is a default setting for, say, gulab jamun, the mind says, come on, take a gulab jamun. You could eat anything else.
You could eat salad, you could eat fruit, but that is a pop-up window that comes up. So then, it is for us to propose. Now sometimes, if we are not alert, then, we are just reading something, and we click on it, and we just go 1, 2, 3, 4. We might just surf 50 websites and not even realize where we are.
So there was a survey done that people were asked, how many, on a daily basis, how many food choices do you make? Should I eat this or should I eat this? Should I eat this much or should I eat that much? So, survey was done in America, and they said, people reported that they had done around 12 food choices. And actually, when they revisited the whole day, they found that in an average day, they had made 227 food choices. But most of these choices were practically speaking, not choices.
Because they were not conscious of choosing it. So in some cases, the proposal and the acceptance of the proposal may happen so quickly that we don’t realize that we are deciding. But still, it is we, the mind cannot take decision from us.
The mind cannot act for us. It is we who have to accept the mind’s proposal. But the mind can propose in such a persuasive way that we may not even realize that we are being persuaded.
But that is what self-awareness. When we practice meditation, we may feel, oh, my mind is going here, my mind is going there. I’m not able to concentrate.
But even the awareness that we are not focusing is also one level of awareness. So that is also progress. So we need concentration.
We need at least some basic concentration to be aware that we are not concentrating. Isn’t it? If I’m totally distracted, I’m distracted, and I’m not even aware that I’m distracted. So even the attempt of meditation, even if not successful, that also promotes self-awareness.
And that way, as we become more and more self-aware, then we become aware of the dynamics within our actions. The proposition comes, and then we deliberate, and then we make the right decisions. So the mind is the proposer, and the soul is the decider.
Does that answer your question? Thank you. Any other questions?