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THE MYSTERIES OF MIND
waves.
remains a mystery. Those who have conducted investigations in this area say that there is nothing beyond the waves. Both the knower and the known are themselves nothing but the The question as to what is beyond the waves is a wrongly framed question. Breath because of which we live is itself composed of waves. The living bodies are conglomerations of waves. We generally believe that our bodies are solid. It is not so. We can perceive the subtle vibrations of our bodies by means of anitya anuprēkṣā (contemplation on the transitory nature of things). We generally think that our bones are solid. This is not true. The bones have pores in them. If we see a cork with the help of a microscope, we will find it to be a network of holes. The living body is also full of holes. We generally believe that a wall is solid. It is not true. It is composed of innumerable tiny particles. Everywhere, in each object, there are holes and pores or liquids. These modifications are so numerous that we cannot cross them and arrive at the basic substance of things.
Like the human body, the mind and the intellect are also a series of waves. Whatever we know through the medium of waves is composed of waves only. The medium of knowledge determines the nature of the thing known. In comprehending the waves we do not comprehend anything which is beyond the waves. We cannot comprehend anything beyond the modifications with the help of the body, breath, sense-organs, mind and intellect. It is, therefore, not surprising if people have declared that there is no basic substance like the soul. The mediums of knowledge mentioned above do not allow us to posit the existence of a substance beyond what they can comprehend. If we declared with the help of the mind that there is a substance beyond the comprehension of the mind, we will be wrong because such a substance is the creation of the mind itself. How can the mind comprehend that which beyond it? The mind knows nothing except itself. It is like a tape recorder. It communicates only that which has been recorded on it. Unfortunately we have planted in the mind the idea that there are things beyond it which it can not comprehend. There is no evidence to prove the existence of a substance beyond the mind because all
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