Mysteries of Mind

Author(s): Mahapragna Acharya
Publisher: Today and Tomorrows Book Agency

Page 89

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THE MYSTERIES OF MIND
ciousness only. A dead stone produces neither vital vibrations nor the vibrations of consciousness.
Speaking, walking, seeing the movements of the sense-organs, the mind and the intellect are functions of vital energy. Vital energy remains active at the base of all these. The sense-organs do not possess consciousness. Combined with vital energy they become conscious. The mind is an unconscious entity. Vital energy produces consciousness in it also. The physical or gross body which is an unconscious mass also becomes conscious under the impact of vital energy.
Breath is a great source of vital energy. We not only inhale chemical substances but also vital energy. A firm resolution in the practitioner makes the inflow of vital energy stronger. During breath-perception its strength increases. Breath is, therefore, a great source of vital energy. All the miraculous demonstrations we see are the outcome of vital energy. Heavy vehicles can pass on the human body when it becomes charged with vital energy without the help of which it will be crushed under the weight of the vehicle. Breath contains enormous power. Only a small part of this power is expressed in breathing. The soul contains limitless power. It is proved by the act of breathing.
In ordinary circumstances we cannot perceive breath because we do not know how to see. There is nothing like knowing and seeing in ordinary experiences. We simply think and argue. It is only intellectual exercises which we do in our ordinary life The world of empirical experience consists of these only.
The level on which we breathe is the lowest stratum of consciousness. Its basic stratum is a long way away from us. The soul is an independent and free substance. A free substance possesses its specific characteristics which differentiate it from other substances. Substances cannot be classified and arranged in order except on the basis of this differentiation. Consciousness is the characteristic of the soul in comparison with other substances. The independent and free existence of the soul cannot be established if other substances also possessed consciousness. This can be done only on the basis of the