Death of the Mind

Sage Vasishtha

When the mind of Vitahavya had become unattached and totally free through the practice of enquiry, there arose in him noble qualities like friendliness etc.

RAMA asked:

When the mind has been dissolved in Brahman the absolute, in whom do qualities like frieldnless arise?

VASISHTHA answered:

O Rama, there are two types of 'death of the mind'. One is where the form of the mind remains and the other is where even the form ceases to be. The former happens when the sage is still alive; and the latter happens when he is disembodied. The existence of the mind causes misery; and its cessation brings joy. The mind that is heavily conditioned and caught in its own conditioning brings about repeated births. Such a mind brings unhappiness. That which regards as 'my own' the qualities that are beginningless is the jiva. It arises in the mind which has no self-knowledge and which is therefore unhappy.

As long there is mind, there is no cessation of sorrow. When the mind ceases, the world-appearance also ceases to be. The mind is the seed for misery.

I shall now describe how the mind ceases to be. When both happiness and unhappiness do not divert a man form his utter equanimity, then, know that his mind is dead. He in whom the notions 'This I am' and 'This I am not' do not arise thus limiting his consciousness - his mind is dead. He in whom the very notions of calamity, poverty, elation, pride, dullness and excitement do not arise - his mind is dead and he is liberated while living.

The very nature of the mind is stupidity. Hence, when it dies purity and noble qualities arise. Some wise men refer to the pure mind as that state of utter purity that prevails in a liberated sage in whom the mind is dead. Such a mind of the liberated sage is, therefore, full of noble qualities like friendliness etc. The existence of such natural goodness in a liberated sage is known as sattva, purity etc. Hence this is also called 'death of the mind where form remains'.

The death of the mind where even the form vanishes pertains to the disembodied sage. In the case of such a mind, no trace is left. It is impossible to describe it in a positive way: in it there are neither qualities nor their absence, neither virtues nor their absence, neither light nor darkness, no notions at all, no conditioning, neither existence nor non-existence. It is a state of supreme quiescence and equilibrium. They who have risen beyond the mind and the intelligence, they reach that supreme state of peace.