The Mind and Its Limitations - Sri Aurobindo.

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24/03/2020
Sri Aurobindo translates Taittiriya Upanishad, Brahmananda valli, Chapter 4 (part 1) :
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1.

# “The delight of the Eternal from which words turn away without attaining and the mind also returneth baffled, who knoweth the delight of the Eternal?  He shall fear nought now or hereafter.  And this Self of Mind is the soul in the body to the former one which was of Prana.”
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2.

#The description of the action of mind does not follow the format set up for the action of the material and vital sheaths; rather, it describes the limitations of the mental consciousness and thereby focuses our attention on the role of the mind within the framework of the outer world of matter and life, and within its own sphere. 

##It is not intended to be an instrument for “knowing” the Eternal.  It returns “baffled” when it tries to apply its divided and fragmented methodology to the Eternal.  There is an implication here that Mind is not the final term in the ladder of consciousness and that its role is circumscribed.
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3.

#Human beings develop the mental consciousness which primarily acts through analysis and which tries to build up its comprehensive understanding through systematic organisation and correlation of individual elements or facts.  No matter how far it develops, it can thus never achieve a complete understanding of the Eternal, which is beyond matter, life and mind. 

##The Kena Upanishad covered this with its review of the attempts of Agni, Vayu and Indra to master the knowledge of the Eternal.  Only Indra, the power of the mind, was even able to approach it, but had to cede its native action in order to go beyond the mind.
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4.

#The Eternal cannot be defined, limited or circumscribed.  It is of the nature of Existence, Consciousness and Delight (Sat-Chit-Ananda). 

##It is a consciousness of Oneness, and in such a status, there can be no fear, as fear arises from separation and division.
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5.

#The mind represents the next self or being that permeates the vital being, which in turn fills the material basis, and it brings a power of change and transformation to these elements.  We can observe the power of the mind’s action with the vast changes brought about by human activity upon the material and vital levels of manifestation in the world. 

##In its native action, freed of the limits of the body and the vital force, mind has a powerful role, and it is possible for the human being to focus on this mind-action and experience the power of the native world of mind. 

###Such action, abstracted from the life of the world, can allow new insights, understanding and application of knowledge, but remains within the limits of the mind-world, and thus, is seen as that of a transitional power, destined to be overpassed in the seeking for the Eternal.
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