Essentially, the realization that the external world represents alternating bouts of Pain and Pleasure, that it is transient, and that there is a permenance that can be attained by staying away from Maya will be the first step.

Karma impacts the mind and the mind, as it experiences Karma, begins to learn about itself.  The ability to differentiate between pleasure and pain is the starting point of the development of human intelligence.  The development of the intellect progresses to being able to identify the cause of the effect that the mind experiences. It begins to like the "success" and "pleasure" and attempts to avoid the "failure" and "Pain". There are two ways that the intellect tries to accomplish this - 1. Attempt to avoid the unpleasant by changing its course of action (essentially by withdrawing from action or declining to take a stand when an option is presented), 2. Take severe action by trying to destroy the cause of unpleasantness at its source.  This is effectively an effort to change its Karma. The ATMA is beyond the reach of consciousness until Moksham is attained. There are multiple approaches to take in getting to the destination.  We Can;

the process of learning about the self has not yet begun, our thoughts have not yet accepted the ATMAN as our true identity. 

The thought process is directed essentially to the external world.  The input received by the mind through its sense organs is perceived as REAL or the TRUTH.   That which the sense organs cannot perceive either directly or indirectly, is treated with sceptisism or disbelief or as untruth.

The human thought process is pulled towards what is considered as "real".

The inner self cannot be perceived through the sense organs and so it is deemed unreal.  The mind does not dwell on the unknowable and the unseeable or invisible.

The Mind, the thought process and the EGO ("I") become synchronized when they relate to the external world. 

That is why the Puranas describe the forces of the mind in relation to external world events.  These "external world events" are used by the mind (or more precisely the EGO within the mind to derive reassurance over its own existence and supremacy.  

The Puranas actually say that these external world events are a projection of the Karma of the Jiva Atma and, if the thought process is set right by not dwelling in the pleasures of the external world,  then Karma will no longer be the puller of thought.

The Puranas describe the path of the thought process in terms of the mind succumbing to external world pulls of DESIRE, which includes a projection of the self, as the biggest failing.   

So, the good thoughts are those that do not develop an attachment or liking for the offereings of the senses

Control of the mind is advocated as a basic requirement.  But can the mind control itself without yielding to temptations?  Can it split into two parts and develop dual roles, with one being the supervisor?

This is where the Puranas recommend invoking the Paramathma to stand in as the supervisor or the Charioteer of the Mind.

The Mind is constantly searching within itself and through the external world as to who or what it really is!

This awareness of our ignorance of our inner selves is the starting point in the search for meaning, purpose, objective and direction of life.

There are a few major alternatives presented to us by the Puranas, in a great amount of detai, in helping us along this path of locating our true identity.  There are many entities competing to claim this Identity status within us.  Some of these are as below;

Our physical body components, the sense organs, the perceived universe, our thought, the mind, are all some of the major components that are presented to, and analyzed by the mind in attempting an answer to this problem.

The Puranas introduce us to our Karma, the Atman, the Paramathman and the all encompasing BRAHMAN as our possible true identity.

We seem to be a different person at different times.  Sometimes we are at peace, sometimes there is turmoil, sometimes there is contentment and sometimes there is dicontent.  

This search for our true identity begins with mind learning to peel off the layers of ignorance and in the process, of this learning, it begins the journey of evolution.

The issues are: 

1. Is there only one REAL identity that represents us?

2. If so, how do we identify this REALITY?

3. Is it within us or is the REALITY  beyond us?

As the mind goes through its turmoiled existence, thrown about in the ocean of life, it tries to cling on to every passing weed,  These weeds manifest as perceptions of success, relationships, ownerships, worldy knowledge, wealth, fame  and so on. All these appear good for a time and then dissipate when we realize that they are just floating weeds that pass us by sooner or later. 

As we go through these ever changing attributes we appear to be in a constant state of flux. What is our true nature? Are we doomed to be in a state of constant change?  Can we find peace in pemanence?

In the regard, the Purana's most fundamental ground rule helps in the process of elimination.  Our true inner self cannot have transient qualities.  The inner self should be an eternal object which is not influenced by vagaries and ever changing worldly perceptions.

The Paramathman and the Puranas provide the answer.  But it is not easy to understand and master the concept.  It has been said that our true inner self never changes,  It transcends the physical world, it transcends relationships, worldly knowledge, even perception and awareness (which we lose when sleeping). 

When the mind jumps from one identity to another,  it is in an unstable mode.  It cannot make progress in evolving itself because it is still searching, repeating its good and bad experiences and continues to seek meaning through its sense perception. 

Having never experienced that state of mind which is steady and having to traverse its own Karma in a rocking boat and rough ocean, the mind is distracted wide off its true target.

KARMA puts us through the many experiences of the opposites.  We have to identify and understand each of these, and like in peeling away the different layers of an Onion, we have to discard each layer of experience, when we realize that it does not represent our true inner self.  As these layers are discarded, our lives will transform to reveal what is hidden underneath these shields of illusion. 

So how does one overcome these obstacles of ignorance?  

The Paramathman and the Puranas want us to be honest with ourselves.  Do we want to "relish" the fruits of our KARMA and remain in a never ending loop, or do we grow intelluctually to be able to draw the correct inferences from our experiences and discard this existence of limitations?

More on the navigating the mind through these layers in the following pages.

Everything and everyone in this universe exists for a reason. 

However, the identity, after a certain point also becomes a barrier to spirutual advancement because it begins to restrain the growth of the mind by keeping it tied to worldly objects from which it was born. 

This transformation of the identity from an enabler to being a burden happens because of its inherent nature as the differentiator and Seperator of itself from the Paramathma. 

The identity is what helps the mind to form an attachment and relationship with the world that is perceived through the senses.  Once this happens, the mind begins its karmic journey and experiences all that it was meant to experience in this life. 

However, when the time comes for the mind to release the Atma from the worldly bondings, the Identity gets in the way because of the attachments that the identity has developed for this world and its objects and people.

The Identity makes itself the center point of human existence.  It begins to mask the reality that exists beyond the five senses. As long as the mind is attached by the identity to the material world and the world absorbs all its attention and capability, there is no release for the Atma from the unending cycle of births and deaths. 

This is why the Paramathma repeatedly says in the Bhagavatham that the "I" should be dropped from the Mind. "I"s twin brother is "Mine".  Where there is "I" almost automaticaly, the mind begis to take possession of the property and people that it perceives, either physically, or by forming a relationship. This "Mine" is the attachment aspect that is not easy to let go, once it is formed. 

To drop the "I" the Mind must know what it is and where it is located. However, since the "I" is embedded deep within the mind, and is actualy responsible for all its activity, it seems very difficult, if not impossible to shake off. 

The remedy that is prescribed by the Paramathma himself as well as the great sanyasis that India has produced, is to keep the mind steady by concentrating om the image and attainment of the Paramathma and His Avataras. By keeping the Mind focussed and concentrated on the creator, the "I" is relegated to the background, and the mind is freed from the shackles of the perceived world. 

This is easier said than done, because at every stept, the identity of the Mind throws obstacles in the path of the concentration.  Such is the hold of the identity over the mind that it requires considerable effort to subdue its hold.  The starting point on this path of subduing the identity is for the mind to learn about itself and its identity and their intertwining. 

The above aspects are explored in greater detail in the following pages. 

If the MIND experiences what it thinks is "SUCCESS", it tries to get RECOGNITION of its success by PROJECTING itself.  This is the ultimate mistake because the MIND can never get enough of ADULATION, AFFECTION, PRAISE, etc.  

The need of the MIND for REASSURANCE about its own invincibility is INFINITE.  Once it goes down this path, there is no return, no end in site and MOST IMPORTANTLY, NO MOKSHAM. 

THE "I" IS ONE OF THE MAIN ROOTS FROM WHICH PERCEPTION TAKES ITS BIRTH. BUT WHEN IT BECOMES THE DOMINATING FORCE THAT DRIVES THE MIND, THEN IT BECOMES VERY DIFFICULT FOR THE MIND TO ATTAIN RELEASE FROM THE GRIP OF THE MATERIAL WORLD.

THIS IS THE REASON THAT THE ROOT COMPONENT OF THOUGHT IS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN IDENTITY.  THIS IS THE "I" OR The "EGO", WHICH SEPERATES THE SELF FROM THE ENVIRONMENT.

The Paramathma says that as long as the mind is trapped in this vicious cycle, there is no escape from the recurring cycle of births and deaths. 

The "I" has been created as the discriminator and the differentiator. It seperates the inner self from the external world, using the senses as the "go-between"  between the "two worlds".

Once the Mind thinks that a certain level of security has been achieved, it begins to enhance its "well being" by PROJECTING ITSELF. 

The strategy of protecting itself from the perceived onslought of the rest of the world leads the mind into a maze of events, people and objects that it perceives through the five senses. In the process of "protecting" itself, the mind develops ATTACHMENT with 'friends", DISLIKE and FEAR of "ENEMIES", LIKES and wants the experiencing of pleasure and happiness, dreads the exposure to PAIN and SADNESS. 

This behaviour gives us the clue as to what the identity is composed of.   identity is a product of the Mind and is composed of a collection of attributes. These attributes are typically - FEAR, INSECURITY, PHYSICAL NEEDS FOR SUSTENANCE AND PROPOGATION, NEED TO SEEK PERMENANCE IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE NOTHING REMAINS THE SAME, SELF GRATIFICATION AND ASSURANCE OF ITS OWN INDESTRUCTIBILITY. So the MIND is trapped in an endless cycle of alternating bouts of Pleasure/Pain, Success/Failure and so on.  

We also look at all non human living beings and inanimate objects only from the perspective of how it is useful for us.  Any object that is viewed as being of no use to us, will be dismissed immediately from our thoughts.  This is the significance of self perception and identity, in our ability to assimilate this material universe.

We either look up to people or look down upon them.  We are constantly making assessments of other people relative to our perception of ourselves.  Likewise the significance of events that we perceive are assessed only relative to whatever impact it may have on our lives.  Even events that are far removed from our lives are assessed only by means of attempting to form a (mental) relationship with the people responsible for the event. 

For example when we read about an athelete winning the olympic gold medal, we immediately try to mentally place ourselves on the podium in the place of the athelete and try to experience the event as though we have won it by our effort. This IDENTIFICATION with the winner is critical in the process of the mind perceiving the event by establishing a (imaginary) RELATIONSHIP with the event.

PATHS TO THE DESTINATION

The force of PERCEPTION or CONSCIOUSNESS remains steady right through life. No changes here. It cannot be turned on and off at our will and pleasure. The starting point of the answer to this question is another question - WHO AM I?

The Mind then begins the search for something that is not conflicted. But everything seems to be built out of opposing forces.  There seems no perceivable object that is not built from dualistic opposing forces, including the Mind of the perceiver. 

The mind then looks to events to see if it can identify elements of permenance and tranquility. 

The self is impacted by the different events that it is subjected to by its own Karma. But the self does not know what events are in store and to which it will be subjected to in the future.  All events are characterized by a perceivable Effect. The Effect is due to another event which becomes the Cause. This Cause is the effect of another cause and so on in a seemingly endless sequence that sometimes goes into an endless circle that loops on and on. 

So the events and experiences are disowned from being representative of the identity.

Finally, in acceptance of the Paramathma's teachings that the perceived world is just maya and is only to be used as a reflection of the Self, the Mind turns Inward for the answer to the question - Who Am I.

Before we start looking for anything, we need to know some identifiers.  If we do not know any characteristics of the object that we are looking for, the search does not even begin. It is one thing to not know where to look and quite a different issue if we do not know what to look for.  In the former case we only have to keep searching in different locations and eliminate them one by one till we find what we are looking for.  Granted that the field may be wide, but it is only a question of deploying enough resources and time to scan all locations. 
On the othr hand, if we do not know even one characteristic by which to identify the object that we are looking for, then we will not find it even if it is right in front of our nose.  And the Paramathma does say repeatedly that what we are looking for is infact everwhere but we do not see it because we do not know what to look for. 
So the first step in the search is to know what we are looking for and identify at least one characteristic of the object of search. 
We know we are looking for - who or what we really are - or - Who am I?


• That the Identity will be PERMANENT.  If the identity is going to be transient, then there is no point in looking for it, because when we die, the identity will die with us.

3. Enabling the mind to focus on the objects and events perceived by the senses by attaching itself to one sense object at a time.

• This ability enables the exclusion of all distractions from other senses, to focus the attention on the one source that is considered to be the most important. 
• This ability enables the mind to focus or "identify" or concentrate its attention on the one thing at a time. 

3. Enables the mind to develop consciousness based on conflict. This conflict is based on taking ownership of what we "like" and considering all that we do not "like" as alien and as our enemy.

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  The identity enables us to Develop the ability to think by seperating cause from the effect and identifying the relationship
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• The mind will not have an anchor to hold it to one spot and prevent it from floating endlessly in the ocean of perception.Using the identity "I" (the EGO) the mind differentiates between the perceiver (itself) and the perceived (everything else). 
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• there will be no ORGANIZER of thoughts in the mind. So recollection and rationality will be impaired.  Organization of thoughts in the mind, by establishing Self-Interest as the basis of the working of the mind.