Page 31 - Towards The Goal Of Beautiful Life

active and is in a state of awareness. All the same, the power of the conscious mind is
very limited in comparison with that of the subconscious mind. To illustrate the

comparative magnitudes of these two minds, if the conscious mind is assumed to be a
wave on the surface of the ocean, then the subconscious mind is the vast surface of the

ocean from which the waves generate. However, though the conscious mind has limited
power, it exerts tremendous influence in Man's life, mainly because the subconscious

mind is under the domination of the conscious mind. As a result of this domination, the
subconscious mind is constantly shaping Man's life according to the deep impressions

that are registered on it, by the good or evil habitual thinking that goes on in the
conscious mind. The thoughts that are habitually entertained in the conscious mind

percolate into deeper levels of the subconscious mind, which finally shape Man's life
according to the nature of these thoughts. Briefly, though the conscious mind is

potentially very limited in nature, it has a tremendous capacity to affect and effect Man's
life. Taking into consideration this relationship between these two minds, the goal of

beautiful life can be achieved by following an important principle of JEEVANVIDYA as
stated here, "Take care of the conscious mind and the subconscious mind will take care

of itself.''

Subconcious Mind
Now let us turn to the subconscious mind to understand briefly its sphere and
mode of functioning in Man's life. The mind that functions unconsciously in human life is

the subconscious mind. Involuntary functions of the body such as the digestion of food,
the respiration process, the rhythmic pumping of the heart, the systematic growth of the

body and other such vital activities and processes are all functions of the subconscious
mind. So also, certain habitual actions initially performed by the conscious mind, which

percolate into the subconscious mind, become subsequently a part and parcel of the
function of the subconscious mind. This is the manner in which the subconscious mind

functions continuously and accurately but secretly, in Man's life. This subconscious mind
is omniscient, omnipotent and is in fact fantastic and extraordinary. The subconscious

mind becomes responsible for conducting multifarious activities in human life. It is also
the centre of both refinement and perversion. Man is temperamental by nature.

Therefore, whether in his life, Man is temperamentally in search of refinement or he is
inclined to be influenced by perversion, depends entirely on the pattern of his

subconscious mind.

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