The problem of the nature of mind and body and the relation between the two is as familiar as it is complex. Nothing comes more intimately and constantly within the perview of our experience than our minds and bodies, for it is these two fundamental entities that are involved in all life'stransactions.
Generally, absolute idealism takes the view that mind or spirit is the fundamental principal of reality, differentiating itself into the world of things animate and inanimate, in the course of its development of self expression. To the absolute idealist minds and objects are not two essentially different realities, but one reality with mind foremost. Its holding that consciousness whether in the form of mind, spirit, will, experience or self is the final reality. Further man bears an especially close relation to the spiritual principal that underlines all things and thus shares in its qualities, though on a finite scale. Hence the self in idealism occupies a central role, all other realities being expressions or forms of the self.
As Brahman has all sentient and non-sentient things for its body and constitutes the self of that body, Brahman is connected with the two states, a casual and an effected one. the essential characteristics of which are expanshion on the one hand and contraction on the other. That the expansion and contraction belong to the sentient and non-sentient beings. thus the imperfections adhering to the body do not belong to the Brahman. So also the good qualities belonging to the self do not extend to the body. for example childhood youth and old age which are attributes for embodied beings belong to the body alone, while knowledge pleasure and so on belong to the conscious self only and not to the body. All this holds for the absolute self which is immune to the body.
Now the finite self falsely identifies itself with the body and is therefore subject to bodily influences. owing to the false identification of the self with the body, it is called the emperical self DEHI and its life is influenced by the three gunas of prakriti sattva rajas and tamas. Such mistaken identification betrays the self into subservience to the body. Different from the body, the self yet comes under the influence of the changes that take place in the body. Mind and body are always found together. At the same time the self is always conscious of holding the body in a dependent position. This power of the self is confined to its own body. it is not all pervading. Thus each individual self has a characteristic locus or prespective in the life of the Divine.
Generally, absolute idealism takes the view that mind or spirit is the fundamental principal of reality, differentiating itself into the world of things animate and inanimate, in the course of its development of self expression. To the absolute idealist minds and objects are not two essentially different realities, but one reality with mind foremost. Its holding that consciousness whether in the form of mind, spirit, will, experience or self is the final reality. Further man bears an especially close relation to the spiritual principal that underlines all things and thus shares in its qualities, though on a finite scale. Hence the self in idealism occupies a central role, all other realities being expressions or forms of the self.
As Brahman has all sentient and non-sentient things for its body and constitutes the self of that body, Brahman is connected with the two states, a casual and an effected one. the essential characteristics of which are expanshion on the one hand and contraction on the other. That the expansion and contraction belong to the sentient and non-sentient beings. thus the imperfections adhering to the body do not belong to the Brahman. So also the good qualities belonging to the self do not extend to the body. for example childhood youth and old age which are attributes for embodied beings belong to the body alone, while knowledge pleasure and so on belong to the conscious self only and not to the body. All this holds for the absolute self which is immune to the body.
Now the finite self falsely identifies itself with the body and is therefore subject to bodily influences. owing to the false identification of the self with the body, it is called the emperical self DEHI and its life is influenced by the three gunas of prakriti sattva rajas and tamas. Such mistaken identification betrays the self into subservience to the body. Different from the body, the self yet comes under the influence of the changes that take place in the body. Mind and body are always found together. At the same time the self is always conscious of holding the body in a dependent position. This power of the self is confined to its own body. it is not all pervading. Thus each individual self has a characteristic locus or prespective in the life of the Divine.
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