“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds; your mind transcends limitations; your consciousness expands in every direction; and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties, and talents become alive. And you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.”
Patanjali
In this quote, Patanjali elegantly portrays the connection between a source of inspiration, the transformation of the mind, the expansion of consciousness, the activation of talents, the intervention of dormant (supernatural) forces, and the subsequent new self-realization.
Let’s assume the human brain starts to develop and receive information from its external environment through the sensory channels sometime during prenatal development. After birth, the brain extensively receives information from its external environment, develops its network of reasoning, learns from the new data, modifies its existing network and, throughout the process, stores pertinent information (e.g., the whole sensory experience of the first kiss) and conceptual parameters (e.g., perspectives, love, hatred) in appropriate brain centers. The mind is a space hosting virtual concepts such as perceptions, ideas, goals, etc., all of which are formed and constructed by the person throughout life.
The mind’s framework behaves like a network of nodes and edges, with nodes representing the contents, such as prejudice on a subject or a creative idea and the edges depicting the relationship between the entities. The complexity of this web increases depending on the quantity, quality, and intensity of the experiences and other factors. We construct the framework of mind, intentionally and unintentionally, to different extents; some perspectives we are told to have, and some are adopted by ourselves. However, it is by the intention that we decide to act on modifying the framework or not; the whole world might tell an individual that they should change their mind to set free of bigotry and prejudice, but they won’t do it unless they intentionally decide and do it. The network of the mind dictates what we should or should not do, what we can accomplish and what we can’t, what is probable or impossible, what is accepted or taboo. The degree of rigidity of this framework varies from individual to individual, regardless of any socio-demographic characteristics; some stay racist and fascist all their adulthood some evolve into inspiring figures of grace and inclusion.
When an individual acts intentionally on reforming the framework and the contents of their mind, they embark on a bold journey of transformation, a transformation that may go beyond the scope of the person’s life temporally and spatially. The transformation of the mind requires intention at the onset and dedication throughout the process. When we are open, we often encounter sources of inspiration that can trigger the intent and subsequent stages of a new journey.
Patanjali’s quote depicts the occurrence or realization of an internal or external source of inspiration that often initiates the onset of transformation. The potent power and influence of a purpose, a project, or a vision, leads to the reconstruction of the content of the mind. The notion of possibility breaks through the self- or environmental-imposed limitations in mind. The old mental framework expands and evolves to adopt new perceptions and perspectives. The mind transcends its existing boundaries, and what previously was impossible becomes probable.
It then refers to the expansion of consciousness in every direction, the concept I have discussed in previous articles regarding the relationship between the mind and consciousness. Mind and its content act as the interface between the consciousness and the physical world, especially the immediate world of the individual. Patanjali also infers the interaction between the consciousness and mind by implying how removing mental boundaries enables the consciousness to grow its scope of interactions and influence.
The text points out the evident result of a mental breakthrough- a significant change in perspectives. We observe the world within and around us through the senses and the information processed in the brain. All perceptions, perspectives, and predictions are based on how the data is interpreted. We use the mental framework constructed throughout life to analyze and view the self, environment, and life itself. When the framework undergoes reconstruction, the world starts to look different.
The breakthrough in limitations and expansion of consciousness both lead to the birth of unrealized talents and the manifestation of unrecognized dormant forces. To what degree you like to stretch the idea of dormant forces is up to you. I consider the possibility of supernatural interventions, the forces that are non-observable yet experienced by all of us at some point in life.
The quote concludes the most significant, if not the ultimate, goal of one’s life journey: to realize a better version of ourselves.
Payman Janbakhsh, Ph.D.