The human mind has always been an object of study for science. Avid of knowledge, scientists have been able to understand more and more about the brain and its functioning. But interestingly, long before technology, philosophers of antiquity such as Plato, Socrates and Pythagoras studied the human mind and, in addition to their conclusions, related it to the soul, presenting a Divine and immortal nature.
Although we know about the relationship between the brain and the mind, today there seems to be no doubt that they are two different aspects of the human being. The brain is linked to biological functions, and given the proper proportions, commands these same functions in all animals. The mind, on the other hand, shows much more complexity and depth. It is linked to emotions, creation, intuition and the perception of what is transcendent in us. It is the mind that is in charge of enabling the expression of human nature. It is what allows us to dream, what makes us envision infinite possibilities about ourselves and all things. It is what brings us the certainty we seek to continue believing that we are capable of growing and evolving.
The great philosopher Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (HPB) brought to us, as a result of her long years of experience and studies, important teachings of ancient Eastern wisdom. This wisdom teaches us that the human mind is “divided” into two parts and we can call them: Concrete Mind and Abstract Mind, Kama Manas and Manas (from Sanskrit), respectively. This “division” suggests that we have a part of our mind (Kama Manas), “turned down”, that is, towards the needs of the physical body and everyday life, and another part, so to speak, higher (Manas ), facing upwards, which takes care of the needs of the soul.
It is through Kama Manas that we put our projects and ideas into practice, that we organize our agenda, etc. That is why it is called concrete or practical Mind. It serves to organize our thoughts, evaluate and discern what our priorities are. Without the concrete mind, we would not be able to understand what is happening to us and around us.
With this reasoning ability promoted by the concrete mind, we can create infinite possibilities for solutions to our demands. More comfort, practicality, objectivity, speed, security and all the other solutions that we may need to find to have a more practical life are processed by the concrete mind. If we compare it to a computer, it would be like our control centre. It is from her that all the commands come so that we can transform into action, or not, the infinite ideas and thoughts that we have constantly and uninterruptedly.
The abstract mind or Divine Mind (Manas), in turn, is the part of our mind that connects us to the Divine, to the Mysteries, to the Spirit, to everything that the concrete mind cannot, by its very “concrete” nature. , to achieve or understand. It is what makes us feel that there is something more. It is what brings us the certainty of transcendence.
The concrete mind, because it is always very “busy” with its organizational functions, must also be trained to better process the information that comes from above, from Manas. In other words, our concrete mind must “direct” our life from its commands, but it must be guided by the commands of the abstract mind, as the latter is guided by the Divine that dwells in us.
Having explained that, we will now talk about the short film “Rua das Tulips”, which helps us to understand a little more about these two aspects of our minds. Produced in 2007 and directed by Alê Camargo, this short film tells the story of Professor Paulino, a lonely, creative and helpful inventor who helped transform “Rua das Tulips”, where he lived, into a much happier street.
Thanks to his technological contributions, Professor Paulino helped to solve, or at least alleviate, the problems and difficulties of his neighbours. Despite his great intelligence and ingenuity, in addition to his generosity and kindness to everyone, the professor also had a dream, that he thought was impossible to fulfil. But, he discovered that he was mistaken when he managed to access the higher part of his mind.
Professor Paulino knew, and could even feel, that there was something inside him that was beyond his comprehension. All of us, in some way, have this perception, but most of the time, we don’t dedicate ourselves to finding answers to our doubts and concerns. In general, we are satisfied only with what the concrete mind can achieve, but deep down we are not satisfied with just that.
What we can learn from our intrepid and curious teacher Paulino is that our superior mind can access ideas that, at first, we are not able to understand very well, but that, somehow, we can access, because the secrets and mysteries of the universe are also part of our existence, therefore, they are inside us. The inventor character represents each of us in this respect. We all have the desire, even if veiled, to always know more: where we came from, where we are going and what we are doing here, right? Of course, all these questions are formulated by our abstract and superior mind, for if our concrete mind is committed to practical and material things, transcendental questions like these can only be created by a part of us that is also superior and transcendental.
This inexplicable certainty we have that we are more than what we appear to be is a kind of “call” from our higher mind so that we pay more attention to what it is always trying to show us. This, together with the fact that the eternal enchantment of the mysteries and the unknown is inherent to man, makes us have no doubts that our superior mind is the access tool that we have available to our Divine portion.
“What can be done when everything has been accomplished?” “What do we do when dreams are too big?” These are two questions asked by the narrator of “Rua das Tulips”, and which, at first glance, seem difficult to answer. But, as we see in the short film, Professor Paulino, after having already done everything he could, managed to make a seemingly impossible dream come true. Putting his “hands-on”, from the commands of his concrete mind that managed to decode the information captured by his Divine mind, he did not despise his intuition nor was he afraid to allow himself to believe in what, at first, not even himself. was sure it would work. But the certainty that we are much more than we appear to be, made our friend, guided by the curiosity inherent in all seekers of truth,
Like Professor Paulino, we are trapped by the limitations of our brains and the illusions and desires of our concrete mind, however, like him, we can also free ourselves from all this when we allow ourselves to access this Divine mind – the best and deepest. that exists within ourselves, and with that, we will take a flight to the stars.
