Conscious and unconscious

Aug 19, 2010, 12.00am IST
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan.

The human mind is divided into two parts: the conscious and the unconscious. These are integral parts of every individual mind, whether male or female.

The conscious mind deals with everything that is within the realm of our awareness, whereas the unconscious mind deals with all those thoughts that the individual is unaware of but which influence his behaviour.

Our body is a highly complex organism. There are numerous functions going on at all times in our bodies like seeing, hearing, digestion, respiration and different kinds of movements. Almost all these functions are governed by the unconscious mind. Little effort is required on the part of our consciousness for the smooth functioning of these bodily requirements.

The conscious mind has unlimited capacity for thinking and analysing facts. But if everything is placed in charge of the unconscious mind, according to the divine plan of creation, what is the role of the conscious mind? It is to seek out the truth. The Creator has made the conscious mind free to involve itself solely in the great quest for truth. To search for truth is our greatest task.

What is truth? Truth is, in other words, the reality of life. We must try to know the secret of life, its purpose and goal, to know what is right and wrong, what are the minus and plus points, what is negative and positive thinking, what is good for the individual and for society.

The answers to these questions are not written on any mountainside. It is up to us to discover the truth. Knowledge of truth is so important that the Creator has consigned our bodily affairs to the unconscious mind.


People frequently live in a state of frustration. And great men are no exception. They live frustrated lives and they die frustrated. Tension and stress are ubiquitous.

The reason lies in people's failure to find the truth. Everyone is a seeker by birth, but everyone lives his life without knowing what the real purpose of life is. Due to this aimlessness, people are living in a state of confusion. They speak and write, but without clarity. They live lives fraught with contradictions. They yearn to find something but without knowing what that something is.

A tension-free mind is one that can function positively despite contradiction. People work, but without job satisfaction. People run after money, but without experiencing inner satisfaction. People have adopted the formula: Enjoy life! But they don't know what life is and what its real enjoyment is. It is a paradoxical situation and everyone is living in this state of self-contradiction.

It is a self-created problem. When the Creator has given you a mind and made you free to use your mind, you should make use of this opportunity. You have to activate your thinking capacity. You have to discover the reality. You have to read what is hidden in nature in an unwritten form. That is the only way to extricate yourself from this psychological chaos.

The consciousness of truth is interwoven in your nature; it is very easy, therefore, to discover the truth. The only condition is to shun distraction, to follow the well-known principle: simple living, high thinking. If you want to save yourself from going astray, activate your thinking faculty. Think and you will surely reach the gates of truth.

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