Mind is the wall between humans and God as it limits the individual soul's vision. This wall has to be pulled down by Omkaradhyana or devotion to see God. It is said mind does not have a permanent location like heart, brain, etc The mind has different locations in deep sleep (sushupti), dream (swapna) and waking (jagra) states. In deep sleep, its place is said to be in the heart, in dream, it is in the neck and in wakeful state, it is between the eyebrows (Ajnachakra). Aadi Sankara states that the mind has its seat in the organs such as eye, and the body : it identifies with them and is endowed with a reflection of the Atman (Vivekachoodamani (103). In Prasnopanishat, answering a question by Gargya, the sage Pippalada says that just as all the rays of the Sun get merged in the cluster of light during sunset, during sleep all the senses of a man get merged in the mind (Prasnopanishat 4 - 2)

Fickleness of the mind: In Yogavasishta Lord Rama speaks at length about the fickleness, turbulence and restlessness of the mind. Because of its fickle and wayward nature,human mind is often compared to a monkey, a street dog, ghost and pendulum . In the Gita, in various places including the 2nd Chapter, Lord Krishna speaks about the restless nature of the mind and the senses and the need to control them. He tells Arjuna " There is no doubt that the mind is turbulent and difficult to control; only by constant practice of meditation and by dispassion, this control can be achieved" (Gita 6-35) .In Katopanishat(3.3-5 ) the human body is compared to a chariot, the Jivatma to the master of the chariot, the intellect to the charioteer, mind to the reins, the senses to the horses and the sense objects to the pathway. If one does not exercise proper control over the mind and does not possess a discriminating intellect, his senses are bound to go astray as the errant horses of the chariot not obeying the charioteer. When desire dies, one's mind automatically becomes his slave. Explaining the mark of a realised soul, stable minded and established in Samadhi , Lord Krishna says in the Gita (2-55) that by renouncing all longings of the mind and enjoying the happiness of the self (through the joy of the self), one's mind attains stability.

Mind and Food: Food has a tremendous influence on the mind. It has a direct and intimate connection with the mind and plays a vital part in its make-up. Aghamarshana Sukta says food accepted from unrighteous people and gift received from sinners are sins to be expiated. According to Chandogyopanishat ( VII-26-2) if the food is pure, Antahkarana becomes pure and as a consequence, the thought about the Almighty will become stable. Antahkarana is said to include mind , buddhi, chitta and ahankara. On attaining this stability, all bondages of this earth will get loosened. Great people do not readily accept any food offered by others. They exercise restraint and accept the hospitality only after convincing themselves that those who offer hospitality are righteous and noble minded .In the Mahabharata, Duryodhana sends the sage Durvasa to visit the Pandavas in the forest and solicit their hospitality asking the sage to visit after Draupadi had partaken of the food offered by the Akshaya Patra. Duryodhana's ruse was to see that the Pandavas failed in their hospitality to the sage thereby incurring his displeasure and inviting his curse. The noble sage agreed to this game plan of the wicked Duryodhana as he had accepted the hospitality from the latter. This shows the great influence food has on an individual's mind.

Mind and Brahman: Explaining the concept of Brahman, the teacher tells the disciple that the one which is not comprehended by mind but by which mind is comprehended is Brahman and not the one people worship as Brahman. (Kenopanishat 1-5). Mind should be employed as an instrument to realise the Brahman. By constant practice of contemplation and discrimination, the mind of the aspirant is able to realise that the Brahman alone exists and nothing else. Thus the mind is responsible in bringing the aspirant very close to the Brahman by destroying ignorance. After this, the mind also vanishes (as the fire which after consuming its fuel gets extinguished by itself) making the Brahman only shine in all Its glory (Aadi Sankara : Aparokshanubhuti 137). It is said that the mind can be compared to milk and the world to water. Just as milk completely mixes with water , the tendency of the mind is to get totally absorbed in the material world. But when the milk is made into curd and churned, butter is obtained. Butter does not mix with water as milk does. Similarly nothing could distract the mind trained in meditation.

We take a lot of care to nourish our body. In fact, greater care is needed to train and nourish our mind and keep it free from impure thoughts. The mind that is fixed on God is pure, always entertaining delightful thoughts and enjoying inner peace and tranquility. That is why our scriptures speak extensively on the need to control our mind and give it a proper direction. Lord Krishna says happiness, tranquility, always being engaged in thoughts of the Almighty, self-control and purity in thought constitute the penance by mind (Gita 17-16). In other words, penance of the mind means liberating it from the influence of the senses. The mind should always be kept fully occupied with good and sublime thoughts and also trained to be engaged in doing good to others. The best trained mind has always lofty thoughts.