What we see around us is nothing but a projection of the mind. When we are awake, the thoughts are more solid, three-dimensional and steady while in the dream state, it is a more fluid and fleeting picture we get to see. Sri Adi Sankaracharya says that in the state of dream, the intellect, which gives understanding to the names and forms in the waking state, is asleep. At that time, the mind creates names and forms by its own powers. It portrays the enjoyer or sufferer of all the dream scenes and creates the whole universe. In the same way, in the waking state too it is nothing special. All that we see in this state is a yawning expansion of the mind alone, the Vivekachoodamani explains.
It is commonly known to all that at the time of deep sleep, every thought dissolves into its own source and the one who is sleeping knows nothing. Therefore, this whole world of movement and change is only an imagination of the mind and not really there. The clouds are gathered together by the wind and once again, the very same winds will separate and scatter the clouds too. In the same way the very thought of bondage is itself an imagination of the mind and it is again the mind that gives the experience of liberation too.
The mind causes a sense of attachment of the individual to his own body and all objects of the senses. The individual is then bound like an animal with ropes of qualities—Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Then the same mind creates an aversion for the objects that it once made the individual crave and gives him the experience of freedom.
Therefore, it is the mind that alone is the cause for bondage and for liberation too. The cause for bondage is extreme agitation and the cause for liberation is a pure mind, which is devoid of restlessness and dullness. The mind becomes free when agitation and inertia are not present. The dissociation and the process of purity of the mind happens with the practice of two qualities—viveka (discrimination between the real and unreal), andvairagya (keeping the focus on the real and withdrawing from the unreal).
This mind is like a big tiger roaming in the forest of sense objects. The good student, who is striving towards liberation of the mind, should take care not to roam around in such a place where this tiger called the mind too keeps moving about freely.
The mind delivers a host of objects—gross and subtle. These objects, people and circumstances are classified in terms of bodies, the stages of life, the qualities and occupations each one does and the different shades of qualities they possess.