The Elevation of the Mind: Using Its Power with Intelligence

By : Poonam Malik

Philosophy • Mind • Inner Growth

Elevate the Mind

Spend mind hours on mento-intellectual qualities—remove the undesirable, cultivate the desirable, and let the mind rise into clarity and strength.

“The mind becomes what it repeatedly dwells upon. Elevation is deliberate dwelling.”

Part of an Ongoing Series

This article belongs to a larger series that looks at how the mind works, how intelligence guides it, and how one can begin to understand oneself more clearly.

These reflections are meant to be applied in everyday life, through awareness, observation, and steady understanding.

At Totapari, we see jewellery as more than decoration. It reflects a certain inner order and clarity. As the mind becomes more refined, expression naturally becomes more intentional and meaningful.

We have seen the majesty of the mind—its vastness, its power, and its ability to hold the entire world as experience, as explored in Know Your Mind. Now the question naturally shifts from what the mind is to what we do with it.

The elevation of the mind does not happen accidentally. It happens through conscious effort.

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What elevation really means

Incorporate what is desirable and remove what is undesirable, in alignment with your goals. This is not moral preaching—it is intelligent self-management.

The treatment of the mind

When the body falls sick, we consult a doctor. The doctor identifies what is harmful and prescribes what restores health. For the mind, your intelligence (vivek) is the doctor, as discussed in What is Intelligence.

Through inner observation and introspection, intelligence asks: What kind of mind do I want? Which tendencies support it, and which tendencies weaken it?

Vivek as the inner doctor

What does not serve your growth is undesirable. What strengthens clarity, steadiness, and purpose is desirable. The treatment is not external—it is inner.

Inner observation is the method

At the bodily level, others can touch you. At the level of the mind, you are inaccessible. This is the dignity of the mind—your inner domain is your own.

Through quiet observation, reflection, and self-honesty, the mind begins to shed what does not belong and absorb what strengthens it. Meditation and inner reflection come into play here—not as escape, but as nourishment, and the beginning of this is explained in How to Start Meditation.

Spend mind hours, not just body hours

We spend hours caring for the body—exercise, food, rest, appearance. But how many hours do we consciously spend nurturing the mind?

The mind governs how the body feels, how challenges are faced, and how success and failure are interpreted. The body is important, but the mind is far more influential, and this influence determines whether we react or respond, as explained in Conquer the World Within.

What are “mind hours”?

Mind hours are time devoted to reflection, introspection, and deliberate cultivation—not entertainment, not distraction, but conscious inner work: to absorb what is good and reject what is harmful—the hours spent internally to cultivate a virtue.

Eight virtues that elevate the mind

The mind grows in the direction of what it repeatedly dwells upon. To elevate it, we must consciously cultivate mento-intellectual virtues—qualities that refine, stabilise, and strengthen the mind.

1. Vivek — विवेक

Discrimination: choosing the essential over the non-essential. Gives direction to the mind.

2. Vairagya — वैराग्य

Detachment: freedom from compulsive dependence on outcomes. Gives inner independence.

3. Shama — शम

Mental calmness: quietude without suppression. Gives clarity and steadiness.

4. Dama — दम

Sense regulation: conserving energy by mastering impulses. Gives strength.

5. Uparati — उपरति

Inner withdrawal: not reacting unnecessarily. Gives rest and dignity.

6. Titiksha — तितिक्षा

Forbearance: endurance without disturbance. Builds resilience and maturity.

7. Shraddha — श्रद्धा

Trust: quiet confidence in understanding and effort. Stabilises commitment.

8. Samadhana — समाधान

Focused integration: steady alignment with one goal. Gives power and continuity.

In essence

विवेक से दिशा मिलती है,
वैराग्य से स्वतंत्रता,
शम से शांति,
दम से शक्ति,
उपरति से विश्राम,
तितिक्षा से दृढ़ता,
श्रद्धा से स्थायित्व,
और समाधान से एकाग्रता।

How these virtues rise in you

These virtues are not ideals to admire. They are qualities to be absorbed. Spend mind hours reflecting on them. Let the mind repeatedly dwell on them.

What you repeatedly dwell upon, the mind becomes.

In closing

The mind is not meant to be endured. It is meant to be cultivated. By eliminating what weakens and nurturing what strengthens, the mind rises naturally.

The body is important and must be healthy, for the mind is seated in the body. Yet the mind governs the quality of life far more deeply. To pay attention to the mind is to honour the true centre of living.

Spend mind hours on what truly grows you—and the mind will rise. When the mind is elevated, life itself begins to rise.