The City of Nine Gates:
A Complex Model for Mind/Body Dualism from India's Bhagavata Purana
Presented at Toward a Science of Consciousness 1996, April 8-13, 1996, Tucson,
Arizona
by Michael A. Cremo
Research Associate in History and Philosophy of Science,
Bhaktivedanta Institute, 9701 Venice Blvd. Suite 5, Los Angeles, CA 90034
Email: michael.cremo@iskcon.com, (310) 837-5283, Fax (310) 837-1056
Topical Area: Phenomenology/Culture
Key words: Consciousness, dualism, religion, India, parapsychology
Abstract:
One barrier to acceptance of interactionist models for mind/body dualism
is a shortage of conceptual resources. Turning to the ancient Sanskrit writings
of India, we find in the Bhagavata Purana of India the allegory of the City
of Nine Gates, which provides a complex model from mind/body dualism. This
model, rich in imagery, allows one to account for such varied phenomena as
phantom limbs, out of body experiences, past life memories, traveling clairvoyance,
and perception of qualia.
Is there a conscious self that is distinct from the physical mechanism of
the body? Is there a mind that is distinct from the brain? Those who give
positive answers to such questions are called dualists, but they are not numerous
in contemporary science and philosophy. Dualistic solutions to the mind/body
problem are perhaps hampered, among other things, by the impoverished analogical
and allegorical resources of Western thought. Whether we turn to Plato's
cave, to the formulations of Descartes, or to the proverbial little green
man in the brain, there is apparently not enough substance to inspire the
modern consciousness researcher to seriously consider dualism.
But in chapters 25-29 of Canto Four in the Bhagavata Purana, a Sanskrit
text from India, one finds the elaborate allegory of the City of Nine Gates.
The sophistication of the allegory and the potential explanatory power of
its elements challenge modern researchers to take a second look at dualism.
The account of the City of Nine Gates is specifically identified as allegorical
in the Bhagavat Purana itself. It was spoken by the sage Narada Muni, who
was questioned by King Prachinabarhishat about the nature of the self, and
Narada Muni himself explains all the elements of the allegory in the original
text. In other words, it is not that I myself have identified some passages
from the Bhagavata Purana as allegorical, and myself interpreted the passage
in terms of mind/body dualism. The allegorical nature of the passages and
their application to a dualist explanation of consciousness are features of
the text itself.
In this paper, I will give a summary of the City of Nine Gates, adapted
from the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust edition of the Bhagavata Purana (published
as Srimad-Bhagavatam) along with some hints as to the utility of the allegory
in resolving questions that arise in consciousness studies.
The central character in the allegory of the City of Nine Gates is a King
named Puranjana. In Sanskrit, the word puran-jana means "one who enjoys in
a body." Soul/body dualism is thus hinted at in the King's name. King Puranjana
originally existed as a spirit soul in a purely spiritual realm in relationship
with a supreme conscious being, God. Materialists may oppose the introduction
of this transcendental realm, which exists outside the material universe knowable
by science. But even the materialist cosmology of modern science incorporates
a "transcendental" realm, that is to say, a realm that exists beyond the
universe knowable by science, and from which that universe emerged at the
time of the Big Bang. This transcendental reality, existing beyond time,
space, and matter, is called the quantum mechanical vacuum, and is pictured
as a pure energy field in which particles appear and instantly disappear.
From this sea of virtual particles, some go through a process of expansion
that keeps them in existence. According to many cosmologists, our universe
is one such expansion.
So both the Bhagavata Purana and the Big Bang cosmology of modern science
have an eternal transcendental existence from which our universe of matter,
with its features of time and space, arises. Once this is admitted, we can
then decide which version of ultimate reality has the most explanatory power,
when applied to the variegated reality of our experience. Modern cosmologists
and other theorists have a great deal of difficulty in coaxing a sufficient
amount of variety from the rather smooth and featureless universe that, according
to theory, expands from the quantum mechanical vacuum. The origin of consciousness
also poses a difficulty problem. In light of this, an ultimate reality that
is itself variegated and conscious might offer a solution.
Having departed from the spiritual world, by misuse of independence, King
Puranjana journeys through the material world, accompanied by Avijnata Sakha
("the unknown friend"). The Unknown Friend corresponds to the Supersoul expansion
of God. When Puranjana leaves God and the spiritual world, his memory of them
becomes covered. But unknown to Puranjana, God accompanies him on his journey
through the material world. According to the Bhagavata Purana, God accompanies
all spirit souls in the material world as their Unknown Friend, who observes
and sanctions their activities.
In the Western world, mind/brain dualism is identified with French philosopher
René Descartes, who posited the existence of (1) matter extended in
space and (2) mind existing outside space. Cartesian dualism is characterized
by an interaction between mind and matter, but explaining how this interaction
takes place has proved problematic for advocates of the Cartesian model. How,
for example, are impressions transmitted from the realm of matter to the
completely different realm of mind? Descartes thought the connection between
mind and matter occurred in the pineal gland in the brain, an answer most
scientists today do not favor.
According to the Bhagavata Purana, both matter and the souls in the material
world are energies of God, and as such both have a single spiritual source.
The Bhagavata Purana philosophy is thus both dualist and monist, simultaneously.
The interactions of matter and the soul in the material world are mediated
by Supersoul, who exists inside each material atom and also accompanies each
spirit soul. By the arrangement of Supersoul, impressions of material experience
can be channeled to the soul. How this takes place is the subject of the allegory
of Puranjana.
Having left the spiritual world, Puranjana, accompanied by Avijnata Sakha
(his Unknown Friend, the Supersoul), wanders through the material world. He
desires to find a suitable place to enjoy himself. In other words, he searches
for a suitable kind of body to inhabit. He tries many kinds of bodies on
many planets. Here we note that each species of life consists of a soul inhabiting
a particular kind of body. In this respect, the Bhagavata Purana account
differs from that of Descartes, who held that only humans have souls. For
Descartes, animals were simply automatons. If one concedes that animals, with
all their signs of life and consciousness, are simply automatons, then why
not human beings as well? The Bhagavata Purana model avoids this particular
weakness of Descartes's system.
Eventually, Puranjana comes to a place called Nava Dvara Pura, the City
of Nine Gates. He finds it quite attractive. The City of Nine Gates represents
the human male body, with its nine openings--two eyes, two nostrils, two ears,
mouth, anus, and the genital opening. As Puranjana wanders through the gardens
of the city, he encounters an extremely beautiful woman. Puranjana is attracted
to her, and she is attracted to him. She becomes his Mahisi (Queen).
Puranjana, as we have seen, represents the conscious self. The beautiful
woman represents Buddhi, intelligence. According to the Bhagavata Purana philosophy,
intelligence is a subtle material energy with discriminatory capabilities
like those manifested by artificial intelligence machines. The attraction
between King Puranjana and the Queen is the root of embodied consciousness.
The King, it should be noted, has distinct conscious selfhood, with nonmaterial
sensory capability, but this capability becomes dormant when he begins his
relationship with the Queen.
The Queen (the subtle material element called intelligence) allows Puranjana
(the conscious self) to enjoy the City of Nine Gates (the gross physical body).
Employing a computer analogy, we might say Puranjana represents the user,
the City of Nine Gates represents the computer hardware, and the Queen represents
the software that allows the user to interface with the hardware and use
it for practical purposes.
The Queen is not, however, alone but is accompanied by eleven Mahabhatas
(body guards) and a serpent with five heads. The bodyguards comprise the mind
and the ten senses. The ten senses are made up of five jnana-indriyas (knowledge
acquiring senses) and five karma-indriyas (working senses). The five knowledge-acquring
senses are the senses of sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch. The five
working senses are those of walking, grasping, speaking, reproduction, and
evacuation. All ten senses are grouped around the mind. The ten senses are
considered servants of the mind. Each of these servants has hundreds of wives.
The wives are desires for material experience, and the senses act under their
pressure. According to this system, the senses are different from the physical
sense organs. The senses are part of the invisible subtle material covering
of the soul, along with mind and intelligence. The physical organs of sensation
(the eyes, nose, tongue, ears, skin, legs, arms, mouth, genitals, and anus)
are part of the gross physical body that is visible to the eyes.
The distinction between subtle senses and physical sense organs is important,
and offers consciousness researchers a valuable conceptual tool. Let us consider,
for example, the problem of phantom limbs. Persons whose legs or arms have
been amputated often report that they are able to distinctly feel the missing
limb, and even experience quite distinct sensations, such as twinges of pain
or itching. The City of Nine Gates allegory provides an explanation for this
mysterious phenomenon. Let's take the case of someone whose arm has been amputated
but who still feels the presence of the arm. The arm is one of the working
senses. It is composed of two elements, the subtle grasping sense and the
physical organ of the arm and hand. The process of amputation removes the
physical organ through which the subtle sense operates. But the subtle sense
itself remains, and therefore its presence may be mentally perceived.
Since the subtle sense is material, it may be able to act upon gross physical
matter, without going through the related physical sense organ. This model
may therefore explain some of the phenomena reported in connection with ghosts
and apparitions, and in connection with mediums, particularly the mysterious
movement of physical objects. For a good scientific introduction to these
unusual phenomena, one might consult Thirty Years of Psychical Research, by
Charles Richet, who in 1913 won the Nobel Prize for medicine and physiology.
This model may also explain how persons are able to experience sense data
during near death experiences, during which the physical sense organs are
incapacitated because of anasthesia or shock. For a good clinical study of
near death experienices, I recommend Recollections of Death, by cardiologists
Michael Sabom.
The senses are compared to attendants of the Queen. They serve her by bringing
information and conducting activity. Together they comprise the array of material
intelligence and sensory capabilities, all formed from subtle but nevertheless
material energy.They combinedly manufacture a sense of self, with which the
King becomes entranced and falsely identifies. The body itself, the City
of Nine Gates, is made of gross material energy, of the kind that can be
manipulated by ordinary physics and chemistry. It is powered by five subtle
airs, listed in the Ayur Veda, the Vedic medical science, as prana, apana,
vyana, samana, and udana. In the Puranjana allegory the five airs, comprising
the vital force, are represented by a five-headed serpent.
In the allegory, Puranjana asks about the identity and origin of the Queen
and her attendants. The Queen replies, "O best of human beings, I do not know
who has begotten me. I cannot speak to you perfectly about this. Nor do I
know the names or the origins of the associates with me. O great hero, we
only know that we are existing in this place. We do not know what will come
after. Indeed, we are so foolish that we do not care to understand who has
created this beautiful place for our residence. My dear gentleman, all these
men and women with me are known as my friends, and the snake, who always remains
awake, protects this city even during my sleeping hours. So much I know.
I do not know anything beyond this. You have somehow or other come here.
This is certainly a great fortune for me. I wish all auspicious things for
you. You have a great desire to satisfy your senses, and all my friends and
I shall try out best in all respects to fulfill your desires. I have just
arranged this city of nine gates for you so that you can have all kinds of
sense gratification. You may live here for one hundred years, and everything
for your sense gratification will be supplied."
The King's questioning the Queen represents the self's interrogation of
material intelligence for the answers to ultimate questions. The answers
provided by the Queen, as well as her fundamental attitude, reflect those
of modern science, which prides itself on avoidance of certain questions
and the tentativeness of whatever answers it may provide. "I cannot speak
to you perfectly about this. . . . We only know that we are existing in this
place." Essentially, the Queen provides a monist, materialist answer to the
King's questions about his situation.
The Bhagavata Purana then provides a more detailed description of the nine
gates of the city inhabited by the King and Queen. Seven of the gates are
on the surface (the two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and mouth), and two
of the gates are subterranean (the anus and genitals). Five of the gates faced
east.
The first two gates on the eastern side are called Khadyota (glowworm) and
Avirmukhi (torchlight). In order to see, the King would exit these two gates,
and go to the city called Vibhrajita (clear vision). On this journey he would
be accompanied by his friend Dyuman (the sun, the ruler of the subtle visual
sense).
In other words, the King encounters qualia by sensory contact through the
physical gates of the body. Qualia are secondary properties of objects, such
as color. In consciousness studies, the question of how we perceive qualia
is a much debated topic. Do they exist in their own right, in the objects
with which they are identified, or, do they exist only in our own minds? According
to the Bhagavata Purana system, qualia, such as colors, exist as subtle sense
objects. They thus have a reality of their own, and are not simply produced
within the mind.
That the King goes out through the gates of the eyes to contact subtle sense
objects in a city of visual impressions is interesting. This suggests that
the seeing process is not simply one of passive reception, but may involve
an active process of image acquisition (as in sonar, or radar). This may explain
such phenomena as traveling clairvoyance, whereby a subject can mentally journey
to a particular location, beyond the range of the physical sense organs,
and then accurately report visual impressions. Visual sensations reported
during out of body experiences could also be explained by this model. The
exact relationships between the physical sense organs, the subtle senses,
and subtle sense objects are not easily understood, but could perhaps be clarified
by experimental work based on the overall model of the City of Nine Gates.
In the eastern part of King Puranjana's city there are, in addition to the
eyes, two gates called Nalini and Naalini, representing the nostrils. The
King would go through these two gates with a friend called Avadhuta (representing
breathing airs) to the town of Saurbha (odor). The last gate on the eastern
side is Mukhya (the mouth), through which the King would go with two friends
to the towns of taste sensation and nourishment.
Through the two gates on the northern and southern sides (the ears), the
King would go to places where different kinds of sound were heard. Through
the gates on the western side of the city, the King would go to the towns
where sensations of sexual pleasure and evacuation are experienced. During
his journeys, the King would take help from two blind men, Nirvak and Peshakrit,
who represent the arms and legs.
In all his activities, the King would follow the lead of the Queen. In other
words, the conscious self in the material world becomes conditioned by material
intelligence. The Bhagavata Purana says: "When the Queen drank liquor, King
Puranjana also engaged in drinking. When the Queen dined, he used to dine
with her, and when she chewed, King Puranjana used to chew along with her.
When the Queen sang, he also sang, and when the Queen laughed, he also laughed.
When the Queen talked loosely, he also talked loosely, and when the Queen
walked, the King walked behind her. When the Queen would stand still, the
King would also stand still, and when the Queen would lie down in bed, he
would also follow and lie down with her. When the Queen sat, he would also
sit, and when the Queen heard something, he would follow her to hear the same
thing. When the Queen saw something, the King would also look at it, and
when the Queen smelled something, the King would follow her to smell the
same thing. When the Queen touched something, the King would also touch it,
and when the dear Queen was lamenting, the poor King also had to follow her
in lamentation. In the same way, when the Queen felt enjoyment, he also enjoyed,
and when the Queen was satisfied, the King also felt satisfaction."
As noted above, an important question that arises concerning dualist solutions
to the mind/body question is how a nonmaterial conscious mind interacts with
material sense objects. In this model, there is an answer to this question.
As seen above, the interaction is based on illusory identification.
To understand the nature of this illusory identification, we first need
to readjust the familiar mind/body dualism to a triadic conception incorporating
(1) a nonmaterial conscious self, (2) a subtle material body formed of mind
and intelligence, and (3) a physical body composed of gross matter
In this model, the mind is a subtle material substance, associated with
material intelligence. Mind is at the center of the subtle senses, which
are in turn connected to the physical sense organs, which bring to the mind
sense data in the form of subtle sense objects. Here yet another question
arises.
In consciousness studies, one is faced with the problem of how the various
kinds of sense data are presented in an integrated fashion. Even various elements
of the visual sense, such as perception of color and movement and form are
located in different parts of the brain. Sounds are processed in other parts
of the brain. How are all these elements combined?
In the Bhagavata Purana model, the integrating function is performed by
the subtle mind element, which receives sensory inputs from the subtle senses
grouped around it. The mind is not, however, conscious. The mind, might therefore,
be compared to multimedia computer software capable of integrating audio and
visual materials into a single, integrated display, making use of a variety
of inputs and source materials. The material intelligence, represented by
the Queen, directs the consciousness of the actual living entity to the integrated
display of sense data. Intelligence, as a subtle material energy, is not itself
conscious, but it mimics the behavior of consciousness. It thus attracts the
attention of the conscious self, causing the self to identify with it, just
as we identify with the image of an actor on a movie screen. By identification
with material intelligence, which is in turn connected to the mind's integrated
display of sense data, consciousness is connected with the sense data. This
connection is not direct. The indirect connection of the conscious self with
gross matter arises from the self's false identification with the action of
a subtle material energy, intelligence. The extremely subtle material element
that connects the conscious self with material intelligence is called ahankara,
or false ego. The whole system is set up and directed by the Supersoul
According to the Bhagavata Purana picture, the conscious self orginally
experiences nonmaterial sense objects through nonmaterial senses. This takes
place in the spiritual world, with God. But having turned from this original
situation, the self is placed in a material body in the material world. Identifying
with this artificial situation, the self forgets its own nature and that of
God. But God remains with the self as Supersoul, the Unknown Friend. If the
self tires of the artificial material reality and desires to return to its
original position, the Unknown Friend will reawaken the original spiritual
senses of the self and reconnect them with their spiritual sense objects.
The whole system therefore resembles a computer-generated virtual reality.
In virtual reality systems, the user's normal sensory inputs are replaced
by computer-generated displays. But just as a person can turn off the virtual
reality display and return to normal sensory experience, so the conscious
self in the artificial sensory environment of the material world can return
to its original spiritual sensory experience. The idea of comparing the position
of a soul in the material world to a person experiencing a virtual reality
generated by a computer first occurred to me in 1986, when I attended a conference
on artificial life organized by the Sante Fe Institute. The idea was further
developed in discussions with my Bhaktivedanta Institute colleague Richard
Thompson, who also attended the conference, and was subsequently presented
by us in a Bhaktivedanta Institute video titled "Simulated Worlds."
In the Bhagavata Purana allegory, King Puranjana and his Queen enjoy life
for some time in the City of Nine Gates. Eventually, however, the City of
Nine Gates comes under attack by a king named Chandavega. Chandavega represents
time, and his name literally means "very swiftly passing away." Candavega
commands an army of 360 male Gandharva soldiers and their 360 female companions.
Together, these represent the days and nights of the year. When Candavega's
army attacks, the five-headed serpent (the vital force) tries to defend the
City of Nine Gates. The serpent fought the attackers for one hundred years
but eventually became weak, causing anxiety for the King and his associates.
Finally, the attacking soldiers overwhelm the defenders and set the City of
Nine Gates ablaze. As it becomes obvious that the battle is being lost, King
Puranjana is overcome with anxious thoughts of his wife and other relatives
and associates. Then the commander of the invading forces arrests the King
and takes him away along with his followers, including the five-headed serpent.
As soon as they are gone, the attackers destroy the City of Nine Gates, smashing
it to dust. Even as he is being led away, the King can not remember his Unknown
Friend, the Supersoul. Instead, he thinks only of his wife, the Queen. He
then takes another birth, this time as a woman.
In this part of the allegory, we see how the conscious self leaves the gross
physical body, accompanied by the intelligence, mind, and subtle senses. When
they leave, the gross physical body distintegrates. The conscious self then
receives another gross physical body. The kind of body received depends on
the condition of the subtle material body, which is composed of intelligence,
mind, and subtle senses. The subtle material body is the template upon which
the gross physical body is constructed. This model allows one to account for
reports of past life memories, such as those researched and verified by Dr.
Ian Stevenson of the University of Virginia in his book Twenty Cases Suggestive
of Reincarnation. In the Bhagavata Purana model, the mind is the storehouse
of memory, memory of past lives.
In his next life, King Puranjana becomes Vaidarbhi, the daughter of King
Vidarbha. When grown, Vaidarbhi becomes the Queen of King Malayadhvaja. At
the end of his life, Malayadhvaja retires to the forest and takes up the process
of mystic yoga. The Bhagavata Purana (4.28.40) informs us: "King Malayadhvaja
attained perfect knowledge by being able to distinguish the Supersoul from
the individual soul. The individual soul is localized, whereas the Supersoul
is all-pervasive. He became perfect in knowledge that the material body is
not the soul but that the soul is the witness of the material body." In this
state of higher awareness, Malayadhvaja, following the yoga process, deliberately
leaves his material body and achieves liberation from material existence.
Queen Vaidarbhi (formerly King Puranjana) is overwhelmed with grief at her
husband's departure. At this point, King Puranjana's Unknown Friend (the Supersoul),
appears before Vaidarbhi as a brahmana sage. The brahmana says to Vaidarbhi:
"My dear friend, even though you can not immediately recognize Me, can't
you remember that in the past you had a very intimate friend? Unfortunately,
you gave up My company and accepted a postiion as enjoyer of this material
world. . . . You were simply captivated in this body of nine gates." The brahmana
then instructs Vaidarbhi further about her original position as a purely
spiritual self in the spiritual world.
In this paper, I have extracted only the principal elements of the City
of Nine Gates allegory. The complete account is much more detailed, and allows
one to make an even more subtle and refined model of self/mind/body interaction.
This model does not fit easily into present categories of the mind/body debate.
Although dualist, it partakes also of idealism and monism. It does, however,
allow one to integrate many categories of evidence from normal and paranormal
science, as well as evidence from humanity's wisdom traditions, into a rich
synthesis, providing fruitful lines of research confirming and refining a
complex dualist model of mind/body interaction.
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