Acharya Prashant responds to a question about why the mind registers everything by first correcting the premise. He states that the mind does not register everything; it does not have the capacity to register every event and every sensation. The mind, he explains, is a slave to the ego (Aham). It works according to the name and identity that the ego has given to itself. Consequently, events and impressions are registered on the mind in accordance with this self-determined identity. Not everything makes an impression on the mind. To illustrate, he uses the example of the current gathering. There are many things presentтАФpeople, walls, equipment, lights, windows, doors, floor, and ceiling. However, the mind is not registering all of these things. This is because, at this moment, the ego's identity is that of a seeker. As a seeker who has asked a question, only the answer will be registered on the mind, while other things will not leave an impression. Whatever your name is, your world is just like that. Your identity determines what your mind receives from the world, and the world for you is only as much as you perceive it to be. He further clarifies that different people have different worlds because they have given themselves different names and identities. If you become something else, your world changes, and you start seeing different things. For instance, if you stand at a crossroads as a son, you will perceive certain things. If you stand at the same crossroads as a student, you will see something else. And if you stand there as a vagrant, your perception will be entirely different. Even though you are at the same place, at the same time, with the same body, what the mind registers changes completely based on who you are in that moment. The world is not an objective entity for the mind; mentally, the world is exactly as you have named yourself. If you find that random, worthless things are leaving an impression on your mind, it implies that your name is 'one who is interested in collecting useless things.' If the mind has become like a junk cart, you should know your own name. This name is something you have given to yourself; no one else has. It is your freedom to choose what name you want to give yourself. The world will then appear to you accordingly.
