In Hinduism, Antarmukha is one who turns inward. And one who turns to the sensory world to realize the reality is known as Bahirmukha.
One is called antarmukha only when he withdraws his senses
from worldly objects and contemplates the self. He is the seer. He perceives
the self directly without the help of the senses which are fit to visualize
only fixed objects in the world.
One is called bahirmukha when one loses oneself in ‘other-ness’
or in mundane activity. He does not see his own self or spirit as the
all-pervading reality.
The seer of Katha Upanishad rightly distinguishes the
relevance of the two kinds of tendencies and their fruit in the first two verses
of the first section of the second chapter. According to these verses, the self
is not to be sought through the senses. When the openings of the senses are
turned outward, one looks outwards and not inwards. But the wise see with their
eyes turned inwards. In the former state, one suffers the snare of the
changeable, perishable world, while the latter realizes the eternal and keeps
himself aloof from seeking stability among things which are unstable.
The bahirmukha acts with senses – the antarmukha controls
the senses by his sadhana. The objects for the former are outwardly physiological
and psychological entities, but the object for the latter is the very spirit
given as his consciousness. Bahirmukha is the one who enjoys the objects of the
senses, and antarmukha is the one who enjoys the truth which is knowledge and
bliss.