[Advaita-l] Functions of the mind

[KAMESWARARAO MULA]

As the thread "Function of the Mind" is one of my core concerned research, I would like to elborate this with my understandings.
Learned can comment/contribute your views to understand the concept about the Function of the MIND
The five have been classified into three groups – the physical, the subtle and the causal. In the waking state in which we are now, for instance, the physical body is intensely operative and we always think in terms of physical body, physical objects and physical sensations. This physical sensation is absent in the state of dream, but three of the kosas operate in dream. In the waking condition, all the five are operating, concentrating their action on the physical body mostly. In the dream state the physical body is not operating, but the vital, the mental and the intellectual sheaths are active. The prana is there, the mind is there, the intellect also is there also in a diminished intensity. We breathe, we think and we understand in the state of dream. That means prana, manas and buddhi all are active in the state of dream, minus the physical element, namely the body consciousness. In the state of deep sleep, none of these are active; neither the body is operating there, nor the mind, nor the intellect, nor is there any consciousness that we are even breathing. The consciousness is withdrawn entirely from all the sheaths – physical, vital, mental and intellectual. There is only one sheath that is operating in the state of sleep – that is the causal sheath, called anandamaya kosa.

Then  five pranas (Vayus) As I mentioned in my earlier mail – the prana, i.e the vital energy in us, operates in five ways. When we breathe out, expel breath, the prana is acting. When we breathe in, when we inhale the breath, the apana is acting. The vyana is a third form of the operation of this energy, which causes circulation of blood and makes us feel a sensation of liveliness in every part of the body because of the operative action of the bloodstream, which is pushed onward in a circular fashion throughout the body by the action of a particular function of prana, called vyana. There is another action of the prana, which is udana; it causes the swallowing of food. When we put food in the mouth, it goes inside through the oesophagus and it is pushed down by the action of a prana called udana. Udana has also certain other functions to perform. It takes us to deep sleep. Our jiva consciousness, our individualised consciousness is pushed into a state of somnambulism, sleep; that also is the work of udana. Udana has also a third function to perform, namely the separation of the vital body from the physical body at the time of death. Three actions, three performances are attributed to udana. There is another, fifth one, samana, which operates through the navel region and causes digestion of food. It creates heat in the stomach and in the naval region so that the gastric juices operate and we feel appetite. Hunger is caused and food is digested by the action of this samana. So, there are five pranas – prana, apana, vyana, udana, samana.
Five senses of knowledge, five organs of action and five pranas make fifteen. There are four functions of the psychic organ. The internal psyche, which we generally call manas or mind in ordinary language, has four functions. In Sanskrit these four functions are designated as manas, buddhi, ahamkara and chitta. Manas is ordinary, indeterminate thinking – just being aware that something is there. Manas is the work of the mind. Buddhi determines, decides and logically comes to a conclusion that something is such-and-such a thing. That is another aspect of the operation of the psyche – buddhi or intellect. The third form of it is ahamkara – ego, affirmation, assertion, 'I know'. "I know that there is some object in front of me, and I also know that I know. I know that I am existing as this so-and-so." This kind of affirmation attributed to one's own individuality is the work of ahamkara, known as egoism. The subconscious action, memory, etc., is caused by chitta. It is the fourth function. So manas, buddhi, ahamkara, chitta – these are the four basic functions of the internal organ, the psychological organ.
So, we have five senses of knowledge, five organs of action, five pranas and four operations of the psyche, totalling nineteen. These are the mouths through which consciousness grasps objects from outside, and we feel secure and happy because all these nineteen things are acting at the same time in some form or other, with more emphasis or less emphasis. Any one can act at any time, under special given conditions; and inasmuch as any one can act at any time, it is virtually saying that all are acting at the same time. Therefore we are objectively conscious through the nineteen operative media of the individual consciousness acting in the waking condition. We are aware of this vast world of sensory perception, and we go on contacting these objects of the world through these media.SOURCE: The Mandukya Upanishad,   by Swami KrishnanandaISHA Guru Shri. Jaggi Vasudev nincely explains the Four Parts of the Mind which Harnesses the True Power of mind apart from its Function.Here is the Link:        https://isha.sadhguru.org/yoga/yoga-articles-mind-stress/parts-of-mind/
Sri Guru Padravindarpana MastuKameswara

 

    On Friday, 17 June, 2022, 01:01:38 pm GMT+5:45, KAMESWARARAO MULA <kamesh_ccmb at yahoo.co.in> wrote:  
 
 Dear Sh. Jaldhar,                                 Indeed nice & actually I was trying to recollect the same to reply Harsha's query, but coudn't find the words. This was the exact reference for the Function of the mind
manas, buddhi, ahamkara, and chitta make up the internal instrument.
Their objects are doubt, certainty, ego, and memory respectively."
To add to this: Human Physical body( having senses-Panchendriyas) is nothing but the external Instrument (only breat remains inside which passess through the nine openings) i.e Simply a Three dimensional Sriyantra
Yes the external instrument i.e Human body is dominated by the fethers like Mano, Buddhi, Ahamkara, Chitta which controls the internal instruement i.e MIND which can keep the meory as long as the breath exsists in the physical body. (PRANA, APANA, VYANA, UDANA, SAMANA= 5 VAYUS)
One great pesonality mailed me once that he will speak to his mind. Any one can do that after forgetting the Kosabhimana (Body Conciousness controlled by mind).
The decission making by Buddhi is obviously control by Mind.
Sri Guru Padaravindarpana Mastu
Kameswara
 

    On Wednesday, 15 June, 2022, 12:51:16 pm GMT+5:45, Jaldhar H. Vyas via Advaita-l <advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:  
 
 On Thu, 14 Apr 2022, Harsh Raval wrote:

> Is the work of buddhi to make only decision and not other things such
> as(vichar,knowledge,understanding).
> If no then plz can you cite from scriptures with verse no. That the woek of
> buddhi is more than making decisions.

On Sun, 17 Apr 2022, Harsh Raval via Advaita-l wrote:


> I think buddhi(बुद्धि) might have more function other than making deciso
> Plz if you know cite sources🙏
>

JSK Harsh, I am dreadfully sorry for the long delay in responding.  I had 
to make an emergency trip to India and I've been extremely distracted 
these past several weeks and have neglected my Advaita-L mail.

Also just a note, You left the subject line blank.  Please don't do that 
because it will make it hard for people searching the archives to find 
relevant discussions.

In the Vedantaparibasha a shloka is quoted:

मनोबुद्धिरहङ्कारश्चित्तं करणमान्तरम् । संशयो निश्चयो गर्वः स्मर

"manas, buddhi, ahamkara, and chitta make up the internal instrument.
Their objects are doubt, certainty, ego, and memory respectively."


Senses are the external instrument of cognition and mind is the internal 
instrument.  The function of manas is to process the inputs given through 
the senses.  We perceive a multiplicity of things which may 
contradict each other therefore it is said that संशय or doubt is the 
hallmark of  manas.

Buddhi is the function of the mind which as you say makes decisions.  But 
how can we make decisions.  They have to be made based on values. 
(There are a limited number of actions we take based on instinct but 
for human beings this is not as big a factor as for other animals.)  Not 
just the great questions of life which require grand philosophical values 
but even basic day to day life requires deciding between many choices. 
This in return requires analysis (knowledge, understanding etc. as you 
said) in order to provide निश्चय or certainty.  Sometimes we have to make 
decisions without certainty but this is uncomfortable so we always try for 
it.  This is all a function of buddhi.


ahamkara is the bundle of desires, fears etc. that make us who we are and 
is the source of our pride (गर्व)  Or according to Advaita Vedanta, who we 
*think* we are because these things and indeed the whole concept of ego --
"I" that is different from other "I"s -- is delusionary.

Chitta is all the impressions that our environment makes upon our minds 
and our selves.  It's hallmark is memory (स्मरण) but it is more than that. 
There are many things which we do not remember or are even aware of that 
affect the  mental state of even the most rational person.  The ongoing 
turmoil of changes in chitta are the cause of joy, sorrow etc.

These four functions of the mind are caused by maya and one of the goals 
of sadhana must be their suppression or destruction (मनोनाश) and 
replacement by the pure knowledge of Brahman.

  -- 
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
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