The ancient yogis were scientists of the mind. For many thousands of years, inner explorers have been studying, categorizing, and systematizing the subjective world, a pool into which Western science has only barely dipped its toes.
Due to its very nature, this domain is largely inaccessible to the Western scientific method. Objective science is capable of measuring and quantifying the outer expressions of subjective phenomena, often in fascinating and illuminating ways. Still, it cannot say anything about the actual experience of such phenomena, the aspect far more interesting and relevant to those seeking deeper truths.
As yogis, we are trying to transcend the mind, but for this, it is occasionally helpful to have some understanding of what the mind is and how it functions. Even blanket statements like “transcend the mind” may cause confusion if it is unclear what “the mind” refers to.
As a broad term, “the mind” does not exist as such in Sanskrit. Instead, if you look at original texts, you will see a variety of terms: manas, buddhi, chitti, vijnana, not to mention a wide assortment of related concepts.
English words used in translation may aid in smooth reading but do not map precisely onto the yogic schemata of the mind.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna mentions three aspects of the mind as fundamental elements of manifestation: “Earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect, and ego—these are eight components of My material energy.” (7.4)
“Mind, intellect, and ego” are translations of manas, buddhi, and ahamkara, respectively. We will explore these three as a useful model of interaction between the inner and outer world, through which we can recognize the Self beyond all three.
Manas—the Lower Mind
Manas refers to the “lower mind,” the sensory response system that is fully active not only in human beings but in all forms of animal life.
This aspect of the mind is directly involved in the senses. In terms of the panchakosha, the “five bodies” or “five sheathes” recognized by yogic subtle anatomy, manas is the active principle in manomayakosha, the astral, emotional, or sensory body.
Manas also includes an automated response, the instantaneous “like/dislike” reflex, that can generate instinctive, unconscious action. Because of this, you may sometimes hear it referred to as the subconscious mind, although this is not strictly correct—modern psychological distinctions of “conscious mind” and “subconscious mind” correspond at times to manas and buddhi but should not be considered analogous.
Think of manas as a first filter between the outer and inner world, in the direction from outside to inside. It receives data from the senses and passes them “upwards” to buddhi, the rational mind, along with a rudimentary recommended action.
A “like” response becomes attraction, where your mind tells you to get more of the current sense object.
A “dislike” response becomes repulsion, where you believe you must avoid said object.
There’s nothing wrong with this system, which allows conscious beings in flesh suits to safely navigate the material world. The problem is when those impulses become crystallized and rationalized at the level of buddhi, you start to believe that they are inherently real, that the objects of your senses contain pleasure or suffering in themselves, and that your happiness depends on either obtaining or escaping the object in question.
From this fundamental misunderstanding unrolls the great spiral of grasping and disappointment, the turbo engine of our journey through samsara.
One element of tapas, yogic discipline or austerity, is simply to push past this reflex, beyond the “pleasure=good, discomfort=bad” dichotomy, so you come to recognize the true, unconditioned happiness that lives eternally within your heart.
Buddhi—the Higher Mind
Buddhi refers to the rational, intellectual mind.
Manas is reactive. Buddhi is reflective. Its role is observation, consideration, and deliberation. It is our capacity to think about something and to make conscious, pre-meditated decisions.
Corresponding to vijnanamayakosha (“mental body”) in the panchakosha, it also relates to abstract thought, concepts, ideas, and the transpersonal realm of archetypes.
On our planet, buddhi is mostly manifested only in human beings, although those with sophisticated problem-solving skills and tool use must have it to a greater degree.
Perhaps due to the name, you may have heard buddhi referred to as the “awakened mind” or the “spiritual mind.” Buddhi does confer a kind of awakeness in that it is the level of the mind at which you consciously perceive yourself as acting. The workings of manas and ahamkara are, in different ways, too basic to perceive directly. They are invisible in plain sight.
However, buddhi is not necessarily spiritual, not awake in the sense of Buddha. All your rambling thoughts and inner monologues, your to-do lists, your mundane thinking, your concepts of “comfy chair,” “summer,” “sales tax,” etc. are all buddhi, just as much as your concepts of “yoga” or “Self-realization.”
Thinking about God, you are still in thinking, not yet in God.
Still, the proper alignment of the mind at the level of buddhi is very important. Certain concepts and thought patterns will lead you deeper into illusion. “I am my body,” for example, or, “I’d be happier if I had a better partner.”
Other thoughts, although they are qualitatively similar, will lead you toward freedom: “I am eternal,” “I am love,” “God is the only doer.”
This is where spiritual philosophy steps in, to re-train the thinking mind into an instrument of Truth.
You can also use this quality of the mind directly in practice. For example, in the Hridaya 10-Day Silent Meditation Retreat, we practice a technique called “open concepts,” which involves meditation on words or ideas that, while mental, point towards the space beyond the mind.
Ahamkara—the Limited Sense of ”I”
The most subtle aspect of the mind, the seed from which the whole tree blossoms, is the ahamkara, the “I-maker.”
Ahamkara stamps the concept of “I” onto every thought or experience that occurs.
There is no self in your body, thoughts, or sense perceptions. They don’t even belong to you. They just happen.
However, you very much perceive them as belonging to you—however hard-pressed you might be to specify exactly who this “you” is—because this function of the mind is so fundamental.
It’s like you have a rusty faucet. Any water that comes out through it will be tainted with rust. If that’s the only faucet you ever use, you might think that water itself has a rusty quality, but were you to trace the rust back to its source, you would find that just on the other side, pure water is flowing.
Ramana Maharshi says: “The mind is only a bundle of thoughts. The thoughts have their root in the I-thought. Whoever investigates the True “I” enjoys the stillness of bliss.”
Through the gateway of the limited “I,” you come to know the true “I,” the universal, eternal Consciousness which animates all the universe just as the individual “I” animates your mind and body.
Naveen is a Hridaya teacher and a frequent contributor to our blog. You can read all of her posts here.
