ANTAH KARANA
ANTAHKARANA (Sanskrit:
"inner conscience" or "the manifest mind") consists of
1. manas(the mind), 2. chitta (the memory), 3. buddhi (the intellect) and 4. ahańkāra (the ego).
4
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"I-maker,"
egoity
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3
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knows, decides,
judges, and discriminates
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2
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storage of
impressions
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1
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sensory, processing
mind
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A
human being has four separate functions or faculties of your mind that are
modifications: ahamkara (ego), manas (sensory or lower mind), buddhi
(intellect), and chitta (the unconscious reservoir or storehouse of all
impressions). These faculties create obstacles for you and you are searching
for enlightenment in the external world. That is not the way. If you do not
understand these four distinct functions of mind, you cannot understand the
more internal states.
Manas remains
busy in sorting out and in understanding the things going on in the external
world.
Buddhi is
that which judges, discriminates, and decides what to do and what not to do.
Another
function of mind, the ahamkara, remains busy in understanding
and becoming aware of the self in a limited way.
The
word chitta is used here as a function of the mind. In this
smaller context, chitta, the storehouse of impressions, represents the
“unconscious” of modern psychology.
To
understand the Four Functions of Mind, one needs to:
1)
Observe each
of the Four Functions of Mind.
2) Accept the
nature of each of the Four Functions of Mind.
One
must not only observe, accept, and understand the functions of mind, but
also train the four functions. To know and train the four
functions, or spokes is essential for one to get to the center of the
wheel.
Since most of the readers might not have read these earlier and this theme is not related to emotional feelings like surrender or love or devotion which we have covered earlier,when reading about the Four Functions of Mind, it can sound like this is merely an intellectual study.
How ever, readers are requested to go through all posts in this theme very attentively.
We derived an answer to a question in a post that MIND is the one single most factor which stands between a man and his realization of his inner divinity.
Hence Witnessing the Four Functions of Mind is an important part of spiritual sadhana.
Yes, unlike devotion and surrender, this theme and all posts under this theme requires deliberation in our spiritual sadhana but once we are clear about the four functions of the mind and most important, about the AHAMKARA part, it is going to help us extremely in mastering our mind and helping us to successfully remove the obstacle between our existing as animal man or man man and our existence as God man / divine SELF.
Discriminating between the four functions: This is one of the most profound self-awareness practices of the ancient Himalayan sages. This Yoga practice is just as profoundly useful today as it was thousands of years ago.
The process is one of self-observation, and gradually discriminating between these four aspects of the inner instrument, so as to attain the direct experience of the Center of Consciousness from which all of our thoughts, emotions, and experiences arise on various degrees and grades.
Love.
