Manas Buddhi Chitta Ahamkara - Part 18

Benefiting from the learning of four functions of Mind.

The cause of our suffering: The entire cause of our mental and emotional suffering is the false identification between Ahamkara and the data that is stored in Chitta. (Eventually, at a deeper level, the Self is seen to have falsely identified itself with the Four Functions of Mind themselves). By witnessing the Four Functions of Mind, while they are functioning, we increasingly come to see this mistaken identity, which leads to freedom. 

Buddhi becomes witness to this mistaken identity: It is the function of mind called Buddhi, which, once again, knows, decides, adjudges, and discriminates. In other words, Buddhi is the part that sees the situation clearly. Eventually, the Self or Atman is seen as witness to all of the Four Functions of Mind, including Buddhi itself. 

Purifying Buddhi is the most important goal: How does this clarity come? It happens by removing the clouds of spiritual ignorance (avidya) that are blocking the wisdom of Buddhi. Thus, the most important goal of all practices is purifying Buddhi. 

      

Three freedoms

There are three freedoms that come sequentially over time through this purifying or clarity of Buddhi: 

·Actions: First is freedom from the bondage of actions. As Ahamkara and Chitta become less associated through the colorings such as attachment and aversions (kleshas), there is greater freedom in actions.  

·Thoughts: Second is freedom from the bondage of thoughts. The degree of the coloring further weekens through the process of un-clouding the Buddhi. 

·Ignorance: Third is freedom from the bondage of ignorance (avidya). In this final stage, Buddhi has become so completely clear that it is able to see through all of the process of false identity. 

  

Going Beyond the Mind 

Mind directs, influences, and goes outward: 

It is imperative that one become aware of the facts that: 

·   Mind controls: It is the mind that is in direct control of the senses, breath, and body. 

·   Mind goes outward: It is the mind that influences the senses and causes them to go out into the external world. 

·  Mind desires: It is the mind that desires to perceive the world through the senses and then to conceptualize and categorize those sense perceptions.

· It's all about training the mind: All sadhanas (spiritual practices), techniques, and disciplines are actually means to train the mind (all of the Four Functions of Mind). 

·  Train mind to go beyond itself: The most important part of the training is to make the mind aware that Reality lies beyond itself, and that this Reality is the eternal aspect of the Self or Soul.

·   Mind is the finest instrument: The mind is the finest instrument that we possess. If it is understood well, the mind can be helpful in our spiritual practices (sadhana). However, the mind must be well-ordered and disciplined. Otherwise, the mind can distract and dissipate all of our potentials.

What Is Meditation? 

Put a piece of iron rod in the blazing furnace. It becomes red like fire. Remove it. It loses its red colour. If you want to keep it always red, you must always keep it in fire. Even so, if you want to keep the mind charged with the fire of God realization goal, you must keep it always in contact or touch with the fire of knowledge through constant and intense meditation.

Leading a virtuous life is not by itself sufficient for God-realization. Concentration of mind is absolutely necessary. A good, virtuous life only prepares the mind as a fit instrument for concentration and meditation. It is concentration and meditation that eventually lead to Self-realization.

God has hidden Himself in this world (immanent) and is seated in the cave of the lotus of your heart. He is an absentee landlord. You will have to seek Him through concentration and meditation with a pure mind. This is the real play of hide and seek.

All the visible things are Maya. Maya will vanish through Jnana or meditation on Atman. One should exert himself to get rid of Maya. Maya havocs through the mind. Destruction of the mind means the annihilation of Maya. Nidhidhyasana is the only way for conquering Maya. Lord Buddha, Raja Bhartrihari, Dattatreya, Akhow of Gujarat - all had conquered Maya and mind through deep meditation only. Enter the silence. Meditate. Meditate. Solitude and intense meditation are two important requisites for Self-Realization.

Love.

Chinmayananda Saraswati

Manas Buddhi Chitta Ahamkara - Part 17

Buddhi

Buddhi should be the decision maker: In the factory of life, we want Buddhi to be making the choices for the factory. Otherwise, Manas gets its instructions from the habit patterns stored in Chitta, that are colored by Ahamkara, the Ego. Often, Buddhi is clouded over by all of the coloring and impressions in the Chitta. Thus, a major task of sadhana, spiritual practices, is to un-cloud the clouded Buddhi. Then, with clear choice one can ever improve the choices that lead to the fruits of spiritual practices.

Depth of Buddhi: On the more gross or surface levels of living and meditation, Buddhi is used as a tool for discrimination, as just described. However, when we get deep enough in meditation, we discover that it was the subtlest aspect of Buddhi that first started to see division in ourselves and the universe. In other words, although Buddhi is used as a tool for deepening experience in meditation, it was Buddhi who carved up the universe in the first place, seeing division where there is unity. To discriminate between Buddhi and pure consciousness is one of the final stages in the meditative journey.

Let us understand more clearly.

· Buddhi (Higher intellect/ discriminative intellect/ GM of the factory) may listen to Chitta / Ahamkara (foreman/ helpers) but the final decision / instruction for action should be from Buddhi (GM) to the Manas (supervisor).

· There is often a doubt/ question put up by the so called intellectuals who always believe in arguments and logics and less in intuitive experience. They ask/ tell “I see even a so called realized master/ yogi / incarnation behaving normally, acting normally, moving around normally, they also dress, they also eat, and they also sleep. Then what is the difference between them and me?”

· The main difference between the realized masters and a normal human being in the context of the above diagram flow is-

1.The realized masters have zero balance of impressions in their memory bank - Chitta.

2.The 1^st MBCA post started with the similarity between a child and a jnana explained by the supreme master Sri Ramana when he said- both have no impressions out of their actions.

3.They have annihilated avidya and realized that they are Divine; they have merged with the supreme God/ God Consciousness. So, with no avidya, there can be no asmita and therefore no raga/ dvesha to glorify their mistaken identity- asmita.

4.Thus, in the above diagram, 2 things are removed in their case- Ahamkara and Chitta

5.Whatever actions they undertake, other than their nitya karma of eating, sleeping etc. - those actions directly flow from Buddhi.

6.From Buddhi, actions are performed straight; they do not even require MIND to undertake actions. The Masters have stood as testimony/ living example to the divine call and they have DIED their MIND and exist as Diamond.

7.So, they undertake actions and then it ends there. There is no impressions/ impact of their actions to be carried forward to the memory bank as they have closed the account of their memory bank forever and there are no debit and credit entries – bad or good impressions in the memory bank which is closed permanently.

Who else but Swami can be taken as the best example, in his life in human form, for understanding the above points very clearly?

Can there be any Chitta>>> Samskara>>> Vasana>>> Vritti or Avidya>> Asmita>> Raga Dvesha/Abhnivesha which can ever influence Swami’s action??????

And, when His actions are just love, with His existence as Love in Action, can there be any impressions of his actions??

Actually, it is wrong to bring Swami to even the level of explaining the above but author has dared to do it because, he knows that when Swami’s example is taken, the reader can very easily co-relate, understand and possibly take in the lesson!!

Love.