scribd Four-Functions-of-Mind Swami Jnaneshvara, toga sutras
Document outline
Coordinating the Four Functions of Mind
Explores how the four functions of mind—manas, chitta, buddhi, ahamkara—work cohesively for self-awareness and meditation.
Discrimination and Self-Realization
Discusses the importance of discrimination in self-realization and meditation.
Understanding the Four Functions
Explores the individual roles and interactions of the four mind functions in depth.
Mind Observations and Witnessing
Delves into observing mind functions directly and promoting heightened awareness through structured practice.
Exploring the Four Spokes
Explores specific aspects such as manas and chitta regarding mind observation.
Ego and Self in Yoga Practice
Explains the role of ego (ahamkara) and higher mind (buddhi) in achieving true self-awareness.
Two Uses of Ego
Utilizes metaphors to explain the influence and application of ego in yoga.
The Ten Senses in Meditation
Covers the integration of ten senses (indriyas) for deeper yogic insight and meditation practice.
Observing Thoughts Flow
Outlines processes for witnessing thoughts without attachment or distraction.
Stages and Integration of Meditation
Explores process-oriented stages of meditation and mindfulness practices.
Weaken the Grip
Discusses releasing attachment to samskaras through meditation techniques.
Karma, Samskaras, and Freedom
Explores the cycle of karma and samskaras, offering methods to reduce negative patterns and find inner freedom.
Uncoloring Your Thoughts
Offers techniques for observing and neutralizing colored thoughts to break karmic cycles.
Coordinating the Four Functions of Mind
Q: What is the one stance from which one canwitness all of the Four Functions of Mind and theway in which senses, body, breath, and mind operate together?A: It is the Self, the Atman. To know that Self is the reason the Yogi does self-awareness andself-training. That Self is like the still center of a wheel, where the four spokes are the FourFunctions of Mind that operate the external wheel in the world.The four functions of mindare like spokes on a wheel.The wheel engages theworld, while the centerremains still.There are Four Functions of Mind:
•
Manas = sensory, processing mind
•
Chitta = storage of impressions
•
Ahamkara = "I-maker" or Ego (2 Egos)
•
Buddhi = knows, decides, judges, and discriminates
The aspirant should:
•
Understand each function individually.
•
Coordinate them all with one another.
Discrimination and Self-Realization
An important part of meditation
: When reading about the Four Functions of Mind, it cansound like this is merely an intellectual study. It is not. Witnessing the Four Functions of Mind isan important part of Yoga meditation.
Observing and discriminating betweenthe Four Functions of Mindis a key to Self-realization.
Discriminating between the four functions
: This is one of the most profound self-awarenesspractices of the ancient Himalayan sages. This Yoga practice is just as profoundly useful today asit was thousands of years ago. The process is one of self-observation, and graduallydiscriminating between these four aspects of the inner instrument, so as to attain the directexperience of the Center of Consciousness from which all of our thoughts, emotions, andexperiences arise on various degrees and grades.
Actively observe the four as they are operating
: That Center is the Witness of these FourFunctions of Mind. Ultimately, one comes to know that the only stance from which these can befully observed is that of the Center itself. In Yoga meditation, the simple act of attempting toobserve these Four Functions,
as they function
, is the key to the practice.
Mind is like Four Spokes on a WheelLike four spokes of a wheel
: The Four Functions of Mind are like four spokes that drive thewheel to operate in the external road of life.
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•
At the moment operating
: Observe the Four Functions of Mind at the
moment
they areoperating.
•
Independently
: Observe the Four Functions of Mind
independently
of one another.
•
As they interact
: Observe the Four Functions of Mind as they
interact
with one another.While this can take some time to learn, it is extremely fruitful when practiced for a while. Itbecomes very easy and natural to observe our actions, speech, and thoughts. It bringsheightened awareness and a sense of inner peace.
Exploring the Four Spokes of Mind
Manas
Manas, the lower mind
:
Manas
is the lower mind, through which the mind interacts with theexternal world and takes in sensory impressions and data.
Manas
questions and doubts, whichcan cause great difficulties if this tendency becomes excessive.Manas is the direct supervisorof the sensesin the inner factory.
Manas is supervisor of the senses
:
Manas
is like the supervisor in the factory of life, anddirects theten senses or Indriyas.
Manas
does a wonderful job of carrying out directions, but it
is not supposed to be the key decision maker in the factory. That is the job of
Buddhi
.If
Buddhi
is clouded, then
Manas
has a habit of continuing to question, seeking good instruction.Then it often listens to whoever is speaking the loudest in the factory, which is the wants,wishes, desires, attractions, and aversions stored in the memory bank of
Chitta
.
Be mindful of actions and speech
: A good way to cultivate the witnessing of
Manas
is to bemindful of actions and speech, as well as your senses of smelling, tasting, seeing, touching, andhearing. By observing these, you come to see how
Manas
is the one
behind
these actions andsenses. Thus,
Manas
is like the supervisor of the employees in a factory.
Manas
is not the boss,but the supervisor, who is giving the direct orders to the active and cognitive senses.Chitta
Chitta is the memory bank
:
Chitta
is the memory bank, which stores impressions andexperiences, and while it can be very useful,
Chitta
can also cause difficulties if its functioning isnot coordinated with the others.Chitta is the storage placeof the countless latent impressions.
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Coordinating Chitta
: If
Chitta
is not coordinated with the other functions of mind, then thethousands, millions, or countless impressions in this bed of the lake of mind start to stir andarise. It is as if these many latent impressions, coming to life are all competing for the attentionof
Manas
to carry out their wants in the external world. In the absence of a clear
Buddhi
, thecompeting voices of
Chitta
often drive
Manas
to take actions in the world that are really not souseful.
Witnessing Chitta
: A good way to cultivate the witnessing of
Chitta
is to simply be aware ofthe streams of thoughts, emotions, images, and impressions that arise in front of
Manas
(onwhich
Manas
may or may not act). Notice how the stream of thoughts comes from somewhere,and then recedes back into that same place. This place is
Chitta
.
Yoga Sutras
: In the Yoga Sutras, the term
Yoga
is defined with inclusion of the word
Chitta
,as
Yogash chitta vritti nirodhah
(See Yoga Sutra1.2). Throughout the Yoga Sutras, theword
chitta
is used many times. By taking a quick look at those usages, the meaningof
chitta
becomes clearer.Ahamkara
Ahamkara is “I-am-ness,”
:
Ahamkara
is the sense of "I-am-ness," the individual Ego, whichfeels itself to be a distinct, separate entity. It provides identity to our functioning,but
Ahamkara
also creates our feelings of separation, pain, and alienation as well.Ahamkara is the strong wavethat declares "I am"
Ahamkara takes on partners
: This wave of "I-am-ness" called
Ahamkara
then aligns itself orforms partnerships with the data or impressions in
Chitta
(causing them to be colored,orklishta), and, in turn, with
Manas
, which then responds to the desires being sought by this"individuality." Meanwhile, Buddhi, the deep aspect, which knows, decides, and discriminates,remainsclouded. Thus, it is said that purifying (orun-clouding) buddhi is a most important task
in the path of meditation and Self-realization.
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Witnessing the coloring by Ahamkara
: A good way to cultivate the witnessingof
Ahamkara
is to be aware of the fact that rising thoughts and emotions are often colored witheither attraction or aversion. The attraction or aversion may be strong, or it may be so weakthat it is barely noticeable. Noticing the weak ones can be very insightful as to the subtletyof
Ahamkara's
coloring (It's much easier to neutrally witness the weak ones at first).Buddhi
Buddhi is higher mind
:
Buddhi
is the higher aspect of mind, the door-way to inner wisdom.The word
Buddhi
itself comes from the root
budh
, which means
one who hasawakened
.
Buddhi
has the capacity to decide, judge, and make cognitive discriminations anddifferentiations. It can determine the wiser of two courses of action, if it functions clearly andif
Manas
will accept its guidance.Buddhi is cultivated as thedecision makerin the factory of life.
Buddhi should be the decision maker
: In the factory of life, we want
Buddhi
to be makingthe choices for the factory. Otherwise,
Manas
gets its instructions from the habit patterns storedin
Chitta
, that are colored by
Ahamkara
, the Ego. Often,
Buddhi
isclouded over by all of thecoloring and impressions in the
Chitta
. Thus, a major task of sadhana, spiritual practices, istoun-cloud the clouded
Buddhi
. Then, with clear choice one can ever improve the choices thatlead to the fruits of spiritual practices.
Depth of Buddhi
: On the more gross or surface levels of living and meditation,
Buddhi
is usedas a tool for discrimination, as just described. However, when we get deep enough inmeditation, we discover that it was the subtlest aspect of
Buddhi
that first started to see divisionin ourselves and the universe. In other words, although
Buddhi
is used as a tool for deepeningexperience in meditation, it was
Buddhi
who carved up the universe in the first place, seeingdivision where there is unity. To discriminate between
Buddhi
and pure consciousness is one ofthe final stages in the meditative journey.
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primordial spiritual energy. However, there is a form of shakti that comes first, before kundalinishakti, and that is
sankalpa
shakti, which is the shakti of
determination
. It is that strongcommitment on the spiritual journey that says, "I can do it! I will do it! I have to do it!" This isnone other than the positive application of the force of Ahamkara, or ego. It is not a negativething, which needs to die. Rather, it is a positive, essential tool, which needs to be trained,cultivated, and utilized on the inner journey.This mistaken identity, and the process of un-coloring is a foundation principle of Yoga, and isthe core of the practices described in the first few sutras of theYoga Sutras (1.1-1.4).
Three freedoms
There are three freedoms that come sequentially over time through this purifying or clarityof
Buddhi
:
•
Actions
: First is freedom from the bondage of actions. As
Ahamkara
and
Chitta
becomeless associated through the colorings such as attachment and aversions (kleshas), there isgreater freedom in actions.
•
Thoughts
: Second is freedom from the bondage of thoughts. The degree of the coloringfurther furtherattenuates 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 theprocess 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 outinto the external world.
•
Mind desires
: It is the mind that desires to perceive the world through the senses andthen to conceptualize and categorize those sense perceptions.
It's all about training the mind
: All sadhanas (spiritual practices), techniques, and disciplinesare 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 mindaware that Reality lies beyond itself, and that this Reality is the eternal aspect of the Self orSoul.
Mind is the finest instrument
: The mind is the finest instrument that we possess. If it isunderstood well, the mind can be helpful in our spiritual practices (sadhana). However, the mindmust be well-ordered and disciplined. Otherwise, the mind can distract and dissipate all of ourpotentials.
Levels of consciousness
: The Four Functions of Mind operate at thevarious levels ofconsciousness. In thewaking state of consciousness, the four operate. In thedreaming state,
the four operate. In thedeep sleep state, the four functions become less active, as if they are
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partially receding back into the latent part of mind, the
Chitta
from which all of the activityarises in the dreaming and waking states.
Experience the truth beyond the four functions
: It is necessary that one learntoobserve,understand, andtrain the functions of mind at the various levels of consciousness.Then, eventually, one can experience that Truth which is beyond all of the functions of mind andbeyond the levels of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep.
Intentionally Inviting Thoughts: Being a Ticket Taker
For Yoga meditation, one learns to let the thoughts “flow without interruption.” However,something comes first,
before
we can neutrally witness the entire stream of thoughtsflowing. (See the page onwitnessing)
First
we need to practice with
individual
thoughts, consciously practicing allowing some singlethought to arise, just so we can observe the way in which it naturally drifts away, returning tothe still, silent place from which it arose.
There is a strong temptation to just block all of the thoughts by focusing on some object, or bychanting a mantra. This is
a serious mistake
for a meditator to make. It puts a veil, or maybebetter to say a wall between our conscious state and the deeper parts of our being, including thebliss we are seeking and the center of consciousness. What can start out as an effort to meditateends up just another method of suppressing thoughts and emotions, and this is definitely notuseful.What we want to do here is to sit quietly, breath smoothly, and then from within our mind field,intentionally allow some random thought impression to arise. Usually what happens is that wedon’t even notice these single impressions come up, and then we get caught in a long train ofthinking process. Next thing we know, we have a headache!
Here, we want to catch the thought, spot it, or detect it as it arises. This is actually quitefascinating to notice the way in which a single thought pattern breaks through from theunconscious into our conscious field. The object may be something very simple and mundane,such as a piece of fruit, some object around your house, or a scenic view you saw some timeago.It does not matter what the object is--just
allow the image to arise
on its own. Also, it doesnot matter whether you literally “see” with your inner eye or not. Whether you “see” or do not “see” with your inner eye, you still are well aware of what images or impressions are arising.The next part, which is quite intriguing to observe is to allow that thought to go, to
let it driftright back
to the silent, still place from which it arose in the first place. This is not somecomplicated meditation practice. Anyone can do this, and will gain tremendous insight from thepractice, if done regularly as a foundation practice of meditation.You will come to see that if we allow it, it is quite natural for these thought patterns to do
twothings
:
1.
It is natural for them to arise, and
2.
It is natural for them to gently fall back to the place from which they arose.
We usually engage
that single thought pattern and turn it into a whole train of thoughtpatterns, as if we are all Hollywood movie producers in our mental stage. That single impression
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arises, and then off we go! More and more thought impressions get drawn into the drama, andalong comes our emotional reactions as well. (Here, we are not being critical of thoughts andemotions and their exploration. These can definitely have a useful place as adjuncts tomeditation, but here we are talking of a specific practice related to Yoga meditation.)With a little experimentation we can learn that it really is easy to just let the thought drift away,and not turn it into a movie. This letting go is a skill unto itself. Learning to literally let go of athought is a far superior skill than some technique of getting rid of, or blocking thoughts andemotions.
Imagine you are a ticket taker
at a theater, and that there is a long line of people cominginto the theater. What do you do as a ticket taker? Is it not true that when a person comes tohand you their ticket, you greet them in a friendly way? You are open to them, and acknowledgethem with a gesture, a few words, or maybe both. But how do you get them to go on into thetheater? Or, for that matter, do you need to do anything to get them to go into the theater?Isn’t it true that they will generally just go on into the theater on their own?
So what is the action that you would naturally do as a ticket taker, when you have just taken thelast persons ticket? Wouldn’t you turn to the next person in line, and maybe
say “Next!”
as yougreeted, accepted, and acknowledged that person as well? The previous person will just moveon, automatically. This is exactly what we can do with those individual thoughts standing in lineto come forward into consciousness when we sit for meditation.
To have an attitude of quieting thoughts by stopping them would be like stopping the line oftheatergoers from coming in the door. They might get pretty upset and start to cause trouble.Instead of having the attitude of getting rid of thoughts, have an attitude of inviting them tocome,
“Next…. Next…. Next….”
Then let them go by.This literally can be practiced, one individual thought at a time. This can be done without havingan object on which you are meditating. You just sit there and invite the thoughts, one at a time,to come forward, so that you can observe them come, and can then observe the beautiful way inwhich they go, on their own.
Or, the practice can be done while at the same time remembering your object on which you aretrying to focus for meditation, whether that be breath, an internal image, or a mantra.It is the skill itself, the art of letting go that we are trying to learn. It is an ability that few of ushave ever been trained to do, but can we can train ourselves in this extremely useful skill.As this skill of learning to witness and let go of thought patterns is developed, it becomes moreclear how this goes along with the practice of concentrating the mind. Then, instead of theconcentration being a means of suppressing thoughts and emotions, and thus preventingmeditation,
concentration and witnessing work together
. The mind is concentrated, whileat the same time the field of consciousness is expanded from a witnessing stance, and deepermeditation is experienced.
Witnessing Your Thoughtsin Yoga Practice
by Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati
Witnessing the flow of mind
: Witnessing your thoughts is a most important aspect of Yogapractice. Witnessing the thought process means to be able to observe the natural flow of themind, while not being disturbed or distracted. This brings a peaceful state of mind, which allows
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the deeper aspects of meditation and samadhi to unfold, revealing that which is beyond, which is