The fourfold functions of the mind :
The human mind has four basic functions. This can be illustrated by an example: suppose I meet a person whom I had met somewhere, say, about ten years before. I try to recollect when and where I met him and who is he. From the inner recesses of my mind there begins a process of scanning, as it were, to check if there are any events stored there connected with the person. Suddenly I am able to recognize the person as so and so and finally say ’he is the same person I met in such and such a place,’ etc. I now have a firm knowledge about the person.
Analysing the above example, we are able to discern four functions of the mind:
Memory :
The storehouse of memory and impressions of our past experiences presents various possibilities before the mind. This storehouse is called chitta. It is in this storehouse that the impressions of our thoughts and actions—good and bad—are stored. The sum total of these impressions determine our character. This chitta, again, is what is known as our subconscious mind.
Deliberation and Conceptualization :
Not yet sure, the mind examines the many options presented before it. It deliberates on several things. This faculty of the mind is called manas. Imagination and formation of concepts are also functions of the manas.
Determination and Decision-making :
Buddhi is the faculty responsible for decisionmaking. It has the capacity to judge the pros and cons of things and find what is more desirable. It is also the discriminative faculty in a person, which enables him to discriminate between the real and the unreal, between what is to be done and what is to be avoided, what is morally right and what is wrong. It is also the seat of will-power so essential for personality development and hence this aspect of the mind concerns us the most.
’I’ Consciousness :
Appropriating to oneself all physical and mental activities eg, ‘I eat’, ‘I see’, ‘I talk’, ‘I hear’, ‘I think’, ‘I am confused’, etc., is called ahamkara or ’I’ consciousness. As long as the ’I’ identifies itself with the undisciplined body-mind complex, human life is dictated by events and circumstances of the world; we become happy with pleasurable events, and miserable with adverse circumstances. More the mind gets refined and disciplined, more does one get to know the real source of ’I’ consciousness. Correspondingly, a person becomes more balanced and equipoised in his daily life. Such a person is no longer swayed by any event or circumstances of life. These four aspects of the mind, viz manas, buddhi, chitta and ahamkara, are not watertight compartments. It is the same mind called by different names based on its functions.
More about the mind :
The Katha Upanishad3 describes human personality with the help of a chariot allegory. ’Our ’I’ is represented by the master of the chariot; the body is the chariot and the buddhi the charioteer. The manas is represented by the reins to which are yoked the horses representing the sense organs—ears, skin, eyes, tongue and nose—which are the five windows in a human being that give him or her the knowledge of objects in the world. The road on which the chariot travels is represented by the sense objects. The human being who identifies himself or herself with this body-mind system is said to be the enjoyer of objects or the fruits of actions.
If the horses are not broken and if the charioteer is asleep, the chariot cannot reach its destination. It can even overturn and spell the death of the master. Similarly, if the sense organs are not disciplined, and if the power of discrimination lies dormant, one cannot reach the goal of human life.
On the other hand, if the horses are broken and the charioteer is wide-awake, the chariot reaches its destination. Even so, if the buddhi is wide awake, and if the sensory system together with the mind is disciplined and controlled, a human being can reach the goal of his life. What is that goal? We will come to it shortly. Another important activity of the mind that concerns personality development is our emotions. More the emotions are under control, healthier becomes one’s personality. Emotions can be broadly classified into two types, viz attraction and repulsion. Love, admiration, aspiration, sympathy, joy, veneration, pride and the like indicate attraction. Hate, anger, fear, sorrow, jealousy, disgust, shame, etc., are of the nature of repulsion. As long as one is entangled with the undisciplined mind, one’s personality does not really develop. Buddhi, the charioteer, serves as an effective instrument of self-development by controlling the emotions and raising the higher self from the hold of the lower mind.
Continued ..................
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