Mind and Intellect

[Guest guest]

Namaste

 

I would like to share some thoughts on the topic of the differences

between manas, buddhi, etc. on which some discussions are taking place.

The basic model suggested in hindu philosophy is as follows:

Sat – Chitt – Anand

Unmanifested knowledge (Sat) – Manifested Thoughts in Conciousness

(Chitta) – leading to the results or consequences of pain or pleasure

(Anand).

The thoughts manifest in the mind and hence Chitta is Mind.

Here the reference is to only one Mind (Chitta). Buddhi or intellect is

a subset of Mind. A thought is a carrier of data or information. The

word thought refers to the carrier and not the content. The content of

these thoughts which flow through the Mind (Chitta) are usually grouped

according to the guna of the the information it carries. They are of

five types -

Kshipta (Restless – rajas and tamas), Moodha (torpid - tamas), Vikshipta

(distracted – satwa with a touch of rajas), Ekaagra (concentrated -

satwa) and Niruddha ( tranquil - satwa).

When we see a train moving at a distance, all the compartments look

alike and we only enjoy the flow of these compartments on a winding

path. But when we see inside the compartments, the differences are

glaring. In some there may be fighting for space, in another all quiet

and sleeping, in another some thefts taking place etc. Now, our mind

gets affected by these happenings and start thinking about them and thus

these form a part of our memory. That is why in any meditation

exercise, they ask us to watch the thoughts flow without being affected

by the contents of the thoughts themselves. So “Memory’ is a part of

Chitta (Mind). The flow of thoughts also is a part of Chitta. Some of

the Ekaagra and Niruddha thoughts are “logic”, which is the basis for

discrimination. (Logic+Memory) is discriminatory skill. And this is

called intellect. So intellect is also a part of Chitta. In computer

language, these can be seen as (more to understand the concept only)

follows:

Chitta is the CPU (Mind)

Buddhi (Intellect) is the Logic of the CPU (Chitta)

Smriti (Memory) is the hard drive storage in the CPU (Chitta)

Manas (Mind) is the RAM of the CPU (Chitta) where the thought flow takes

place.

In other words, it is the function and nature of the thought that decide

whether it is manas, buddhi or smriti.

 

Some argue that when child is born he/she is ‘thoughtless’, in the sense

that the mind is empty. This cannot be, since the child starts crying at

the very moment of birth which is a sign of pain. This can happen only

if the child’s mind has already some thoughts pre-programed. We call

them as vasanas which form the basic operating system for the mind to

function. Hindu philosophers called these thoughts as ‘sookshma sareera’

(subtle body) meaning that these thoughts are part of the body. Modern

research seems to suggest the physical existence of of thought and

memory through out the body stored in chemicals (Meditation as Medicine

by Dharma Singh Khalsa M.D, Page 15). That proves the possibility of

being born with vasanas which govern our lives.

 

S.Chandran