Cosmic anatomy : Wisdom and Ego

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Dear all,

 

here is an interesting quote of the following book :

 

enjoy !

 

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« AYURVEDA SECRETS OF HEALING »

Maya TIWARI

Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, Delhi

 

Also available via

 

1995 LOTUS PRESS, Division of Lotus Brands

P.O Box 325, Twin Lakes, W1 53181, USA

ISBN : 97881-208-2004-3

 

Chapter two

 

COSMIC ANATOMY

 

Part One

 

Wisdom and Ego : Buddhi and Ahamkara

 

Know the self as the chariot master

The body as the chariot.

Know the faculty of wisdom (buddhi)

As the charioteer

And the mind as the reins.

The senses are the horses

And the sense objects are the arena.

So say the sages.

 

Katha Upanishad III (3-4)

 

 

Our cosmic anatomy functions through two main channels of information: our

faculty of wisdom, called buddhi, and our intuitive ego, called ahamkara, which

is also the recorder of all memories. Buddhi's main function is to provide our

mind with its inner luminosity , which, in turn, directs our senses.

Contemporary humans, ignorant of the numinous force of buddhi, are almost

predominantly controlled by their sensory perceptions and, as a result, the mind

is enslaved.

 

BUDDHI: LIGHT OF THE MIND

 

Both ahamkara and buddhi are aspects of our antahkarana, psychic instrument;

however, the buddhi is far more pervasive by nature. Buddhi illumines the mind,

manas, which then directs the senses, indriyas. Without buddhi, both mind and

senses are just so much inert equipment. As well as being the light of the mind

and its senses, buddhi is also their life-force. Like all cosmic aspects within

human anatomy, the buddhi is the potential power that enables the human to learn

through knowledge, to practice through application, and to use this power as it

was intended. Buddhi functions through our use and will and its associate powers

of choice and self-reflection. The correct use of the trinity of buddhi, mind

and senses make it possible for us to accomplish stupendous feats. Used with

knowledge and reverence, the mind may enjoin the buddhi and its cognitive powers

and allow us to access our entire memory through all time and space. In deep

meditation, we are capable of engaging the deep breath of silence and inspiring

the subtle body to travel to the far ends of the seven worlds – according of the

Vedas, the earth is one of seven worlds comprising the universe. We may even

travel beyond the time barrier into timelessness. At the zenith of human

potential, we can dissolve all the manifestations of time-bound existence and

enter the immutable, infinite space of God.

 

AHAMKARA: RECORDER OF MEMORIES

 

Ahamkara is commonly viewed as the ego-self or the individual expressing itself

through experiences, limitations and so on; however, as part of the antahkarana,

psychic instrument, it functions as the recorder of memories.

 

Ahamkara's main function is to record the memories of our present of our present

and interphase them with cognitive memories retained from our past, as well as

with the collective or cosmic memories held by the universe. These three memory

functions of ahamkara occur simultaneously within each person.

 

Both buddhi and ahamkara are bequeathed to us from birth by the creator. These

main cosmic aspects are assigned to us as instruments of navigation as we pass

through each life. Ahamkara employs both the intuitive ego as well as prana, the

vital force. Essentially, it is the remembering self that holds the individual

memories of all lives.

 

The beads and the thread of a rosary provide a helpful analogy here; the thread

is the ahamkara or intuitive ego, and one of the beads on it represents a

present life. The rest of the beads on the thread of ahamkara are your past and

future lives. The rosary as a whole, being more than the sum of its parts, holds

the collective memories of all the lives of the individual passage, from

inception of the first birth, through all rebirths, to the final liberation from

the cycles of birth and death. The Vedas refer to liberation as moksha, a

liberation defined in the sacred lore as the ultimate aim of each living

organism, made possible only through human birth. Therefore, to be born of

humankind is considered to be the most sacred and courageous accomplishment any

species can achieve.