Human mind: Antahkarana-Chatushtya

Human mind: 

Antahkarana-Chatushtya

Human mind:

Western culture looks at the mind as one single unit. But Indian philosophy categorizes the human mind into 4 parts. These categories are 

1.Manas 

Sensory mind. Faculty driven by emotions of like and dislike (räga dvesa)

2.Chitta 

Subconscious mind, Singularity of all reality and conscience. Pure Awareness  in Chidākāsha 

3.Buddhi 

Intellect, discriminative faculty, reasoning, Viveka

4. Ahamkara 

Egoism, Sense of Self , Self proclaimed identity (Ego center)

and they are collectively known as  Antahkarana-Chatushtya or Chatushtya-karanas. These are the four parts of the mind for the Yogi to harness and transcend.  Normally these four parts of the mind work in coordination with each other to let us experience the world around us. But while transcending the mind to unite with Universal Consciousness these have to be conquered one after another in deep meditation.

Imagine them as four spokes on a wheel. The wheel rotates to, give us perceptions of the reality, whereas the core Aham remains still. Mind is compared to a chariot that is pulled in different directions by the horses yoked to it, with the horses representing the senses. The mind is the driver who holds the reins, but next to the mind sits the master of the chariot – the true observer chitta of the the self, the Aham or individual consciousness.

1. Manas –  Manas, (Sanskrit: “thought”) which keeps the memory of events and experiences. in Indian philosophy, the human mind is  that faculty which coordinates sensory impressions before they are presented to the individual consciousness.

Manas, is the basic part of the mind, associated with  getting the  external information in the system. Its function is to understand and decide the important and necessary sensory information to pass to the internal system. Manas has the ability to question and also doubt, which sometimes may lead to mental difficulties.The subconscious mind is far more powerful than the conscious mind and can process huge quantities of information that come via the five senses and translate them back to the brain in the blink of an eye. We are aware of only tiny fraction of the thinking that goes on in our minds, and we can control only a tiny part of our conscious thoughts. The vast majority of our thinking efforts goes on subconsciously. Only one or two of these thoughts are likely to breach into our consciousness at a time

Generally considered similar to the brain in its function, Manas is a controller of the 5 sensory organs and 5 organs of action. It guides the mind. However, Manas does not have the authority to take the final decision, it relies largely on the mechanisms of Buddhi or Intellect. Since it is in charge of the sensory organs, Manas is easy prey for our desires, wishes, attractions, and aversions.

2. Chitta – Chitta is the observer of individual consciousness which is born out with soul & ends up on Ahamkara. It lets 'a thought' enter in Manas through senses and then process the thought by intellect (Buddhi) & finally generate an 'I' sense (Ahamkara). Chitta primarily represents  basic state of individual mind on which thoughts play. Chitta is a Sanskrit  word which means the consciousness of the individual human mind which makes us aware of our thoughts. 

Chitta is the most important part of our mind which is related to consciousness. Think of the mind as a magnetic plate. Now, whatever comes and goes off this plate, which makes us aware of those objects (thoughts, memories, feelings, sensations, and environments) is Chitta.

Chitta in yoga is that property of the mind which makes us aware of the objects, sense perceptions, actions whether we are in a waking or dream state or sleeping state at  conscious  or subconscious or  unconscious level.

- ✍️ Dr Prema Pangi