The Analysis Of Three Aspects of Mind

A concise summary of Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 3 Chapter 26

Lord Kapila, an incarnation of the Supreme Lord, the son of Sage Kardama and Devahuti advocated the philosophy of Samkhya to his mother who was inquisitive about liberation from matter. Samkhya provides analysis of the material elements in this Universe and its difference from the spirit soul.

Samkhya philosophy addresses the Spirit Soul as Purusha whereas Vedanta addresses it as Atma. The 2 core concepts of Samkhya philosophy are Purusha and Prakriti representing Spirit Soul and Matter respectively.

It is interesting to know that the Mind is actually a product of Prakriti (matter). It is a subtle form of matter and has no physical existence. It plays a critical role in either swaying the Spirit Soul towards liberation or encasement in the material body.

The Spirit Soul (Purusha) is a part of the Super Soul (Purushottama). While the Super Soul is conscious of the entire existence, the Spirit Soul is conscious of its body. The Spirit Soul brings consciousness to the material body. The matter is not alive by itself.

The three aspects of the Mind are:

1. Buddhi: The Intellect

2. Manas: The Memory

3. Ahamkara: The Sense of Identity

Above these three is Chitta, the Consciousness which is a symptom of the Spirit Soul and is untouched by matter. One can purify the intellect with Jnana (spiritual knowledge), memory with Bhakti (devotion) and develop the right sense of identity as the Spirit Soul with Dhyana (meditation).

As commonly understood, Jnana, Bhakti and Dhyana are not three different paths but rather different aspects of the self realization process.

• The presiding deity for Buddhi is Pradyumna i.e. Maha Vishnu.

• The presiding deity for Manas is Aniruddha

• The presiding deity for Ahamkara is Sankarshan i.e. Rudra

• The presiding deity for Chitta is Vasudeva

One can make these deities as their object of meditation to purify the mind. This is called Chatur-Vyuha meditation. Some people refer to this meditation as Chit Shakti meditation.

When the Buddhi, Manas and Ahamkara are purified, then the Spirit Soul’s consciousness connects directly with the Supreme Consciousness, Vasudeva. Vasudeva is also the name of Sri Krishna because Lord Krishna is the embodiment of Supreme Consciousness.