Concept of Mind in the Major Upanishads
by Gisha K. Narayanan | 2018 | 35,220 words
This page relates ‘The Characteristics of mind’ of the study on the concept of Mind as found in the Major Upanishads: the philosophical backbone of the four Vedas. This study explores the various characteristics and psychological aspects of the mind (described by the Seers of ancient India thousands of years ago) including awareness (samjna), understanding (vijnana) and knowledge (prajnana).
1. The Characteristics of mind
It is commonly thought that manas or mind is a compendium of the cognitive faculties of consciousness, perception, thinking, judgment, memory, etc. Which lead to a state of awareness, organization, identification, interpretation, decision ‐ making. The concept of mind in Indian philosophy can be presented at different levels that are differentiated by the area of epistemology, psychology and philosophy. Mind is also connected by the terms in human life like desire, aversion, pleasure, pain, intelligence, thought etc. It acts in a similar way as the functions of sense organs. The functions of mind are to store the all the impressions that we receive from our experiences and our activities. All our activities leave their impressions on the mind. These activities are performed with the help of the sense organs. Such impressions are within us.
In Western psychology mind has only limited concepts. But all the Indian philosophies give a detailed description on the nature of mind. Upaniṣadic seers declared about the mind, three thousand years ago, that the self is the substratum of all experiences.
One of the characteristics of mind as mentioned in the Vājasaneya Saṃhitā is the concept, ‘mind as a whole’. Mind is antaḥkaraṇa. It includes sense organs.
The characteristics of mind are elucidated through a number of concepts namely,
- awareness (saṃjñā),
- comprehension (ajñāna [ajñānaṃ]),
- understanding (vijñāna [vijñānaṃ]),
- knowledge (prajñāna [prajñānaṃ]),
- retentiveness (medā),
- insight (dṛṣṭi [dṛṣṭiḥ]),
- resolution (dhṛti [dhṛtiḥ]),
- opinion (mati [matīḥ]),
- memory (smṛti [smṛtīḥ]),
- reflection (manīṣā),
- impulse (jūti [jūtiḥ]),
- will (saṃkalpa),
- purpose (kṛtuḥ),
- life (asuḥ),
- desire (kāma) and
- control (vaśa).
The Bhagavad Gītā explains the mind as sensational, strong, consistent; and the control of mind is as the irrepressible in the case of air. So the mind is uncontrolled and unstable.
But mind can be attained by practice. It says:
cañcalaṃ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇapramāthi balavaddṛḍham tasyāhaṃ nigrahaṃ manyevāyoriva suduṣkaram |
asaṃśayaṃ mahābāho mano durnnigrahaṃ calaṃ abhyāsenatukaunteyavairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyate |
asaṃyatātmanā yogoduṣprāpa iti me matiḥ vaśyātmanātu yatatāśakyo'vāptumupāyataḥ || [1]
It explains the peripheral aspects of mind which are difficult to control; and the expressive word vāyoriva is apt i.e., the wind has nothing centralized about it. Yoga is a restrained form of outgoing tendencies. There are the needs for vairāgya or dispassion and abhyāsa or practice for bringing the mind under control.
Śrī Śankara says in his bhāṣyā:-
abhyāsena tu abhyāso nāma cittabhūmaukasyāṃcit samānapratyayāvṛttiḥ cittasya |
vairāgyeṇa vairāgyaṃ nāma dṛṣṭādṛṣṭeṣṭabhogeṣu deṣadarśanābhyāsāt vaitṛṣṇyam |
tena ca vairāgyeṇagṛhyatevikṣeparūpeṇa pracāraḥ cittasya |
evaṃ tat manaḥ gṛhyatenigṛhyatenirudhyateityarthaḥ || [2]
These are also denoted in the Pañcadaśi by Vidhyāraṇya Muni.
By practice it is more difficult to curb the mind just as to drink the whole ocean or to dislodge the mountain or to eat fire:
apyabdhipānānmahataḥ sumerūnmūlanādapi api vahnyāśanātsādho viṣamaścittanigrahaḥ || [3]
Footnotes and references:
[2]:
Bhagavad Gītā Bhāṣyā of Śrī Śankara -VI.34
[3]:
Pañcadaśi of Vidhyāraṇya Muni -VII.121