Hari OM
'Text-days' are for delving into the
words and theory of Advaita Vedanta.
TATTVABODHAH.
[You are reminded that reviewing the
previous week's posts will become essential as the meanings of the Sanskrit
terms may not be repeated. There may come additional or alternative meanings,
but all should be noted. As study progresses, the technical terms must
necessarily become 'second nature' to the student. When the Sanskrit is used,
the translation will fall easily into place - or likewise, if the English is
used, the Sanskrit term must easily come forwards.]
Please revisit THIS post and chant the mangala-charana. Please use the
TattvabodaH label to access all posts relevant to this text.
(The vid-clip begins with the praanamaya chant from last week.)
पञ्च-कोशाः /pancha-koshaaH - the five sheaths,
cont'd.
The following two are so closely related that they are being given
together.
मनोमयः कोशः /manomayaH koshaH - the mental sheath.
मनोमयः कोशः कः
मनश्च ज्ञनेन्द्रियपञ्चकं मिलित्वा
यो भवति सः मनोमयः कोशः।
manomayaH
koshaH kaH
manashcha
GYanendriyapa~nchakaM militvaa
yo
bhavati saH manomayaH koshaH.
"What is manomaya
?"
"The mind and the five organs of perception together form the
mental sheath."
विज्ञानमय कोशः /vijnaanamaya koshaH - the
intellectual sheath.
विज्ञानमयः कः
बुद्धिर्ज्ञानेन्द्रियपञ्चकं मिलित्वा
यो भ्वति सः विज्ञानमयः कोशः।
viGYaanamayaH
kaH
buddhirGYaanendriyapa~nchakaM
militvaa
yo bhvati
saH viGYaanamayaH koshaH.
"What is vijnaanamaya
?"
"The intellect and the five organs of perception together is
the intellectual sheath."
At first glance it may be thought exactly the same answer is given
for both - and in the English translation it could said to be so. However, it
must be remembered that Sanskrit is multidimensional in a way that many
languages, and English in particular, are not. If you glance again at the
Sanskrit (transliteration) you will note that for vijnaana, there is a single
prefix to the 'organs' reference, that being 'buddiH'.
In reference to 'mind' then, it is a simple functioning of the
organs which is being referenced, but in the case of the intellect, by adding
this prefix, the inference is that from the function of those same organs,
there is a higher function; that of assessment and anlaysis.
The mind is the seat of emotions like anger, jealousy, love,
compassion; it is constituted of thoughts in a state of volition, for example
"Shall I read or not?.. Is it fun or not?..." It is the mind which
perceives the objective world through the senses (indriyas). If the mind does
not back the indriyas, they cannot receive the stimuli. "My eyes may be
open, but I have not seen what has happened"… how often have we realised
that we haven't heard or seen something due to the mind being 'absent' rather
than present in the moment?!
Identified with the mental sheath, the sakshi "I" will say
"I am happy/unhappy/growing old/getting deaf…" The True Self is
neither happy nor unhappy. It is of the nature of pure bliss.
Meanwhile, the vijnaana (intellectual) part of us is subtler and
pervades the preceding koshas. It is firmly associated with mind, but is able
to take the stimuli presented via the manomaya and apply decision making. Here
at the intellectual level, the sakshi can begin to appreciate "I am
infinite… "I" am pure happiness… "I" am not the
physical…" et cetera. The intellect is the seat of the values of life
which inform our daily lives. What we value we try to emulate. If money is
valued most, all efforts will be made to obtain and satisfy what measures up to
the ideal which we have. If we value family above all else, we will
sacrifice for that family. The intellect discriminates between right and wrong,
real and unreal and so forth. To innovate, create, discover, visualise, and to
imagine, are all faculties of the vijnaanamaya kosha. The mind carries the
sense perceptions to the intellect. Based on previous experience, it
recognises, understands and decides on the course of action. It conveys the
same back via manomaya to the karmendriyani (organs of action) and the body is
operated. Hence the intellect is called the driver of this 'vehicle'.
The vital air, mental and intellectual sheaths together form the
subtle body. The key difference between mind and intellect, then, whilst they
are essentially the same, is that 'mind feels' whilst 'intellect thinks'. Mind
orders the body's reactions, which is why, when there is strong emotion of
grief or joy, it activates the heart to pump harder and we are inclined to
refer to things 'clutching our heart', or if it is fear or anxiety, we 'feel'
it in our abdomen and say that 'my tummy's full of butterflies' - but clear
analysis shows that the physical organ of the heart, or the guts, can only
function according to what the mind is ordering and therefore, in Vedanta,
whenever 'heart' or 'emotion' are discussed, it is in reference to manomaya
kosha. Corrective actions to overcome the emotions is the function of the
intellect.
