Q31: What are the pranas or the vital energies?
A31: The pranas are likewise faculties of the ego. They are five in number: prana, udana, vyana, apana and samana. They help in building the vital internal organs like the heart, the lungs and the kidneys, through which the pranas perform the three-fold function of maintaining the body viz. its build up, growth and sustenance. Since they also assist in the functioning of the sense-organs and the organs of action, the pranas are generally considered as being included in the two.
Q32: What is the nature of the mind?
A32: The mind is said to have two parts, one is called chitta and the other manas. The inner faculty which is directly related to the sense- organs and the organs of voluntary and involuntary action, and in fact rules over them as a master does over his servants is manas. The indriyas cannot perform their respective functions without the aid of manas. This is why when we are inattentive we cannot cognize any external object nor can we do any work.
Chitta is the seat of all conceptual and perceptual ideas and their samskaras (or latencies) while the aforesaid manas is the seat of samkalpana. Samkalpana includes volition, imagination and physical conation or krti. Willing is impossible without imagination. We cannot wish to go to a certain place without first visualizing it. After volition the manas comes down to the external organs and performs the desired work which is krti or physical conation. But imagination must be preceded by previous knowledge of the objects. So it requires samskaras or subliminal impressions (of previous cognitions) as well as recollection or smrti. Thus these are the functions of chitta.
Chitta and manas are used in many places to convey the same meaning.According to its functions (which are cognition, conation and retention) the mind is also divided into three parts: (1) chitta-vrtti or the various cognitions, (2) manas with its samkalpana or conation and (3) hrdaya or the store-house of all subliminal impressions.
Q33: What are the chitta-vrttis and how many are they?
A33: Chitta-vrttis are the cognized and modifications of the mind. They may be classified under five heads, viz. pramana or cognition or real objects, viparyaya or misapprehension (viparyaya is not merely misconception for it is misperception as well), vikalpa or vague conception by mere words without any real basis (such as negative terms and unreal predicative relations. Vikalpa is not imagination nor 'predicative relations', but it is the vague notion about unreal predicative relations of which it is not possible to form a mental image), nidra or the sleep-sense and smrti or recollection. A detailed account of the chitta-vrttis is to be found in the Yoga-sutras. Besides chitta-vrttis there is the samskara part of the mind.
Q34: What are samskaras or latencies?
A34: Every form of knowing whether conceptual or perceptual or a simple sensation leaves an impression on the mind and that subliminal impression which lies latent in the mind id called samskara. The impressions of cognitions are formed directly while the impressions of actions are effected by the sensations of the actions and are called the karma-samskaras. Thus is the three functions of the mind, sentience is dominant in cognition, activity in conation, and insentience in retention or subliminal conservation (sthiti) or both cognition and conation which thus become samskaras.
Q35: Which is the constituent cause of the mind?
A35: Like the other faculties, the mind also originates from the mutative ego. Feelings like 'I am the Knower' or 'I am possessed of the power of knowing and willing' are experienced by one and all. Every cognition as well as every mental activity like volition, imagination etc. is nothing but a modification of the ego. Cognition is that inner change or mutation of the ego in which sentience is dominant; where activity is dominant the change is known as conation while that change of the ego in which retention is dominant is known as samskara or the latency of the mind.
A31: The pranas are likewise faculties of the ego. They are five in number: prana, udana, vyana, apana and samana. They help in building the vital internal organs like the heart, the lungs and the kidneys, through which the pranas perform the three-fold function of maintaining the body viz. its build up, growth and sustenance. Since they also assist in the functioning of the sense-organs and the organs of action, the pranas are generally considered as being included in the two.
Q32: What is the nature of the mind?
A32: The mind is said to have two parts, one is called chitta and the other manas. The inner faculty which is directly related to the sense- organs and the organs of voluntary and involuntary action, and in fact rules over them as a master does over his servants is manas. The indriyas cannot perform their respective functions without the aid of manas. This is why when we are inattentive we cannot cognize any external object nor can we do any work.
Chitta is the seat of all conceptual and perceptual ideas and their samskaras (or latencies) while the aforesaid manas is the seat of samkalpana. Samkalpana includes volition, imagination and physical conation or krti. Willing is impossible without imagination. We cannot wish to go to a certain place without first visualizing it. After volition the manas comes down to the external organs and performs the desired work which is krti or physical conation. But imagination must be preceded by previous knowledge of the objects. So it requires samskaras or subliminal impressions (of previous cognitions) as well as recollection or smrti. Thus these are the functions of chitta.
Chitta and manas are used in many places to convey the same meaning.According to its functions (which are cognition, conation and retention) the mind is also divided into three parts: (1) chitta-vrtti or the various cognitions, (2) manas with its samkalpana or conation and (3) hrdaya or the store-house of all subliminal impressions.
Q33: What are the chitta-vrttis and how many are they?
A33: Chitta-vrttis are the cognized and modifications of the mind. They may be classified under five heads, viz. pramana or cognition or real objects, viparyaya or misapprehension (viparyaya is not merely misconception for it is misperception as well), vikalpa or vague conception by mere words without any real basis (such as negative terms and unreal predicative relations. Vikalpa is not imagination nor 'predicative relations', but it is the vague notion about unreal predicative relations of which it is not possible to form a mental image), nidra or the sleep-sense and smrti or recollection. A detailed account of the chitta-vrttis is to be found in the Yoga-sutras. Besides chitta-vrttis there is the samskara part of the mind.
Q34: What are samskaras or latencies?
A34: Every form of knowing whether conceptual or perceptual or a simple sensation leaves an impression on the mind and that subliminal impression which lies latent in the mind id called samskara. The impressions of cognitions are formed directly while the impressions of actions are effected by the sensations of the actions and are called the karma-samskaras. Thus is the three functions of the mind, sentience is dominant in cognition, activity in conation, and insentience in retention or subliminal conservation (sthiti) or both cognition and conation which thus become samskaras.
Q35: Which is the constituent cause of the mind?
A35: Like the other faculties, the mind also originates from the mutative ego. Feelings like 'I am the Knower' or 'I am possessed of the power of knowing and willing' are experienced by one and all. Every cognition as well as every mental activity like volition, imagination etc. is nothing but a modification of the ego. Cognition is that inner change or mutation of the ego in which sentience is dominant; where activity is dominant the change is known as conation while that change of the ego in which retention is dominant is known as samskara or the latency of the mind.
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