Most people talk about physical and mental wellness as two separate entities. The mind is usually equated with the functions of the brain. What is the perspective of Yoga about this separation?
The science of Yoga does not see the brain as a separate identity from the body. The brain is just like any other organ of the body.
Ancient yogic texts discuss the mind as having four categories consisting of sixteen components, further divided into 84,000 components. Buddhi is one of four components. Buddhi is the discriminatory power or the intellect which allows us to conduct scientific inquiries. Analysis is a process of taking things apart to understand something better. Dissecting and analyzing is the opposite of the process of including and unifying. The intellect or Buddhi is essential, though the act of discriminatory power arises due to the presence of memory. Our memory makes us aware that eating a first donut is gratifying; eating a second is also just as gratifying. However, the memory allows us to remember that eating a fifth donut has diminishing returns – the donut no longer tastes good. Buddhi needs memory, and this aspect is necessary for survival.
Ahankara is the second category, and it is associated with identity. A simple thing such as a National Anthem or an image of a flag makes us evoke who we are. Ahankara is often mistranslated as ego, probably due to the ever-present shortage of English vocabulary that can describe Sanskrit terms and experiences. Ahankara is the component that enables the Buddhi to function. This means that the Buddhi – essential for survival – will always work to protect what we identify with – nationality, family, religion, race, ideology, and sense of self. This sense of identity makes humans do not-so-great things to people we do not necessarily identify with or include within our realm of identity. Again, according to Yoga, identifying with the above categories is a limited experience. A limited Ahankara creates a less than holistic Buddhi. Thus, identification with the unlimited – the Cosmos, Universality, and Interconnectedness are what Yoga teaches.
Manas, the third category, contains different dimensions of memory – elemental, atomic, evolutionary, karmic, conscious and unconscious memory, articulate and inarticulate memory. For example, our evolution from a single-celled organism to human birth is carried within ourselves in the form of memory. How we look today is a function of how our ancestors looked, ate, and lived. Memory is crucial as it enables survival and progeny. Our thoughts are possible from the already existing memory in our system. Innovative thoughts do not come by quickly, as thoughts are mainly derived from the existing storage. Memory is the basis for all existence, though memory is also a boundary. The way I differ from others is a function of memory, Ahankara, and Buddhi; therefore, Manas is still a limiting aspect of the mind according to Yoga.
Chitta is the fourth dimension, which is not tainted by memory. This means that any boundary does not limit Chitta. Chitta is pure intelligence. Here, intelligence, which is the discriminating power, is boundless. Chitta allows us to experience the Source of Creation. Therefore, Chitta is where we want to function and experience the wholesomeness that we are. Yoga Nidra and other meditative practices take us through envisioning the Chittakasha, which is where we experience being a witness. Thus, according to Yoga, the mind has multiple dimensions, and there is no such thing as the mind as we understand it from contemporary science. Currently, we pay too much attention to the intellect, which wishes to analyze everything that entails breaking. Joining, uniting, “yuj” in Sanskrit is what Yoga expounds.
According to Yoga, the mind is not separate from the body. The mind is just the mental body contained within the physical body. The goal of Yoga is to transcend beyond physical limitations.
Reference: Sadhguru Discourses.
Image credit: Tinybuddha.com, modified.