Q: What is Anthakarana or the inner organ?
Let us contemplate on ‘Anthakarana’, or inner organ, today. The ‘Anthakarana’ or inner organ, uses the vehicle called the body to experience the world. You can visualize the inner organ as a driver and the body as a vehicle. So, the ‘Anthakarana’ or inner organ, is very often used in Vedantic literature.
The Anthakarana has four functions. They are not four parts. They are four functions. Don’t confuse them as four parts. They are called manas, buddhi, ahamkara, and chitta. Let us understand the function of each. The manas, loosely translated as mind in English, views the world through the sense organs. It conceptualizes the world. When the concepts become clear, then, it is called buddhi. It is a function. It is not a part.
So, Anthakarana conceptualizes the world. And this conceptualizing function is called manas. It is not a conceptualizing part, organ. It is a conceptualizing function. How does the manas conceptualize? When you see some object outside through sense organs, the mind goes out through sense organs and takes the shape of that object.
For example, I see a fan. The manas function of Anthakarana, moves through sense organs, takes the shape of the fan to understand it is a fan. Without taking the shape of the fan, the manas cannot conceptualize the fan. The Anthakarana modifies to take the shape of the fan. This function is called manas. When you see some person, your manas function of the Anthakarana, takes the shape of that person. In other words, an image of that person is formed.
Q: Is it not the understanding part? Is it not getting knowledge of awareness, just taking shape?
A: The image of the person is formed. It takes the shape of the person means; it forms the image of the person. So, this function is called manas.
Now, the image does not determine, this person or that person. When it is determined, that, this is the person, or this is to be done, then, it is called buddhi or intellect. Don’t think of intellect as a separate part. It is a function of the Anthakarana. Intellect takes the function of determining; this is what it is. It is called buddhi. Buddhi will determine.
Buddhi will take the reference of memory for recognition. From past impressions, from past memory, buddhi takes certain input. Recollecting from past impressions is called chitta. Please understand, all this is not a different function, but one Anthakarana operating in functions. These are not different instruments. These are not different parts or machines. One function called Anthakarana, operating in different functions.
Manas has drawn some image of an object. Then, the image of the object is matched, with what is there in the chitta. The recollection happens and it is called chitta. Chitta is fetching the data from the memory. Then, buddhi says, this is what it is. Then, it is called intellect.
Once buddhi determines, this is what it is, then the manas forms the relationship between the two objects. Manas or mind job is to conceptualize. Now, two objects are there. There is a body and there is an ‘I’. Let us say, there is a car. The manas says, ‘This is my car’. A relationship is formed. This relationship forming process is called ahamkara, or the ego. Who forms the relationship? Manas.
Q: Intellect will say, or recognize, ‘it is my car’ know?
A: No, no. Intellect will say, this car. Now, manas forms one more bondage called ahamkara, pride. Pride arises in the mind. Ahamkara is pride. That’s why, that ahamkara will be destroyed when the intellect investigates it properly, through Viveka. Ahamkara belongs to manas property, the mind.
So, chitta belongs to intellect or buddhi. Ahamkara belongs to manas. Because buddhi has to take a reference to determine what it is, it has to find out. It has to go to memory. It sees something, ‘oh! This is book’, it determines. Chitta belongs to buddhi function. Ahamkara belongs to manas function. Because manas sees something. Then it imagines, ‘oh! This is mine’. That pride, that ahamkara.
Q: Who is taking the psychological inclination here?
A: It is the manas. That’s why, ahamkara, which is the relationship formation, the relationship between some object, and me, whatever ‘me’ is. So, the ‘me’ of manas, is always vague. It becomes a body sometimes, it becomes mind sometimes, it becomes intellect sometimes. This vague relationship is called ‘I’
So, only when the buddhi investigates ‘I’ that ‘I’ get dissolved. The ahamkara gets dissolved. So, the investigation process by buddhi is called Viveka. Otherwise, mind, the only job is to conceptualize. It only provides the image. So, that image, what is there. Let us say, the image of me, some image, the image of the body, or whatever is there. Then, it goes to memory. Body related information is brought out. Intellect says, ‘OK, this is so and so’.
Intellect doesn’t analyze because the image is given to the chitta. Only when intellect investigates that ahamkara properly so that it dissolves. That’s why Mukti is possible.
Pranams
References:
Self Knowledge – Talk 12_Inner Organ_06Apr2016