Is Buddhi/Intellect different than Mind? How? Where is mind located in you? And where is the Lamp of Wisdom? Why is there a fight between your Mind & your Heart?
Neither Buddhi/Intellect is an organ, nor Mind is an organ. They are actually a system. Intellect is not located in your head/brain. Mind, yes partially it is in the brain.
Let's first see what is Mind? Well, mind has 4 aspects (parts or functions):
1. Manas (Sensory or Processing Mind) - Takes inputs through senses and processes the information. It is fact/data based and processing generates logical, rational information. It creates logical thinking.
2. Aham (Ego or I-Maker) - All your identities, roles, achievements & expectations attached to them. Playground for I, Me, Mine.
3. Chitta - Storage house for #Vasanas (Chitta-Vritti, Sanskaras or Compulsive Patterns)
4. Buddhi (Intellect) - Faculty of #Wisdom - Knowledge from previous lives, knowledge from Cosmic Information Library, Self-Illumined when is pure. Main function of Buddhi is "Power of Discrimination or #Discernment)" also called as #Vivek. Buddhi is either pure or impure in you. If the discrimination by #Buddhi takes you towards ultimate freedom (#Moksha or #Nirvana) means "end of all suffering" then that means Buddhi is pure. If it leads one into the traps, attachments and bondage and ultimately one suffers then that means Buddhi is impure. Pure Buddhi gives Wisdom which is power and is like a "light" to show you the correct path in life. Pure Buddhi is intuitive, means information can be downloaded directly from the Cosmic Library, above/beyond Time & Space. No need of gathering/filtering tons of data and facts to derive information.
When Buddhi reaches its utmost purity means becomes "Self-Illumined", then the one who possesses such a Buddhi is called as Buddha.
Now you also have Five Koshas (Body Layers/Sheaths).
Annamaya Kosha - Physical Body - Contains all physical body systems - The dominant Chakra of reflection is Root Chakra, and the expression extends partially into Sacral Chakra based on purity & impurity.
Pranamaya Kosha - Energy Body - Contains Pranic Energy System of 72,000 Nadis & 114 Chakras - The dominant Chakra of reflection is Sacral Chakra and the expression extends partially into Solar Plexus Chakra based on purity & impurity.
Manomaya Kosha - Mental Body - Manas, Aham, Chitta (Mind) - The dominant chakra of expression is Solar Plexus Chakra and the expression extends partially into Heart Chakra based on purity & impurity.
Vigyanamaya Kosha - Wisdom Body - Buddhi/Intellect - The dominant chakra of expression is Heart Chakra and the expression extends partially into Throat Chakra based on purity & impurity.
Anandamaya Kosha - Bliss Body - The Dominant chakra of expression is Throat Chakra and it extends all the way above until Crown Chakra.
Understand that these are called as body, body layers or sheath because they are on top, around each other. Also, you need to understand that sheaths and chakras are three-dimensional. The below two-dimensional diagram is for reference purpose.
LOGICAL, RATIONAL, FACT PROCESSING MIND
Manas, the lower mind: Manas is the lower mind, through which the mind interacts with the external world and takes in sensory impressions and data. Manas questions and doubts, which becomes habit in most people. Manas is supervisor of the senses: It supervises senses on the ship of life, and directs the ten senses or Indriyas. Manas does a wonderful job of carrying out directions, but it is not supposed to be the key decision maker on the ship. That is the job of Buddhi/Intellect. If Buddhi is clouded, then Manas has a habit of continuing to question, seeking good instruction. Then it often listens to whoever is speaking the loudest on the ship, which is the wants, wishes, desires, attractions, and aversions stored in the memory bank of Chitta.
Your logical, rational thinking mind, your Manas is partially in your Gut area, means in & around your Solar Plexus Chakra and can extend to Heart Chakra but only when you transcend logic and rationality, means one-dimensional way of living. Transcending logic means you have to cross the ocean of all fears and you need to have trust in irrational, non-logical, spontaneity that life actually is. This requires a lot of "faith in yourself". How deluded are they who deny the facts collected since the dawn of humanity? Whose very definition of facts gathering is limited to just a few years of their own life or at max last 50-100 years? In other words, they also deny the knowledge gathered in all past lives not just by themselves but by everyone else who ever lived. Such people have a narrow vision to live life and often end up suffering in one or many ways. Such people actually have "closed mind" because Buddhi is impure or sleeping in them.
#Vasanas that such people hold are - Avidya or Agyan means Ignorance
Note: Advice to Spiritual Seekers - Please stay away from such people and do not argue or try to prove your point. Just bow down to their Soul in compassion, understanding that such Souls have chosen "Suffering".
BUDDHI/INTELLECT
Buddhi is the higher mind: Buddhi is the higher aspect of mind, the door-way to inner wisdom. The word Buddhi itself comes from the root Budh, which means one who has awakened. Buddhi has the capacity to decide, judge, and make cognitive discrimination and differentiation. It can determine the wiser of two courses of action, if it functions clearly and if Manas will accept its guidance.
Buddhi should be the decision maker: On the ship of life, we want Buddhi to be making the choices for the Ship of life. Otherwise, Manas gets its instructions from the habit patterns, Sanskaras, Vasanas stored in Chitta, that are colored by Aham (I-Maker), the Ego. Often, Buddhi is clouded over by all of the coloring and impressions in the Chitta. Thus, a major task of sadhana, spiritual practices, is to uncloud the clouded Buddhi and gain clarity. Then, with clear choice one can ever improve the choices that lead to the fruits of spiritual practices and life in general.
Buddhi/Intellect is actually in your Heart area or Heart Chakra. The light of Wisdom shines when Heart Chakra is Open. Heart Chakra opens only when Root, Sacral, Solar Plexus and Throat are open, means when one has no fears, insecurities, obsessions etc. When Heart is open, one becomes Courageous and Buddhi/Wisdom provides that courage. Pure Buddhi can access the wisdom from all previous lives that one has lived, as well as the wisdom from the lives of great Masters, Healers, Saints, Prophets, Mystics and all. People with Awakened Buddhi do not just rely on limited data-set and Database that they have from this life, or since last few years only to derive information. Larger the Data-set and/or Database, greater the amount of Wisdom. This expands the horizon of one's life. Thus pure Buddhi leads one towards ultimate freedom (Moksha).
Those in whom Buddhi/Intellect has awakened their Vasana have been purified and have become Vidya or Gyan means Wisdom.
The Famous Fight
Many people often face the fight between their Mind (Manas - Sensory Mind - Logic/Rationality) and their Heart (Intellect/Buddhi). It is a valid/genuine conflict. It's just that your fact-based logical & rational mind is actually in your gut and is reflected through Sacral Chakra. The area around the heart is actually representing the Buddhi/Intellect.
Why does such a fight happen?
Because your Buddhi is "weak/asleep" and often times "not" a decision maker. Means your "lower mind", your Manas is the decision maker and either take the decision based on the sensory inputs that it has gathered, or follows the orders of your Ego, or is being controlled by your Chitta (Past Impressions).
Decision Making is a Function of Buddhi and not your Manas.
But in a lot of people that is not the case. Till the time Manas or in other words "Senses, Ego and/or, Past Impressions/Compulsive Behavioural Patterns/Sanskaras/Vasanas" are the decision maker, you are ought of suffer in one or many ways. You are a Creature of Memory and you go on designing the same life that you have had before, same choices, same mistakes, same attachments, same habits, same suffering over and over again, lifetimes after lifetimes. Start breaking every goddamn pattern that you have to awaken Buddhi, the Master Decision Maker.
How to awaken Buddhi/Intellect?
There are many ways to do so.
Karma Yog - One can do the Spiritual Practice using Saraswati (Wisdom) Goddess Yantra/Mandala.
Bhakti Yog - One can chant the Beej (seed) Mantra for Saraswati Goddess 108 times - Om Hring Saraswataye Namah Om.
Shakti Yog - One can do Pranayama focused on Root Chakra using the Beej Mantra of Root Chakra as "Lam".
Karma Yog - Mudra & Yoga Asanas related to Root Chakra can be done.
Using Karma, Bhakti and Shakti in the right way Jnana (Gyan or Wisdom) can be awakened.
You can also use Buddhist/Tibetan or any other variations of the Wisdom Goddess, Yantra and Mantra.
As Buddhi/Intellect will start awakening, you will start seeing your own fears, insecurities, inhibitions, obsessions, attachments and all the dirt will surface up.
May the Goddess of Wisdom, Maa Saraswati bless you all!
Jay Shivay,
Prakriti
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