Rajasic therapies work through Rajasic qualities 
of stimulation, energization and agitation. Tamasic thera- 
pies work through Tamasic qualities of sedation, sleep and 
grounding. Ayurvedic therapies are primarily Sattvic and 
employ Rajasic and Tamasic modalities only under special 
circumstances. The Three Gunas 39 
Sattvic healing uses Nature, the life force and the power 
of the cosmic mind, through such treatment methods as 
herbs, vegetarian diet, mantra and meditation. Rajas can 
occasionally be useful in the healing process. Rajas helps 
break up Tamas, while Sattva, being a condition of harmo- 
ny, does not always have the ability to do so. It is often nec- 
essary to move from Tamas to Rajas in order to return to 
Sattva, like needing to stimulate or shock a person into 
awakening to their repressed pain. Tamas is seldom useful 
in the healing process except when required to sedate too 
high Rajas. For example, a person in hysteria, an excess 
Rajas condition, may require a strong sedative herb or 
drug, a Tamasic therapy. In this case Sattva would be too 
mild to calm Rajas.' Ayurvedic psychology aims at moving the mind from 
Tamas to Rajas and eventually to Sattva. This means mov- 
ing from an ignorant and physically-oriented life (Tamas), 
to one of vitality and self-expression (Rajas), and finally to 
one of peace and enlightenment (Sattva).8 
Three Stages of Mental Healing 
1) Breaking up Tamas/developing Rajas — moving 
from mental inertia to self-motivated action. 2) Calming Rajas/developing Sattva — moving 
from self-motivated action to selfless service. 3) Perfecting Sattva — moving from selfless service 
to meditation. Naturally it is important to know what stage is appro- 
priate for a person. A person in a Tamasic condition 
requires outer activity to break up their inertia; he or she 
cannot simply be asked to sit quietly and meditate. At 
such times Rajasic (active) methods are necessary and Ayurveda and the Mind 
Sattvic (passive) methods may not be sufficient. The per- 
son requires communication and working with other peo- 
ple. A person in a Rajasic condition, however, requires a 
reduction of activity and interiorization of consciousness 
(development of Sattva). Yet this must be done gradually 
because Rajas does not subside all at once. The person 
must be introduced into meditation through practical 
therapies of yogic postures, mantras or visualizations. A 
person in a Sattvic condition requires spiritual practices 
and not ordinary psychological treatment, and can easily 
move into meditation without much external support. However, these three stages are not simply different 
levels. We all have Tamasic, Rajasic and Sattvic factors in 
our minds. We all need each of these three processes to 
some degree. There are times when our minds are Tamasic, 
like right after waking up in the morning or when day- 
dreaming in the afternoon. Whenever we are mentally dull 
or emotionally depressed, Tamas is predominant. Rajas 
prevails when we are agitated, disturbed, active or outgo- 
ing, like when we are very busy working with a number of 
people or projects. Sattva prevails when we are quiet, 
peaceful and content, or naturally fall into meditation. Similarly we should not judge other people by how 
they appear when dominated by one quality only. Even a 
spiritually advanced person has Tamasic moments or peri- 
ods when he or she may do something regrettable. In the 
same way, spiritually undeveloped persons have Sattvic 
moments when they may do something inspired, noble or 
kind. When looking at ourselves, we should try to see all 
three factors in our nature and behavior and try to develop 
our Sattvic side. The Three Gunas 41 /f^v 
Stage i — Personal Healing 
Breaking Up Tamas/ Moving from Tamas to Rajas 
For this transition, fire is necessary. We must wake up, 
act and begin to change. Deep-seated patterns of attach- 
ment, stagnation and depression must be released. We 
must recognize our suffering and learn from it, con- 
fronting our pain, including what we have suppressed or 
ignored for years. A new sense of who we are and what we 
need to do is required. Action (Rajas) is indicated, not only 
in the mind but involving outer aspects of our lives. We 
must break with the past, bring new energies into our 
lives, perhaps change jobs or modify our relationships, or 
move to a new locale.9 
Stage 2 — Healing of Humanity 
Calming Rajas/ Moving from Rajas to Sattva 
For this transition, space is necessary. We must surren- 
der our pain and give up our personal seeking, letting go 
of individual hurts and sorrows. Egoistic drives and moti- 
vations must be surrendered for the greater good. We must 
depersonalize our problems and look to understand the 
entire human condition and the pain of others. Leaving 
behind our personal problems, we must take up the prob- 
lems of humanity, opening up to the suffering of others as 
our own. We must learn that life creates suffering in order 
to help us grow spiritually. This is a stage of service and 
charity.11' Ayurveda and the Mind 
Stage 3 — Universal Peace 
Developing Pure Sattva 
To bring about this transition, we must develop love 
and awareness as universal forces. We must learn to tran- 
scend the limitations of the human condition to our high- 
er spiritual nature. Inner peace must become our dominant 
force. We should no longer seek to overcome our pain but 
to develop our joy. We should no longer be centered in our 
personal or collective problems but in developing commu- 
nion with the greater universe and the Divine powers at 
work within it. At this stage we move from the human 
aspect of our condition to the universal aspect, becoming 
open to all life. This is the stage of spiritual practice. It is 
beyond all ordinary healing and works to heal our rela- 
tionship with God or the inner Self. As you go through this book remember the three 
gunas. We will explore how they work according to the 
different layers and functions of the mind. Go to the 
Sattvic core of your being to understand this wisdom of 
Ayurveda. 43 
4. The Nature of the Mind 
t is amazing to note that so many different ideas 
I exist about the nature of the mind and how it func- 
tions. Different systems of psychology, philosophy 
and religion define the mind in ways that can be radically 
different or even contradictory to one another. All of us 
agree on the basic facts of the physical body — its form, 
structure and function. No one holds that the body has 
three legs, or that the stomach thinks and the brain digests 
food. The reason for this is that the body is easy to observe. Yet while we can easily list the main systems of the phys- 
ical body, we find it difficult to do so for the mind. The 
mind appears as an amorphous or structureless entity, 
rather than a precise instrument like the body. Though we all have minds and use them constantly, we 
do not know what our mind really is. We are so caught up 
in the mind's activities that we do not take the time to dis- 
cover what the mind itself really is. In the realm of psy- 
chology, we are still groping in the dark, trying to treat an 
entity whose character eludes us. Without knowing the 
nature of the mind and its functions, how can we really 
approach it? After all, how we perceive the mind is the 
basis of any psychological diagnosis and treatment. The 
problem is that to know the mind we must first know our- 
selves. We must understand who we really are. Thought, 
as we ordinarily know it, is a function of the ego or sepa- 
rate self. A subjective personal bias colors how we look at /A 44 Ayurveda and the Mind 
the mind, rendering an objective assessment of its capaci- 
ties almost impossible. The first step in any true psychology, therefore, is to 
understand the mind and how it works. What is the nature 
of this marvelous instrument called the mind? What is its 
relationship with who we are? What is its connection with 
the body? What is the right function of the mind? Can we 
learn to see the mind as objectively as we see our hands and 
feet? Here Ayurveda and Yoga offer tremendous insights. Getting to Know the Mind 
Can one imagine being put into the driver's seat of an 
automobile with the engine running and not knowing 
how to drive, not knowing how to use the brakes, the 
steering wheel or the clutch? Naturally we would get into 
an accident and, should we survive, would end up perma- 
nently afraid of driving. We are in a not too different situation with our minds. Our awareness is placed in the mind when we are bom, but 
we are not taught how to use the mind, its sensitivities and 
emotions. We are not taught the meaning of its states of 
waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. We are not shown the 
comparative functions of reason, feeling, will and sensory 
perception. We are left in the dark because our parents and 
society do not understand the mind and how it works. The 
mind is the main vehicle we use for all that we do, yet few, 
if any of us, know how to use and care for it properly. We all suffer from ignorance of the nature of the mind. All problems we encounter in life are based ultimately 
upon not knowing the mind and its functions. From this 
primary problem, various secondary problems arise — like 
how to fulfill our desires, or how to avoid what we fear — 
which, however important these may appear, are merely The Nature of the Mind 
the natural consequence of this basic ignorance about the 
mind. For example, if we do not know how to drive a car 
properly, the issue of where to go with it is not important. However, we take these derivative problems as primary or 
blame others for them, turning them into social, moral, or 
political issues, not realizing, that they are just one prob- 
lem — not understanding the mind. From a wrong under- 
standing of the mind, we develop wrong ideas about the 
world and run into difficulty in our social interactions. To use another analogy, if we do not understand how 
fire works, we may bum ourselves. This does not mean we 
are a bad person or that fire is bad, but only that we do not 
understand fire and its properties. The mind has its quali- 
ties and, like fire, can be used for both good and bad. It can 
provide great happiness or wreak tremendous havoc in the 
world, as history has shown again and again. All psycho- 
logical problems are nothing more than a wrong use of the 
mind, which arises from ignorance of how the mind works. The solution to all our mental problems is to leam to use 
the mind properly. This is tme whatever our psychological 
problems may be. More important than any examination of our personal 
or social problems is educating ourselves about the nature 
of the mind. All the problems that appear so immediate 
and important — like whether we will be loved or if our 
friends and family can be happy — are not the real issue 
and cannot be solved directly. The real issue is how to use 
the most important and central instrument in our lives — 
the mind itself. Learning the right use of the mind not only solves our 
psychological problems, but directs us to our higher 
potential of Self-realization. It leads to the spiritual life, 
which is our real occupation as conscious beings. Then we Ayurveda and the Mind 
can transcend the mind — which is inherently limited — 
to Pure Awareness unbounded by time, space or causation. For all things in life, we must start with understanding the 
mind. Mind as an Object 
Though we have always had a mind, most of us have 
never taken the time to observe it. Let us look at our 
minds. For this we must step back internally and take the 
role of the observer. We must begin to witness the mind 
and its functions.11 Imagine that your thoughts are a 
stream and you are sitting on the bank watching them 
flow by. Learn to see the contents of the mind flowing by, 
without judgment or interference, just as you might 
observe the currents or debris floating down a river. By taking such a witnessing attitude, we can easily get 
to know the mind and its activities. We can perceive vari- 
ous fluctuations in thoughts, feelings and impressions, and 
various states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep. We 
should strive to maintain our awareness in the attitude of 
witnessing the mind. This is the key for learning what the 
mind is. As long as we are caught up in the mind's activi- 
ties, we cannot see the mind as it is, just as we cannot 
observe what is going in a theater if our attention is 
engrossed in the movie. Whatever we can observe, like a cup upon the table, is 
an object and exists apart from our awareness, which is its 
perceiver. Yet we cannot only observe external objects, we 
can also observe internal objects. We can note whether our 
sense organs are acute or impaired, as when our vision 
begins to fail. Similarly we can observe our emotions, our 
thoughts, and even our own ego, which are all fluctuating 
phenomena, if we look deeply. We can observe the func- The Nature of the Mind 
tions of the mind just as we can observe the movements of 
our body. Just as the eye is not damaged when a cup falls onto the 
floor and breaks, so consciousness is not damaged when the 
contents of the mind get altered or damaged. The witness- 
ing consciousness is apart from the objects and conditions 
that it observes. Therefore, the first thing we observe 
about the mind is that, as something observable, the mind 
is an object. The mind is material and part of the external 
world. It belongs to us but it is not who we really are, just 
as our house belongs to us but is not us. This may be 
shocking to consider, but it is really something intuitive- 
ly known to us. When we speak of "my mind," we are 
defining the mind as an object that belongs to us and not 
as ourselves. The mind has a material structure, a set of observable 
energies and conditions. This is not to say that the mind is 
a gross object like a stone or that it is an organ in the phys- 
ical body like the brain, or that it is merely chemical in 
nature. The mind is not physical matter, but it is matter of 
a subtle nature, ethereal and luminous. As an organic enti- 
ty, the mind has a structure, a cycle of nutrition, an origin 
and an end. The mind is invested with a certain quantum 
of energy that produces various tangible effects. Just as we can both see and use our hands, so awareness 
can perceive and use the mind. But this requires a very 
high state of attention. It requires detachment from the 
mind, which means detachment from the mind's activities 
and interests. Mind as an Instrument 
The second important fact about the mind, which fol- 
lows from the mind's material nature, is that the mind is Ayurveda and the Mind 
an instrument or tool. The sense organs themselves are 
instruments — the eye an instrument of seeing, the ear an 
instrument of hearing, and so on. Similarly, the mind that 
works to process sensory information is itself an instru- 
ment. The mind is a means of deriving information from 
the external world. The mind is the main instrument we 
use to function in life. The mind is an instrumentality of 
knowing devised by Cosmic Intelligence to allow for con- 
sciousness to gain experience. The mind is the ultimate 
machine, the best computer, the highest organization of 
matter possible, which allows for the material world to be 
cognized. Notice that we are speaking of the mind, not the brain. The brain is the physical organ through which the mind 
works. We are not conscious of the brain itself or its struc- 
ture. We are only conscious of our actual thought process. The mind is not the brain, but is more subtle. The brain is 
the vehicle for the mind and mirrors its operations, but the 
mind is not limited to the physical apparatus of the brain, 
any more than a person is limited to his shadow. Note that we speak of "my" mind, indicating that we 
view the mind like an instrument. We can direct our 
attention. We can employ our reasoning faculty. We can 
develop our will. We can cultivate our feelings. But if the 
mind is an instrument, then we are not the mind, just as 
we are not any other instrument we use in life. Like any 
instrument, we are the one who uses and must master it, 
not let it tell us what to do. However, we have forgotten that the mind is our 
instrument, though we speak of the mind as ours and not 
of ourselves as the mind. We let the mind tell us who we 
are and what to do. Having become slaves of the mind, we 
lose control of our destiny and fall under the desires of the The Nature of the Mind 
mind, which are not our own but come from the external 
world. Awareness and the Mind 
Behind changing mental fluctuations is a constant 
awareness, an unbroken sense of self or being, an ongoing 
ability to observe, witness and perceive.12 Though the con- 
tents of the mind constantly shift, like clouds in the sky, 
there is an ongoing continuity to our consciousness, like 
the purity of space, through which we can observe these 
with detachment. Therefore the mind itself is not aware- 
ness. It is the instrument that awareness works through, 
like the computer a person works with. Awareness, unlike the mind, has no form, function or 
movement. It is not located in time and space but stands 
apart as their witness. It is not affected by action and 
remains free of good and bad results. To know this aware- 
ness, we must learn to go beyond the mind, which means 
to disengage from its involvements. This is our real work 
as human beings and the essence of the spiritual path, 
whatever form of it we choose to follow. As long we are in 
the sphere of the mind, we are dominated by the external 
and cannot know the inner reality. True awareness is Pure Consciousness beyond the men- 
tal field. Our ordinary awareness is conditioned within the 
mental field. Only because the light of pure awareness is 
reflected onto the mental field does the mind appear to be 
conscious. The mind itself, therefore, is not aware, intelli- 
gent or self-luminous. It works through the reflection of a 
greater light, a greater consciousness in which alone is 
understanding and freedom. We must learn to seek that 
pure light beyond the mind. Ayurveda and the Mind 
Mind-Body Unity 
The mind is organically related to the physical body. We can observe this by noting how our mind's functions 
change with physical fluctuations, how our behavior 
changes along with our diet, exercise patterns or intake of 
sensory impressions. The mind is also a kind of body or 
organism. It has its metabolism, its appropriate food, its 
waste products, and its derangements that can occur from 
its malfunction. These we will explore in detail in the later 
chapters of the book. The physical body is primarily an organ of perception 
and expression. It is structured mainly by our sense organs, 
which provide perception, like the eyes and ears, and the 
motor organs, like the voice and hands, through which we 
express ourselves. The body, we could say, is the gross form 
of the mind. The body exists to allow the mind to perceive 
and act. Yet, though the mind-body complex is an organ- 
ic unity, the mind and body are not the same. The mind 
can function apart from body consciousness as in sleep, 
trance and after-death states. The body is an object of perception for the mind, as 
when we observe our hands or watch our breathing 
process. Most of the time we are not very aware of our bod- 
ies themselves, but are aware of some action with which 
they are involved. We are conscious of the body primarily 
when we are in pain or otherwise dominated by a strong 
bodily sensation, like sexual pleasure. When we are talk- 
ing, reading or working, we are only slightly aware of our 
physical functioning. We are rarely conscious of our inter- 
nal organs, like the liver or heart, except when we are sick. We mainly perceive the surface of the body through the 
skin and senses. Therefore, we are in the body but we are 
not the body. The Nature of the Mind 51 
Our true awareness or pure consciousness, however, 
transcends both mind and body. It is inherently free of 
their problems and limitations. But to get to it requires 
that we detach ourselves from mind-body functions. Location of the Mind 
There is no particular place in the physical body where 
the mind can be said to be located. Wherever we direct our 
attention, there the mind already is. You can see this for 
yourself. Whatever you look at, whether internally or 
externally, the mind is with you. The mind is not in the 
brain. It is not in the eye or the hand. It moves with our 
awareness. It is not even limited to the body because it can 
observe the body as an object and use it as an instrument. Generally, we think that the mind dwells in either the 
head or the heart. The head is the center for the outer mind 
that works through the senses. The heart is the center of 
the inner mind or feeling nature that transcends the sens- 
es. The brain is no more than a screen on which the ener- 
gies of consciousness from the heart get reflected. Ayurve- 
da regards the heart as the center of consciousness.1' This 
is not the physical heart but the core of knowing deep 
inside ourselves. We should not confuse this center with a 
physical location. It pervades all our mental activity. Atomic Nature of the Mind 
Having discussed the basic nature of the mind, we can 
now examine more deeply its structure. Look at how your 
attention functions and moves. The most important thing 
we see about the mind's structure is that the mind is atom- 
ic or point-like in nature. The mind consists of various 
points of thought, feeling and sensation, following one 
another in rapid succession. Again, you can observe this for Ayurveda and the Mind 
yourself. Sit quietly and see how your senses work, like 
looking at a tree. Note the shifting movement of your 
mind and how it tries to construct the reality of the object 
from its moving points of attention. The mind has no particular shape or size. It assumes the 
shape and size of whatever object that we examine. Yet it 
always consists of a series of points of attention. The mind 
is not an atom existing in space but a point-sized aware- 
ness which precedes and transcends all other material com- 
ponents and interactions. Though the mind is atomic in nature, it can pervade 
the body as a whole, just as a dot of sandalwood oil can 
pervade the entire body by its fragrance. In this way, the 
mind can not only focus on different parts of the body but 
can motivate it as a whole. Similarly, it can pervade our 
entire field of perception. Though this only lasts an 
instant, these instants follow one another, giving us a sense 
of an entire field of awareness. The atomic nature of the mind leads to various limita- 
tions. We can only focus on one particular object at a time. Our awareness has the nature of a shifting point. This 
allows us to place our attention in specific directions. At 
the same time it gives the mind a tendency to become nar- 
row and attach itself only to those points of view it has 
already seen. We do not see the whole, but try to construct 
it by putting together various points of view. This process 
limits us to a perspective, and however many perspectives 
we have, there is always something that we miss. The mind is like a pointillist painter. It is constructing 
reality out of points. Yet the reality must ever elude it as 
one can never arrive at the whole through fragments. The 
mind's knowledge is inherently limited by the point-like 
nature of the mind. The mind gives a series of snapshots, The Nature of the Mind 53 
which allows us to construct a view of reality. But its snap- 
shots distort that reality by presenting only one side of it. As each mind is a mere point of awareness, each mind 
is unique, has its own perspective, and potentially its own 
inherent bias. Each one of us is true to the perspective of 
our minds. We often fail to see, however, that this per- 
spective is not universal or even common, but the expres- 
sion of limitation. Mobile Nature of the Mind 
Our ever-shifting mental panorama of thoughts, emo- 
tions and sensations reveals the constantly changing or 
mobile nature of the mind. The mind is extremely volatile 
and impossible to prevent from moving. This is because 
the mind is not only a shifting point in space, but is also a 
changing point in time. The mind is not only in motion, 
the mind is its motion. Without motion, the mind does 
not function. Our stream of consciousness is nothing but a rapid 
series of point flashes of mental activity. In fact, the mind 
is the prime point from which the ideas of time and space 
are constructed. It is like the point of an artist's pen which 
draws lines to create a sense of perspective. The mind consists of a series of mental actions, which 
are never the same, even for an instant. If we look deeply, 
we see that the mobility of the mind is not continuous like 
a stream of water or oil. It is like a series of lightning flash- 
es, discontinuous and occurring in rapid succession, which 
allows us to put together a continuous image. The mind, 
therefore, is impossible to still, though there is a stillness 
beyond the mind. Ayurveda and the Mind 
Subtle and Sensitive Nature of the Mind 
Have you ever tried to control your mind? You quickly 
find that the mind is subtle in nature and unpredictable 
like the wind. It has force, energy and movement, but it 
does not have a particular form. Like the wind, we can 
observe the mind more easily through what it moves and 
affects, rather than see it directly. The mind, like the wind, 
blows the clouds of thoughts and feelings. Yet the mind is 
not only like the wind, it is also like space. It encompass- 
es and pervades all its contents, like a screen that holds all 
the pictures placed upon it. The mind is the most subtle 
form of matter. This we will examine in more detail in the 
next chapter on the mind and the elements. The mind is very sensitive. It is the very organ of sen- 
sitivity underlying all the senses. Everything affects or col- 
ors the mind. Everything that we see or feel leaves some 
imprint or residue upon it. Hence the mind must be treat- 
ed with care, particularly in children. The mind can be 
easily hurt, in which case it places barriers around itself 
and dulls its sensitivity. The mind is easily affected and 
disturbed, excited, depressed or distracted. The mind takes the form of the objects it perceives. Hence it is very difficult to see the mind. When our aware- 
ness has withdrawn from the senses, our minds remain 
filled with thoughts and feelings. Only when we empty 
the mind of thought can we see the mind and recognize its 
basic insubstantiality, like a screen that has no meaning 
apart from the images projected on it. Dualistic Nature of the Mind 
The mind, like all matter, is dualistic in nature. It con- 
sists of opposite forces in various degrees of interaction. It 
is prone to dualistic reactions of like/dislike, love/hate and The Nature of the Mind 
so on. Whatever we chink about also creates its opposite. To assert one thing, we must also suggest the contrary. This is why it is important not to train the mind with 
negativity, sin and guilt. For example, if we tell a person 
not to think of a monkey, he or she will naturally think of 
a monkey. If we tell a person not to do something, we have 
first asked them to think about doing it. If we assert the 
thought that we are happy, it suggests the idea that we are 
sad. Thought always reinforces its opposite. The mind moves between opposites and is prone to 
ambivalence or extremes. It can easily become caught in 
opposites or become the victim of its own tendency to 
reverse itself. For this reason we should not try to force the 
mind in any particular direction, but seek to calm it from 
any extremes. Difficulty in Controlling the Mind 
Because of its volatile, point-like, subtle and dualistic 
nature, the mind is hard to grasp and almost impossible to 
control. It has a nature and movement of its own, which it 
tends to impress upon us or make us vulnerable to. Indeed, 
there is nothing more difficult to control than the mind. Human life is nothing but a struggle to learn to control 
the mind. If we have accomplished this, we have done 
everything and accomplished the most difficult thing in 
the entire universe. Inability to control the mind causes 
sorrow and is behind the disease process. Mind and Thought 
The mind is nothing but thought, which is the process 
of the mind. The mind is the entity made up by our 
thoughts. Take away the thoughts of the mind and the 
mind will disappear. As are our thoughts, so moves our Ayurveda and the Mind 
mind, and so we become. Thought fonns are also material 
and affect us like small, almost imperceptible, point-like 
electrical shocks. Our minds are constantly giving out and 
taking in thought forms, which either elevate or depress it. As we become more aware, we learn to consciously project 
positive thought forms and avoid those which are negative. Much of healing consists of changing the thought forms 
that dominate our lives. We must learn to project 
thoughts of peace, love, and harmony to counter those of 
conflict, unhappiness and disturbance that weaken our 
physical and mental vitality. However, thought is of many types and occurs on many 
layers. Only if we change our deepest thoughts can we 
really change ourselves and get beyond the limitations of 
the mind. This is much more than changing our ideas 
about things; it means altering our deepest feelings and 
instincts. It requires deep prayer and meditation, pro- 
foundly energized and concentrated higher thought forms 
to counter deep-seated habits and addictions. A Practical Experiment with the Mind 
Examine for yourself the nature of your mind. Take an 
object, preferably one in the natural world, like a tree. Direct your attention to it. Note how your attention 
changes from instant to instant as you attempt to observe 
it. Note how, through a series of shifting perceptions, you 
construct the idea or total form of the tree, which you 
never perceive all at once. Try to hold your attention on 
one point of the tree. Notice how your attention cannot be 
held in one place but constantly moves around of its own 
accord. As a further experiment, examine your emotions. See 
how your mind functions when you are angry or sad. Note The Nature of the Mind 
the changing nature of emotions, how the stronger the 
emotion, the shorter it is likely to last. See how closely like 
and dislike, love and hate are bound together, and how 
emotions fluctuate like waves on the sea. Next look at your thoughts. See how one thought fol- 
lows another in rapid succession in a compulsive and errat- 
ic flow. Examine the habits of your thinking pattern. Note 
that much of what you think about has little practical 
value, but is merely the mind moving obsessively in its 
own memory grooves. Finally examine the ego or "I-thought." See how this is 
the root of the other thoughts and how the mind is basi- 
cally self-enclosed in its function. Try not to think the 
thought "1." See that this is not possible. The "I" is the 
inherent referential point, the center of the mind. Learn to use your mind like a tool, develop various such 
experiments or observations, and, in this way, you will 
cease to be the victim of this subtle instrument. Once we 
learn to observe the mind, we will cease to be the victims 
of what goes on in our minds. Gaining control of our 
minds, we will no longer be dominated by the impulses 
coming from the senses and the conditioning of the exter- 
nal world. We will be able to be who we really are and cre- 
ate what is in harmony with the aspirations of our hearts. 5. The Five Elements and the Mind 
ave you ever looked at the workings of your 
Hmind the way you would observe the world of 
Nature around you? According to Ayurveda, 
if we want to understand how our mind works, the best 
way is to look at how Nature operates. We must see how 
wind, fire and rain function in the psyche. We must learn 
to observe the storms of emotion, the light or half-light of 
reason, and all the rhythms through which not only our 
body, but also our mind and senses move. The mind is a 
formation of Nature, created according to her marvelous 
organic intelligence. The mind has the same basic struc- 
ture as the universe and follows the same immutable laws. We live in a multi-level cosmos, including matter, energy, 
and mind on parallel and interdependent levels, like a 
magnificent crystal or gigantic lotus. Each level helps us 
understand the others and, through the outer, we gain the 
key to the inner. The five elements are one of the main themes of 
Ayurvedic thought, and of related spiritual and healing 
systems. They are a great analog for all existence. Most of 
us do not think of the mind in terms of the elements, how- 
ever. Yet, as a part of Nature, the mind also reflects the 
great elements through which Nature functions. To intro- 
duce the Ayurvedic view of the mind, we can approach it 
according to the elements. Ayurveda and the Mind 
Mind and the Elements 
The mind transcends all the five gross elements 
because, through the mind, we can perceive all the ele- 
ments and their interrelationships. We can observe, imag- 
ine and contemplate all the forms of earth, water, fire, air 
and ether. Yet the elements do provide a key to how the 
mind works. Though the elements in the mind are more 
subtle than those in the body, they retain the same basic 
attributes and actions. We can understand the mental ele- 
ments through the analogy of the physical. The mind is a creation primarily of the ether element of 
Nature. In substance, the mind is like space — expansive, 
open and all-pervading. Like space, it can hold innumer- 
able forms and not be exhausted by them. The more 
evolved the mind becomes, the greater becomes its space. The less evolved the mind, the less expansive its space. Sorrow is nothing but a constricted mind space, like a bird 
in a cage. Bliss is an unlimited mind space, like a bird fly- 
ing free in the sky. In movement, however, the mind is like the wind. Air 
is its secondary element. There is nothing faster in move- 
ment than the mind. It is faster even than the speed of 
light. Look at your mind. It is always busy coordinating 
the body and senses, gathering information, making judg- 
ments, reacting emotionally, and endlessly thinking. This 
ongoing movement occurs because of the mind's connec- 
tion with the air element. Though ether and air are the main elements relating to 
the mind, the other elements have their place in the mind 
as well. The mind has its fire or light through which it can 
perceive things. This gives the mind a quality of illumina- 
tion and a capacity of understanding. Similarly, the mind 
has a watery quality of emotion, empathy and feeling. The Five Elements and the Mind 61 
Finally, it carries a certain weight of earth, memory, and 
attachment. The mind contains all the elements within 
itself according to its differing qualities and actions. The most subtle aspect of the elements makes up the 
mind. The mind space is more subtle than the physical 
space, which it pervades. The mind's air-like movement 
travels even in front of the wind. Fire in the mind can even 
perceive all external forms of light. Water in the mind or 
emotion is more subtle even than the external air. Earth in 
the mind, the mind's weight of attachments and opinions, 
cannot be weighed. The causal or seed level of the elements 
makes up the mind and through it create the gross or 
physical elements. The Three Layers of the Mind 
The mind has three basic layers — inner, intermediate 
and outer. 1) The inner mind consists of the deep core of 
feeling and knowing. It holds the tendencies 
that we carry deep inside ourselves and may 
never express or come to grips with in our 
outer lives. 2) The outer mind is the part of the mind domi- 
nated by the senses and emotions in which we 
ordinarily function on a daily basis, gathering 
impressions and acting in the outer world. 3) The intermediate mind is our capacity to bring 
outer impressions to the inside and inner ten- 
dencies to the outside. It mediates between 
transient sensory impressions and emotions on 
one side, and deep and abiding internal feelings 
on the other. It functions through reason and Ayurveda and the Mind 
perception to help us make judgments and 
decisions. These three aspects of the mind follow a similar model 
as Vata, Pitta and Kapha or air, fire and water, taking this 
energetic to a deeper level. Inner Mind or Deeper Consciousness — Air 
Air exists in the mind as the underlying mental sensi- 
tivity or deeper feeling nature. It is the background vibra- 
tory field of energies, habits and tendencies that sustain 
the mind, by which we are continually thinking. Air is the 
capacity of the mind to relate, identify itself and feel alive. Through it we move, act and function as conscious beings. It constitutes the heart or core consciousness, which is not 
always evident at the surface but is the motivating force 
behind the mind's other functions. Like air, the mind possesses a capacity for change, 
response, and transformation, and consists of various ener- 
gies and impulses in a self-adjusting field. Our conscious- 
ness is a field of motion, an interacting dynamism of ten- 
dencies, latencies and impressions, only a few of which 
reach the outer or self-conscious mind which dominates 
our normal waking state. Most of what we call the uncon- 
scious, subconscious and superconscious is this inner 
mind, of which we are not ordinarily aware. This vibratory field of core thoughts and feelings, how- 
ever, is a conditioned consciousness. It constitutes the 
spontaneous and automatic habits and tendencies within 
us. It is different from pure or unconditioned conscious- 
ness which is our true Self (note below). Intermediate Mind or Intelligence — Fire 
Fire exists in the mind as the rational or discriminating The Five Elements and the Mind 
faculty which allows us to perceive and to judge things. Our determinations of what is true and false, real and 
unreal, good and bad, valuable or worthless are outcomes 
of this capacity to weigh, measure and evaluate. It allows 
us to examine impressions to discern the object from our 
impression of it. It enables us to judge our experience to 
discover what it really means. In this way, it mediates 
between the inner core consciousness and our outer senso- 
ry functions. Reason, like fire, has a hot and luminous nature that 
provides the ability to ascertain and discern. Reason, like 
fire, bums, digests and converts things into more subtle 
forms that nourish our awareness. Reason digests our 
impressions, feelings and thoughts and allows us to derive 
knowledge from them, putting each in its appropriate 
place relative to our understanding of reality. Intelligence is the part of our consciousness articulated 
rationally and, therefore, brought to light. The greater and 
unarticulated part of the mind, the deeper consciousness, 
remains unconscious to our ordinary mind, and therefore 
appears to be dark. We enter into the rational part of the 
mind for important judgments, decisions and to arrive at 
real understanding. It is the part of the greater field of con- 
sciousness that we have brought to light and made our 
own. Outer Mind, Sensation-Emotion — Water 
Water exists in the mind as the emotional nature, our 
ability to connect with the external world, which is the 
seeking of consciousness to take form. This includes our 
capacity to gather sensory impressions and respond to 
them through like and dislike, attraction and repulsion, 
fear and desire. Ayurveda and the Mind 
Water is the formative aspect of mind which allows us 
to imagine, plan and construct our reality. It is the basis of 
will, motivation and action in the external world. It is the 
part of the mind, ever flowing outward, seeking to incar- 
nate itself in matter and accumulate for itself the things of 
the world. Similarly, it is ever gathering impressions from 
the outside, allowing us to hold and accumulate them 
within. Through the outer mind and its expressive capacity, we 
function in the world and feel ourselves to be part of an 
outer reality. It is what we usually know of as the mind and 
contains our ordinary thoughts, emotions and sensations. The Two Levels of the Self 
There are two basic levels to the self, between which 
the three aspects of consciousness function. The outer self 
defines itself according to the body, our physical identity. On the other side, the inner self is our sense of pure sub- 
jectivity, the pure "I am" beyond all bodily identity. These 
can be understood according to the model of earth and 
ether. Outer Self, Ego — Earth 
Earth exists in the mind as the ego, the sense of sepa- 
rate self through which we feel ourselves to be a limited 
person, identified with a particular body in time and 
space. Ego connects us to the physical body and allows us 
to discharge its functions as if they were our own. It pro- 
vides a sense of self in the world, so that we can act with- 
in it. The ego provides an objective referent or identity for 
the self. It works through a self-image or subject-object 
combination. It is the self in process, in becoming and is The Five Elements and the Mind 
always seeking acquisition or achievement. Through ego- 
consciousness, we are ever trying to become somebody or 
get something in the outer world. It is consciousness 
objectified. Inner Self, Soul — Ether 
Ether exists in the mind as its underlying mind-space, 
the background capacity for all mental functions, vibra- 
tions and impressions. Without space, the mind cannot 
function and has no room to move. But like the external 
space, we seldom are aware of this internal mind-space. We 
enter it when we learn to be detached and not identify 
with the activities of the mind. From it we can observe the 
mind and transcend its limited patterns, which are like 
clouds in this higher mind-space. Reflected in this mind-ether, we discover our higher 
identity as a soul, a conscious perceiver who transcends any 
body, image or identity. The inner self is a pure subjectiv- 
ity, the pure "I am" or "I am that I am," as opposed to the 
"I am this" or "this is mine," the self-image which consti- 
tutes the ego. The inner self is content in its self-worth and 
finds peace in its own identity. It does not need to seek 
anything in the external world, which appears like a shad- 
ow before it. Just as the ego or outer self separates us from other crea- 
tures, the soul or inner self unites us with them. As the ego 
possesses the vision of difference, the soul has the vision of 
unity. As the ego grasps form, the soul discerns the 
essence. Yet the individual Self or soul is still linked with 
the mind-body complex and its conditioning. In its pure 
form, divested of attachment to the mind, it becomes the 
Universal Self that transcends any individual identity and 
is beyond all manifestation. This is the unification of the Ayurveda and the Mind 
individual with the universal Self in which there is libera- 
tion and immortality. This higher Self is the pure or 
unconditioned consciousness beyond the different levels of 
the mind. Five Levels of the Mind 
Ether — Higher Self 
Air — Inner Consciousness 
Fire — Intelligence 
Water — Sense Mind 
Earth — Ego 
Workings of the Levels of the Mind 
The outer mind is the doorway by which impressions 
from the external world enter into our consciousness 
through the gates of the senses. Intelligence, or intermedi- 
ate mind, is the doorman who determines which impres- 
sions and energies can come in. Consciousness, or the inner 
mind, is the interior of the room in which these energies 
get deposited in the form of memories and tendencies, 
after they are allowed to enter. Once impressions have become deposited in our inner 
consciousness, they grow like seeds and eventually impel 
us to act according to their nature. They produce various 
motivations, which result in the actions or kannas that 
determine the movement of our lives. Impressions do not automatically enter into the inner 
mind. They only come in when we react to things in the 
form of dualistic emotions, likes and dislikes, love and 
hate, acceptance and rejection. Mere sensory perception by 
itself does not cause external energies to enter the mind. Detached observation cuts off external forces from entering 
the mind, while allowing us to observe them for what they The Five Elements and the Mind 
are and respond to them appropriately. Detached observa- 
tion digests impressions, allowing us to learn from them 
and not be limited by them. As the doorkeeper, intelligence has the capacity to con- 
trol the outer or sense mind and determine what comes in. This depends upon the principles according to which our 
reason is trained to work. If our reasoning faculty is not 
clear, then we rationalize our likes and dislikes rather than 
discern the truth of things. Reason, like a doorkeeper who 
has been bribed, lets any influence into the mind and then 
seeks a reason to justify letting it stay. Our inner mind, the deeper feeling nature of the heart, 
is passive and innocent like a child. Whatever we open up 
our heart to gets deposited within it. The feeling nature is 
sensitive and vulnerable. It can be disturbed or motivated 
by whatever we let in. Therefore, it is very important to 
discriminate properly what we let into our hearts. Once we 
have accepted things at a heart level, we regard them as 
our own and can no longer examine them objectively, just 
as a mother can never criticize her own children. The Perceptual Process 
Let us examine our perceptual process to clarify this fur- 
ther. First we gather impressions based upon where we place 
our attention. For example, we look out the window and see 
the stature and dress of a person walking by. This is the 
function of the outer mind. Second we evaluate the impres- 
sions and come to a conclusion about what the object is. It 
is our neighbor, Sam. This is the function of intelligence. Third, the impression of the object gets deposited in our 
deeper consciousness as a memory. We remember that Sam 
walked by the house this morning. In this process ego sur- 
faces at some point, generally after recognizing the object. Ayurveda and the Mind 
When we recognize our neighbor, we remember that we like 
him for some remark he said about us. The outer mind works to select and gather impressions. It provides images like an object seen in a mirror, which is 
merely presented but not perceived. Intelligence, or the 
intermediate mind, allows us to recognize particular 
objects from the field of impressions. The ego allows us to 
identify an impression as belonging to us or to otherwise 
subjectively react to it. The inner mind, or feeling nature, 
allows the impression to be deposited and causes us to hold 
a feeling about it. Action 
The outer or sense mind allows us to act. It is the 
instrument through which ideas get transmitted to the 
motor organs. Through our intelligence, we are able to 
know what we are doing. It determines the idea, purpose 
or goal behind our action. Through the ego, we are able to 
identify with what we are doing as "I am doing this" or "I 
am doing that." Through the inner mind, we are able to 
feel the effects of what we are doing inside ourselves as 
long-term happiness or sorrow. Our intentionality — what we want to do — which 
reason determines, decides the sensory impressions to 
which we are open. In this way, action and perception 
always go together. There are any number of impressions 
occurring at any given moment, but we can only register 
those which relate to what we regard as important. According to our plans and actions, we are always in 
motion in a particular direction, like a man driving a car. We must notice and give importance mainly to the 
impressions along the road that we have chosen to travel. The Five Elements and the Mind 
Levels of Awareness 
Ego, or outer self, is the capacity to identify our con- 
sciousness with external objects and conditions. Ego is 
always bringing external impressions into the mind and 
making us feel dependent upon them. It tells us "I am 
this" or "this is mine." Through this, it makes us depen- 
dent upon external things for our identity and happiness. We rarely develop an awareness of the underlying mind- 
space or inner Self unless we learn the art of self-observa- 
tion through meditation. Then we can discriminate who 
we are from external identities, actions and involvement. What we normally call thought is the movement of the 
outer or sense mind in its planning and calculating capac- 
ity. Such thoughts are "I want to do this, tomorrow I 
should do that," and other activities of the ego. Emotion is 
also usually a movement of the sensate mind, an "I want to 
have this" (desire), or "I don't want to experience that" 
(fear). It is our emotional reactions to things, which are 
triggered by sensory impulses. Intelligence functions when we attempt to determine 
what is true, good, of lasting value or of deep meaning. It 
also functions whenever we have to identify objects in the 
external world. The heart or consciousness is the home of 
our deep-seated states of mind, our enduring feelings, or 
the essence of our experience. We come into this only 
when we feel deeply, as in the peak and crisis experiences 
of our lives. Normally all five functions are mixed up, confused by 
the rule of the ego, and we are unable to discern properly 
between them. The ego colors our reason and distorts our 
intelligence. It motivates the sense-mind to seek things in 
the external world. It casts a shadow over the heart and 
narrows our sense of feeling around its limited identities. A70 Ayurveda and the Mind 
Usually our consciousness resides in the outer mind, lit 
up as it is by the lights of the senses. Because of the over- 
whelming abundance of sensory impulses we have to deal 
with, it is very hard not to get caught in them. Only when 
we are contemplating, reasoning or thinking deeply do we 
truly enter into the intermediate mind or intelligence. Only when we feel things deeply, and particularly in deep 
sleep and death when we withdraw from the realm of the 
senses, do we really come into the inner mind. The inner mind is a dark realm for us because our atten- 
tion is externally directed through the outer mind. Only if 
we withdraw from our involvement in the external world 
of the senses can the inner world or realm of the inner 
mind become illumined. Then, when we close our eyes, we 
will see not darkness but light. True psychology is con- 
cerned with illumining this inner world. The inner mind 
is the dark interior, which is mainly unconscious for us and 
which, like a dark realm, tends to breed negative condi- 
tions and to store what we wish to avoid. Unless we learn to look within, we will remain trapped 
in the outer mind and not know how to penetrate through 
the core of ignorance within us. The idea of the outer self 
or ego keeps our consciousness trapped in the outer mind. Only in contact with our inner Self can we unlock the 
secrets of awareness. Psychological Problems and the Energetics of the 
Mind 
As long as the elements in our consciousness are out of 
balance, the mind must be disturbed. The imbalance of 
energies of the mind, like that of the biological humors in 
the body, must produce disease or unrest. The mind's true nature is subtle and must be purified The Five Elements and the Mind 
of the gross elements, particularly the earth element which 
accumulates through the ego. Consciousness and inner Self 
are of the nature of air and space. As long as we are caught 
in the heavier and lower functions of the mind, its true 
nature cannot be revealed. This is not just an issue of bal- 
ancing the forces in the mind, but of spiritualizing the 
mind. We must reduce the lower functions and open up 
the higher. We must form an outer sensory orientation to 
an inner spiritual awareness. Our psychological problems develop in the outer mind 
as we try to find happiness as a physical creature or ego- 
self. They leave memories like scars in the inner mind, just 
as a disease starts with external factors like bad diet or 
exposure to pathogens and gradually comes to affect our 
deeper organs and tissues. To heal the mind, we must puri- 
fy the mind and the substances that compose it. To do this 
we must understand our consciousness and its functions. Now we will look at each of these separately. For this we 
will build on this energetic basis, placing this understand- 
ing of the elements into the background. Ayurveda and the Mind 
The Five Bodies 
1. Physical Body 
\ 
2. Vital Body 
(Prana) 
3. Mental Body 
(Manas) 
4. Body of Intelligence 
(Buddhi) 
5. Body of Consciousness 
(Chitta) o 
6. Self (Atman) 73 A 
Part II 
The Energetics of Consciousness 
aving gained an Ayurvedic perspective on the 
Hmind and body, now we are prepared to 
examine in depth the Ayurvedic view of con- 
sciousness and its functions. Yoga and Ayurveda divide t 
mental field into consciousness, intelligence, mind, and 
self and explain each along with their interactions. We will 
explain how to understand these different aspects of the 
mind in our own life and behavior. This information follows from and builds upon that of 
the previous section relative to the elements, gunas, and 
biological humors and their action on the mind. In this 
way, we will probe deeply into who we are and all the main 
issues of our existence, from the subconscious to the super- 
conscious and beyond. The profundity of the Vedic under- 
standing of both rhe mind and universe should become 
clear and help us move into the deeper levels of our own 
awareness. The reader should recognize that this material may not 
be understood quickly or easily, and some time may be 
necessary to assimilate it. Understanding our conscious- 
ness is not just a matter of reading, but of deep thought 
and meditation. 75 
6. Conditioned Consciousness: 
The Greater Mental Field 
Summary 
In this chapter we will refer to the inner mind as "con- 
sciousness" because it is a deeper level of awareness than 
our ordinary thoughts. However, as previously indicated, 
it is a "conditioned consciousness," bound within the Held 
of space and time, not pure or unconditioned consciousness 
that is timeless and infinite. Unconditioned consciousness 
is our true Self, beyond all the movements of the mind. Conditioned consciousness consists of thought on all levels 
— conscious, unconscious or superconscious. Uncondi- 
tioned consciousness consists of thought-free awareness 
beyond all ideas, emotions and sensations, however subtle 
or vast. The entire movement of spiritual growth consists of 
shifting from conditioned to unconditioned consciousness. Conditioned consciousness is the storehouse of all memo- 
ries and attachments, from which psychological problems 
must ever arise. This conditioning of the mind distorts our 
perception and disturbs our emotions. Ayurvedic psychol- 
ogy works to calm the conditioned mind, removing its 
negative patterns that lead to disease and sorrow. Howev- 
er, the conditioned mind is not merely personal, but con- 
nects to all conditioned consciousness, all thought that 
exists within the universe, and the minds of all beings. We Ayurveda and the Mind 
cannot examine our own mind without looking at the 
whole of life. Consciousness — the World Within 
What is consciousness? Through what do we think, feel 
and perceive? How is it that we can be aware of anything? While these are easy questions to pose, they are very diffi- 
cult to answer. The way to examine them is to begin to 
look into our consciousness and how it functions. Con- 
sciousness is the most wonderful thing in the universe. There is no limit to its depth or to its grasp. It is like a vast 
ocean but, unless we know how to navigate properly 
through it, we can get lost. If we dive into it without the 
right preparation, we can drown. Many mentally disturbed 
people are so immersed in their internal consciousness that 
they can no longer function in the external world. To us 
they appear caught in delusion; in fact, they may be access- 
ing deeper realities, although not in a wholesome manner. Consciousness is our inner world. When the yogi looks 
within he sees his consciousness pulsating with cosmic 
forces; when we look within, however, we see only dark- 
ness or vague memories. Our external vision blinds us. We 
are so conditioned to the vivid light of the senses that we 
cannot perceive the subtle light of consciousness. Learning 
to observe the contents of our consciousness is the most 
important part of mental and spiritual development. Ayurveda provides specific disciplines and meditation 
techniques for this purpose. When consciousness is illu- 
mined, we transcend all external limitations. We no longer 
need to experience the external world, because we have 
learned its lesson — that all is within. In Sanskrit, the greater mental field, or field of 
thought, is called Chitta, from the root "chit," meaning Conditioned Consciousness 77 
"to be aware." Chitta refers to the greater mind: uncon- 
scious, subconscious, self-conscious, and superconscious." Chitta is the mind or consciousness in general, the field 
created by our thoughts. It specifically refers to the inter- 
nal core of the mind, our center of pure feeling and direct 
knowing. Chitta is the inner mind of which our outer or 
personal mentality is a limited development. Out of con- 
venience, I have translated Chitta as "consciousness," but 
we should not forget that this is only an approximation. Most of Chitta is unconscious to the ordinary mind. Only 
in a spiritually developed person is the field of conscious- 
ness fully conscious or aware. Such a person can look at the 
entire mental field because he or she has reached the pure 
consciousness or Self beyond the limitations of thought. What modem psychology calls the unconscious is but a 
comer of this greater consciousness or Chitta. Modem psy- 
chology has penetrated into the personal unconscious and, 
to some extent, the collective unconscious. Our potential 
field of consciousness extends to all consciousness in the 
universe, both individual and collective, personal and 
impersonal, including God. It goes beyond all conditioned 
consciousness to pure consciousness, which is the Absolute 
or supreme tmth. This is the field of yogic psychology 
which is the psychology of the higher Self. Chitta, the Body of Consciousness 
Chitta is our core consciousness — the internal ground 
of the mind. Consciousness, or the field of thought, is a 
quickly vibrating subtle energy field, which is the basis of 
all material manifestation. Chitta, as the core of the mind, 
is the basic stuff or substance of consciousness. It consti- 
tutes the body or bulk of consciousness, just as the tissues 
form the main substance of the physical body. The mind A78 Ayurveda and the Mind 
and senses are like its anns and legs, its limbs and organs. The physical body consists mainly of the heavy ele- 
ments of water and earth and is a creation of gravity, which 
moves downward. Consciousness, on the other hand, is 
composed of the lighter elements of ether and air, and is a 
creation of our thoughts, which like a vapor move upward. While the heavy matters of our nature descend to the form 
of the physical body, the essence of our experience ascends 
to form our consciousness. We have a gross or gravity body 
(the physical) and a refined or essence body (conscious- 
ness). We are not usually aware of our internal organs and tis- 
sues of the physical body, which are beyond the field of the 
senses. Similarly, we are seldom aware of our greater inter- 
nal consciousness, which is not revealed by the outer func- 
tions of the mind. Our internal bodily processes function 
automatically, apart from our ordinary awareness. In the 
same way, our deeper consciousness maintains its process 
on a level deeper than the outer mind. However, we can 
become aware of this deeper consciousness. Meditation 
awakens us to its higher potentials. Nature of Chitta 
The nature of our core consciousness (Chitta) is sensi- 
tivity of all types, the capacity to feel in any manner. The 
ability to feel underlies all mental functions and develops 
into specific operations of thought, emotion and sensation. All that our minds do is a kind of feeling. Even reason is a 
kind of feeling, sensing or comparing. Such feeling is every 
response of our consciousness to stimuli, external or inter- 
nal. Consciousness is the capacity to relate, without which 
no feeling is possible. It allows us to feel things in our- Conditioned Consciousness ™ A 
selves and to feel ourselves in things. Our consciousness is 
a product of our deepest relationships, which determine 
how we feel about life. Association is a key factor deter- 
mining the nature of our consciousness. Consciousness registers everything that comes into the 
mental field on a level deeper than the outer mind. With- 
out first being able to note things, other mental operations 
are not possible. Hypnosis can bring our awareness to the 
level of this deeper consciousness in which we can remem- 
ber everything that has ever happened to us. Our deeper 
consciousness holds the memories of all that we experi- 
ence, not only from birth but from previous lives. It car- 
ries the seeds that keep us involved in the cycle of rebirth, 
which are nothing but our deepest thoughts and impres- 
sions.15 
Consciousness in the Natural World 
The world comes into being through consciousness. Pure Consciousness is the unborn or Absolute beyond cre- 
ation. Conditioned consciousness or thought (Chitta) is 
the ground of Nature, the primal substance that creates 
the universe. Consciousness is the substratum of every- 
thing, the first thing created that creates everything else. It is the essence of all possible experience. Thought creates 
everything, but this is a deeper and more primal level of 
thought than our ordinary personal reactions. Consciousness is responsible for the existence and 
movement of the cosmos. It functions behind all forms of 
matter and energy. Some type of consciousness exists 
everywhere in Nature, even in inanimate objects. It sus- 
tains the cosmic process on all levels, starting with the 
atom itself. Whatever exists must contain some degree of 
consciousness or it could not be perceived. We are sur- Ayurveda and the Mind 
rounded by the ocean of consciousness in which all things 
exist. Only part of it is individualized in the fonn of liv- 
ing creatures. The greater field of Cosmic Consciousness 
underlies the universe, animate and inanimate. Individual 
consciousness occurs within it as particularized centers, 
like waves on the sea. Consciousness exists on a species level and holds the 
accumulated knowledge and experience of each type of 
creature. There are different types of consciousness relative 
to collective divisions of nation, sex, race, and religion, 
holding the specific tendencies of each group. As primal 
sensitivity, consciousness governs the plant kingdom, 
which lives in a state of deep sleep prior to the differenti- 
ation of the senses. Consciousness exists in a latent form in 
the elemental kingdom prior to the development of the 
life-force. It is the basis of the genetic code, which is its 
imprint on the cells, and governs core instinctual respons- 
es. A secret consciousness is working everywhere and is the 
key to all growth and development. Consciousness becomes fully activated in angelic and 
divine beings, the denizens of the great formless heavens, 
where thought is the only reality. Consciousness embraces 
us both from the unconscious and the superconscious. On 
a subliminal level, a secret consciousness sustains our auto- 
nomic functions and works during sleep. On a supercon- 
scious level, a secret consciousness keeps track of our 
karma and supports our spiritual life. The Superconscious 
Our deeper consciousness contains the higher levels of 
the mind in which we can contact God and our inner Self. In it we retain knowledge of worlds more subtle than the 
physical. Consciousness extends beyond all realms of form Conditioned Consciousness 
into the realms of pure feeling and clear awareness. Our individual consciousness links us to the collective 
consciousness, through which we can access the memories 
and tendencies of all human beings. This in turn links us 
with Cosmic Consciousness, through which we can access 
the experiences of all beings from minerals to gods. At the 
summit of the Cosmic Consciousness we contact God, the 
Divine Father/Mother, the cosmic Creator, Preserver and 
Destroyer. Consciousness contains all knowledge, from the most 
mundane mechanics of the elements to the highest spiri- 
tual wisdom.
_OceanofPDF.com_Ayurveda_and_the_mind_-_Dr_David_Frawley.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        Rajasic therapies work through Rajasic qualities 
of stimulation, energization and agitation. Tamasic thera- 
pies work through Tamasic qualities of sedation, sleep and 
grounding. Ayurvedic therapies are primarily Sattvic and 
employ Rajasic and Tamasic modalities only under special 
circumstances. The Three Gunas 39 
Sattvic healing uses Nature, the life force and the power 
of the cosmic mind, through such treatment methods as 
herbs, vegetarian diet, mantra and meditation. Rajas can 
occasionally be useful in the healing process. Rajas helps 
break up Tamas, while Sattva, being a condition of harmo- 
ny, does not always have the ability to do so. It is often nec- 
essary to move from Tamas to Rajas in order to return to 
Sattva, like needing to stimulate or shock a person into 
awakening to their repressed pain. Tamas is seldom useful 
in the healing process except when required to sedate too 
high Rajas. For example, a person in hysteria, an excess 
Rajas condition, may require a strong sedative herb or 
drug, a Tamasic therapy. In this case Sattva would be too 
mild to calm Rajas. ' Ayurvedic psychology aims at moving the mind from 
Tamas to Rajas and eventually to Sattva. This means mov- 
ing from an ignorant and physically-oriented life (Tamas), 
to one of vitality and self-expression (Rajas), and finally to 
one of peace and enlightenment (Sattva). 8 
Three Stages of Mental Healing 
1) Breaking up Tamas/developing Rajas — moving 
from mental inertia to self-motivated action. 2) Calming Rajas/developing Sattva — moving 
from self-motivated action to selfless service. 3) Perfecting Sattva — moving from selfless service 
to meditation. Naturally it is important to know what stage is appro- 
priate for a person. A person in a Tamasic condition 
requires outer activity to break up their inertia; he or she 
cannot simply be asked to sit quietly and meditate. At 
such times Rajasic (active) methods are necessary and Ayurveda and the Mind 
Sattvic (passive) methods may not be sufficient. The per- 
son requires communication and working with other peo- 
ple. A person in a Rajasic condition, however, requires a 
reduction of activity and interiorization of consciousness 
(development of Sattva). Yet this must be done gradually 
because Rajas does not subside all at once. The person 
must be introduced into meditation through practical 
therapies of yogic postures, mantras or visualizations. A 
person in a Sattvic condition requires spiritual practices 
and not ordinary psychological treatment, and can easily 
move into meditation without much external support. However, these three stages are not simply different 
levels. We all have Tamasic, Rajasic and Sattvic factors in 
our minds. We all need each of these three processes to 
some degree. There are times when our minds are Tamasic, 
like right after waking up in the morning or when day- 
dreaming in the afternoon. Whenever we are mentally dull 
or emotionally depressed, Tamas is predominant. Rajas 
prevails when we are agitated, disturbed, active or outgo- 
ing, like when we are very busy working with a number of 
people or projects. Sattva prevails when we are quiet, 
peaceful and content, or naturally fall into meditation. Similarly we should not judge other people by how 
they appear when dominated by one quality only. Even a 
spiritually advanced person has Tamasic moments or peri- 
ods when he or she may do something regrettable. In the 
same way, spiritually undeveloped persons have Sattvic 
moments when they may do something inspired, noble or 
kind. When looking at ourselves, we should try to see all 
three factors in our nature and behavior and try to develop 
our Sattvic side. The Three Gunas 41 /f^v 
Stage i — Personal Healing 
Breaking Up Tamas/ Moving from Tamas to Rajas 
For this transition, fire is necessary. We must wake up, 
act and begin to change. Deep-seated patterns of attach- 
ment, stagnation and depression must be released. We 
must recognize our suffering and learn from it, con- 
fronting our pain, including what we have suppressed or 
ignored for years. A new sense of who we are and what we 
need to do is required. Action (Rajas) is indicated, not only 
in the mind but involving outer aspects of our lives. We 
must break with the past, bring new energies into our 
lives, perhaps change jobs or modify our relationships, or 
move to a new locale. 9 
Stage 2 — Healing of Humanity 
Calming Rajas/ Moving from Rajas to Sattva 
For this transition, space is necessary. We must surren- 
der our pain and give up our personal seeking, letting go 
of individual hurts and sorrows. Egoistic drives and moti- 
vations must be surrendered for the greater good. We must 
depersonalize our problems and look to understand the 
entire human condition and the pain of others. Leaving 
behind our personal problems, we must take up the prob- 
lems of humanity, opening up to the suffering of others as 
our own. We must learn that life creates suffering in order 
to help us grow spiritually. This is a stage of service and 
charity. 11' Ayurveda and the Mind 
Stage 3 — Universal Peace 
Developing Pure Sattva 
To bring about this transition, we must develop love 
and awareness as universal forces. We must learn to tran- 
scend the limitations of the human condition to our high- 
er spiritual nature. Inner peace must become our dominant 
force. We should no longer seek to overcome our pain but 
to develop our joy. We should no longer be centered in our 
personal or collective problems but in developing commu- 
nion with the greater universe and the Divine powers at 
work within it. At this stage we move from the human 
aspect of our condition to the universal aspect, becoming 
open to all life. This is the stage of spiritual practice. It is 
beyond all ordinary healing and works to heal our rela- 
tionship with God or the inner Self. As you go through this book remember the three 
gunas. We will explore how they work according to the 
different layers and functions of the mind. Go to the 
Sattvic core of your being to understand this wisdom of 
Ayurveda. 43 
4. The Nature of the Mind 
t is amazing to note that so many different ideas 
I exist about the nature of the mind and how it func- 
tions. Different systems of psychology, philosophy 
and religion define the mind in ways that can be radically 
different or even contradictory to one another. All of us 
agree on the basic facts of the physical body — its form, 
structure and function. No one holds that the body has 
three legs, or that the stomach thinks and the brain digests 
food. The reason for this is that the body is easy to observe. Yet while we can easily list the main systems of the phys- 
ical body, we find it difficult to do so for the mind. The 
mind appears as an amorphous or structureless entity, 
rather than a precise instrument like the body. Though we all have minds and use them constantly, we 
do not know what our mind really is. We are so caught up 
in the mind's activities that we do not take the time to dis- 
cover what the mind itself really is. In the realm of psy- 
chology, we are still groping in the dark, trying to treat an 
entity whose character eludes us. Without knowing the 
nature of the mind and its functions, how can we really 
approach it. After all, how we perceive the mind is the 
basis of any psychological diagnosis and treatment. The 
problem is that to know the mind we must first know our- 
selves. We must understand who we really are. Thought, 
as we ordinarily know it, is a function of the ego or sepa- 
rate self. A subjective personal bias colors how we look at /A 44 Ayurveda and the Mind 
the mind, rendering an objective assessment of its capaci- 
ties almost impossible. The first step in any true psychology, therefore, is to 
understand the mind and how it works. What is the nature 
of this marvelous instrument called the mind. What is its 
relationship with who we are. What is its connection with 
the body. What is the right function of the mind. Can we 
learn to see the mind as objectively as we see our hands and 
feet. Here Ayurveda and Yoga offer tremendous insights. Getting to Know the Mind 
Can one imagine being put into the driver's seat of an 
automobile with the engine running and not knowing 
how to drive, not knowing how to use the brakes, the 
steering wheel or the clutch. Naturally we would get into 
an accident and, should we survive, would end up perma- 
nently afraid of driving. We are in a not too different situation with our minds. Our awareness is placed in the mind when we are bom, but 
we are not taught how to use the mind, its sensitivities and 
emotions. We are not taught the meaning of its states of 
waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. We are not shown the 
comparative functions of reason, feeling, will and sensory 
perception. We are left in the dark because our parents and 
society do not understand the mind and how it works. The 
mind is the main vehicle we use for all that we do, yet few, 
if any of us, know how to use and care for it properly. We all suffer from ignorance of the nature of the mind. All problems we encounter in life are based ultimately 
upon not knowing the mind and its functions. From this 
primary problem, various secondary problems arise — like 
how to fulfill our desires, or how to avoid what we fear — 
which, however important these may appear, are merely The Nature of the Mind 
the natural consequence of this basic ignorance about the 
mind. For example, if we do not know how to drive a car 
properly, the issue of where to go with it is not important. However, we take these derivative problems as primary or 
blame others for them, turning them into social, moral, or 
political issues, not realizing, that they are just one prob- 
lem — not understanding the mind. From a wrong under- 
standing of the mind, we develop wrong ideas about the 
world and run into difficulty in our social interactions. To use another analogy, if we do not understand how 
fire works, we may bum ourselves. This does not mean we 
are a bad person or that fire is bad, but only that we do not 
understand fire and its properties. The mind has its quali- 
ties and, like fire, can be used for both good and bad. It can 
provide great happiness or wreak tremendous havoc in the 
world, as history has shown again and again. All psycho- 
logical problems are nothing more than a wrong use of the 
mind, which arises from ignorance of how the mind works. The solution to all our mental problems is to leam to use 
the mind properly. This is tme whatever our psychological 
problems may be. More important than any examination of our personal 
or social problems is educating ourselves about the nature 
of the mind. All the problems that appear so immediate 
and important — like whether we will be loved or if our 
friends and family can be happy — are not the real issue 
and cannot be solved directly. The real issue is how to use 
the most important and central instrument in our lives — 
the mind itself. Learning the right use of the mind not only solves our 
psychological problems, but directs us to our higher 
potential of Self-realization. It leads to the spiritual life, 
which is our real occupation as conscious beings. Then we Ayurveda and the Mind 
can transcend the mind — which is inherently limited — 
to Pure Awareness unbounded by time, space or causation. For all things in life, we must start with understanding the 
mind. Mind as an Object 
Though we have always had a mind, most of us have 
never taken the time to observe it. Let us look at our 
minds. For this we must step back internally and take the 
role of the observer. We must begin to witness the mind 
and its functions. 11 Imagine that your thoughts are a 
stream and you are sitting on the bank watching them 
flow by. Learn to see the contents of the mind flowing by, 
without judgment or interference, just as you might 
observe the currents or debris floating down a river. By taking such a witnessing attitude, we can easily get 
to know the mind and its activities. We can perceive vari- 
ous fluctuations in thoughts, feelings and impressions, and 
various states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep. We 
should strive to maintain our awareness in the attitude of 
witnessing the mind. This is the key for learning what the 
mind is. As long as we are caught up in the mind's activi- 
ties, we cannot see the mind as it is, just as we cannot 
observe what is going in a theater if our attention is 
engrossed in the movie. Whatever we can observe, like a cup upon the table, is 
an object and exists apart from our awareness, which is its 
perceiver. Yet we cannot only observe external objects, we 
can also observe internal objects. We can note whether our 
sense organs are acute or impaired, as when our vision 
begins to fail. Similarly we can observe our emotions, our 
thoughts, and even our own ego, which are all fluctuating 
phenomena, if we look deeply. We can observe the func- The Nature of the Mind 
tions of the mind just as we can observe the movements of 
our body. Just as the eye is not damaged when a cup falls onto the 
floor and breaks, so consciousness is not damaged when the 
contents of the mind get altered or damaged. The witness- 
ing consciousness is apart from the objects and conditions 
that it observes. Therefore, the first thing we observe 
about the mind is that, as something observable, the mind 
is an object. The mind is material and part of the external 
world. It belongs to us but it is not who we really are, just 
as our house belongs to us but is not us. This may be 
shocking to consider, but it is really something intuitive- 
ly known to us. When we speak of "my mind," we are 
defining the mind as an object that belongs to us and not 
as ourselves. The mind has a material structure, a set of observable 
energies and conditions. This is not to say that the mind is 
a gross object like a stone or that it is an organ in the phys- 
ical body like the brain, or that it is merely chemical in 
nature. The mind is not physical matter, but it is matter of 
a subtle nature, ethereal and luminous. As an organic enti- 
ty, the mind has a structure, a cycle of nutrition, an origin 
and an end. The mind is invested with a certain quantum 
of energy that produces various tangible effects. Just as we can both see and use our hands, so awareness 
can perceive and use the mind. But this requires a very 
high state of attention. It requires detachment from the 
mind, which means detachment from the mind's activities 
and interests. Mind as an Instrument 
The second important fact about the mind, which fol- 
lows from the mind's material nature, is that the mind is Ayurveda and the Mind 
an instrument or tool. The sense organs themselves are 
instruments — the eye an instrument of seeing, the ear an 
instrument of hearing, and so on. Similarly, the mind that 
works to process sensory information is itself an instru- 
ment. The mind is a means of deriving information from 
the external world. The mind is the main instrument we 
use to function in life. The mind is an instrumentality of 
knowing devised by Cosmic Intelligence to allow for con- 
sciousness to gain experience. The mind is the ultimate 
machine, the best computer, the highest organization of 
matter possible, which allows for the material world to be 
cognized. Notice that we are speaking of the mind, not the brain. The brain is the physical organ through which the mind 
works. We are not conscious of the brain itself or its struc- 
ture. We are only conscious of our actual thought process. The mind is not the brain, but is more subtle. The brain is 
the vehicle for the mind and mirrors its operations, but the 
mind is not limited to the physical apparatus of the brain, 
any more than a person is limited to his shadow. Note that we speak of "my" mind, indicating that we 
view the mind like an instrument. We can direct our 
attention. We can employ our reasoning faculty. We can 
develop our will. We can cultivate our feelings. But if the 
mind is an instrument, then we are not the mind, just as 
we are not any other instrument we use in life. Like any 
instrument, we are the one who uses and must master it, 
not let it tell us what to do. However, we have forgotten that the mind is our 
instrument, though we speak of the mind as ours and not 
of ourselves as the mind. We let the mind tell us who we 
are and what to do. Having become slaves of the mind, we 
lose control of our destiny and fall under the desires of the The Nature of the Mind 
mind, which are not our own but come from the external 
world. Awareness and the Mind 
Behind changing mental fluctuations is a constant 
awareness, an unbroken sense of self or being, an ongoing 
ability to observe, witness and perceive. 12 Though the con- 
tents of the mind constantly shift, like clouds in the sky, 
there is an ongoing continuity to our consciousness, like 
the purity of space, through which we can observe these 
with detachment. Therefore the mind itself is not aware- 
ness. It is the instrument that awareness works through, 
like the computer a person works with. Awareness, unlike the mind, has no form, function or 
movement. It is not located in time and space but stands 
apart as their witness. It is not affected by action and 
remains free of good and bad results. To know this aware- 
ness, we must learn to go beyond the mind, which means 
to disengage from its involvements. This is our real work 
as human beings and the essence of the spiritual path, 
whatever form of it we choose to follow. As long we are in 
the sphere of the mind, we are dominated by the external 
and cannot know the inner reality. True awareness is Pure Consciousness beyond the men- 
tal field. Our ordinary awareness is conditioned within the 
mental field. Only because the light of pure awareness is 
reflected onto the mental field does the mind appear to be 
conscious. The mind itself, therefore, is not aware, intelli- 
gent or self-luminous. It works through the reflection of a 
greater light, a greater consciousness in which alone is 
understanding and freedom. We must learn to seek that 
pure light beyond the mind. Ayurveda and the Mind 
Mind-Body Unity 
The mind is organically related to the physical body. We can observe this by noting how our mind's functions 
change with physical fluctuations, how our behavior 
changes along with our diet, exercise patterns or intake of 
sensory impressions. The mind is also a kind of body or 
organism. It has its metabolism, its appropriate food, its 
waste products, and its derangements that can occur from 
its malfunction. These we will explore in detail in the later 
chapters of the book. The physical body is primarily an organ of perception 
and expression. It is structured mainly by our sense organs, 
which provide perception, like the eyes and ears, and the 
motor organs, like the voice and hands, through which we 
express ourselves. The body, we could say, is the gross form 
of the mind. The body exists to allow the mind to perceive 
and act. Yet, though the mind-body complex is an organ- 
ic unity, the mind and body are not the same. The mind 
can function apart from body consciousness as in sleep, 
trance and after-death states. The body is an object of perception for the mind, as 
when we observe our hands or watch our breathing 
process. Most of the time we are not very aware of our bod- 
ies themselves, but are aware of some action with which 
they are involved. We are conscious of the body primarily 
when we are in pain or otherwise dominated by a strong 
bodily sensation, like sexual pleasure. When we are talk- 
ing, reading or working, we are only slightly aware of our 
physical functioning. We are rarely conscious of our inter- 
nal organs, like the liver or heart, except when we are sick. We mainly perceive the surface of the body through the 
skin and senses. Therefore, we are in the body but we are 
not the body. The Nature of the Mind 51 
Our true awareness or pure consciousness, however, 
transcends both mind and body. It is inherently free of 
their problems and limitations. But to get to it requires 
that we detach ourselves from mind-body functions. Location of the Mind 
There is no particular place in the physical body where 
the mind can be said to be located. Wherever we direct our 
attention, there the mind already is. You can see this for 
yourself. Whatever you look at, whether internally or 
externally, the mind is with you. The mind is not in the 
brain. It is not in the eye or the hand. It moves with our 
awareness. It is not even limited to the body because it can 
observe the body as an object and use it as an instrument. Generally, we think that the mind dwells in either the 
head or the heart. The head is the center for the outer mind 
that works through the senses. The heart is the center of 
the inner mind or feeling nature that transcends the sens- 
es. The brain is no more than a screen on which the ener- 
gies of consciousness from the heart get reflected. Ayurve- 
da regards the heart as the center of consciousness. 1' This 
is not the physical heart but the core of knowing deep 
inside ourselves. We should not confuse this center with a 
physical location. It pervades all our mental activity. Atomic Nature of the Mind 
Having discussed the basic nature of the mind, we can 
now examine more deeply its structure. Look at how your 
attention functions and moves. The most important thing 
we see about the mind's structure is that the mind is atom- 
ic or point-like in nature. The mind consists of various 
points of thought, feeling and sensation, following one 
another in rapid succession. Again, you can observe this for Ayurveda and the Mind 
yourself. Sit quietly and see how your senses work, like 
looking at a tree. Note the shifting movement of your 
mind and how it tries to construct the reality of the object 
from its moving points of attention. The mind has no particular shape or size. It assumes the 
shape and size of whatever object that we examine. Yet it 
always consists of a series of points of attention. The mind 
is not an atom existing in space but a point-sized aware- 
ness which precedes and transcends all other material com- 
ponents and interactions. Though the mind is atomic in nature, it can pervade 
the body as a whole, just as a dot of sandalwood oil can 
pervade the entire body by its fragrance. In this way, the 
mind can not only focus on different parts of the body but 
can motivate it as a whole. Similarly, it can pervade our 
entire field of perception. Though this only lasts an 
instant, these instants follow one another, giving us a sense 
of an entire field of awareness. The atomic nature of the mind leads to various limita- 
tions. We can only focus on one particular object at a time. Our awareness has the nature of a shifting point. This 
allows us to place our attention in specific directions. At 
the same time it gives the mind a tendency to become nar- 
row and attach itself only to those points of view it has 
already seen. We do not see the whole, but try to construct 
it by putting together various points of view. This process 
limits us to a perspective, and however many perspectives 
we have, there is always something that we miss. The mind is like a pointillist painter. It is constructing 
reality out of points. Yet the reality must ever elude it as 
one can never arrive at the whole through fragments. The 
mind's knowledge is inherently limited by the point-like 
nature of the mind. The mind gives a series of snapshots, The Nature of the Mind 53 
which allows us to construct a view of reality. But its snap- 
shots distort that reality by presenting only one side of it. As each mind is a mere point of awareness, each mind 
is unique, has its own perspective, and potentially its own 
inherent bias. Each one of us is true to the perspective of 
our minds. We often fail to see, however, that this per- 
spective is not universal or even common, but the expres- 
sion of limitation. Mobile Nature of the Mind 
Our ever-shifting mental panorama of thoughts, emo- 
tions and sensations reveals the constantly changing or 
mobile nature of the mind. The mind is extremely volatile 
and impossible to prevent from moving. This is because 
the mind is not only a shifting point in space, but is also a 
changing point in time. The mind is not only in motion, 
the mind is its motion. Without motion, the mind does 
not function. Our stream of consciousness is nothing but a rapid 
series of point flashes of mental activity. In fact, the mind 
is the prime point from which the ideas of time and space 
are constructed. It is like the point of an artist's pen which 
draws lines to create a sense of perspective. The mind consists of a series of mental actions, which 
are never the same, even for an instant. If we look deeply, 
we see that the mobility of the mind is not continuous like 
a stream of water or oil. It is like a series of lightning flash- 
es, discontinuous and occurring in rapid succession, which 
allows us to put together a continuous image. The mind, 
therefore, is impossible to still, though there is a stillness 
beyond the mind. Ayurveda and the Mind 
Subtle and Sensitive Nature of the Mind 
Have you ever tried to control your mind. You quickly 
find that the mind is subtle in nature and unpredictable 
like the wind. It has force, energy and movement, but it 
does not have a particular form. Like the wind, we can 
observe the mind more easily through what it moves and 
affects, rather than see it directly. The mind, like the wind, 
blows the clouds of thoughts and feelings. Yet the mind is 
not only like the wind, it is also like space. It encompass- 
es and pervades all its contents, like a screen that holds all 
the pictures placed upon it. The mind is the most subtle 
form of matter. This we will examine in more detail in the 
next chapter on the mind and the elements. The mind is very sensitive. It is the very organ of sen- 
sitivity underlying all the senses. Everything affects or col- 
ors the mind. Everything that we see or feel leaves some 
imprint or residue upon it. Hence the mind must be treat- 
ed with care, particularly in children. The mind can be 
easily hurt, in which case it places barriers around itself 
and dulls its sensitivity. The mind is easily affected and 
disturbed, excited, depressed or distracted. The mind takes the form of the objects it perceives. Hence it is very difficult to see the mind. When our aware- 
ness has withdrawn from the senses, our minds remain 
filled with thoughts and feelings. Only when we empty 
the mind of thought can we see the mind and recognize its 
basic insubstantiality, like a screen that has no meaning 
apart from the images projected on it. Dualistic Nature of the Mind 
The mind, like all matter, is dualistic in nature. It con- 
sists of opposite forces in various degrees of interaction. It 
is prone to dualistic reactions of like/dislike, love/hate and The Nature of the Mind 
so on. Whatever we chink about also creates its opposite. To assert one thing, we must also suggest the contrary. This is why it is important not to train the mind with 
negativity, sin and guilt. For example, if we tell a person 
not to think of a monkey, he or she will naturally think of 
a monkey. If we tell a person not to do something, we have 
first asked them to think about doing it. If we assert the 
thought that we are happy, it suggests the idea that we are 
sad. Thought always reinforces its opposite. The mind moves between opposites and is prone to 
ambivalence or extremes. It can easily become caught in 
opposites or become the victim of its own tendency to 
reverse itself. For this reason we should not try to force the 
mind in any particular direction, but seek to calm it from 
any extremes. Difficulty in Controlling the Mind 
Because of its volatile, point-like, subtle and dualistic 
nature, the mind is hard to grasp and almost impossible to 
control. It has a nature and movement of its own, which it 
tends to impress upon us or make us vulnerable to. Indeed, 
there is nothing more difficult to control than the mind. Human life is nothing but a struggle to learn to control 
the mind. If we have accomplished this, we have done 
everything and accomplished the most difficult thing in 
the entire universe. Inability to control the mind causes 
sorrow and is behind the disease process. Mind and Thought 
The mind is nothing but thought, which is the process 
of the mind. The mind is the entity made up by our 
thoughts. Take away the thoughts of the mind and the 
mind will disappear. As are our thoughts, so moves our Ayurveda and the Mind 
mind, and so we become. Thought fonns are also material 
and affect us like small, almost imperceptible, point-like 
electrical shocks. Our minds are constantly giving out and 
taking in thought forms, which either elevate or depress it. As we become more aware, we learn to consciously project 
positive thought forms and avoid those which are negative. Much of healing consists of changing the thought forms 
that dominate our lives. We must learn to project 
thoughts of peace, love, and harmony to counter those of 
conflict, unhappiness and disturbance that weaken our 
physical and mental vitality. However, thought is of many types and occurs on many 
layers. Only if we change our deepest thoughts can we 
really change ourselves and get beyond the limitations of 
the mind. This is much more than changing our ideas 
about things; it means altering our deepest feelings and 
instincts. It requires deep prayer and meditation, pro- 
foundly energized and concentrated higher thought forms 
to counter deep-seated habits and addictions. A Practical Experiment with the Mind 
Examine for yourself the nature of your mind. Take an 
object, preferably one in the natural world, like a tree. Direct your attention to it. Note how your attention 
changes from instant to instant as you attempt to observe 
it. Note how, through a series of shifting perceptions, you 
construct the idea or total form of the tree, which you 
never perceive all at once. Try to hold your attention on 
one point of the tree. Notice how your attention cannot be 
held in one place but constantly moves around of its own 
accord. As a further experiment, examine your emotions. See 
how your mind functions when you are angry or sad. Note The Nature of the Mind 
the changing nature of emotions, how the stronger the 
emotion, the shorter it is likely to last. See how closely like 
and dislike, love and hate are bound together, and how 
emotions fluctuate like waves on the sea. Next look at your thoughts. See how one thought fol- 
lows another in rapid succession in a compulsive and errat- 
ic flow. Examine the habits of your thinking pattern. Note 
that much of what you think about has little practical 
value, but is merely the mind moving obsessively in its 
own memory grooves. Finally examine the ego or "I-thought. " See how this is 
the root of the other thoughts and how the mind is basi- 
cally self-enclosed in its function. Try not to think the 
thought "1. " See that this is not possible. The "I" is the 
inherent referential point, the center of the mind. Learn to use your mind like a tool, develop various such 
experiments or observations, and, in this way, you will 
cease to be the victim of this subtle instrument. Once we 
learn to observe the mind, we will cease to be the victims 
of what goes on in our minds. Gaining control of our 
minds, we will no longer be dominated by the impulses 
coming from the senses and the conditioning of the exter- 
nal world. We will be able to be who we really are and cre- 
ate what is in harmony with the aspirations of our hearts. 5. The Five Elements and the Mind 
ave you ever looked at the workings of your 
Hmind the way you would observe the world of 
Nature around you. According to Ayurveda, 
if we want to understand how our mind works, the best 
way is to look at how Nature operates. We must see how 
wind, fire and rain function in the psyche. We must learn 
to observe the storms of emotion, the light or half-light of 
reason, and all the rhythms through which not only our 
body, but also our mind and senses move. The mind is a 
formation of Nature, created according to her marvelous 
organic intelligence. The mind has the same basic struc- 
ture as the universe and follows the same immutable laws. We live in a multi-level cosmos, including matter, energy, 
and mind on parallel and interdependent levels, like a 
magnificent crystal or gigantic lotus. Each level helps us 
understand the others and, through the outer, we gain the 
key to the inner. The five elements are one of the main themes of 
Ayurvedic thought, and of related spiritual and healing 
systems. They are a great analog for all existence. Most of 
us do not think of the mind in terms of the elements, how- 
ever. Yet, as a part of Nature, the mind also reflects the 
great elements through which Nature functions. To intro- 
duce the Ayurvedic view of the mind, we can approach it 
according to the elements. Ayurveda and the Mind 
Mind and the Elements 
The mind transcends all the five gross elements 
because, through the mind, we can perceive all the ele- 
ments and their interrelationships. We can observe, imag- 
ine and contemplate all the forms of earth, water, fire, air 
and ether. Yet the elements do provide a key to how the 
mind works. Though the elements in the mind are more 
subtle than those in the body, they retain the same basic 
attributes and actions. We can understand the mental ele- 
ments through the analogy of the physical. The mind is a creation primarily of the ether element of 
Nature. In substance, the mind is like space — expansive, 
open and all-pervading. Like space, it can hold innumer- 
able forms and not be exhausted by them. The more 
evolved the mind becomes, the greater becomes its space. The less evolved the mind, the less expansive its space. Sorrow is nothing but a constricted mind space, like a bird 
in a cage. Bliss is an unlimited mind space, like a bird fly- 
ing free in the sky. In movement, however, the mind is like the wind. Air 
is its secondary element. There is nothing faster in move- 
ment than the mind. It is faster even than the speed of 
light. Look at your mind. It is always busy coordinating 
the body and senses, gathering information, making judg- 
ments, reacting emotionally, and endlessly thinking. This 
ongoing movement occurs because of the mind's connec- 
tion with the air element. Though ether and air are the main elements relating to 
the mind, the other elements have their place in the mind 
as well. The mind has its fire or light through which it can 
perceive things. This gives the mind a quality of illumina- 
tion and a capacity of understanding. Similarly, the mind 
has a watery quality of emotion, empathy and feeling. The Five Elements and the Mind 61 
Finally, it carries a certain weight of earth, memory, and 
attachment. The mind contains all the elements within 
itself according to its differing qualities and actions. The most subtle aspect of the elements makes up the 
mind. The mind space is more subtle than the physical 
space, which it pervades. The mind's air-like movement 
travels even in front of the wind. Fire in the mind can even 
perceive all external forms of light. Water in the mind or 
emotion is more subtle even than the external air. Earth in 
the mind, the mind's weight of attachments and opinions, 
cannot be weighed. The causal or seed level of the elements 
makes up the mind and through it create the gross or 
physical elements. The Three Layers of the Mind 
The mind has three basic layers — inner, intermediate 
and outer. 1) The inner mind consists of the deep core of 
feeling and knowing. It holds the tendencies 
that we carry deep inside ourselves and may 
never express or come to grips with in our 
outer lives. 2) The outer mind is the part of the mind domi- 
nated by the senses and emotions in which we 
ordinarily function on a daily basis, gathering 
impressions and acting in the outer world. 3) The intermediate mind is our capacity to bring 
outer impressions to the inside and inner ten- 
dencies to the outside. It mediates between 
transient sensory impressions and emotions on 
one side, and deep and abiding internal feelings 
on the other. It functions through reason and Ayurveda and the Mind 
perception to help us make judgments and 
decisions. These three aspects of the mind follow a similar model 
as Vata, Pitta and Kapha or air, fire and water, taking this 
energetic to a deeper level. Inner Mind or Deeper Consciousness — Air 
Air exists in the mind as the underlying mental sensi- 
tivity or deeper feeling nature. It is the background vibra- 
tory field of energies, habits and tendencies that sustain 
the mind, by which we are continually thinking. Air is the 
capacity of the mind to relate, identify itself and feel alive. Through it we move, act and function as conscious beings. It constitutes the heart or core consciousness, which is not 
always evident at the surface but is the motivating force 
behind the mind's other functions. Like air, the mind possesses a capacity for change, 
response, and transformation, and consists of various ener- 
gies and impulses in a self-adjusting field. Our conscious- 
ness is a field of motion, an interacting dynamism of ten- 
dencies, latencies and impressions, only a few of which 
reach the outer or self-conscious mind which dominates 
our normal waking state. Most of what we call the uncon- 
scious, subconscious and superconscious is this inner 
mind, of which we are not ordinarily aware. This vibratory field of core thoughts and feelings, how- 
ever, is a conditioned consciousness. It constitutes the 
spontaneous and automatic habits and tendencies within 
us. It is different from pure or unconditioned conscious- 
ness which is our true Self (note below). Intermediate Mind or Intelligence — Fire 
Fire exists in the mind as the rational or discriminating The Five Elements and the Mind 
faculty which allows us to perceive and to judge things. Our determinations of what is true and false, real and 
unreal, good and bad, valuable or worthless are outcomes 
of this capacity to weigh, measure and evaluate. It allows 
us to examine impressions to discern the object from our 
impression of it. It enables us to judge our experience to 
discover what it really means. In this way, it mediates 
between the inner core consciousness and our outer senso- 
ry functions. Reason, like fire, has a hot and luminous nature that 
provides the ability to ascertain and discern. Reason, like 
fire, bums, digests and converts things into more subtle 
forms that nourish our awareness. Reason digests our 
impressions, feelings and thoughts and allows us to derive 
knowledge from them, putting each in its appropriate 
place relative to our understanding of reality. Intelligence is the part of our consciousness articulated 
rationally and, therefore, brought to light. The greater and 
unarticulated part of the mind, the deeper consciousness, 
remains unconscious to our ordinary mind, and therefore 
appears to be dark. We enter into the rational part of the 
mind for important judgments, decisions and to arrive at 
real understanding. It is the part of the greater field of con- 
sciousness that we have brought to light and made our 
own. Outer Mind, Sensation-Emotion — Water 
Water exists in the mind as the emotional nature, our 
ability to connect with the external world, which is the 
seeking of consciousness to take form. This includes our 
capacity to gather sensory impressions and respond to 
them through like and dislike, attraction and repulsion, 
fear and desire. Ayurveda and the Mind 
Water is the formative aspect of mind which allows us 
to imagine, plan and construct our reality. It is the basis of 
will, motivation and action in the external world. It is the 
part of the mind, ever flowing outward, seeking to incar- 
nate itself in matter and accumulate for itself the things of 
the world. Similarly, it is ever gathering impressions from 
the outside, allowing us to hold and accumulate them 
within. Through the outer mind and its expressive capacity, we 
function in the world and feel ourselves to be part of an 
outer reality. It is what we usually know of as the mind and 
contains our ordinary thoughts, emotions and sensations. The Two Levels of the Self 
There are two basic levels to the self, between which 
the three aspects of consciousness function. The outer self 
defines itself according to the body, our physical identity. On the other side, the inner self is our sense of pure sub- 
jectivity, the pure "I am" beyond all bodily identity. These 
can be understood according to the model of earth and 
ether. Outer Self, Ego — Earth 
Earth exists in the mind as the ego, the sense of sepa- 
rate self through which we feel ourselves to be a limited 
person, identified with a particular body in time and 
space. Ego connects us to the physical body and allows us 
to discharge its functions as if they were our own. It pro- 
vides a sense of self in the world, so that we can act with- 
in it. The ego provides an objective referent or identity for 
the self. It works through a self-image or subject-object 
combination. It is the self in process, in becoming and is The Five Elements and the Mind 
always seeking acquisition or achievement. Through ego- 
consciousness, we are ever trying to become somebody or 
get something in the outer world. It is consciousness 
objectified. Inner Self, Soul — Ether 
Ether exists in the mind as its underlying mind-space, 
the background capacity for all mental functions, vibra- 
tions and impressions. Without space, the mind cannot 
function and has no room to move. But like the external 
space, we seldom are aware of this internal mind-space. We 
enter it when we learn to be detached and not identify 
with the activities of the mind. From it we can observe the 
mind and transcend its limited patterns, which are like 
clouds in this higher mind-space. Reflected in this mind-ether, we discover our higher 
identity as a soul, a conscious perceiver who transcends any 
body, image or identity. The inner self is a pure subjectiv- 
ity, the pure "I am" or "I am that I am," as opposed to the 
"I am this" or "this is mine," the self-image which consti- 
tutes the ego. The inner self is content in its self-worth and 
finds peace in its own identity. It does not need to seek 
anything in the external world, which appears like a shad- 
ow before it. Just as the ego or outer self separates us from other crea- 
tures, the soul or inner self unites us with them. As the ego 
possesses the vision of difference, the soul has the vision of 
unity. As the ego grasps form, the soul discerns the 
essence. Yet the individual Self or soul is still linked with 
the mind-body complex and its conditioning. In its pure 
form, divested of attachment to the mind, it becomes the 
Universal Self that transcends any individual identity and 
is beyond all manifestation. This is the unification of the Ayurveda and the Mind 
individual with the universal Self in which there is libera- 
tion and immortality. This higher Self is the pure or 
unconditioned consciousness beyond the different levels of 
the mind. Five Levels of the Mind 
Ether — Higher Self 
Air — Inner Consciousness 
Fire — Intelligence 
Water — Sense Mind 
Earth — Ego 
Workings of the Levels of the Mind 
The outer mind is the doorway by which impressions 
from the external world enter into our consciousness 
through the gates of the senses. Intelligence, or intermedi- 
ate mind, is the doorman who determines which impres- 
sions and energies can come in. Consciousness, or the inner 
mind, is the interior of the room in which these energies 
get deposited in the form of memories and tendencies, 
after they are allowed to enter. Once impressions have become deposited in our inner 
consciousness, they grow like seeds and eventually impel 
us to act according to their nature. They produce various 
motivations, which result in the actions or kannas that 
determine the movement of our lives. Impressions do not automatically enter into the inner 
mind. They only come in when we react to things in the 
form of dualistic emotions, likes and dislikes, love and 
hate, acceptance and rejection. Mere sensory perception by 
itself does not cause external energies to enter the mind. Detached observation cuts off external forces from entering 
the mind, while allowing us to observe them for what they The Five Elements and the Mind 
are and respond to them appropriately. Detached observa- 
tion digests impressions, allowing us to learn from them 
and not be limited by them. As the doorkeeper, intelligence has the capacity to con- 
trol the outer or sense mind and determine what comes in. This depends upon the principles according to which our 
reason is trained to work. If our reasoning faculty is not 
clear, then we rationalize our likes and dislikes rather than 
discern the truth of things. Reason, like a doorkeeper who 
has been bribed, lets any influence into the mind and then 
seeks a reason to justify letting it stay. Our inner mind, the deeper feeling nature of the heart, 
is passive and innocent like a child. Whatever we open up 
our heart to gets deposited within it. The feeling nature is 
sensitive and vulnerable. It can be disturbed or motivated 
by whatever we let in. Therefore, it is very important to 
discriminate properly what we let into our hearts. Once we 
have accepted things at a heart level, we regard them as 
our own and can no longer examine them objectively, just 
as a mother can never criticize her own children. The Perceptual Process 
Let us examine our perceptual process to clarify this fur- 
ther. First we gather impressions based upon where we place 
our attention. For example, we look out the window and see 
the stature and dress of a person walking by. This is the 
function of the outer mind. Second we evaluate the impres- 
sions and come to a conclusion about what the object is. It 
is our neighbor, Sam. This is the function of intelligence. Third, the impression of the object gets deposited in our 
deeper consciousness as a memory. We remember that Sam 
walked by the house this morning. In this process ego sur- 
faces at some point, generally after recognizing the object. Ayurveda and the Mind 
When we recognize our neighbor, we remember that we like 
him for some remark he said about us. The outer mind works to select and gather impressions. It provides images like an object seen in a mirror, which is 
merely presented but not perceived. Intelligence, or the 
intermediate mind, allows us to recognize particular 
objects from the field of impressions. The ego allows us to 
identify an impression as belonging to us or to otherwise 
subjectively react to it. The inner mind, or feeling nature, 
allows the impression to be deposited and causes us to hold 
a feeling about it. Action 
The outer or sense mind allows us to act. It is the 
instrument through which ideas get transmitted to the 
motor organs. Through our intelligence, we are able to 
know what we are doing. It determines the idea, purpose 
or goal behind our action. Through the ego, we are able to 
identify with what we are doing as "I am doing this" or "I 
am doing that. " Through the inner mind, we are able to 
feel the effects of what we are doing inside ourselves as 
long-term happiness or sorrow. Our intentionality — what we want to do — which 
reason determines, decides the sensory impressions to 
which we are open. In this way, action and perception 
always go together. There are any number of impressions 
occurring at any given moment, but we can only register 
those which relate to what we regard as important. According to our plans and actions, we are always in 
motion in a particular direction, like a man driving a car. We must notice and give importance mainly to the 
impressions along the road that we have chosen to travel. The Five Elements and the Mind 
Levels of Awareness 
Ego, or outer self, is the capacity to identify our con- 
sciousness with external objects and conditions. Ego is 
always bringing external impressions into the mind and 
making us feel dependent upon them. It tells us "I am 
this" or "this is mine. " Through this, it makes us depen- 
dent upon external things for our identity and happiness. We rarely develop an awareness of the underlying mind- 
space or inner Self unless we learn the art of self-observa- 
tion through meditation. Then we can discriminate who 
we are from external identities, actions and involvement. What we normally call thought is the movement of the 
outer or sense mind in its planning and calculating capac- 
ity. Such thoughts are "I want to do this, tomorrow I 
should do that," and other activities of the ego. Emotion is 
also usually a movement of the sensate mind, an "I want to 
have this" (desire), or "I don't want to experience that" 
(fear). It is our emotional reactions to things, which are 
triggered by sensory impulses. Intelligence functions when we attempt to determine 
what is true, good, of lasting value or of deep meaning. It 
also functions whenever we have to identify objects in the 
external world. The heart or consciousness is the home of 
our deep-seated states of mind, our enduring feelings, or 
the essence of our experience. We come into this only 
when we feel deeply, as in the peak and crisis experiences 
of our lives. Normally all five functions are mixed up, confused by 
the rule of the ego, and we are unable to discern properly 
between them. The ego colors our reason and distorts our 
intelligence. It motivates the sense-mind to seek things in 
the external world. It casts a shadow over the heart and 
narrows our sense of feeling around its limited identities. A70 Ayurveda and the Mind 
Usually our consciousness resides in the outer mind, lit 
up as it is by the lights of the senses. Because of the over- 
whelming abundance of sensory impulses we have to deal 
with, it is very hard not to get caught in them. Only when 
we are contemplating, reasoning or thinking deeply do we 
truly enter into the intermediate mind or intelligence. Only when we feel things deeply, and particularly in deep 
sleep and death when we withdraw from the realm of the 
senses, do we really come into the inner mind. The inner mind is a dark realm for us because our atten- 
tion is externally directed through the outer mind. Only if 
we withdraw from our involvement in the external world 
of the senses can the inner world or realm of the inner 
mind become illumined. Then, when we close our eyes, we 
will see not darkness but light. True psychology is con- 
cerned with illumining this inner world. The inner mind 
is the dark interior, which is mainly unconscious for us and 
which, like a dark realm, tends to breed negative condi- 
tions and to store what we wish to avoid. Unless we learn to look within, we will remain trapped 
in the outer mind and not know how to penetrate through 
the core of ignorance within us. The idea of the outer self 
or ego keeps our consciousness trapped in the outer mind. Only in contact with our inner Self can we unlock the 
secrets of awareness. Psychological Problems and the Energetics of the 
Mind 
As long as the elements in our consciousness are out of 
balance, the mind must be disturbed. The imbalance of 
energies of the mind, like that of the biological humors in 
the body, must produce disease or unrest. The mind's true nature is subtle and must be purified The Five Elements and the Mind 
of the gross elements, particularly the earth element which 
accumulates through the ego. Consciousness and inner Self 
are of the nature of air and space. As long as we are caught 
in the heavier and lower functions of the mind, its true 
nature cannot be revealed. This is not just an issue of bal- 
ancing the forces in the mind, but of spiritualizing the 
mind. We must reduce the lower functions and open up 
the higher. We must form an outer sensory orientation to 
an inner spiritual awareness. Our psychological problems develop in the outer mind 
as we try to find happiness as a physical creature or ego- 
self. They leave memories like scars in the inner mind, just 
as a disease starts with external factors like bad diet or 
exposure to pathogens and gradually comes to affect our 
deeper organs and tissues. To heal the mind, we must puri- 
fy the mind and the substances that compose it. To do this 
we must understand our consciousness and its functions. Now we will look at each of these separately. For this we 
will build on this energetic basis, placing this understand- 
ing of the elements into the background. Ayurveda and the Mind 
The Five Bodies 
1. Physical Body 
\ 
2. Vital Body 
(Prana) 
3. Mental Body 
(Manas) 
4. Body of Intelligence 
(Buddhi) 
5. Body of Consciousness 
(Chitta) o 
6. Self (Atman) 73 A 
Part II 
The Energetics of Consciousness 
aving gained an Ayurvedic perspective on the 
Hmind and body, now we are prepared to 
examine in depth the Ayurvedic view of con- 
sciousness and its functions. Yoga and Ayurveda divide t 
mental field into consciousness, intelligence, mind, and 
self and explain each along with their interactions. We will 
explain how to understand these different aspects of the 
mind in our own life and behavior. This information follows from and builds upon that of 
the previous section relative to the elements, gunas, and 
biological humors and their action on the mind. In this 
way, we will probe deeply into who we are and all the main 
issues of our existence, from the subconscious to the super- 
conscious and beyond. The profundity of the Vedic under- 
standing of both rhe mind and universe should become 
clear and help us move into the deeper levels of our own 
awareness. The reader should recognize that this material may not 
be understood quickly or easily, and some time may be 
necessary to assimilate it. Understanding our conscious- 
ness is not just a matter of reading, but of deep thought 
and meditation. 75 
6. Conditioned Consciousness: 
The Greater Mental Field 
Summary 
In this chapter we will refer to the inner mind as "con- 
sciousness" because it is a deeper level of awareness than 
our ordinary thoughts. However, as previously indicated, 
it is a "conditioned consciousness," bound within the Held 
of space and time, not pure or unconditioned consciousness 
that is timeless and infinite. Unconditioned consciousness 
is our true Self, beyond all the movements of the mind. Conditioned consciousness consists of thought on all levels 
— conscious, unconscious or superconscious. Uncondi- 
tioned consciousness consists of thought-free awareness 
beyond all ideas, emotions and sensations, however subtle 
or vast. The entire movement of spiritual growth consists of 
shifting from conditioned to unconditioned consciousness. Conditioned consciousness is the storehouse of all memo- 
ries and attachments, from which psychological problems 
must ever arise. This conditioning of the mind distorts our 
perception and disturbs our emotions. Ayurvedic psychol- 
ogy works to calm the conditioned mind, removing its 
negative patterns that lead to disease and sorrow. Howev- 
er, the conditioned mind is not merely personal, but con- 
nects to all conditioned consciousness, all thought that 
exists within the universe, and the minds of all beings. We Ayurveda and the Mind 
cannot examine our own mind without looking at the 
whole of life. Consciousness — the World Within 
What is consciousness. Through what do we think, feel 
and perceive. How is it that we can be aware of anything. While these are easy questions to pose, they are very diffi- 
cult to answer. The way to examine them is to begin to 
look into our consciousness and how it functions. Con- 
sciousness is the most wonderful thing in the universe. There is no limit to its depth or to its grasp. It is like a vast 
ocean but, unless we know how to navigate properly 
through it, we can get lost. If we dive into it without the 
right preparation, we can drown. Many mentally disturbed 
people are so immersed in their internal consciousness that 
they can no longer function in the external world. To us 
they appear caught in delusion; in fact, they may be access- 
ing deeper realities, although not in a wholesome manner. Consciousness is our inner world. When the yogi looks 
within he sees his consciousness pulsating with cosmic 
forces; when we look within, however, we see only dark- 
ness or vague memories. Our external vision blinds us. We 
are so conditioned to the vivid light of the senses that we 
cannot perceive the subtle light of consciousness. Learning 
to observe the contents of our consciousness is the most 
important part of mental and spiritual development. Ayurveda provides specific disciplines and meditation 
techniques for this purpose. When consciousness is illu- 
mined, we transcend all external limitations. We no longer 
need to experience the external world, because we have 
learned its lesson — that all is within. In Sanskrit, the greater mental field, or field of 
thought, is called Chitta, from the root "chit," meaning Conditioned Consciousness 77 
"to be aware. " Chitta refers to the greater mind: uncon- 
scious, subconscious, self-conscious, and superconscious. " Chitta is the mind or consciousness in general, the field 
created by our thoughts. It specifically refers to the inter- 
nal core of the mind, our center of pure feeling and direct 
knowing. Chitta is the inner mind of which our outer or 
personal mentality is a limited development. Out of con- 
venience, I have translated Chitta as "consciousness," but 
we should not forget that this is only an approximation. Most of Chitta is unconscious to the ordinary mind. Only 
in a spiritually developed person is the field of conscious- 
ness fully conscious or aware. Such a person can look at the 
entire mental field because he or she has reached the pure 
consciousness or Self beyond the limitations of thought. What modem psychology calls the unconscious is but a 
comer of this greater consciousness or Chitta. Modem psy- 
chology has penetrated into the personal unconscious and, 
to some extent, the collective unconscious. Our potential 
field of consciousness extends to all consciousness in the 
universe, both individual and collective, personal and 
impersonal, including God. It goes beyond all conditioned 
consciousness to pure consciousness, which is the Absolute 
or supreme tmth. This is the field of yogic psychology 
which is the psychology of the higher Self. Chitta, the Body of Consciousness 
Chitta is our core consciousness — the internal ground 
of the mind. Consciousness, or the field of thought, is a 
quickly vibrating subtle energy field, which is the basis of 
all material manifestation. Chitta, as the core of the mind, 
is the basic stuff or substance of consciousness. It consti- 
tutes the body or bulk of consciousness, just as the tissues 
form the main substance of the physical body. The mind A78 Ayurveda and the Mind 
and senses are like its anns and legs, its limbs and organs. The physical body consists mainly of the heavy ele- 
ments of water and earth and is a creation of gravity, which 
moves downward. Consciousness, on the other hand, is 
composed of the lighter elements of ether and air, and is a 
creation of our thoughts, which like a vapor move upward. While the heavy matters of our nature descend to the form 
of the physical body, the essence of our experience ascends 
to form our consciousness. We have a gross or gravity body 
(the physical) and a refined or essence body (conscious- 
ness). We are not usually aware of our internal organs and tis- 
sues of the physical body, which are beyond the field of the 
senses. Similarly, we are seldom aware of our greater inter- 
nal consciousness, which is not revealed by the outer func- 
tions of the mind. Our internal bodily processes function 
automatically, apart from our ordinary awareness. In the 
same way, our deeper consciousness maintains its process 
on a level deeper than the outer mind. However, we can 
become aware of this deeper consciousness. Meditation 
awakens us to its higher potentials. Nature of Chitta 
The nature of our core consciousness (Chitta) is sensi- 
tivity of all types, the capacity to feel in any manner. The 
ability to feel underlies all mental functions and develops 
into specific operations of thought, emotion and sensation. All that our minds do is a kind of feeling. Even reason is a 
kind of feeling, sensing or comparing. Such feeling is every 
response of our consciousness to stimuli, external or inter- 
nal. Consciousness is the capacity to relate, without which 
no feeling is possible. It allows us to feel things in our- Conditioned Consciousness ™ A 
selves and to feel ourselves in things. Our consciousness is 
a product of our deepest relationships, which determine 
how we feel about life. Association is a key factor deter- 
mining the nature of our consciousness. Consciousness registers everything that comes into the 
mental field on a level deeper than the outer mind. With- 
out first being able to note things, other mental operations 
are not possible. Hypnosis can bring our awareness to the 
level of this deeper consciousness in which we can remem- 
ber everything that has ever happened to us. Our deeper 
consciousness holds the memories of all that we experi- 
ence, not only from birth but from previous lives. It car- 
ries the seeds that keep us involved in the cycle of rebirth, 
which are nothing but our deepest thoughts and impres- 
sions. 15 
Consciousness in the Natural World 
The world comes into being through consciousness. Pure Consciousness is the unborn or Absolute beyond cre- 
ation. Conditioned consciousness or thought (Chitta) is 
the ground of Nature, the primal substance that creates 
the universe. Consciousness is the substratum of every- 
thing, the first thing created that creates everything else. It is the essence of all possible experience. Thought creates 
everything, but this is a deeper and more primal level of 
thought than our ordinary personal reactions. Consciousness is responsible for the existence and 
movement of the cosmos. It functions behind all forms of 
matter and energy. Some type of consciousness exists 
everywhere in Nature, even in inanimate objects. It sus- 
tains the cosmic process on all levels, starting with the 
atom itself. Whatever exists must contain some degree of 
consciousness or it could not be perceived. We are sur- Ayurveda and the Mind 
rounded by the ocean of consciousness in which all things 
exist. Only part of it is individualized in the fonn of liv- 
ing creatures. The greater field of Cosmic Consciousness 
underlies the universe, animate and inanimate. Individual 
consciousness occurs within it as particularized centers, 
like waves on the sea. Consciousness exists on a species level and holds the 
accumulated knowledge and experience of each type of 
creature. There are different types of consciousness relative 
to collective divisions of nation, sex, race, and religion, 
holding the specific tendencies of each group. As primal 
sensitivity, consciousness governs the plant kingdom, 
which lives in a state of deep sleep prior to the differenti- 
ation of the senses. Consciousness exists in a latent form in 
the elemental kingdom prior to the development of the 
life-force. It is the basis of the genetic code, which is its 
imprint on the cells, and governs core instinctual respons- 
es. A secret consciousness is working everywhere and is the 
key to all growth and development. Consciousness becomes fully activated in angelic and 
divine beings, the denizens of the great formless heavens, 
where thought is the only reality. Consciousness embraces 
us both from the unconscious and the superconscious. On 
a subliminal level, a secret consciousness sustains our auto- 
nomic functions and works during sleep. On a supercon- 
scious level, a secret consciousness keeps track of our 
karma and supports our spiritual life. The Superconscious 
Our deeper consciousness contains the higher levels of 
the mind in which we can contact God and our inner Self. In it we retain knowledge of worlds more subtle than the 
physical. Consciousness extends beyond all realms of form Conditioned Consciousness 
into the realms of pure feeling and clear awareness. Our individual consciousness links us to the collective 
consciousness, through which we can access the memories 
and tendencies of all human beings. This in turn links us 
with Cosmic Consciousness, through which we can access 
the experiences of all beings from minerals to gods. At the 
summit of the Cosmic Consciousness we contact God, the 
Divine Father/Mother, the cosmic Creator, Preserver and 
Destroyer. Consciousness contains all knowledge, from the most 
mundane mechanics of the elements to the highest spiri- 
tual wisdom. Section summary: 

This passage discusses several topics regarding the concept
    *   **Gunastheories**: Talks extensively about  
      sattiva rajasa tamasi. * Discusses theories   
       concerning raja/tama/satta balance

            --


Here summarise:
Please summarize 'Section Summary'. Do NOT rewrite. Keep original sentence structures & phrases. **Note:** Since my request doesn't specify formatting rules, please ensure accuracy,
conciseness, specificity AND avoiding repetition using proper sentences. Original Text:



---

You're requested me to summarize ONLY THE ORIGINAL TEXT SECTION above,

NOT rewriting nor adding extra words. So here IS YOUR SUMMARY:


According TO THIS PASSAGE IN ‘AYURVEDIC PSYCHOLOGY', RAJASIC Therapis WORK THROUGH STIMULATION ENERGINIZATION AGITATION;
Tamastic THERRAPIES ARE FOR SEDESIONALISM, SLUMBERING ONTO CONSCIOUSNESS WHILE WE CANNOT SEE IT AS OURSELVES UNLESS THERE'S DETACHMENT FROM ACTIVITIES OF THE MIND. Additionally, THEY DISCUSS THAT TAMAS CAN BE USED RARELY WHEN PERSON HAS TOO MUCHRAJA;

THREE PHASED HEALINGS OCCUR MOVEMENT FORM TASMA → JAJIA THEN SAATAVILITY - ACTION → SELFLES SERVICE −> MEDITION. , NO ORDINARY PATHOLGY WILL EVER UNDERSTAND HOW PEOPLE REALLY THINK FEEL OR PERCEIVE REALITY BY JUST OBSERVATIONS WITHOUT INTERFERENCE WITH THEIR CHANGES LIKE WATCHING FLOWING STREAM AT BANK SIDE. THE NATURE OP THE MINO DIFERS BETWEEN PHYSICAL STRUCTURE BUT SUBTLERE THAN MATTER…LIKE SPACE. ETC. THIS MEANS COMPARISON DOESN'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE B/W TIME/SUBSPAC/ELEMENTARY PARTICLE LEVEL. ALL THESE FACTORS COEXIST SIMULTANEOUSLTY, YIELDIN&GROWTH. LAST THREE LINES SHOULD HAVE BEEN PART OF ANOTHER QUESTION SO PLEASE IGNORE THEM. ) Final Answer : Hope you found accurate concise response. Please review thoroughly. Final Update :

Would appreciate feedback since English isn’t native language). Kind comments welcome. ).
Sattvic therapies primarily employ Sattvic and Rajasic modalities, but only under special circumstances.
What are the primary qualities of Sattvic therapies?
Ayurvedic psychology aims to move the mind from Tamas to Rajas and eventually to Sattva.
What is the main goal of Ayurvedic psychology?
The main issue with the mind is that it is a tool that we use, but we do not know how to use it properly.
What is the main issue with the mind, according to the text?
The mind is organically related to the physical body, and the two are not the same. The mind is a subtle and energetic structure that is not physical in nature.
What is the relationship between the mind and the physical body?
The ultimate goal of the three stages is to transcend the limitations of the mind and connect with the higher Self, which is the pure, unconditioned consciousness.
What is the ultimate goal of the three stages of mental healing, according to the text?