Manas
Manas, “the mind”
Kāma has other meanings too: see all meanings of Kāma. Buddhi has other meanings too: see all meanings of Buddhi. Prāṇa has other meanings too: see all meanings of Prāṇa.
Grammar: neuter noun, from the root man (to think): “that which thinks”, the mind.
Meaning: the mind, the inner instrument of saṅkalpa (intention), counted as the eleventh indriya. It arises from ahaṅkāra and stands below buddhi.
In the scriptures: the Agni Purāṇa speaks of the manas in many places.
- In creation: Agnideva, telling the play of Vishṇu in the creation of the world, says that from the taijasa ahaṅkāra arose the ten indriyas, the vaikārika devatās, and Manas, the eleventh indriya. Later Brahmā made Kāla (time), Manas (mind), Vāk (speech), Kāma (desire), Krodha (anger) and Rati (delight) (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 17).
- In the adhivāsa of the mūrti: Hayagrīva teaches Brahmā how the sādhaka dissolves the tattvas within: the bhūtas into the tanmātras and into ākāśa; ākāśa into manas, manas into ahaṅkāra, ahaṅkāra into the mahat-tattva, and the mahat into the unmanifest prakṛti. Then he creates them again: from buddhi came ahaṅkāra, from ahaṅkāra manas, and from manas the five objects (śabda, sparśa, rūpa, rasa and gandha), joined with saṅkalpa. In the nyāsa, the bīja paṃ is placed on the heart for manas, the instrument of saṅkalpa, with baṃ for buddhi and saṃ for ahaṅkāra (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 59).
- In the maṇḍala: in the rite of the Bhadra maṇḍala that Nārada gives, manas is worshipped on the sixteen-petalled lotus with ākāśa, vāyu, tejas, jala, pṛthivī and the senses; the individual and the collective manas, buddhi and ahaṅkāra on the twenty-four-petalled lotus of the third enclosure, whose forms are sound only, so that it is enough to say their names and bow; and manas, buddhi and ahaṅkāra again on the thirty-two-petalled lotus of the fourth enclosure (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 30).
- In the abhisheka of a king: the purohita prays, “May Ātmā, Āyus, Manas, Daksha, Mada, Prāṇa, Havishmat, Garishṭha, Ṛta and Satya protect you” (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 219).
- In speech: in the śikshā, the science of the sounds of the Veda, the ātmā, thinking over things with the buddhi, joins with the manas through the wish to speak; the manas strikes the jaṭharāgni (the fire in the belly), and the jaṭharāgni impels the vāyu (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 336).
- In the kośa: in the lexicon that Agnideva gives, the words citta, cetas, hṛdaya, svānta, hṛd, mānasa and manas all mean the mind (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 360).
- In dhyāna: Agnideva teaches that to think of Vishṇu again and again with a mind free of distraction is dhyāna. In the shrine that is one’s own body, in the mind, at the centre of the seat of the heart, one should install Keśava and worship him with dhyāna-yoga. To steady the mind, the sādhaka first meditates on the gross form; when the mind is steady, it can be held on the subtle (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 374).
- In the knowledge of Brahman: the jñānendriyas, the manas, the karmendriyas, ahaṅkāra, buddhi, the five bhūtas and the unmanifest prakṛti together are called the kshetra (the field); the one who knows them is the kshetrajña. Whatever is grasped by the mind and the senses is modification (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 376). Manas and buddhi are instruments, like a lamp; they are not the ātmā (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 377). The mind attached to the objects of the senses is the cause of bondage; turned away from them, it is the cause of jñāna. Drawing it back from the objects, one should remember Hari, and to one who meditates on him Hari gives the state of Brahman. The union of the mind with Brahman through one’s own effort is yoga (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 379).
Related terms: Buddhi · Ahaṅkāra · Indriya · Citta · Mahat · Dhyāna
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 17, 30, 59, 219, 336, 360, 374, 376, 377, 379