Tag Yoga Sutra

Knowledge Systems Patanjali Yoga Sutra 1.8

After explaining what the instruments or tools of Knowledge are, Patanjali sets on defining Correct and incorrect Knowledge.

Knowledge is simply Awareness, that there is something.

This is the beginning of Perception.

For perception, please read my Post 'Perception'

For awareness, three things are needed.

The one who perceives(Subject)

That which is Perceived(Object) and

A Relationship between these two(Subject and the Object)

A Table (Object) may be there and you ( Subject) are present..

If you see the Table in front of your eyes, the system you follow is Realism.

You are ina room and the Table in another room.

But you know that the table exists m because you know it used to be there.

This is Objective Idealism.

There might be stable in your friend's House in some other place or take the instance of Mars.

In this case, you do not have the idea as such personally.

But it exists as an Idea in some one else's Mind.

When we take things to Be, of which we have no IDEA,it is called Subjective Idealism or Solipsism..

'Forget every thing, I am able to write on this, it has four legs and a Top'

This is Pragmatism.

Every information is through Language, that is from Words.

Identify The Tools of The Mind Patanjali Yoga Sutra 6

We have seen in the earlier Sutra that one has to manage pleasures by understanding the Modifications of the Mind, which one makes us immersed in them to such an extent as to lose ourselves.

We need the instruments to identify these.

Mind, being the one to be managed, these instruments can not be from out side us,

They have to be within us.

''Pramaana,Viparya,Vikalpa,Nidra, Smrithayah' Yoga Sutra ( Samadhi Pada-1.6)

However , until we become the Realized Soul, we have to use our discrimination.

Here one finds an interesting Concept in Hinduism

Unlike the Western Philosophy, Hinduism, treats the Mind as just an Organ. like eyes,ears, Nose, Body(tactile sensation), mouth etc.

The West treats Mind an Entity along with Matter.

We have three levels to aid us in being aware of,knowing, understanding , judging and directing.

First the Brain,the physical organ, which is the instrument for collecting the sense impressions conveyed to it by the Neurons.

Next, The Mind, which is like a CPU, collects these sensory perceptions(here again I use the term in the normal sense, not the philosophical sense) for analysis, assigns them a a Folder , as it were.

Intellect, is the activity of the Mind(just as the Mind is the activity of the Brain), which recognizes this information, and assigns or passes, as it were, Judgement like correct or incorrect, Right or Wrong,

This Intellect may be understood to mean 'Buddhi'-this is not an exact equivalent for the Sanskrit word.

This Buddhi , under the directions of the Chiththa, directs it to take a particular course of Action, including what to store.

This Chiththa , though the manifestation of the attributes of The Reality might be 'have been affected by past mental impressions or Vaasanas( a term that denotes the remnants of all the Impressions of our earlier actions, including those that we have seeming ly forgotten and of our past Lives.

We choose a course of the instrument of Knowledge, as directed by the Chiththi.(Siddhi)

What are they?