dhi, dhirti & smriti

MIND, MEMORY AND YOUR DOSHAS 

In the brain, all three doshas work together to perform and carry out the three fundamental functions of the mind: learning, processing, and recalling information. Imbalance in any one of the three doshas, therefore, can cause problems with memory, concentration, or mental clarity. Learning, processing and recalling information involve three key brain functions according to MVM. These three intimately connected functions are referred to as dhi (dhee,) dhriti (dhrih tee) and smriti (smrih tee.) Each of these must be flowing smoothly for learning, processing and memory to be good. Conversely, a problem in any one of these critical brain functions will lead to a problem with your memory or some aspect of your mental performance.

Dhi refers to the acquisition of knowledge or the initial learning and understanding. In modern terms this is your immediate or working memory--the kind that you use as you pay attention to what is going on around you, or as you read these words and put them into the context of the sentences and paragraphs you have just read.. This function is governed by vata dosha. To have good focus of mind to learn and acquire new knowledge, vata dosha (specifically prana vata) must be balanced. Otherwise, your attention will be easily distracted by outside stimuli like a radio playing, your co-worker speaking on the phone next to you, or by your own inner thoughts or emotions. 

Dhriti refers to the processing within the mind and brain of this new information, which results in it getting laid down as a memory that can be retrieved later. This includes processing that results in short-term memory that can be retrieved for a day or two and then is forgotten, (such as your grocery list or your appointment schedule for the next day). Dhriti also refers to brain processing that results in some memories being laid down for the long-term--like your wedding day or your daughter’s first piano recital, details of which may be just as clear thirty years later as the day it happened. Dhriti involves chemical and electrical processing in the brain and is therefore governed by pitta, which is responsible for all metabolism. When pitta gets out of balance, specifically the subdosha sadaka, dhriti function will be disturbed, and laying down of memory will be impaired.

Smriti is responsible for stabilizing the memory in the brain circuits, and ensuring that it can be recalled at will. Holding and storing the memory deep within the brain, and then retrieving and calling it back to conscious awareness, is the responsibility of smriti. If you know that someone’s name or the last verse of your husband’s favorite song is there somewhere, but you just can’t recall it at the moment, then your brain’s smriti function has temporarily eluded you. Kapha dosha, specifically the subdosha tarpaka (tar puhka), which lubricates and nourishes the brain tissue, is responsible for this capacity. If you are having slow recall or are frequently unable to muster up the name or memory you know that you know, then your tarpaka kapha is in need of some help.

To improve your mind and memory it is fortunately not necessary to analyze which aspect of dhi, dhriti and smriti is responsible for your “senior moments.” Rather, MVM addresses all three simultaneously in traditional herbal formulas for the brain as well as specific foods, spices and behaviors, such as sleep, exercise and stress reduction.


http://www.ayurveda-ayurvedic.net/memory.html