HSIN HSIN MING

Verses On the Faith Mind
Translated by Richard B. Clarke

至道無難 The Great Way is not difficult
唯嫌揀擇 for those who have no preferences.
但莫憎愛 When love and hate are both absent
洞然明白 everything becomes clear and undisguised.
毫釐有差 Make the smallest distinction, however
天地懸隔 and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.
欲得現前 If you wish to see the truth
莫存順逆 then hold no opinions for or against anything.
違順相爭 To set up what you like against what you dislike
是爲心病 is the disease of the mind.
不識玄旨 When the deep meaning of things is not understood
徒勞念靜 the mind's essential peace is disturbed to no avail.

圓同太虚 The Way is perfect like vast space
無欠無餘 where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess.
良由取捨 Indeed, it is due to our choosing to accept or reject
所以不如 that we do not see the true nature of things.
莫逐有縁 Live neither in the entanglements of outer things,
勿住空忍 nor in inner feelings of emptiness.
一種平懷 Be serene in the oneness of things
泯然自盡 and such erroneous views will disappear by themselves.
止動歸止 When you try to stop activity to achieve passivity
止更彌動 your very effort fills you with activity.
唯滯兩邊 As long as you remain in one extreme or the other
寧知一種 you will never know Oneness.

一種不通 Those who do not live in the single Way
兩處失功 fail in both activity and passivity,
遣有沒有 assertion and denial. To deny the reality of things
從空背空 to assert the emptiness of things is to miss their reality.
多言多慮 The more you talk and think about it,
轉不相應 the further astray you wander from the truth.
絶言絶慮 Stop talking and thinking,
無處不通 and there is nothing you will not be able to know.
歸根得旨 To return to the root is to find the meaning,
隨照失宗 but to pursue appearances is to miss the source.
須臾返照 At the moment of inner enlightenment
勝卻前空 there is a going beyond appearance and emptiness.
前空轉變 The changes that appear to occur in the empty world
皆由妄見 we call real only because of our ignorance.
不用求眞 Do not search for the truth;
唯須息見 only cease to cherish opinions.

二見不住 Do not remain in the dualistic state
慎莫追尋 avoid such pursuits carefully.
纔有是非 If there is even a trace of this and that, of right and wrong,
紛然失心 the Mind-essence will be lost in confusion.
二由一有 Although all dualities come from the One,
一亦莫守 do not be attached even to this One.
一心不生 When the mind exists undisturbed in the Way,
萬法無咎 nothing in the world can offend,
無咎無法 and when a thing can no longer offend, it ceases to exist in the old way.

不生不心 When no discriminating thoughts arise, the old mind ceases to exist.
能隨境滅 When thought objects vanish, the thinking-subject vanishes,
境逐能沈 as when the mind vanishes, objects vanish.
境由能境 Things are objects because of the subject (mind);
能由境能 the mind (subject) is such because of things (object).
欲知兩段 Understand the relativity of these two
元是一空 and the basic reality: the unity of emptiness.
一空同兩 In this Emptiness the two are indistinguishable
齊含萬象 and each contains in itself the whole world.
不見精麁 If you do not discriminate between coarse and fine
寧有偏黨 you will not be tempted to prejudice and opinion.

大道體寛 To live in the Great Way
無易無難 is neither easy nor difficult,
小見狐疑 but those with limited views
轉急轉遲 and fearful and irresolute: the faster they hurry, the slower they go,
執之失度 and clinging (attachment) cannot be limited;
必入邪路 even to be attached to the idea of enlightenment is to go astray.
放之自然 Just let things be in their own way
體無去住 and there will be neither coming nor going.

任性合道 Obey the nature of things (your own nature),
逍遙絶惱 and you will walk freely and undisturbed.
繋念乖眞 When thought is in bondage the truth is hidden,
昏沈不好 for everything is murky and unclear,
不好勞神 and the burdensome practice of judging brings annoyance and weariness.
何用疏親 What benefit can be derived from distinctions and separations?

欲取一乘 If you wish to move in the One Way
勿惡六塵 do not dislike even the world of senses and ideas.
六塵不惡 Indeed, to accept them fully
還同正覺 is identical with true Enlightenment.
智者無爲 The wise man strives to no goals
愚人自縛 but the foolish man fetters himself.
法無異法 This is one Dharma, not many: distinctions arise
妄自愛著 from the clinging needs of the ignorant.
將心用心 To seek Mind with the (discriminating) mind
豈非大錯 is the greatest of all mistakes.

迷生寂亂 Rest and unrest derive from illusion;
悟無好惡 with enlightenment there is no liking and disliking.
一切二邊 All dualities come from
妄自斟酌 ignorant inference.
夢幻虚華 They are like dreams of flowers in the air:
何勞把捉 foolish to try to grasp them.
得失是非 Gain and loss, right and wrong:
一時放卻 such thoughts must finally be abolished at once.

眼若不睡 If the eye never sleeps,
諸夢自除 all dreams will naturally cease.
心若不異 If the mind makes no discriminations,
萬法一如 the ten thousand things are as they are, of single essence.
一如體玄 To understand the mystery of this One-essence
兀爾忘虚 is to be release from all entanglements.
萬法齊觀 When all things are seen equally
歸復自然 the timeless Self-essence is reached.
泯其所以 No comparisons or analogies are possible
不可方比 in this causeless, relationless state.

止動無動 Consider movement stationary and the stationary in motion,
動止無止 both movement and rest disappear.
兩既不成 When such dualities cease to exist
一何有爾 Oneness itself cannot exist.
究竟窮極 To this ultimate finality
不存軌則 no law or description applies.

契心平等 For the unified mind in accord with the Way
所作倶息 all self-centered straining ceases.
狐疑盡淨 Doubts and irresolution's vanish
正信調直 and life in true faith is possible.
一切不留 With a single stroke we are freed from bondage;
無可記憶 nothing clings to us and we hold to nothing.
虚明自照 All is empty , clear, self-illuminating,
不勞心力 with no exertion of the mind's power.
非思量處 Here thought, feeling, knowledge, and imagination
識情難測 are of no value.
眞如法界 In this world of Suchness
無他無自 there is neither self nor other-than-self

要急相應 To come directly into harmony with this reality
唯言不二 just simply say when doubt arises, 'Not two.'
不二皆同 In this 'no two' nothing is separate,
無不包容 nothing excluded.
十方智者 No matter when or where,
皆入此宗 enlightenment means entering this truth.
宗非促延 And this truth is beyond extension or diminution in time or space;
一念萬年 in it a single thought is ten thousand years.

無在不在 Emptiness here, Emptiness there,
十方目前 but the infinite universe stands always before your eyes.
極小同大 Infinitely large and infinitely small;
忘絶境界 no difference, for definitions have vanished
極大同小
不見邊表 and no boundaries are seen.
有即是無 So too with Being
無即是有 and non-Being.
若不如此 Don't waste time in doubts and arguments
必不相守 that have nothing to do with this.

一即一切 One thing, all things:
一切即一 move among and intermingle, without distinction.
但能如是 To live in this realization
何慮不畢 is to be without anxiety about non-perfection.
信心不二 To live in this faith is the road to non-duality,
不二信心 Because the non-dual is one with the trusting mind.

言語道斷 Words! The Way is beyond language,
非去來今 for in it there is
no yesterday
no tomorrow
no today.

BHAGAVAN ON SELF-ENQUIRY AND RENUNCIATION

Enquiring `Who am I that is in bondage?' and knowing one's real nature [swarupa] alone is liberation. Always keeping the mind fixed in Self alone is called 'self-enquiry', whereas meditation [dhyana] is thinking oneself to be the absolute [Brahman], which is existence-consciousness-bliss [sat-chit-ananda].

Question : The yogis say that one must renounce this world and go off into secluded jungles if one wishes to find the truth. 

Ramana Maharshi : The life of action need not be renounced. If you meditate for an hour or two every day you can then carry on with your duties. If you meditate in the right manner then the current of mind induced will continue to flow even in the midst of your work. It is as though there were two ways of expressing the same idea; the same line which you take in meditation will be expressed in your activities.

Question : What will be the result of doing that?

Ramana Maharshi : As you go on you will find that your attitude towards people, events and objects gradually changes. Your actions will tend to follow your meditations of their own accord.

Question : Then you do not agree with the yogis? 

Ramana Maharshi : A man should surrender the personal selfishness which binds him to this world. Giving up the false self is the true renunciation.

Question : Why is concentration ineffective? 

Ramana Maharshi : To ask the mind to kill the mind is like making the thief the policeman. He will go with you and pretend to catch the thief, but nothing will be gained. So you must turn inward and see from where the mind rises and then it will cease to exist.

Question : In turning the mind inwards, are we not still employing the mind?

Ramana Maharshi : Of course we are employing the mind. It is well known and admitted that only with the help of the mind can the mind be killed. But instead of setting about saying there is a mind, and I want to kill it, you begin to seek the source of the mind, and you find the mind does not exist at all. The mind, turned outwards, results in thoughts and objects. Turned inwards, it becomes itself the Self. 

Question : How can I tell if I am making progress with my enquiry? 

Ramana Maharshi : The degree of the absence of thoughts is the measure of your progress towards Self-realization. But Self-realization itself does not admit of progress, it is ever the same. The Self remains always in realization. The obstacles are thoughts. Progress is measured by the degree of removal of the obstacles to understanding that the Self is always realized. So thoughts must be checked by seeking to whom they arise. So you go to their source, where they do not arise. 

Question : Doubts are always arising. Hence my Question. 

Ramana Maharshi : A doubt arises and is cleared. Another arises and that is cleared, making way for yet another; and so it goes on. So there is no possibility of clearing away all doubts. See to whom the doubts arise. Go to their source and abide in it. Then they cease to arise. That is how doubts are to be cleared.


BHAGAVAN SPEAKS ON HUMILITY

The power of humility, which bestows immortality, is the foremost among powers that are hard to attain. Since the only benefit of learning and other similar virtues is the attainment of humility, humility alone is the real ornament of the sages. It is the storehouse of all other virtues and is therefore extolled as the wealth of divine grace. Although it is a characteristic befitting wise people in general, it is especially indispensable for sadhus. 

Since attaining greatness is impossible for anyone except by humility, all the disciplines of conduct such as yama and niyama, which are prescribed specifically for aspirants on the spiritual path, have as their aim only the attainment of humility. Humility is indeed the hallmark of the destruction of the ego. Because of this, humility is especially extolled by sadhus themselves as the code of conduct befitting them. 


Moreover, for those who are residing at Arunachala, it is indispensable in every way. Arunachala is the sacred place where even the embodiments of God, Brahma, Vishnu and Sakti, humbly subsided. Since it has the power to humble even those who would not be humbled, those who do not humbly subside at Arunachala will surely not attain that redeeming virtue anywhere else. The Supreme Lord, who is the highest of the high, shines unrivalled and unsurpassed only because he remains the humblest of the humble. When the divine virtue of humility is necessary even for the Supreme Lord, who is totally independent, is it necessary to emphasize that it is absolutely indispensable for sadhus who do not have such independence? Therefore, just as in their inner life, in their outer life also sadhus should possess complete and perfect humility. It is not that humility is necessary only for devotees of the Lord; even for the Lord it is the characteristic virtue. 

NIRVANA

A visitor asked the meaning of Nirvana.

Bh. Nirvana is that state wherein the sense of separateness does not exist and where the ego has sunk in its source, the Heart.


Mr. Cohen had read a book called Nirvana, written by a prominent Theosophist, in which the author claimed to have experienced Nirvana after going to sleep, in which he “saw the Masters” as vivid centres of light in the ocean of Light which is Nirvana, which Mr. C. could not reconcile with Sri Bhagavan’s teaching. So he asked the Master about it.

Bh. : Nirvana is the Perfect State. There is neither seeing, hearing, nor experiencing in it. There is nothing but the pure “I am” awareness. The Nirvana you describe from your reading is sheer imagination.... Well, this and other similar movements are good, inasmuch as they make man unselfish and prepare him for the highest Truth. Service also leads to the same goal – Self- realisation – if it is selfless.

C. : But after how long and why should one who is ready for the Absolute knowledge go in for the relative?


Bh. : Everything happens in its own time. One who is ready for the Absolute will be made somehow to hear of it and then start the practice. He will immediately recognise the value of Atmavidya and will follow it up with determination.

TRUE SANNYASA

Sannyasa or renunciation is not the discarding of external things but of the ego. To such renouncers (sannyasins) there exists no difference between solitude and active life. The Rishi Vasistha says: ‘Just as a man, whose mind is preoccupied, is not aware of what is in front of him, so also the Sage, though engaged in work, is not the doer thereof, because his mind is immersed in the Self without the uprising of the ego. Just as a man lying on his bed dreams that he is falling headlong over a precipice, so also the ignorant person whose ego is still present, though engaged in deep meditation in solitude, does not cease to be the doer of all action.’


- Bhagavan, 'Self Enquiry'


GAYATRI

A visitor asked Bhagavan, with reference to the words dhimahi in the gayatri, “What is the idea meant? I am not able rightly to grasp it.”

B: The words only mean fixing the aham in the Self,though literally they mean, “We meditate”.

Visitor: I am not able to form a conception of the ‘Tat’ or the Self. Then, how am I to fix the aham in the Tat.

B: Why should you bother to conceive the Tat which you don’t know? Try to find out the ‘I’ that you know, what it is and whence it arises. That is enough.


- Day by Day with Bhagavan

BE STILL

The whole of Vedanta is contained in the two Biblical statements “I am that I am” and “Be still and know that I am God.” (Gems from Bhagavan, chapter 8.)
“I-Am-That-I-Am” sums up the whole Truth. The method is summed up by “Be still and know that I am God.” What does stillness mean? Cessation of thinking, which is the universe of forms, colours, qualities, time, space, all concepts and percepts whatever. (Guru Ramana)

Stop the thoughts, which are your enemy…, and the mind will remain as your pure being, the immortal “I.” (Guru Ramana.)

The thought “who am I?” will destroy all other thoughts, and like the stick used for stirring the burning pyre, it will itself in the end get destroyed. Then, there will arise Self-realization. (Ramana Maharshi, Who Am I?)

Remaining quiet is what is called wisdom-insight. To remain quiet is to resolve the mind in the Self. Telepathy, knowing past, present and future happenings and clairvoyance do not constitute wisdom-insight. (Ramana Maharshi, Who Am I?)

When the mind, which is the cause of all cognition and all actions, becomes quiescent, the world will disappear. (Ramana Maharshi, Who Am I?)

The Self is that where there is absolutely no “I”-thought. That is called “Silence.” (Ramana Maharshi, Who Am I?)


Everybody, every book says “Be quiet or still.” But it is not easy. That is why all this effort is necessary. Even if you find one who has at once achieved the mouna (silence) or supreme state indicated, you may take it that the effort necessary has already been completed in a previous life. Such effortless and choiceless awareness is reached only after deliberate meditation. (Gems from Bhagavan)

TURNING THE MIND INWARD

”Whence does this “I” arise?” Seek for it within; it then vanishes. This is the pursuit of Wisdom. (Ramana Maharshi, Who Am I)

God illumines the mind and shines within it. One cannot know God by means of the mind. One can but turn the mind inwards and merge it in God. (Ramana Maharshi, Gems from Bhagavan)

The Divine gives light to the mind and shines within it. Except by turning the mind inward and fixing it in the Divine, there is no other way to know Him through the mind. (Ramana Maharshi, Forty Verses on Reality)

[Turning the mind inward] is done by practice and dispassion and that succeeds only gradually. The mind, having been so long a cow accustomed to graze stealthily on others' estates, is not easily confined to her stall. However much her keeper tempts her with luscious grass and fine fodder, she refuses the first time; then she takes a bit; but her innate tendency to stray away asserts itself; and she slips away; on being repeatedly tempted by the owner, she accustoms herself to the stall; finally even if let loose she would not stray away. Similarly with the mind. If once it finds its inner happiness it will not wander outward. (Ramana Maharshi, Talk with Sri Ramana Maharshi)

By repeated practice one can become accustomed to turning inwards and finding the Self. One must always and constantly make an effort, until one has permanently realized. Once the effort ceases, the state becomes natural and the Supreme takes possession of the person with an unbroken current. Until it has become permanently natural and your habitual state, know that you have not realized the Self, only glimpsed it. (Ramana Maharshi, Conscious Immortality)

The mind should not be allowed to wander towards worldly objects and what concerns other people. However bad other people may be, one should bear no hatred for them. Both desire and hatred should be eschewed. All that one gives to others one gives to one's self. If this truth is understood who will not give to others? When one's self arises, all arises; when one's self becomes quiescent, all becomes quiescent. To the extent we behave with humility, to that extent there will result good. If the mind is rendered quiescent, one may live anywhere. (Ramana Maharshi, Who Am I)


[The quest] has to begin with the mind turned inward to oppose the rushing thoughts and to understand the location of the “I.” When the mind eventually sinks in the Heart, undisturbed bliss is overwhelmingly felt. There is then feeling which is not divorced from pure awareness, i.e., head and heart become one and the same. (Ramana Maharshi, Guru Ramana.)


BHAGAVAN ON GANDHIJI'S THOUGHT-FREE STATE

The subject of silence and the thought-free state came up again after Bhagavan had cited, with great approval, a passage by Gandhi in which the latter had given a description of his own experience of this state:

Sri Bhagavan referred to the following passage of Gandhiji in the Harijan of the 11th instant:

‘How mysterious are the ways of God! This journey to Rajkot is a wonder even to me. Why am I going, whither am I going? What for? I have thought nothing about these things. And if God guides me, what should I think, why should I think? Even thought may be an obstacle in the way of His guidance.

‘The fact is, it takes no effort to stop thinking. The thoughts do not come. Indeed, there is no vacuum – but I mean to say that there is no thought about the mission.’

Sri Bhagavan remarked how true the words were and emphasised each statement in the extract. Then he cited Thayumanavar in support of the state which is free from thoughts:

The state in which you are not,
that is nishta [Self-abidance].
But, even in that state,
do you not remain?
You whose mouth is silent,
do not be perplexed!
Although [in that state] you are gone,
you are no longer there,
yet you did not go.
You are eternally present.
Do not suffer in vain.
Experience bliss all the time!

Two days after Bhagavan had cited Thayumanavar to illustrate Gandhi’s thought-free experiences, a visitor returned to the subject:

Devotee: Is not what Gandhi describes the state in which thoughts themselves become foreign?

Bhagavan: Yes, it is only after the rise of the ‘I’-thought that all other thoughts arise. The world is seen after you have felt ‘I am’. The ‘I’-thought and all other thoughts had vanished for him.

Devotee: Then the body sense must be absent in that state.

Bhagavan: The body sense is also a thought whereas he describes the state in which ‘thoughts do not come’.

Devotee: He also says, ‘It takes no effort to stop thinking’.

Bhagavan: Of course no effort is necessary to stop thoughts whereas one is necessary for bringing about thoughts.

Devotee: We are trying to stop thoughts. Gandhiji also says that thought is an obstacle to God’s guidance. So it is the natural state. Though natural, yet how difficult to realise. They say that sadhanas are necessary and also that they are obstacles. We get confused.

Bhagavan: Sadhanas are needed so long as one has not realised it. They are for putting an end to obstacles. Finally there comes a stage when a person feels helpless notwithstanding the sadhanas. He is unable to pursue the much-cherished sadhana also. It is then that God’s power is realised. The Self reveals itself.

Devotee: If the state is natural, why does it not overcome the unnatural phases and assert itself over the rest?

Bhagavan: Is there anything besides that? Does anyone see anything besides the Self? One is always aware of the Self. So it is always itself.


- Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi

Yogic Understanding of the Mind

He who knows the receptacle (ayatana) verily becomes the receptacle of his people. Mind is verily the receptacle (of all our knowledge).
—Chhandogya Upanishad

Happiness has always been the prime aim of every human being. All your activities are directed towards acquiring maximum happiness in life. However, through the deluded notion that objects will provide happiness, you search for it outside. The result is that in spite of lifelong effort, there is disappointment.
Real and lasting happiness lies within. This is not perceived because the mind is usually completely externalized. As long as the mind is restlessly wandering amid objects, ever fluctuating, excited, agitated and uncontrolled, this true joy cannot be realized and enjoyed. To control the restless mind and perfectly still all thoughts and cravings remains our greatest problem.
For gaining mastery over the mind, you have to know what it is, how it works, how it deceives you at every turn and by what methods it can be subdued. The vast majority of people do not know the existence of the mind and its operations. Modern doctors know only a fragment of the mind. It is only the yogis and those who practise meditation and introspection that know the existence of the mind, its nature, ways and subtle workings. They also know the various methods of subduing the mind.
Mind is one of the ashta-prakritis. In the Bhagavad Gita (7:4), it is said:

Bhoomiraapo’nalo vaayuh kham mano buddhireva cha;
Ahamkaara iteeyam me bhinnaa prakritirashtadhaa.
Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, reason and egoism – these constitute the eightfold division of My Nature.

How the mind originated

Mind is nothing but atma shakti, power of the self. It is through mind that Brahman manifests Himself as the differentiated universe with heterogeneous objects. It has been said in the Aitareya Upanishad (1:3–4):

Brahma thought, ‘There, indeed, are the worlds; I shall create the protectors of the worlds.’ He gathered the Purusha from out of the waters and fashioned him. He heated him by the heat of meditation. When he was thus heated, his heart burst out. From the heart, the mind came; from the mind, the moon, the presiding deity of the mind.

Heart is the seat of the mind; therefore, the mind emerged when the heart burst out. In samadhi, the mind goes to its original seat, the heart. In sleep also, it rests in the heart with a veil of ignorance between it and Brahman.

Cosmic mind and individual mind

Hiranyagarbha is the term used in the scriptures for cosmic mind. It is also called Karya Brahman and sambhuti, for it is the sum total (samashti) of all minds. Hiranyagarbha is the cosmic prana, the sutratman (the conscious energy which operates in the macrocosmos), and represents the cosmic powerhouse. The different jivas, individual beings, represent the different, small bulbs. Electricity from the powerhouse flows through the insulated copper wires into the bulbs. Similarly, power from hiranyagarbha flows into jivas. The individual mind is ever connected with the cosmic mind.
The individual mind is also in close contact with other individual minds. As your mind evolves, you come into conscious experience of the mental currents, with the minds of others, near and distant, living and dead. The individual mind of A, although separated from the mind substance of other individuals, B, C, D, E, X, Y, etc. by a thin wall of the finest matter, is really in touch with the other apparently separated minds and with the universal mind of which it forms a part.
If A is a friend of B, A’s mind is connected with B’s mind. The minds of friends and relatives of A are attached to A’s mind. Several minds are similarly linked to B’s mind also. The minds of those who are attached to A’s mind are, therefore, connected in turn with the minds of those who are hanging on B’s mind. In this manner, one mind is in touch with all the minds in the whole world. This is the Vibhu theory of mind of raja yoga.

The mental body

Mind is atomic, according to Nyaya, the Indian school of logic. It is all-pervading, according to Patanjali Maharshi’s school of raja yoga and is of middling size (same size as that of the body), according to the Vedantic school.
Mind is material, made up of subtle matter. Just as the physical body is composed of solid, liquid and gaseous matter, so also the mind is made of subtle matter of various grades of density with different rates of vibration. A raja yogi penetrates through different layers of the mind by intense sadhana.
The mental body or manomaya kosha varies in different people. It is composed of coarse or finer matter, according to the needs of the more or less unfolded consciousness connected with it. In the learned, it is active and well defined; in the undeveloped, it is cloudy and ill defined. There are several zones or slices in the mental body just as there are various compartments in the brain for particular types of thought. During intense anger, for example, the whole mind is suffused with the black hue of malice and ill-will, from which fiery arrows of anger dart forth.

Fourfold mind or antahkarana chatushtaya

Antahkarana is the term used by Vedantins to include manas, buddhi, chitta and ahamkara. When used in a broad sense, it means the internal instrument. Antah means internal, karana means instrument. It is the inner instrument (as distinguished from bahyakarana, outer instrument or the senses) through which you sense, perceive, think and reason.
Ahamkara, ego, is derived from the prithvi (earth) tanmatra. (Tanmatras are subtle elements from which the five gross elements are derived.) Chitta, consciousness, is derived from jala (water) tanmatra; buddhi, discriminative mind, from agni (fire) tanmatra; manas, finite mind, from vayu (air) tanmatra; heart from akasha (space) tanmatra.
Mind is chetan (intelligent) when compared with the senses. It is jada (non-intelligent) when compared with buddhi. In Sankhya philosophy, buddhi is will and intellect combined. Some put chitta under mind and ahamkara under buddhi. Manas, buddhi, chitta and ahamkara are only functional aspects of the mind. Manas has all things for its objects and extends through the past, present and future; it is one, but has various functions. You are a judge when you exercise your judicial powers in the court. You are a cook when you work in the kitchen. You are the president of an association when you sit on the chair in that capacity. You are the same person, but you function differently and are called by different names according to those different functions. Similarly, when the mind does sankalpa-vikalpa (will-thought and doubt), it is called manas; when it discriminates and decides, it is buddhi; when it self-arrogates, it is ahamkara; when it is the storehouse of samskaras and seat of memory and also when it performs concentration and enquiry, it is chitta.
Who gave coolness to water, warmth to fire, motion to air? These qualities are their very nature. Even so, mind has its swabhava, inherent nature, of running towards objects, buddhi of determining, ahamkara of self-assertion and self-identification, chitta of thinking of those objects which are identified by ahamkara. When the mind is at work, buddhi and ahamkara work simultaneously along with the mind. Mind, buddhi and ahankara work in healthy co-operation. Mind thinks whether a certain thing is good or bad. Buddhi comes in for determination. It is buddhi which discriminates the vishaya, subject. The swarupa, essential form, of mind is thought only. It is discriminative when it forwards the decisions of buddhi, the messages from buddhi, to the organs of action for execution. The mind selects, attends and rejects.

The three avasthas

Mind has three avasthas or states: jagrat (waking state), swapna (dreaming state) and sushupti (deep sleep state).
Jagrat avastha: The individual soul is called awake as long as it is connected with the various external objects by means of the modifications of the mind, which constitute limiting adjuncts of the soul. The mind apprehends the external objects and identifies itself with the gross body, which is one of the external objects. During the waking state, the mind occupies the brain.
Swapna avastha: When the mind enters the hita nadi, which proceeds from the heart and surrounds the great membrane around the heart, the individual soul or jiva experiences the state of dream. In the dream state, the senses are quiet and absorbed in the mind. Mind alone plays during dream. There is no land, sea, horse or elephant in dream, but the mind creates everything out of its own body, out of the materials supplied from the waking consciousness. The mind itself assumes the various forms of bee, flower, mountain, elephant, horse, river, etc. It is the subject and object as well. The seer and the seen are one. Perception takes place through the internal organ called manas.
Sushupti avastha: When the mind enters the puritat nadi, the state of deep sleep sets in. In dridha sushupti (dreamless sleep), you have a cessation of empirical consciousness. There is no play of the mind in this state. There is neither raga nor dwesha (attraction or repulsion, like or dislike). The mind dissolves into its cause. Manolaya (involution of the mind) takes place.
This state of profound sleep is not a complete non-being or negative, for such a hypothesis conflicts with the later recollections of a happy repose of sleep. The self continues to exist, though it is bereft of all experiences. The consciousness is continuous. You feel you have existed even during sleep as soon as you are awake. Vedantins build their philosophy around this sushupti avastha. This stage gives them the clue to the non-dual or advaitic state.
Shankara observes in the Chhandogya Upanishad that the phenomenon of duality caused by the action of the mind is present in the waking and dreaming states only, but absent in the deep sleep state. In waking and dreaming states, there is play of thoughts (and the simultaneous occurrence of names and forms) and hence the world as well. In dreamless sleep, there are no thoughts and hence, there is no world either. We taste the nature of absolute bliss in dreamless sleep.

The three gunas

The mind has three gunas or qualities: sattwa (light, bliss, goodness), rajas (passion, motion) and tamas (inertia, darkness). There are three vrittis in the mind corresponding to the three gunas. Santa vritti (peace) comes out of sattwa guna, ghora vritti (violence) from rajo guna and mudha vritti (ignorance) from tamo guna. Equilibrium or balance is santa vritti; anger is ghora vritti; laziness (alasya), carelessness (pramada) and drowsiness (tandri) are mudha vrittis.
Characteristics of sattwa guna: Sattwa guna is purity. It is prakasha, illumination, light. It is a force favourable for the attainment of moksha. The effect of sattwa guna is brahmavichara (enquiry or search for truth; differentiation between sat and asat, real and unreal.)
A sattwic mind is always steady. It finds delight internally. It may stick to one place indefinitely. It keeps friendship with persons for a long, long time. It can read the scriptures for any number of days. It can live on simple food for years together without grumbling.
During sattwic moments, when there is preponderance of pure sattwa in the mind, you are in touch with the divine source owing to the cleanness of the mind mirror and feel inspired. There is purity of thought (bhava samshuddhi) and purity of heart (sattwa samshuddhi). It is the fourth jnana bhumika or stage of jnana.
Characteristics of rajo guna: Rajo guna is a hostile force that pulls you down into samsara. It represents negative qualities such as pride and anger. The rajasic mind always wants new sensations and variety. It has a tendency to look into the defects of others, remembers the wrongs done by others and easily forgets their good acts. It splits, separates and shows plurality whereas a sattwic mind unifies.

The three doshas

Milk is agreeable to some and disagreeable to others. There is nothing wrong with milk itself. Surely, there is something wrong with the mind. The viewpoint differs in these cases owing to the dosha of the mind.
Dosha means fault or defect. Mala (impurity), vikshepa (tossing), avarana (veil of ignorance) are the threefold defects of the mind. The mind is tossed about among objects of love and hatred like a feather in a stormy wind. Not resting on any object firmly, it is characterized by an excessive fluctuating power. It will fluctuate and be confused, will flit away from an object and then return to it, will rejoice in vain and be intoxicated with ahamkara, egoism. The mind becomes a prey to fear through its fluctuation.
The mind should be rendered fit for salvation, fit to approach its substratum, its father, Brahman by removing the three doshas. Mala (such as lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride, jealousy) is removed by performing nishkama karma, selfless service. Vikshepa is removed by upasana, trataka, pranayama and raja yoga. Avarana is removed by jnana, wisdom, study of spiritual literature, nididhyasana, deep meditation, and abheda chintan, constant contemplation, after duly understanding the right significance of the mahavakya, Tat Tvam Asi, Thou Art That.

The six important powers of the mind

There are three principal shaktis (powers, potencies) in the mind: ichha shakti (will), kriya shakti (action) and jnana shakti (knowledge). A desire arises in the mind. This is ichha shakti. The mind exerts to have this desire gratified. This is kriya shakti. It plans, schemes and finds out methods, etc. for the achievement of the desired object. This is jnana shakti. There are also six other important powers of the mind: vedana shakti (power of perception), smarana shakti or smriti shakti (power of memory), bhavana shakti (power of imagination), manisha shakti (power of judgement), sankalpa shakti (will or volition) and dharana shakti (power to hold).
Vedana shakti: Vedana shakti is the power of cognition or sensation, or power of perception and knowing through the indriyas or senses (indriya jnana or sense knowledge).
Smriti shakti: Smriti shakti does three things. It grasps. It holds. It brings to memory whenever a thing is needed. Though the power of grasping is performed by vedana shakti, smriti shakti also participates in the act of grasping. Suppose you hear the sound of a bell in the temple. The memory shakti grasps it and retains it. When you again hear the sound of the temple bell, it at once reminds you, “This is the temple bell. This is not the hostel bell.”
Bhavana shakti: You have never seen an elephant riding a cycle. When a man, who has actually seen it, gives you a description, your mind forms a mental picture at once. This is done by the bhavana shakti (power of imagination) of the mind.
Manisha shakti: Power of comparing and contrasting, drawing inferences, discussion, conclusion, all belong to manisha shakti of the mind. The manisha shakti (power of judgement) has two subdivisions, nirnaya (ascertainment) and tarka (logical reasoning).
A is mortal. B is mortal. C is mortal. Therefore, all men are mortal. Mr. Choudhary is a man. Therefore, Mr. Choudhary is mortal. This kind of drawing of conclusions through deductive and inductive logic with major and minor premises and middle term or through the five parts of syllogistic reasoning of the system of Nyaya are performed by manisha shakti of the mind.
Sankalpa shakti: Will is atma shakti. It is the dynamic aspect of Brahman. Will is Brahman in motion. In Vedanta, will plays a very conspicuous part. Some say that will is greater than imagination. Among the Vedantins, will is regarded as a greater faculty than imagination. What will imagination do without the impelling power of the will to execute the desires, wishes and ideals?
There is correlation, co-ordination and co-operation among the different principles in the mind. Therefore, who can say which is great or small, important or unimportant when each depends on the other for its power? It cannot be truly said that one is greater than the other, for their independence and power are derived from each other.
Dharana shakti: Dharana shakti (power to hold) is really a part of memory or smarana shakti. In common parlance, we say, “Mr. Ramakrishna is a man of good dharana in Vedanta.” Here, it means that Mr. Ramakrishna holds fixed and steady ideas in Vedanta. He cannot be changed by anybody. He does not possess a wavering nature. He sticks to Vedanta alone and nobody can shake him.

How to unfold latent powers of the mind

There are many higher mental faculties latent in man. The mind is a magazine of power. The unfoldment of these latent, psychic powers is possible through proper sadhana. The sadhana should be systematic, constant and intense. The student must have reached the proper stage of development. There must be genuine faith also. Only then is success possible.
The mind is no doubt extremely turbulent. However, through repeated attempts you can subdue it perfectly. You are the master of the mind. By practice and non-attachment, assert your mastery. Feel the power, bliss and splendour that result from self-conquest. The only true laboratory is the mind. Study it, test it and then go beyond it. Remember, mind is the bridge that connects the human with the divine.

From http://www.yogamag.net/archives/2009/bfeb09/under.shtml