The answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’ The human being is after all a part of the manifest Universe and so the same model is definitely applicable to all forms of manifestation and in particular, the living beings, and amongst them, the human being. Let us study this in a little more detail.
Every part of the living Universe has these three parts, a Body, Mind and an inner core which we will call a Soul. It is impossible to catalogue and describe the myriad varieties of living beings, from a worm to an ant to a lizard to a fish to a whale to a butterfly to an eagle to a cat or a dog to a tiger or a lion to an alligator to a tortoise to a monkey to MAN!
The Body of each of these millions of species is unique and specially designed to help the creature live and survive in the environment in which it lives. Some live exclusively on the sense of touch, some through hearing, some through smell, some through taste and many through sight. These bodies are exquisitely designed and complex in their own ways. This has been the subject matter of scientific study for quite some time. Study of these bodies has given man a lot of insight into his own bodily construction. Even now science is discovering new species evolving in the forests of Borneo and South America.
The Mind or Mental Subtle aspect of each form of manifestation varies from very simplistic ones to fairly complex types. The Mind of rats has been a favorite area of study for scientists in an attempt to understand the motivations of human beings. It is clear that birds have a unique mental sense that guides them in their flight patterns. Cats are known to re-discover their way home in the dark unerringly. Dogs understand contingencies almost in human fashion. Much of this mental aspect in animals is called ‘Instinct’ and is genetically embedded in them as part of a species-specific genetic programming. The emerging field of science called ‘Genetics’ has given us considerable insight into this aspect.
However, it is clear that in some ways, human beings seem to be unique. Sri Sankara has expressed this in his great contribution to Indian thought called ‘Viveka Chudamani’. He states there:
‘Jantunam Narajanma Durlabham’
meaning
‘Amongst living creatures human life is extremely fortunate.’
The title of his treatise itself gives us a clue as to the uniqueness of the human manifestation. The Sanskrit word ‘Viveka’ identifies the discriminative faculty, commonly called ‘Intellect’ as the special faculty that the human manifestation has been blessed with. Intellect bestows the ability to choose from various choices or alternative paths.
Linking this to our earlier discussion on the model of the Universe which we called the Pranava Model, it becomes clear that the human being is similarly bestowed with a three-in-one personality, a Body-Mind-Soul structure. We will examine this in detail in future blogs, but if we can appreciate the basic structure of human personality just now that will be great.
The Body lies in the Prithvi Tathwa. The Mind encompasses the Jala, Agni and Vayu Tathwas. The Soul lies in the Akasha Tathwa. The Body is the Physical aspect, the Mind is the Subtle or Mental aspect, and the Soul is the Super-subtle or Causal aspect.
Science knows all about the Physical aspect. The emerging field of scientific investigation called Psychology is beginning to understand the Mental aspect. The Soul is still not discernible to science.
So how can we say with such clarity that there are three aspects of human personality? Here the Vedas and Vedanta, and in particular, the Mandukya Upanishad, give the clue. The human being is stated to have three states through which he/she traverses everyday of their lives. These states are called:
Waking ....... Jagrutha
Dreaming .... Swapna
Deep Sleep .. Sushupthi
In English writings on this point, the term ‘Three states of Consciousness’ is often used. Western thought calls the Waking state as ‘Conscious’. Dreaming is called ‘Sub-conscious’ and Deep Sleep is called ‘Unconscious’. One of the definitive researchers in this field in Western thought was a remarkable man called Sigmund Freud. He was, by training a medical doctor, but took up the treatment of mental patients who seemed to be suffering from depression and hysteria. This took him into a study of Mind and its facets and he discovered the importance of dreams as a means of understanding the human Mind. Further analysis led him to conclude that there was possibly another level of consciousness beyond the dreaming state, and he called it the Unconscious. Freud was not aware of Eastern thought and the Vedanta. Indeed he was somewhat an agnostic himself and was not too involved in spiritual matters. He was hounded out from his native Vienna in Austria by the Nazis and took refuge in London. However he certainly revolutionized the appreciation of the human personality in the Western scientific world.
Sigmund Freud ( 1856-1939)
For an interesting read please visit
http://www.advaita.org.uk/discourses/teachers/freud_mohan.htm
In Indian thought, however, this structure of a three fold human being is considered normal. And this is clarified in the Mandukya Upanishad as the natural movement of a human being from a state (or Avastha) of wakefulness to dreaming to deep sleep. The waking state is what we are all very much aware of when we act and interact with the world outside.The dreaming state clearly defines that there is a Mind which is essentially devoid of any connection to Body. When a person dreams he/she is unaware of Body. He/she experiences a totally different world in the Mind during dream. The Upanishad thus proves that the Mind is independent of Body and the external world. Similarly in the state of deep sleep, the human being is out of touch with both Mind and Body. It lies in a state of ignorance of everything but in a state of Bliss (called Ananda). The Upanishad describes this condition or aspect of human personality as indicative of the innermost core of human personality and as characterized by Ananda. Western thought acknowledges the importance of the deep sleep state for human survival. It is a kind of built-in survival kit that refreshes and re-invigorates the human system and prepares him/her for another day or another task or project.
We will have to investigate the Mind and the Soul in some more detail in future blogs. Meanwhile let us re-state the structure of Human Personality as below:
Soul Deep Sleep Akasha Tathwa Ananda
Mind Dreaming Vayu/Agni/Jala Thought/Wisdom
Body Wakeful Prithvi Tathwa Action/Interaction
The human being starts life at birth with a large proportion of his/her time spent in deep sleep. He wakes up just for feeding and when a nappy is wet. As he/she grows up, more and more time is spent in waking. At some point in life he/she becomes aware of dreams and dreaming. The cycle is invariably:
Deep sleep - Dreaming - Wakefulness- Dreaming - Deep sleep
So we transit our three aspects everyday at least once and sometimes twice if we are able to indulge in a midday siesta. This cycle of transit through the three aspects of human personality is perennial and continuous all through life and till life lasts. This is another cycle!
The three aspects, that is, Body-Mind-Soul, impinge on and interact with each other. They influence each other a lot. The source of all life is embedded in the Soul. It is very important.
The Soul is called ‘Atma’ in Sanskrit. The Sanskrit word for Mind is difficult to explain. Sometimes it has been called ‘Buddhi’. Sometimes, as in the Purusha Suktham, it is called ‘Manas’. The Mandukya Upanishad gives a detailed description of the Subtle Aspect of the Human Personality that includes Manas, Buddhi, and several other facets. This matter needs a more detailed treatment which will follow in future blogs.
For our discussion which is mainly going to be in English, we will use the word ‘Mind’ with a capital ‘M’ to mean Total Mind or the complete Subtle Aspect.
This month we would like to remember the Buddha.
Buddhists the world over celebrate a festival called ‘Buddha Poornima’. This year it fell on Thursday, May 27. Buddha is named after the concept of ‘Buddhi’ indicating the importance He gave to the Intellectual and Discriminative Faculty of Mind to help achieve spiritual awareness. The picture displays the Buddha as shown at Sarnath near Varanasi (or Benares). It is at this place that He shared His discovery of the Truth for the very first time.
We look forward to your creative contributions and posts on this Blog. We wish you all happiness, peace of mind and prosperity.
Warm regards and God Bless
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