The Yoga System by Swami Krishnananda, The Divine Life Society, Sivananda Ashram, India
to proceed always from the lower to the higher, without making haste or
working up the emotions.
The first thing we are aware of in experience is the world. There are
certain processes which take place in the mind, by which we come to know
the existence of the world. There are sensations, perceptions and cognitions,
which fall under what is known as \u2018direct perception\u2019 or \u2018direct knowledge\u2019
(Pratyaksha) through which the world is known, valued and judged for
purpose of establishing relations. These relations constitute our social life.
A stimulation of the senses takes place by a vibration that proceeds from
the object outside. This happens in two ways: (1) by the very presence of the
object and (2) by the light rays, sound, etc., that emanate from the object,
which affect the retina of the eyes, the drums of the ears, or the other senses.
We have five senses of knowledge and through them we receive all the
information concerning the world. If the five senses are not to act, we cannot
know if there is a world at all. We, thus, live in a sense-world. When sensory
stimulation is produced by vibrations received from outside, we become
active. Sensory activity stimulates the mind through the nervous system
which connects the senses with the mind by means of thePrana or vital
energy. We may compare these nerve-channels to electric wires, through
which the power of the Prana flows. The Pranas are not the nerves, even as
electricity is not the wires. The Prana is an internal vibration which links the
senses with the mind. Sensations, therefore, make the mind active and the
mind begins to feel that there is something outside. This may be called
indeterminate perception, where the mind has a featureless awareness of the
object. When the perception becomes clearer, it becomes determinate. This
mental perception is usually called cognition.
Beyond the mind there is another faculty, called the intellect. It judges
whether a thing is good or bad, necessary or unnecessary, of this kind or
that, etc. It decides upon the value of an object, whether this judgment is
positive or negative, moral, aesthetic or religious. One assesses one\u2019s
situation in relation to the object. Some psychologists hold that the mind is
an instrument in the hands of the intellect.Manas is the Sanskrit word for
mind, which is regarded as the Karana or instrument, while Buddhi is the
Sanskrit term forintellect, which is theKarta or doer. The intellect judges
what is cognized by the mind, and makes a decision as to the nature of the
action that has to be taken in respect of the object in the given
circumstances.
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