Understanding the Four Levels of Intellect
To no surprise, we experience the many facets of life, relationships, beginnings, and endings. All come with their respective resolutions. At times there is a great joy, sorrow, confusion, and relief. Some understand this process and continue to move on appreciating the teachings, lessons, and blessings, while others remain trapped in a pattern of confusion and continue to seek clarity for what has always been made clear but prefer to remain trapped in the intellect adding to their bewilderment.
Hence the beauty of coming to know thy Self, and to be free from the self. Who, what, and how is the circumstance holding you back from evolution? It is not the fault of the circumstance, it is the fault of the ego one attaches to that is known as Pragya Apardh, “ignorance of the intellect.”
In yoga, this is understood as the Avidya tree or coming to face the 5 Kleshas. These are:
Avidya - Avidya is when the mind fails to see itself in its proper relationship with Atman.
Asmita - Asmita is our belief that we are separate in our individuality
Raga - Raga is our mind's attachment to those things that we like and are attracted to.
Dvesha- Dvesha is our mind's rejection of those things that we dislike and are averse to
Abhinevesha - Abhinivesha is the fear that comes from believing that the mind's construct of who we are has to survive and that death is the end.
Remaining in this mindset will never progress you on your path of mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual growth. No matter how much you rely on “the power of positive thinking.” If you remain anywhere within the aforementioned five Kleshas, you can be as positive as you wish to be and still be in the space of Asmita, Dvesha, Raga, Avidya, and Abhinevesha.
I was once a victim of this mindset, and through the practice of Transcendental Meditation, Yoga, and surrounding myself with those that are more progressive in their spiritual walk, I was able to free myself from those attached to the surface level relationships and evolve with those that have poured into me the power of self-realization. I was able to overcome moments where one would have naturally reverted to behaviors that were disempowering not realizing that “this experience is happening for my highest good.”
The beauty of saying goodbye to the past is that it makes space for an even more incredible future. The past is history and the future a mystery that is excited to reveal itself to you. The way to explore that is to set aside the mundane self-talk and begin to understand truly how to free yourself from Pragya Aparadh, the ignorance of the intellect.
Once I was able to do that, trust me, you never want to go back. There is so much liberation in standing strong within your true Self. When hiccups occur in your life, you appreciate the ability to navigate the wave with grace, instead of losing control.
Below is an excerpt from the Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6, Verse 5 commentary from Swami Mukundananda written in 2014. One of the most enlightened gurus on my walk with God-consciousness. I pray his interpretation of this chapter of the Gita inspires you.
BG 6.5: Elevate yourself through the power of your mind, and not degrade yourself, for the mind can be the friend and also the enemy of the self. (Mukundananda, 2014)
Bhagavad Gita Commentary
“We are responsible for our own elevation or debasement. Nobody can traverse the path of God-realization for us. Saints and Gurus show us the way, but we have to travel it ourselves.” (Mukundananda, 2014)
There is a saying in Hindi: ek peḍa do pakṣhī baiṭhe, ek guru ek chelā, apanī karanī guru utare, apanī karanī chelā[v.01]
“There are two birds sitting on a tree—one Guru and one disciple. The Guru will descend by his own works, and the disciple will also only be able to climb down by his own karmas.”
“We have had innumerable lifetimes before this one, and God-realized Saints were always present on Earth. At any period of time, if the world is devoid of such Saints, then the souls of that period cannot become God-realized. How then can they fulfill the purpose of human life, which is God-realization? Thus, God ensures that God-realized Saints are always present in every era, to guide the sincere seekers and inspire humanity. So, in infinite past lifetimes, many times we must have met God-realized Saints, and yet we did not become God-realized. This means that the problem was not a lack of proper guidance, but either our reticence in accepting it or working according to it. Thus, we must first accept responsibility for our present level of spirituality or lack thereof. Only then will we gain the confidence that if we have brought ourselves to our present state, we can also elevate ourselves by our efforts.” (Mukundananda, 2014)
When we suffer reversals on the path of spiritual growth, we tend to complain that others have caused havoc to us, and they are our enemies. However, our biggest enemy is our own minds. (Pragya Aparadh) It is the saboteur that thwarts our aspirations for perfection. Shree Krishna states that, on the one hand, as the greatest benefactor of the soul, the mind has the potential of giving us the most benefit; on the other hand, as our greatest adversary, it also has the potential for causing the maximum harm. A controlled mind can accomplish many beneficial endeavors, whereas an uncontrolled mind can degrade the consciousness with most ignoble thoughts. (Mukundananda, 2014)
The Four Levels of Intellect
In order to be able to use it as a friend, it is important to understand the mind’s nature. Our mind operates at four levels:
Mind: When it creates thoughts, we call it mana, or the mind.
Intellect: When it analyses and decides, we call it buddhi, or intellect.
Chitta: When it gets attached to an object or person, we call it Chitta.
Ego: When it identifies with the bodily identifications and becomes proud of things like wealth, status, beauty, and learning, we call it ahankār, or ego.
These are not four separate entities. They are simply four levels of functioning of the one mind. Hence, we may refer to them altogether as the mind, or as the mind-intellect, or the mind-intellect-ego, or the mind-intellect-Chitta-ego. They all refer to the same thing. (Mukundananda, 2014)
Understanding the Ego
The use of the word ego here is different from its connotation in Freudian psychology. Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939), an Austrian neurologist, proposed the first theory of psychology regarding how the mind works. According to him, the ego is the “real self” that bridges the gap between our untamed desires and the value system that is learned during childhood (Superego).
Various scriptures describe the mind in one of these four ways for the purpose of explaining the concepts presented there. They are all referring to the same internal apparatus within us, which is together called antaḥ karaṇ, or the mind. For example:
The Pañchadaśhī refers to all four together as the mind and states that it is the cause of material bondage.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Shree Krishna repeatedly talks of the mind and the intellect as being two things and emphasizes the need to surrender both to God.
The Yog Darśhan, while analyzing the different elements of nature, talks of three entities: mind, intellect, and ego.
Shankaracharya, while explaining the apparatus available to the soul, classifies the mind into four—mind, intellect, Chitta, and ego.
So when Shree Krishna says that we must use the mind to elevate the self, he means we must use the higher mind to elevate the lower mind. In other words, we must use the intellect to control the mind. How this can be done has been explained in detail in verses 2.41 to 2.44 and again in verses 3.43. (Mukundananda, 2014)
We also go over this in both The Holistic Reset and 200-hour Ayurveda Yoga Teacher Training.
BG 6.2: What is known as sanyās is non-different from Yog, for none become yogis without renouncing worldly desires.
Verse 2.41
BG 2.41: O descendent of the Kurus, the intellect of those who are on this path is resolute, and their aim is one-pointed. But the intellect of those who are irresolute is many-branched.
“Attachment is a function of the mind. Its manifestation is that the mind repeatedly runs toward the object of its attachment, which could be persons, sensual objects, prestige, bodily comfort, situations, and so on. So if thoughts of some person or object repeatedly come to the mind, it is a possible indication of the mind being attached to it.” (Mukundananda, 2014)
“Within our body is the subtle antaḥ karaṇ, which we also colloquially referred to as the heart. It consists of the mind, the intellect, and the ego. In this subtle machine, the intellect is superior to the mind. It makes decisions while the mind creates desires and gets attached to the object of affection as determined by the intellect. For instance, if the intellect decides that money is the source of happiness, the mind hankers for wealth. If the intellect decides that prestige is the most important thing in life, the mind craves reputation and fame. In other words, the mind develops desires in accordance with the knowledge of the intellect.” (Mukundananda, 2014)
References:
https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/2/verse/41
https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/2/verse/44
https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/6/verse/5
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