By Team Ayurved Sutra
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Mind & Heart togeather define human nature
Rajas, Sattva and tamas are mixed up with one another. They are attached to one another, and likewise follow one another. It is very rare that a person is found to be entirely Sattvik, Rajasik or Tamasik.
Don’t let the heart rule your mind. This is the mist common advice we get when we are caught in a dilemma. This implies that the heart and the mind are in conflict and listening to your heart may weaken you. however , the Ayurvedic concept of mind takes a broader and more illuminating view of the subject. According to the ayurved, the mind includes not only mental activity but also a consciousness that the housed in the heart – ‘the heart is indispensable for noral mental and physical activities as the entire waking consciousness rests there’
The mind is made of several aspents. Buddhi is intellect and is really like a mirror reflecting universal consciousness as it cognizes and clarifies. It is the digestive system of the mind as it discriminates between different aspects of mental ‘nutrition’. Sadhaka pitta corresponds to Buddhi. Manas is that which conceptualises, analyses and interacts between our inner subconsciousness and our experience of the outer world. It includes memory and the ability to recall (smriti) events. Tarpaka kapha relates to memory. Ahamakara is our ‘I’ maker and identity former that personalises every experience. It makes us identify with every experience so that we say ‘I am reading a book about ayurvedic herbs’. There is also Citta that is considered to be consciousness and awareness. Prana connects these different aspects in to something that is known as antahkarna, the inner active. A peculliarity is that in contrast to the nature of the physical constitution (deha prakriti) the mental nature (manas prakriti) can be altered through actoin. the qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas are predominate in the mind and can be altered according to lifestyle, diet and mental attitudes. Rajas and tamas, passion and lethargy respectively, are considered to be the causes of mental disorders.
