Antaḥ-Kāraṇa | Internal Instruments

Antah-Karana

Antaḥ-Kāraṇa (IAST)
Translation: "Internal Instruments"

A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy
Sanskrit: अन्तःकारण
Transliteration: Antaḥ-Kāraṇa
Translation: "the internal organ; inner sense; inner instrument; "inner causes""
Definition:

1. It is comprised of the intellect, the mind, the ego, and the consciousness (Buddhi, Manas, Ahaṅkāra, and Cit), according to Advaita Vedānta. The Sāṅkhya school recognizes only the intellect, mind, and ego as comprising the inner organs.
2. It is the seat of the functions of the senses as distinct from their outer organs. It receives and arranges what is conveyed to it through the senses. It reflects objects by its relation with the self (Puruṣa) according to Sāṅkhya or by its relation to the Self (Ātman) according to Advaita Vedānta.
3. According to Advaita Vedānta, the perceived variations of different individuals' cognitions are due to the differences in their respective Antaḥkāraṇas.
4. The inner organ functions by streaming out to an object, illumining it, assuming its shape, and then cognizing it according to Advaita Vedānta.

बुद्धि – Buddhi (Intellect)

Meaning: "intellect; the discriminative faculty (from the verb root budh – “to enlighten, to know”)"

Definition:

1. The ascertaining intelligence and the impersonal or superpersonal state of consciousness of a limited individual.
2. The first evolute of primordial Nature (Prakṛti). It is the basis of the intelligence of the individual. It is the determinative faculty and by it one resolves upon a course of action.
3. According to Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, it is of two kinds: recollection (Smṛti) and experience (Anubhava).

अहङ्कार – Ahaṅkāra (Ego / "The 'I'-maker")

Meaning: "'I'-ness; egoism; the concept of individuality (from the verb root kṛ = "action" + aham = "I"); literally = 'I'-maker"

Definition: "In the evolutionary process, Ahaṅkāra is said to evolve from the intellect (Buddhi) and give evolution to the senses (Indriya) and the subtle essence of the elements (Tanmātra) in turn. Its function is self-assertion. It is an aspect of the inner organ (Antaḥ-Karaṇa) and it has the three aspects of Vaikārika or Sattva, Taijasa or Rajas, and Bhūtādi or Tamas."

मनः / मनस् – Manaḥ / Manas (Cognitive Mind)

Meaning: "mind; one of the aspects of the internal organ (from the verb root man – “to think”)"

Definition:

1. Mind emerges from the Pure (Sattva) aspect of egoity (Ahaṅkāra).
2. Mind stimulates the other senses to attend to their respective objects. Thus, it is an organ of cognition and of action. It is the doorkeeper to the senses. Its specific function is to explicate.
3. According to Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, it is atomic and eternal. It is an instrument of knowing and is inert as any other sense. Its cooperation is necessary for all knowledge. It exercises a double function: it helps the self to acquire knowledge and it narrows its field to a single object or group of objects. Association with the mind is the basic cause of bondage.
4. According to Jainism, it is not a sense organ, but the organ of cognition of all objects of all the senses. It is of two types: physical mind (Bhāva), which performs the mental functions proper, and material mind (Dravya), which is subtle matter compounded into the physical mind.
5. According to Dvaita Vedānta and Sāṅkhya, the mind is considered as one of the sense organs (Indriya).
6. According to Mīmāṃsā, different cognitions are explained by a type of atom called Manas. The mind alone brings about cognitions, aversions, efforts, etc., but by itself it is devoid of any qualities such as color, smell, etc. Thus, it needs the aid of the other organs to cognize these qualities.

चित्त – Citta (Mind)

Meaning: "consciousness; mind; thought; apperception (from the verb root cit – “to perceive, observe, know”)"

Definition:

1. In Kashmir Shaivism, the limitation of the Universal Consciousness manifested in the individual mind. It is the mind of the empirical individual. In Rāja Yoga, Citta means mind, and in Advaita Vedānta, it refers to the subconscious.
2. In the Vaibhāṣika system, it is Saṃskṛta-Dharma, born out of the interaction of the senses with their objects.
3. In the Yogācāra system, it is the Mano-Dharma. It is the primary Dharma and essentially the only Dharma.
4. In the Yoga system, the intellect (Buddhi), ego (Ahaṅkāra), and the senses (Indriya) are often called Citta.
5. According to the Sāṅkhya, the mind (Citta) has five processes: Pramāṇa, Viparyaya, Vikalpa, Nidrā, and Smṛti.

Vivekacuddāmani (Śrī Śaṅkarācārya)
Verses 93-94:

The "inner organs" are called, according to their respective functions as mind, intellect, ego and chitta. Mind is so called by reason of its considering the pros and cons of a thing; intellect by reason of its function of determining the truth of objects. The ego is so called by reason of its identification with the body as one‘s own self, and chitta from its function of constantly illumining the things of its interest.

Reference:

1. Grimes, John (1996). A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English. Albany: State University of New York Press
2. Chaitanya, Pranipata. Sri Sankara's Vivekachudamani: Devanagari Text, Transliteration, Word-for-Word Meaning, and a Lucid English Translation. Tamil Nadu, India: Tiruchengode Chinmaya Mission