Five categories of the mind
There are five categories of the mind: disorganized, stupefied, divided, one-pointed and the mind in a state of equilibrium. This article, explaining these five categories, is an excerpt from my second book The Yoga Sutras Illuminated.
The mind is made up of manas, buddhi, ahamkara and chitta. These four internal aspects, also known as the modifications of the mind, are described briefly as follows:
Chitta is the storehouse of memories. Chitta comes from chit which means consciousness in general.
Ahamkara are the various identities that create and give you a sense of identity. Aham means “I” and kara means “the doer.”
Buddhi, the clear awareness that decides, judges and discriminates. It has a leading quality. Buddhi comes from the root buddh which means “light.”
Manas coordinates the active as well as cognitive senses. Manas comes from the same root as “man.” Manas is the lower mind. A well-trained manas follows the instructions of buddhi.
Together, these four internal aspects of the mind are called antahkarana. Antah means “internal” and karana means “the doer.” Antahkarana suggests that these four internal aspects of the mind are inner instruments. These four may also be considered as our inner faculties or constituents of the mind (Fig. 1: Antahkarana).
Fig. 1: Antahkarana Illustration by Radhikaji
The Vyasa Bhashyam, an ancient commentary on The Yoga Sutras, categorizes the mind according to its dominant features. The five universal categories are:
restless and disorganized (kshipta)
dull and stupefied (mudha)
distracted and divided (vikshipta)
one-pointed (ekagra)
mind in a state of equilibrium (nirodha)
Let us try to understand these five categories with the help of the four modifications of the mind.
The first category kshipta is restless and completely disorganized. The four modifications of the mind in this person are not coordinated at all. Manas reacts to everything in the external world and any memories or images that bubble out of chitta. Manas does not follow the instructions coming from buddhi. It is constantly doubting and changing its views. The active and cognitive senses are completely untrained; they cooperate neither with buddhi nor with ahamkara. Ahamkara is poorly developed. The mind is cloudy like a smokescreen. Buddhi is not clear in this cloudy mind. This mind is highly unpredictable. An untrained manas is dominant in the kshipta mind.
The next category, mudha, is dull and stupefied. The mudha mind is full of a lot of dark and negative impressions stored in chitta. Ahamkara, the sense of identity is not well-defined. Manas does not even react to any stimulus. Even if buddhi is able to make decisions, the mudha mind is too dull to act upon it. The mudha mind broods on negativities and remains stupefied. An impure chitta is dominant in such a mind.
The vikshipta mind is distracted and divided. It has a strictly defined sense of identity. Manas is not necessarily well trained, but it does follow the instructions of a dominant ahamkara. Ahamkara, having usurped the role of buddhi, is able to suppress the emotions from chitta and direct the energies to serve its own goals. Although such a person will not react irrationally to stimuli from the external or internal world, she is limited to reacting out of her strictly defined identities. Though narrow, these identities bring stability to the mind. Since ahamkara cannot retain control over the other modifications of the mind constantly, such a person will lapse every now and then either into a mudha or into a kshipta mind. Such a person may send out confusing messages to others; she may be perceived at times as inflexible and at other times as moody. A rigid ahamkara is dominant in a vikshipta mind.
Next comes the category of mind that can attain success in the external as well as internal world: it is the ekagra mind. The ekagra mind is one in which all the four modifications of the mind are well coordinated and follow the lead of buddhi. Guided by buddhi, a well-trained manas is empowered to coordinate the active and cognitive senses and help ahamkara achieve its goals. Ahamkara, with its various identities, is well cultivated and flexible enough to interact in a useful and balanced way with the external world under constantly changing circumstances. Chitta, the memory bank, has been purified to a certain extent and is regulated by buddhi. Buddhi observes the contents of chitta with equanimity, drawing on the memories as and when required. A clear buddhi is dominant in an ekagra mind.
The common understanding of an ekagra mind is a mind that is able to push away everything and concentrate on an object of focus. This approach is unhealthy since it can encourage suppression. Suppression is neither sustainable nor therapeutic. The meditative tradition holds that an ekagra mind is that mind in which the leading quality of buddhi has unfolded its potential to a great extent, and manas, ahamkara and chitta are aligned with the decisions of buddhi.
The fifth and last category of the mind is nirodha. When the four internal modifications of the mind—manas, buddhi, chitta and ahamkara—are well coordinated and directed internally remaining in a state of equilibrium, then Individual Consciousness shines forth. The mind is not externally oriented—rather it is completely relaxed and content. Buddhi recognizes that it does not serve itself, rather it serves Individual Consciousness, the Seer. In the state of nirodha, Individual Consciousness is dominant (Fig.2 Nirodha).
Fig.2 Nirodha Illustration by Radhikaji
It is important to note that few people remain in one of the categories of the mind all the time or for their entire lives. The mind does have a tendency to set itself into a mold, yet it is malleable. The fact is that the mind is constantly changing and it is not fixed to any particular mindset. This categorization of the mind is an aid for competent teachers to guide aspirants on the path of self-knowledge and self-transformation. It is not a pathological study of the mind. Unlike the approach of modern psychology, The Yoga Sutras provides techniques and an excellent system based on scientific principles that allow the aspirant to self counsel and gradually “modify” the mind to greater states of health and well-being. The use of the term modification implies that the mind can be modified. It is useful to reflect on the different categories of the mind and observe these in yourself. When you feel restless and react impulsively then the mind is kshipta. Sometimes you feel very dull, almost depressed, in those moments, the mind is mudha. At other times, you may have a vikshipta mind. As you continue to observe the mind, you may occasionally observe the one-pointed mind ekagra. You may also find that in moments of extreme relaxation you experience an inexplicable joy. This is the spontaneous rising of nirodha, the state of equilibrium.
By self-observation and reflection you can also recognize the general tendency of the mind. An honest self-assessment is necessary to know the dominant quality of your mind. Those who have a predominantly kshipta or mudha mind cannot focus for longer periods of time. The average person is generally vikshipta, shifting occasionally into kshipta or mudha at other times. The role of a competent teacher is to guide a sincere meditator with a vikshipta mind to develop into an ekagra mind. With systematic practice the conflicts between the four modifications of the mind are removed and the mind becomes ekagra. The ekagra mind is ready and fit for higher meditation. The ekagra mind, when internally directed, is able to maintain a state of equilibrium for longer periods of time to attain Final Liberation, while the other three categories of the mind need to be trained gradually and systematically.
(Blog thumbnail by Abishek, Unsplash)