Citta

Man is conjunction of Purusha & Prakriti.

Purusha/ Soul/ Seer covered by Maya tattva appears limited.

Prakriti/ Nature/ Seen is external manifestation of Purusha which evolutes to all things matter & energy.

Evolution of Prakriti is Asmita/ ahankar/ Ego which reflects Sat/ Being state of Purusha.

Citta is individual counterpart/ other end of thread of cosmic consciousness/ cit.

Aura of Purusha is ananda/ bliss.

These 3 form reflection of sat-cit-ananda Shiva

Sat/ Being state of Purusha is innermost covering of Soul/ Self.

Citta forms the second layer of Purusha.

Ananda of Shiva reflects citta/ individual consciousness & forms the 3rd layer, ananda kosha.

Highest evolute of Prakriti is Mahat/ Cosmic intellect.

Buddhi is discriminative intellect.

It's individual counterpart of mahat.

It forms 4th layer, vijnana kosha.

Manas/ mind is grosser tattva of Prakriti than buddhi & is directly controlled by it.

Mental layer is 5th layer from inside, Mano kosha.

Interaction of Purusha & Prakriti tattvas creates interface of contact between subject/ self & object/ external world.

This interface is antahkaran, trio of manas, buddhi, ahankar.

Light of citta is reflected on it.

Antahkarana has 3 functions - Conation, Cognition, Motion

Conation/ Volition is Will of Purusha stamped by "I"ness/ ego.

Cognition is expressed through buddhi/ intellect.

Motion is native property of manas/ mind.

Reflection of citta on antahkaran creates subjective experience of "I" & imparts subjective knowledge to buddhi/ intellect.

Senses provide information to mind which is processed by mind in association of buddhi in hindsight of past impressions & in light of emotions/ feelings.

Knowledge acquired by mind is objective.

Traces of past objective knowledge is memory & subjective knowledge is impressions.

Memory is neutral but its association with impressions makes it good/ bad.

sanskaras/ Impressions are deepest traces stored in antahkaran which sprout in favorable environment into vrittis/ thoughtwave & perceived by mind.

Citta gets clouded by this constant arising of vrittis.

All matter which constitute 5 elements, 5 sense organs, 5 internal organs form the outermost, 7th layer, anna kosha.

Functions of these matter give rise to nerve impulses & movement of prana, vital force which is 6th layer from inside, prana kosha.

Svasa/ breath is gross.

Prana/ vital force is subtle.

Movement of prana is directly controlled by manas/ mind.

So Still breath > Still prana > Still mind > Still citta, leading to laminar flow of consciousness with clear intellect, prajna/ Wisdom & being state of Bliss!

Citta viksepa is citta in current of disturbed thoughts.

Citta prasadna is laminar flow or stream calmly like a lake.

It culminates into Samadhana citta/ tranquility.

Ordinarily Citta has 4 major states & 16 detailed states.

There are 2 directions of movements in citta:

1. Sarvarthata citta – Scattering/ dispersiveness outwards in Nature/ Mother/ Prakriti

2. Ekagrata citta – One-pointedness (intensity may vary) inwards towards Self/ Father/ Purusa

Citta remains in center of this tug of war.

5 States of mind reflects citta in similar, respective efficiency/ clarity.

There are 7states of awareness in citta:

1. Vyutthana citta – Emerging consciousness; As long as 1 impression is replaced by counter-impression, consciousness rises up against it

2. Nirodha citta – Refraining consciousness; Restraining rising waves & overcoming these impressions

3. Nirmana citta – Sprouted consciousness

4. Prasanta citta – Tranquil consciousness

5. Ekagra citta – Attentive/ One pointed consciousness

6. Chidra citta – Fissured/ Rent consciousness

7. Divya/ Paripakva citta – Pure consciousness

Citta is pure consciousness in itself.

Being & bliss is its inherent nature.

But its flow appears to get impeded & clouded resulting in sufferings.

There are 5 Klesas/ Afflictions in its experience:

1.Asmita/ Ego sprouts into citta/ consciousness.

2.Avidya/ ignorance of true Self & attachment/ identification with prakriti/ nature keeps citta in cloud.

3.Impressions (3 types of instincts/ impulses) –

Raga, Dvesha, fear of death/ bhaya & clinging to life (Abhivesha)

To rediscover the true nature of Self-consciousness/ Shiva & be free of these afflictions is the path of Yoga.

An article by GS