Mind is like Four Spokes on a Wheel ...........

Mind is like Four Spokes on a Wheel 

Like four spokes of a wheel: The Four Functions of Mind are like four spokes that drive the wheel to operate in the external road of life. 

The hub remains still: While the wheel turns, the center hub remains still, like the center of consciousness, the Self, which remains still. While the hub is the source of the energy driving the wheel of life, the very center of the hub does not itself move. 

Go through the spokes to get to the hub: To know the center or hub (the Self), one must go through the spokes. The only vantage point from which one may fully be witness to the spokes is the Self. One who knows that center hub through Yoga meditation knows the Self, which is called Self-Realization. Thus, the process of observation of the Four Functions of Mind is an extremely useful aspect of the path of Self-Realization. 

Exploring the Four Spokes of Mind 

Manas

Manas, the lower mind: Manas is the lower mind, through which the mind interacts with the external world and takes in sensory impressions and data.Manas questions and doubts, which can cause great difficulties if this tendency becomes excessive.

Manas is the direct supervisor of the senses in the inner factory.

Manas is supervisor of the senses: Manas is like the supervisor in the factory of life, and directs the ten senses or Indriyas. Manas does a wonderful job of carrying out directions, but it is not supposed to be the key decision maker in the factory. That is the job of Buddhi. If Buddhi is clouded, then Manas has a habit of continuing to question, seeking good instruction. Then it often listens to whoever is speaking the loudest in the factory, which is the wants, wishes, desires, attractions, and aversions stored in the memory bank of Chitta. 

Be mindful of actions and speech: A good way to cultivate the witnessing ofManas is to be mindful of actions and speech, as well as your senses of smelling, tasting, seeing, touching, and hearing. By observing these, you come to see howManas is the one behind these actions and senses. Thus, Manas is like the supervisor of the employees in a factory. Manas is not the boss, but the supervisor, who is giving the direct orders to the active and cognitive senses.

Chitta

Chitta is the memory bank: Chitta is the memory bank, which stores impressions and experiences, and while it can be very useful, Chitta can also cause difficulties if its functioning is not coordinated with the others.

Chitta is the storage place of the countless latent impressions.

Coordinating Chitta:  If Chitta is not coordinated with the other functions of mind, then the thousands, millions, or countless impressions in this bed of the lake of mind start to stir and arise. It is as if these many latent impressions, coming to life are all competing for the attention of Manas to carry out their wants in the external world. In the absence of a clear Buddhi, the competing voices of Chittaoften drive Manas to take actions in the world that are really not so useful.

Witnessing Chitta: A good way to cultivate the witnessing of Chitta is to simply be aware of the streams of thoughts, emotions, images, and impressions that arise in front of Manas (on which Manas may or may not act). Notice how the stream of thoughts comes from somewhere, and then recedes back into that same place. This place is Chitta.

Ahamkara

Ahamkara is “I-am-ness,”: Ahamkara is the sense of "I-am-ness," the individual Ego, which feels itself to be a distinct, separate entity. It provides identity to our functioning, but Ahamkara also creates our feelings of separation, pain, and alienation as well.

Ahamkara is the strong wave that declares "I am"

Ahamkara takes on partners: This wave of "I-am-ness" called Ahamkara then aligns itself or forms partnerships with the data or impressions in Chitta (causing them to be colored, or klishta), and, in turn, with Manas, which then responds to the desires being sought by this "individuality." Meanwhile, Buddhi, the deep aspect, which knows, decides, and discriminates, remains clouded. Thus, it is said that purifying (or un-clouding) buddhi is a most important task in the path of meditation and Self-realization.

Witnessing the coloring by Ahamkara: A good way to cultivate the witnessing of Ahamkara is to be aware of the fact that rising thoughts and emotions are often colored with either attraction or aversion. The attraction or aversion may be strong, or it may be so weak that it is barely noticeable. Noticing the weak ones can be very insightful as to the subtlety of Ahamkara's coloring (It's much easier to neutrally witness the weak ones at first).

Buddhi

Buddhi is higher mind: Buddhi is the higher aspect of mind, the door-way to inner wisdom. The word Buddhi itself comes from the root budh, which means one who has awakened. Buddhi has the capacity to decide, judge, and make cognitive discriminations and differentiations. It can determine the wiser of two courses of action, if it functions clearly and if Manas will accept its  guidance.

Buddhi is cultivated as the decision maker in the factory of life.

Buddhi should be the decision maker: In the factory of life, we want Buddhi to be making the choices for the factory. Otherwise, Manas gets its instructions from the habit patterns stored in Chitta, that are colored by Ahamkara, the Ego. Often, Buddhi is clouded over by all of the coloring and impressions in the Chitta. Thus, a major task of sadhana, spiritual practices, is to un-cloud the cloudedBuddhi. Then, with clear choice one can ever improve the choices that lead to the fruits of spiritual practices.

Depth of Buddhi: On the more gross or surface levels of living and meditation,Buddhi is used as a tool for discrimination, as just described. However, when we get deep enough in meditation, we discover that it was the subtlest aspect ofBuddhi that first started to see division in ourselves and the universe. In other words, although Buddhi is used as a tool for deepening experience in meditation, it was Buddhi who carved up the universe in the first place, seeing division where there is unity. To discriminate between Buddhi and pure consciousness is one of the final stages in the meditative journey.