Mano Vaha Srotas

Mula (root): the heart (cardiac plexus) and the ten important sensory pathways — five bilateral pairs, one for each of the five senses. Marga (passage): the entire body. Mukha (opening): the sense organs (ears, skin, eyes, tongue, and nose) and the marmani (energy or acupressure points).

According to Ayurveda, there is vibhu mind — the universal mind — and anu mind — the individual mind. The ancient rishis discovered a universal unified field of the mind five thousand years ago. There is mind in everything, living and non-living, organic and inorganic, though the state of consciousness differs. The mind of a rock, for instance, is as if in a deep coma.

Ayurveda describes five states of mind: Mudha — the deluded or mad mind, rigid in outlook and hallucinating. Kshipta — the hyperactive mind that flits from idea to idea like a butterfly, caused by agitated prana. Vikshipta — the distracted mind, partly active and partly inactive, lacking clarity and focus. Ekagra — the one-pointed, focused mind that solves problems and probes deeply into subjects. Mukta — the completely free and liberated mind that is attentive, aware, and blissful, the state of the enlightened person (mukta ananda).

The mind is a material process within consciousness. If consciousness is the container, then the mind is the content. Similarly, the mind itself is a container for thoughts, feelings, and emotions. The senses are agents of the mind — they do not possess consciousness themselves, but the mind yields knowledge from the interaction of the senses.

The mind has several key faculties: buddhi (intellect) provides the capacity for conclusion and judgment; smruti (memory), called the mother of knowledge, stores experience and knowledge; and ahamkara (ego) is the image we create about the self or others based on stored knowledge. The mind also has the capacity of desire — if it is a positive desire, the goal is positive; if negative, the goal is inferior or neurotic.

Mano vaha srotas is connected to the Universal Mind. Insight is the meeting point of the individual mind with the Universal Mind. The Universal Mind does not need to learn — it is vast, pure knowledge (Mahad, Supreme Intelligence). The individual mind must go through much practice to develop communion with the Universal Mind. When the individual mind operates without judgment, recognition, or division, it becomes the Universal Mind.

Greed, anger, envy, pride, self-importance, ambition, competition, and comparison all adversely affect mano vaha srotas. People become dishonest with their feelings and emotions and carry a mask on their faces, which is a root cause of psychological problems.

Self-knowledge requires watching the total movement of consciousness at every moment — this action is real meditation and demands awareness, sacrifice, and discipline. Discipline means to learn, not to imitate. The second stage is to bring absolute clarity in all relationships — with family, friends, and with one's own thoughts, feelings, emotions, and goals. That clarity is the greatest discipline.

Mano vaha srotas is profound because it has its root in the universe and its fruit in the heart of every human being. When the fruit (heart) and the root (universe) merge together, the flowering of bliss and love takes place. Excessively high tejas from constant inquiry can burn ojas, leading to mental imbalance and fanaticism.