The Human Condition

Paul Y.F. Loke

Paul Y.F. Loke, ph.D., of Singapore, is a Research Scholar at the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Culture, Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Viswa Mahavidyalaya, Chennai, Chennai, India.

The totality of human experience can be fully described in the three roles which we play; as an agent of actions, as a subject of knowledge, and as an enjoyer of the consequences of actions. In the Vedantic terminology, a human being is a kartâ, a jnâtâ, and a bhoktâ. One can say that these are the modes of human existence.

Very often one comes across in the literature of Indian thought and philosophical discussions the term, 'jiva', or individual soul. It is a generic term for all sentient creatures, including the human being, that are born and live. Notwithstanding this generally, man is set apart from the other jivas in that he has the conception of duty, and is capable of acquiring knowledge. This point is made most succinctly in the Aitareya Âranyaka wherein it is stated that 'In man alone is the Self most manifest, for he is the best endowed with intelligence. He speaks what he knows; he knows what will happen tomorrow; he knows the higher and the lower worlds; he aspires to achieve immortality through mortal things. He is thus endowed (with discrimination), while other beings have awareness of hunger and thirst only.'¹

Many of us may have wondered, one time or other, how the jiva becomes a subject of knowledge. It is to answer this question, and also to have a better understanding of the nature of agency or doership, and enjoyership in our lives that we need to examine what are known as the components or constituents which make up the jiva. We may call these the equipment of the jiva. In other words, we have to find out how the jiva is equipped for its roles as kartâ, jnâtâ and bhoktâ.

The jiva is a complex entity. It is complex in the sense that it has two parts or two components, namely, the Self or Âtman and the not-Self. One part of the jiva is, therefore, pure consciousness and the other, insentience. Various other terms have also been used to describe the jiva, such as the Self-in-the body, the Self-in-the world, the individual Self or the Self with the mind-sense-body complex.

The Self or Âtman, which is of the nature of pure consciousness (svarupa-chaitanya), needs no elaboration here. A casual perusal of any bibliography on Vedanta in general, and advaita in particular will reveal that the subject on the Self has been much inquired into and written about. Indeed, everyone of us is aware, at least vaguely, that there is a spiritual principle in him or her. This Self-existence or 'I am'ness can never he denied.

The importance and relevance of the not-Self is, however, often overlooked. One should not lose sight of the fact that without the not-Self, the svarupa-chaitanya or pure consciousness has no function. As in the case of electricity where, by itself it is of no practical use; you need the physical medium to manifest its effects. Be it light from the tungsten element of a lamp or the mechanical action from a motor. Of course, the reverse is also true. The physical medium by itself is of no use. Without electricity, the lamp and motor are mere appliances. A human body without consciousness is a mere body. It is not a jiva.

The not-Self or the material entity, which in normal parlance we call the body, is really made up of three structures, technically called 'the three bodies'. These are: the external gross body or sthula-sharira, the subtle body or sukshma-sharira, and the causal body or kârana-sharira. These bodies are made from the five sheaths or koshas which do not have any independent reality. These are: the physical sheath or annamaya-kosha, the vital-air sheath or prânamaya-kosha, the mental sheath or manomaya-kosha, the intellectual (consciousness) sheath or vijnânamaya-kosha, and the blissful sheath or ânandamaya-kosha.

The physical sheath, which makes up the body, is made from the combination of the sperm and ovum (dvandva-yoni), which in turn are the products of the essence of food. In short, the gross body is made from food or anna. Annamaya means the transformation of food. The body is therfore material and tâmasic in nature. Consequently, it is subject to the six kinds of changes or vikâras, namely, existence, birth, growth, change, decay and death. The physical sheath is the most gross of the five sheaths. It is also the easiest to identify, given its response to touch and cognition.

Of special importance to the understanding of the human condition is the subtle body. Unlike the physical body, the subtle body is not an object of the senses. It is an aggregate of nineteen subtle principles which manifest the personality of an individual. The subtle principles are: the ten senses or indriyas², comprising the five senses of knowledge or jnânendriyas, namely, seeing (eye), hearing (ear), smelling (nose), tasting (tongue) and feeling (skin), and the five organs of action or karmendriyas, namely, talking (voice), grasping (hands), walking (feet), generating (genitals) and excreting (anus); the five vital airs or the pancha-prânas, namely, prâna, apâna, vyâna, samâna and udâna; the buddhi; the chitta; the ahankâra and the manas--the last four being the functional components which make up the internal organ or antahkarana. The subtle body is also known as the linga-sharira because it is a symbol or mark (linga means symbol or mark) pointing at one's individuality beyond the gross body. It is pertinent to point out that for purposes of analysis we regard the chitta and the ahankâra as the functional aspects of the internal organ itself and not merely as subordinate functions of the buddhi and manas respectively, as has been done by some of the traditional Indian thinkers. Being subtle, the existence of the subtle body can only be inferred from the effects produced by the nineteen principles constituting it. In particular, it is the function and interaction of the internal organ with the five senses of knowledge and the five organs of action which make human life possible. The ten senses originate from their respective physical organs located in the body which are also known as the external organs or bahihkaranâni. The subtle body therefore does not exist is isolation, but is closely connected with the physical body.

Our examination of the subtle body complex begins with the five vital airs or the pancha-prânas. The five vital airs or energies are: prâna, the energy which governs the breath; apâna, the energy which regulates the functions of the organs below the navel, such as the kidneys, the intestines and the reproductive organs; vyâna, the energy which is diffused all over the body, through what are technically called the nâdis (channels), governs muscle control and movement; samâna, the energy essential for digestion because it absorbs the active principle in the food consumed; and finally, udâna, the energy prevailing in the part of the body above the larynx which is said to move upwards at the time of death. These five vital airs (pancha prânas) together with the five organs of action is called the sheath of vital airs. The pancha prânas and the five organs of action, which are characterised by activity, are produced from the active or râjasic aspect of the five rudimentary elements. It is the sheath of vital airs, by virtue of its proximity to the physical body which animates it.

Going beyond the physical sheath and the vital-air sheath brings us to what could perhaps be described as the more important principles of the subtle body, namely, the internal organ and the capacities or the psychical aspects of the external organs. The external organs are distinguished by the two charactersistics of location (sthâna) and specific function (vrata). In the case of the five senses of knowledge for instance, the eye, the ear, the nose, the tongue and the skin are located in the gross body. Each one of these has a structure as well as a specific function. The structure is located in a particular part of the human body and discharges a specific function. The eye, for example, can only see but cannot hear. Vrata means doing a thing meticulously in a limited way. Associated with the physical eye is the sense of sight. This sense of sight is the power of the eye which, although originating from the physical organ, resides in, and forms part of the subtle body. Like the sense of sight, the powers of the other outer organs, namely, the sense of smell, touch, hearing and taste and the five motor senses belong to the subtle body.

Pivotal to the understanding of the jiva's roles in the empirical world is the internal organ. Unlike the external organs, the internal organ does not have any location. Indeed, the term 'internal organ' may be a misnomer as the antahkarana is not an organ in the usual sense. Instead, it pervades the whole body and its vrittis (modifications) are non-specific. The internal organ is an aggregate comprising four functional aspects, namely, manas or the mind, chitta or memory stuff, ahankâra or the 'I' / ego and buddhi or intellect. It is the product of the sattva component of the five basic elements. It should be underscored here that in reality, the four aspects of the internal organ cannot be identified individually and given any specific location. Instead, the aspects have been described as the strands of a rope or guna-râshi woven together. The four aspects can therefore be seen as four different processes coming together and working together. This working together of the manas, chitta, ahankâra and buddhi is called the modification or vrittis of the internal organ. We shall now examine each of the four aspects in details.

The manas is the outermost 'layer' of the internal organ. Involved wth the external organs as well as with the internal organ, the manas is the bridge between the two. It is the manas which gives meanings to sensory data. The data received from the sense organs are organised by the manas which is concerned with the present or contemporaneous data that we get. In the manas, which is usually called the mind, the impressions of the sense organs will occur as vrittis. Where the vrittis of the manas occur, there the subtle body really begins, as distinct from the body.

The chitta is mostly the memory part of the internal organ. It is the storehouse of all previous experiences and impressions. The chitta will determine what the present interpretation (by the manas) is. The root word chiti means heaping or gathering. All the past impressions are gathered and in this gathering, organisation is involved. This is what is called samskâravâsanâ. The chitta is therefore concerned with not only the past but is also a principle of organisation. It may be pertinent to point out here that there has been some confusion in the literature published in the English language regarding the term chitta. This has been in no small measure due to the use of this term in the Yoga system to mean the mind. The internal organ in the Yoga system is said to be made up of two divisions, namely, prâna (responsible for the vital physiological functions) and chitta (responsible for the psychological processes). As a result, we come across in the Yoga system concepts, such as five chitta-vrttis, namely, mudha (dull mind), kshipta (restless mind), vikshipta (restless but at times tranquil), ekâgra (one-pointed mind) and niruddha (empty mind). The use of prânâyâma (breath control) is prescribed to control the chitta which is suppressing not only the memory but the entire mind. Memory in the Yoga system is called smriti.

The ahankâra or 'I' or ego is said to be the representative of the jiva. It operates as the organising factor of the internal organ. Aham means 'I'and kâra is 'to make'. Ahankâra is, therefore, technically known as the maker of 'I'. As the organising factor, the ahankâra ties up the past, present, and future to give the jiva a perspective for action or otherwise. One may ask, 'Where is the ahankâra located?' The 'I' has no location but is made every time when one has an experience; as when one says 'I come' or 'I go' or 'I do this or that'. In deep-sleep (sushupti) or when one is engrossed with some activity like, reading a book or painting, the 'I' is not there. Therefore, the ahankâra is the identification of the individual in all transactions and processes. It is the 'I' which makes the distinction between the experiencer and the experienced. The genesis of the dual notion of yusmad and asmad (the object and the subject) stems from this 'I'.

The buddhi is generally translated as 'intellect'. A more accurate meaning perhaps is 'to be aware'. The buddhi, made from the sattva aspects of the subtle elements, is the faculty which enables us to know. It is the instrument of knowledge. By itself the buddhi is inert. But when the light of the Self falls on it, the buddhi becomes creative.

As an aspect of the internal organ, the buddhi is basic to the manas, ahankâra and chitta. Chitsukha, an Advaitin of the 13th century in his work Chitsukhi, calls the buddhi bhittisthâniya;³ Bhitti means wall. the buddhi is therefore seen as a wall which serves as the ground for the other aspects of the internal organ. The buddhi is pure all the time. In fact, it has been described as of the nature of consciousness, pure and undifferentiated which we have in deep sleep and absorption during deep meditation (samâdhi). However, the medium between the buddhi and the manas is clouded by the vâsanâs and samskâras inherent in the chitta. Unlike the manas, ahankâra and chitta which are oriented outward, the buddhi can face either the object i.e. outwards, or the subject Self i.e., inwards. It is the latter feature which makes the buddhi the medium of Self-realisation. It is, therefore, necessary to harness the buddhi for an insight into ones's real nature. In empirical life, when an external object is presented to the jiva, the buddhi's original state of pure consciousness becomes oriented outward. This activates the ahankâra which in turn prompts the manas. The manas in turn takes the help of the chitta which enables the evalution of the pros and cons, resulting in a process which eventually leads the jiva to act or not to act. Later Advaitins, like Appayya Diksita have used the analogy of water being drawn from the river into canals (for irrigation), to show how the buddhi, as a mode of consciousness, operates in the jiva's empirical existence.

It is the buddhi when in collaboration with the five senses of knowledge that is called the consciousness sheath. The jiva's role as an agent arises when the attributes of this sheath are falsely ascribed to the Self, resulting in the claims of doership and action in statements such as, 'I am the wirter of this article', 'I have done this or that', etc. Conversely, when the attributes of the Self are erroneously superimposed on the consciousness sheath, the jiva makes claims to consciousness, intelligence and knowledge, as when one says, 'I am conscious', 'I know this or that', etc.⁴ Similarly when the manas is in association with the five senses of knowledge, it is regarded as the mental sheath. Again, it is the mutual superimposition or itaretara-adhyâsa of the characteristics of the sheath and the Self on each other which gives rise to the pains and pleasures the jiva experiences in its worldly life.

We have thus far examined all the nineteen principles of the subtle body and four of the five sheaths, namely, the physical sheath and the three sheaths (consciousness, mental and vital) which make up the subtle body. It is perhaps logical to leave the analysis of the causal body to the last because as is evident by its name, the causal body is the cause of the other bodies. The nature of the causal body is pure nescience (avidyâ). Here, the sattva-guna is completely subordinated to the rajas and tamas. The causal body is, therefore, dull and inert. However, once it gets associated with the pure consciousness of the Self, we get the spontaneous rising of the last of the five sheaths, namely, the blissful sheath. By virtue of its close proximity to the Self, this sheath is inhered with the nature of bliss (ânanda) of the Self. It is this 'blissful ignorance' which the jiva experiences in the state of deep sleep. It should also be pointed out that it is the causal body, made up of three components, namely, avidyâ (ignorance), kâma (desire), karma (action) together with the subtle body, which is responsible for the transmigration of the jiva after physical death. After death, the body dies and with it all the physiological and psychological functions cease, leaving behind the samskâras or latent impressions in the chitta of the subtle body. The causal body is also described as kâryotpâdaka or that which results in the next body as an effect. It is, therefore, this 'loaded', complex which transmigrates from existence to existence.

The jiva, as we have seen, is adequately equipped to function in the world and carry out its roles as jnâtâ, kartâ and bhoktâ. 'Somehow' through the interplay of the Self and the three bodies, we 'become'. This becoming is called jiva-bhâva or the mode of the jiva. Most of the time the jiva when in existence functions only at three levels; the mental, the sensory and the physical. These correspond to the not-Self components of the mind, senses and body. The Self, which remains shrouded by the sheaths, is largely oeverlooked. Arising from the mutual superimposition of the Self on the not-Self and vice-versa, the jiva is condemned to its existential predicament of desires, likes and dislikes. However, the human stroy is not all doom and gloom. There is yet hope. The very equipment which causes the yoke of man's empirical bondage can be used to overcome it. The sages of yore have left behind a rich and valuable legacy for those who are ready to break the veil of ignorance and to realise their true nature. To do this, we need to 'de-construct' the web of relationships built around our lives. These relationships, born out of attachments and aversions, are in the ultimate analysis transitory and unreal. What we really need to do is to go inwards, beyond the five sheaths, to 'dis-cover' the real timeless Self buried in the thick of ignorance, which is the very essence of our worldly life.

Notes:

1. Aitareya âranyaka 11.3.2-5
2. The ten senses or indriyas are the powers or capacities of the physical organs which they are associated with. They should not be confused with the physical organs themselves.
3. Chitsukha borrowed this term from Abhinava-gupta, a literary critic and Kashmerian philosopher, who lived in the 9th century. Abhinavagupta had used this term in his 'Lochana', a commentary on a literary work, the Dhvanyâloka.
4. By attributes here, we are referring to the essential nature of Self. Strictly speaking the Self, which is of the nature of pure consciousness, is non-dual, non-relational and has no attributes.