The Mental Faculties

The Mental Faculties

By Swami Sivananda

The Power Of The Human Mind

If you closely study the action of mind upon mind, of mind over matter, of mind over the human body, you will find that each man is a power in himself. You will have to develop the potential faculties by self-restraint and mastery over the passions. When mind is so much powerful, what to speak anything of the glory of Atman, who is the storehouse of everything, who is the infinite, inexhaustible central magazine of power, knowledge and bliss from whom the little mind borrows its light and power!

Illustrations Of The Power Of Mind

Whenever any fire-accident or any other kind of accident occurs, how agile and nimble you are! Do you not exhibit wonderful powers? You jump over a huge wall, save many children, run amidst fire boldly and carry things. All psychic faculties, memory, imagination, will, etc., are at play. Chivalry, intrepidity, undaunted spirit, mercy and various other noble virtues are exhibited by you. Wherefrom did you draw these faculties and powers? From this, you can conclude that you are, in reality, all-powerful. There is a big, magnanimous magazine of power inside. Go to the source by meditation and tap it. You will get everything. Rely on the Self within.

If you get a telegram at 12 a.m. on a hot day in summer, which informs you that your father is seriously ailing in your native village which is twenty miles distant, at once you leave even your food and begin to gallop. Though you yourself are not in good health at that time, you do not mind anything as you are very anxious to see your loving father. You even run the whole distance and reach the place within a couple of hours. Then you begin to wonder, “What! I was myself very sick. The day was very hot. I have covered a distance of twenty miles within two hours. What a marvel it is!” This clearly shows that you are, in reality, all-powerful. The mind possesses various kinds of powers and faculties. They lie dormant. You will have to awaken them.

The Six Important Powers Of Mind

There are three Saktis (powers, potencies) in the mind, viz., Ichha Sakti (Will), Kriya Sakti (Action) and Jnana Sakti (Knowledge). A desire arises in the mind. This is Ichha Sakti. The mind exerts to have this desire gratified. This is Kriya Sakti. It plans, schemes and finds out methods, etc., for the achievement of the desired object. This is Jnana Sakti.

Vedana-Sakti (power of perception), Smarana-Sakti or Smriti-Sakti (power of memory), Bhavana-Sakti (Power of imagination), Manisha-Sakti (power of judgment), Ichha-Sakti or Sankalpa-Sakti (will or volition) and Dharana-Sakti (power to hold) are the six important powers of the mind.

Vedana-Sakti

Vedana-Sakti is power of cognition or sensation or power of perception and knowing through Indriyas or senses (Indriya-Jnana or sense-knowledge).

Smriti-Sakti

The Smriti-Sakti does three things. It grasps. It holds. It brings to memory whenever a thing is needed. Though the power of grasping is done by the Vedana-Sakti of the mind (power of perception or cognition), the Smriti-Sakti also participates in the act of grasping.

Suppose you hear the sound of a bell in the temple. The memory Sakti grasps it. Then it retains it through Dharana. When you hear again the sound of the temple bell, it at once reminds you, “This is the temple bell. This is not the hostel bell.”

In Dhyana, the mind grasps and takes possession of its perceptions or judgments. It makes the content of the idea its own. It strengthens the Samskaras so that a voluntary recall is rendered easy.

Bhavana-Sakti

You have never seen an elephant riding a cycle. When a man, who has actually seen it, gives you a description, your mind forms a mental picture at once. This is done by the Bhavana-Sakti (power of imagination) of the mind.

Manisha-Sakti

Power of comparing and contrasting, drawing inferences, discussion, conclusion, all belong to Manisha-Sakti of the mind. The Manisha-Sakti (power of judgment) has got two subdivisions, viz., Nirnaya (ascertainment) and Tarka (logical reasoning).

A is mortal. B is mortal. C is mortal. Again, all men are mortal. Mr. Choudhary is a man. Therefore, Choudhary is mortal. These sorts of drawing conclusions through inductive and deductive logic with major and minor premises and middle term or through the five parts of syllogistic reasoning of Gautama Rishi’s Indian Logic (Nyaya) are done by Manisha-Sakti of the mind with the help of Nirnaya and Tarka.

Tarka has got two other subdivisions, viz., Anumana (inference) and Paramarsa (discussion). When you see a river in full flood in the morning, you infer that there ought to have been rain during previous night. When you see smoke on the hills, you infer that there ought to be fire also on the hill. This is due to Anumana.

Ichha-Sakti

Will is Atma-Sakti. It is the dynamic aspect of Brahman. Will is Brahman in motion. In Vedanta, will plays a very conspicuous part.

Much has been said about the power of imagination in the West-that it is the most tremendous power in the human mind and that in a conflict between the will and the imagination, the imagination would invariably win the day.

Some people say that the will is greater than imagination. In the East, amongst the Vedantins, will is regarded as a greater faculty than imagination. What would the imagination do without the impelling power of the will to execute with dynamic power the desires, wishes and ideals?

There is correlation, co-ordination and co-operation between the different principles in the mind. Therefore, who can say which is great or small, important or unimportant when each depends upon the other for its power? It cannot be truly said that the one is greater than the other, for their independence and power are derived from one another.

Dharana-Sakti

Dharana-Sakti (power to hold) is really a part of memory or Smarana-Sakti. In common parlance, we say, “Mr. Ramakrishna is a man of good Dharana in Vedanta.” Here it means that Mr. Ramakrishna has got fixed and steady ideas in Vedanta. He cannot be changed by anybody. He is not of a wavering nature. He sticks to Vedanta alone. Nobody can shake him.

Apperception

Apperception is the mind’s perception of itself as a conscious agent. The principle of apperception is just like a mail clerk of consciousness receiving, sorting out, correlating, arranging, pigeon-holing, associating and sending out messages.

How To Unfold The Latent Powers Of Mind

There are many higher mental faculties latent in man. Mind is a magazine of power. The unfoldment of these latent, psychic powers is possible through proper Sadhana. The Sadhana should be systematic, constant and intense. The student also must have reached the proper stage of development. There must be genuine Sraddha also. Then only sanguine success is possible.

The Mental Faculties – Understanding the Mind, Intellect, Memory, and Ego

The Mental Faculties are the inner powers through which a person thinks, feels, remembers, reasons, decides, imagines, and acts. The human mind is not a simple single movement; it has different functions that work together in daily life. When these faculties are uncontrolled, life becomes confused and restless. When they are understood and purified, they become powerful instruments for peace, wisdom, meditation, and spiritual growth.

The mind receives impressions from the senses and reacts to them. It likes, dislikes, desires, fears, doubts, and imagines. A sound, sight, word, or memory may quickly create attraction or disturbance. Therefore, the mind is often compared to a restless monkey. It needs discipline, direction, and purity if it is to become calm and useful.

The Mental Faculties include the intellect, which gives the power of discrimination. The intellect judges, compares, understands, and decides. If the intellect is clear, it can guide the mind away from harmful desires and toward noble action. But if the intellect is weak or clouded by ego, it may justify wrong conduct and support selfishness.

Memory is another important faculty. It stores past experiences, impressions, lessons, pleasures, pains, and habits. Memory helps learning, but it can also become a source of bondage when it repeatedly brings up old hurts, fears, desires, and regrets. A seeker must learn to use memory wisely, remembering spiritual truths and letting go of unnecessary mental burden.

The Mental Faculties also include imagination. Imagination can be creative and uplifting when used for noble ideas, devotion, study, service, and spiritual reflection. But the same imagination can create fear, worry, suspicion, and fantasy. Many suffer more from imagined problems than from actual events. Therefore, imagination must be purified and guided by discrimination.

The ego is the faculty that creates the feeling of “I” and “mine.” It says, “I am the doer, I am the owner, I am superior, I am insulted, I am successful, I am hurt.” This ego-sense is necessary for ordinary functioning, but when it becomes strong and selfish, it creates pride, attachment, jealousy, anger, and separation. Spiritual life aims to purify and finally transcend this ego.

The Mental Faculties must be trained together. If the mind is restless, the intellect becomes weak. If the intellect is unclear, the mind follows desire. If memory is full of negative impressions, imagination becomes disturbed. If ego is strong, even good actions become mixed with pride. Therefore, inner discipline must be complete and balanced.

Self-observation is the first step. Watch how the mind reacts, how the intellect decides, how memory brings old impressions, how imagination creates stories, and how ego claims ownership. This observation should be calm and honest. The aim is not self-condemnation, but self-understanding. What is clearly seen can be gradually corrected.

The Mental Faculties become pure through right thinking. Replace anger with forgiveness, fear with faith, jealousy with goodwill, pride with humility, and selfishness with service. Repeated noble thoughts create noble impressions. The mind becomes what it thinks again and again. Therefore, thought-culture is a direct method of inner purification.

Meditation strengthens and harmonizes these inner powers. When the seeker sits quietly, observes the breath, repeats a mantra, or rests in witnessing awareness, the mind becomes calm and the intellect becomes clear. Memory becomes less painful, imagination becomes less restless, and ego becomes softer. Regular practice slowly brings order into the inner life.

Good company is also necessary. The mind absorbs impressions from people, books, conversations, surroundings, and entertainment. Negative influences disturb the faculties and awaken lower tendencies. Satsang, noble reading, spiritual discussion, prayer, and association with sincere seekers strengthen purity, clarity, and devotion.

The Mental Faculties should also be supported by control of speech. Speech reveals the condition of the inner life. Harsh words, gossip, lies, criticism, and useless arguments show a disturbed mind. Truthful, kind, and measured speech reflects inner discipline. When the tongue is controlled, the mind becomes lighter and more peaceful.

Devotion gives sweetness to this process. Prayer, surrender, worship, mantra repetition, and remembrance of the Divine purify emotion and reduce ego. The intellect becomes humble, the mind becomes softer, and memory becomes filled with sacred impressions. When the heart loves the Divine, the inner faculties naturally turn toward higher life.

The highest understanding is that all these faculties are observed by awareness. Thoughts are known, decisions are known, memories are known, imaginations are known, and even ego is known. Therefore, the true self is deeper than the mind and its functions. Resting in this witnessing consciousness gives freedom from inner bondage.

In the end, The Mental Faculties are gifts that can either bind or liberate, depending on how they are used. Through self-observation, discrimination, noble thought, meditation, good company, speech-control, devotion, and witness-consciousness, the seeker purifies the mind, intellect, memory, imagination, and ego. When these faculties become calm and clear, they lead the soul toward peace, wisdom, self-knowledge, and liberation.

Who is God?