What is manas?
Manas is ‘the sensory mind’ and is one of the parts of the mind (others being Chitta, buddhi, and ahamkara). It is the component that registers the inputs (information) from the external world (with the help of 5 jnana-indriyas or sense organs) and then acts accordingly (with the help of 5 karma indriyas or motor organs). It has a direct effect on our physical body both in terms of a reaction to the situation and the action taken as a result. In the process of this experience, it starts creating lots of samskaras (impressions) or patterns.
If the manas is unconscious and working alone then it behaves like a pure reptilian instinct. But if we start using the other parts of the mind consciously then we can develop a better response to a situation.
Understanding manas with real examples
“It is hard to describe a single part of the mind on its own because it always keeps on interacting with the other parts, but for the sake of understanding we will try to explain them on its own.”
This can be better understood with the help of examples.
An incident or a situation in front of us will be registered by the manas. The emotional response as a result of it could be pleasant or unpleasant (or trauma in case of something extreme happening).
Both the pleasant and the unpleasant experience could create a pattern; like if you took some recreational drug and it took you to a pleasant state, now the body wants to get back into this pleasant state and it might get addicted to the substance.
In the other case, if an accident happens while doing a particular activity like driving a motorbike, you register it as unpleasant and the next time you get the thought of driving the motorbike again your body would get back into the unpleasant state irrespective of the actual situation.
The manas not only develops impressions because of your experiences but also from the collective experience of a community. Eg some of the reflexes are deeply ingrained in us and are there for generations like when you touch anything hot then you withdraw your hand. Though we can train our body and create a new pattern on top of that and increase our pain threshold (we all keep on listening to the superhuman feats of people)
We have to note here that manas is acting through both the sense organ and the motor organ, it’s always an action and reaction and as a result of it we register the whole experience.
The first step to having control over the mind would be to train the senses because this is the entry point of the stimulation. If you want to be more efficient then you will have to stop the mindless scrolling through the internet. If you have decided to eat less sugar then you will have to control the nervous response of your body to want more sugar. If you are trying to quit any addiction then you will start with regulating the things that trigger it.
Manas and patterns- Neuroplasticity
These patterns that we constantly keep making can definitely be rewired.
To understand this in modern science way that how these patterns are created would be to take help from our understanding of the nervous system. Neuroplasticity and pattern making come here.
As plastic can be molded into any shape similarly our nervous system can be molded, this understanding led to the term neuro-plasticity or neural-plasticity. This term is quite close to the Yogic terminology of pattern making which is called Samskaras.
The neural-plasticity capability helps us with rerouting (creating new connections) and sprouting (extensions of nerve cells connecting to other nerves). All these activities will happen only when we decide to change and take a step in the right direction.
How to make manas more conscious and use it to make new patterns and change habits?
We often feel guilty, sad, frustrated, etc after reacting to a situation in a certain way. The awareness element within us says you should have acted in a different way, but this realization happens after the situation has already occurred. In the actual situation the senses take over and we keep repeating the same unconscious patterns.
To break these patterns you can try these methods
- Increasing the response time– When you observe yourself getting sucked into the reaction of the senses, take a step back and tell to yourself that you will stay quiet and not react, bring your awareness to the breath and the sensations happening in the body. Respond to the situation when this tornado subsides.
- Discussion- Discussion could be either with yourself like writing it down or talking about the issue with other people. Just the act of identifying the problem and sharing it with someone else is enough to bring awareness to the situation the next time it repeats, which makes it easier to respond in the way you prefer.
- Identifying the triggers and anticipating- Identify those situations that trigger the unconscious behavior which you are trying to change. Once you have identified these you can anticipate when they are likely to happen and create strategies to handle yourself. This could include breathing techniques, physically removing yourself from the situation, or doing some exercise or activity that helps you create that separation. The purpose is not to distract yourself but to create a separation between the incident and your conditioned reaction. You can respond to the situation at a later time when the awareness is functioning properly.
The above-mentioned methods could also be used to fight addictions.
Manas is the part that is responsible for the manifestation of actual physical actions, so training the senses is one the most important practice in a spiritual path.