The first is Pratyaksha. Through the five senses, the mind recognises an object directly and clearly. For instance, if there is a tree before you, your eyes see the form and the different colours of the tree. Your ears perceive the sounds of the rustling leaves and the birds on the tree. The tongue can taste its leaves and fruits and know about the tree. The nose can, by smell, understand the presence of a tree and the skin can touch, feel and know that the tree exists. This is the direct cognitive capacity of the mind through the five sense organs.
Anumana is the second tyle of understanding by the mind. For instance, you are standing on a ground where a tree existed before, but has been chopped of presently. From your previous exposure to a similar tree, your mind can understand how this tree would have been and recall its smell, sounds, texture, colour, taste and looks.
The third faculty of cognition by the mind is through the Agamas or a body of information compiled or written by reliable sources. This applies to understanding abstract ideas. For instance you wish to know about the world. It is too big for your five senses to grasp. So you look up a globe or an atlas compiled by sources you think are reliable.
It is the same with concepts such as Yoga. You refer to the yoga sutra, the Bhagavad Gita or the Upanishads or any sacred texts for that matter. For an understanding of abstract concepts and ideas, the cognitive faculty of the mind relies on Agama or texts that have been written down in the past. - Swahilya Shambhavi. (Bhagavad Gita and Vignana Bhairava Tantra. (swahilya.soulmate@gmail.com)
11 comments:
The world is seen with the mind, Whatever we perceive about the world is through the act of our mind.
Nice post Swahilya.
Welcome fruitu: The mind is invisible. But it is as much a tool of our body, just as our hands and feet are. The five doors that let in information from the outside world - the five senses - are also the five gateways of expression. As the input, and the processing, so is the output. The three abilities of perception refer to the understanding and processing of information! Interesting to think that so much study about the mind has gone in so many centuries ago by Patanjali!
Very informative and well described Swahilya! great post!
wonderful post!! Thank you! Your reflections on this elite text are very insightful.
Dear swahilya:A vry thought provoking article.Though it is mentioned in 'Geetha' of 'Dwapara Yuga,"pratyaksha Pramana' is dealt with i 'Rig Veda' while dealing wih perceptions.
Good work. carry on
partha krish
Welcome Merging Point!
Kichenette Soul, it's interesting to know how everything is contained in any of these insightful texts and for all times.
Dear Partha, Your comments are indeed valuable. Thank you.
Look at the beauty of the words strung like gems on a string. Each leads to the other!
pratyaksha is the basis for the second--anumana is the foundation for the third aagama .
Dear swahilya, I appreciate your posts.
Welcome Ray.
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