The Manos

"Some time ago there was an amazing documentary series called "The Americas" and it showed many different species of animals across the American continents. The variety of creatures was astounding, but even more than that was what each of these living things could do: Build homes, travel many miles, find food where there appeared to be none, care for their young, defend themselves from predators."

"The Mind (Citta), in yogic thought is not one big thing. It has three distinct parts: The Buddhi (often called the intelligence), which is the home of discernment and where yogic practices lead us to, so that we may discover we are not a body, nor a mind, but a soul, The Ahankara (often called the false ego), which is the seat of our identity, the part of us that builds our personality, and tends to our likes and dislikes."

Animals demonstrate innate behaviors that enable survival without learned instruction, such as building homes, migrating, finding scarce food, caring for young, and avoiding predators. Newborn turtles immediately crawl to the sea and evade predators by instinct. Yogic thought divides the mind (Citta) into three parts: Buddhi, Ahankara, and Manos. Buddhi provides discernment and leads toward realizing the soul beyond body and mind. Ahankara forms identity, personality, likes, and dislikes. Manos, the lower or caveman mind, corresponds to instinctual survival responses like hunger, thirst, and sensations of danger.

Read at YogaRenew