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The Art of Personal Sādhana

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    ahaṃkāra

    Devanāgarī: अहंकार Translation: individuation; conception of individuality; the making of self Opposite words:puruṣa Related concepts:buddhi, asmitā, aham, manas, mahat, mama, kāra, mamakāra, citta, sāṃkhya

    Appears in

    Sāṃkhya Kārikā:

    22 , 24 , 25


    Click here for complete Saṃskṛta Index

    Commentaries around

    “The ten senses or Das Indriya are the gateways
    between our inner and the outer experiences,
    in the twin roads of the worldly phenomena
    that we call sensory knowing or bodily action.
    The five senses that transport knowing from
    the outer to the inner are called the Jñāna Indriya,
    or the senses through which we perceive the world.
    The five senses that transport action from
    the inner to the outer are called the Karma Indriya,
    or the senses through which we act out into the world.
    The coordinator of this remarkable interface is Manas,
    often referred to as the eleventh sense or internal organ.
    The identifier in this remarkable process is Ahaṃkāra.
    The discerner in this remarkable trinity is Buddhi.
    The source of perception within this remarkable play
    of knowing and action is known as Cit or Puruṣa.”
    – Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 54

    “The mutual aim of Yoga and Sāṃkhya is to
    experience the more discerning aspects of the psyche,
    rather than just the more grasping aspects of the psyche.
    In the former, the tendency of the Buddhi to discern discriminately
    prevails over the tendency of Ahaṃkāra to grasp indiscriminately.
    In the latter, the tendency of the Ahaṃkāra to grasp indiscriminately
    prevails over the tendency of the Buddhi to discern discriminately.
    The former is a state known as Buddhi Sattva,
    where the clarity of discernment prevails over the
    indiscriminate grasping nature of the Ahaṃkāra.
    The latter is a state of Buddhi Tamas,
    where the discerning clarity of the Buddhi
    is obscured by the grasping nature of the Ahaṃkāra.
    Thus our Yoga Sādhana has but one primary Saṃkalpa,
    that of the reduction of the obscuration by Tamas in the Buddhi.
    This reduction of Tamas facilitates the advent of the clarity of Sattva,
    as in the metaphor of the reduction of the cloud facilitates the advent of the sun.”
    – Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 49

    “We observe what we experience
    through the eye of the Indriya
    The eye of the Indriya observes
    through the I of the Manas
    The I of the Manas observes
    through the I of the Ahaṃkāra
    The I of the Ahaṃkāra observes
    through the I of the Buddhi
    The I of the Buddhi observes
    from the eye of the Puruṣa.”
    – Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Four verse 18

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    This glossary with its similar, opposite and related concepts categories, supplemented by textual references and additional commentaries around the key word, is a both work in progress and constantly ever-expanding in terms of further cross-references, textual cross links and commentaries.
    As it continues to develop your comments and suggestions on your experience and how it may be enhanced are very welcome via this link, thank you.
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