:''In
Hindu mythology
Hindu mythology is the body of myths and literature attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion, found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like ''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana'', the Puranas, and ...
,
Buddhi is one of the wives of
Ganesha
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu ...
.''
Buddhi (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
: बुद्धि) refers to the intellectual faculty and the power to "form and retain concepts, reason, discern, judge, comprehend, understand".
[
]
Etymology
''Buddhi'' ( sa, बुद्धि) is derived from the Vedic Sanskrit root ''Budh'' (बुध् ), which literally means "to wake, be awake, observe, heed, attend, learn, become aware of, to know, be conscious again".Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only on ...
and other Vedic literature.Monier Williams
Sir Monier Monier-Williams (; né Williams; 12 November 1819 – 11 April 1899) was a British scholar who was the second Boden Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford University, England. He studied, documented and taught Asian languages, especially ...
, the power to "form, retain concepts; intelligence, reason, intellect, mind", the intellectual faculty and the ability to "discern, judge, comprehend, understand" something.Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
noun derived from ''*budh'', to be awake
Wakefulness is a daily recurring brain state and state of consciousness in which an individual is conscious and engages in coherent cognitive and behavioral responses to the external world.
Being awake is the opposite of being asleep, in which m ...
, to understand
Understanding is a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to use concepts to model that object.
Understanding is a relation between the knower and an object of ...
, to know. The same root is the basis for the more familiar masculine form ''Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...
'' and the abstract noun
A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for:
* Living creatures (including people, alive, ...
''bodhi
The English term enlightenment is the Western translation of various Buddhist terms, most notably bodhi and vimutti. The abstract noun ''bodhi'' (; Sanskrit: बोधि; Pali: ''bodhi''), means the knowledge or wisdom, or awakened intellec ...
''.
Buddhi contrasts from ''manas'' (मनस्) which means "mind", and ''ahamkara
Ahaṁkāra (Sanskrit: अहंकार), 'I-making' is a Sanskrit term in Saṃkhyā philosophy that refers to the identification of Self or Being with 'Nature' or any impermanent 'thing'.
Reference in Bhagavad Gita
Ahaṁkāra is one of t ...
'' (अहंंकाऱ) which means "ego, I-sense in egotism".
Usage
In Sankhya
''Samkhya'' or ''Sankya'' (; Sanskrit सांख्य), IAST: ') is a dualistic school of Indian philosophy. It views reality as composed of two independent principles, '' puruṣa'' ('consciousness' or spirit); and ''prakṛti'', (nature ...
and yogic philosophy both the mind and the ego are forms in the realm of nature ('' prakriti'') that have emerged into materiality as a function of the three '' gunas'' (ग़ुण) through a misapprehension of ''purusha
''Purusha'' (' or ) is a complex concept whose meaning evolved in Vedic and Upanishadic times. Depending on source and historical timeline, it means the cosmic being or self, awareness, and universal principle.Karl Potter, Presuppositions of Ind ...
'' (पुरूष) (the consciousness-essence of the ''jiva
''Jiva'' ( sa, जीव, IAST: ) is a living being or any entity imbued with a life force in Hinduism and Jainism. The word itself originates from the Sanskrit verb-root ''jīv'', which translates as 'to breathe' or 'to live'. The ''jiva'', ...
tman''). Discriminative in nature (बुद्धि निश्चयात्मिका चित्त-वृत्ति), ''buddhi'' is that which is able to discern truth (''satya
''Satya'' (Sanskrit: सत्य; IAST: ''satya)'' is a Sanskrit word loosely translated as truth, essence. A. A. Macdonell, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Asian Educational Services, , pp. 330–331 It also refers to a virtue in Indian relig ...
'') from falsehood and thereby to make wisdom possible.
The Sānkhya-Yoga View
According to the Sānkhya-Yoga view, Buddhi is in essence unconscious, and as such, cannot be an object of its own consciousness. This means that it can neither apprehend an object nor manifest itself.
In the Yoga Sutra
The ''Yoga Sutras of Patañjali'' is a collection of Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sutras (according to others, including BKS Iyengar). The ...
, it is explained that the Buddhi cannot enlighten itself, since it itself is the object of sight, "na tat svhāsam draśhyatvāt".
See also
* Three Bodies Doctrine
According to Sarira Traya, the Doctrine of the Three bodies in Hinduism, the human being is composed of three shariras or "bodies" emanating from Brahman by avidya, "ignorance" or "nescience". They are often equated with the five koshas (sheaths ...
* Namarupa
Nāmarūpa ( sa, नामरूप) is used in Buddhism to refer to the constituents of a living being: ''nāma'' is typically considered to refer to the mental component of the person, while ''rūpa'' refers to the physical.
''Nāmarūpa'' is ...
* Citta
''Citta'' (Pali and Sanskrit: चित्त; pronounced ''chitta''; IAST: ''citta)'' is one of three overlapping terms used in the '' nikaya'' to refer to the mind, the others being '' manas'' and '' viññāṇa''. Each is sometimes used i ...
* Nous
''Nous'', or Greek νοῦς (, ), sometimes equated to intellect or intelligence, is a concept from classical philosophy for the faculty of the human mind necessary for understanding what is true or real.
Alternative English terms used in ph ...
* Enlightenment (spiritual)
Used in a religious sense, enlightenment translates several Buddhist terms and concepts, most notably ''bodhi'', '' kensho,'' and ''satori''. Related terms from Asian religions are '' kaivalya'' and ''moksha'' (liberation) in Hinduism, '' Keva ...
References
External links
An interactive map of the Yogic conception of mind
Hindu studies
{{Hindu-theo-stub