Chaitanya () refers variously to 'awareness', 'consciousness', 'Conscious Self', 'intelligence' or 'Pure Consciousness'. It can also mean energy or enthusiasm. The meaning of name Chaitanya also stands for "State of Conscious Energy".
Etymology
It is derived from cetanā (), which refers to
living
Living or The Living may refer to:
Common meanings
*Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms
** Living species, one that is not extinct
*Personal life, the course of an individual human's life
* ...
things or consciousness itself.
Scripture
In the Rig Veda (R.V.IV.XL.5), ''Nrishad'' is the dweller amongst humans; ''Nrishad'' is explained as ''Chaitanya'' or 'Consciousness' or ''
Prana
In yoga, Ayurveda, and Indian martial arts, prana (, ; the Sanskrit word for breath, " life force", or "vital principle") permeates reality on all levels including inanimate objects. In Hindu literature, prāṇa is sometimes described as origin ...
'' or 'vitality' because both dwell in humans.
In his commentary on the
Isha Upanishad,
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian Modern yoga gurus, yogi, maharishi, and Indian nationalist. He also edited the newspaper Bande Mataram (publication), ''Bande Mataram''.
Aurobindo st ...
explains that the
Atman, the Self manifests through a seven-fold movement of
Prakrti
Prakriti ( ) is "the original or natural form or condition of anything, original or primary substance". It is a key concept in Hinduism, formulated by the '' Samkhya'' school, where it does not refer merely to matter or nature, but includes all co ...
. These seven folds of consciousness, along with their dominant principles are:
# annamaya puruṣa - physical
# prāṇamaya puruṣa - nervous / vital
# manomaya puruṣa - mental / mind
# vijñānamaya puruṣa -
knowledge
Knowledge is an Declarative knowledge, awareness of facts, a Knowledge by acquaintance, familiarity with individuals and situations, or a Procedural knowledge, practical skill. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is oft ...
and
truth
Truth or verity is the Property (philosophy), property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth, 2005 In everyday language, it is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise cor ...
# ānandamaya puruṣa - Aurobindo's concept of
Delight, otherwise known as
Bliss
BLISS is a system programming language developed at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) by W. A. Wulf, D. B. Russell, and A. N. Habermann around 1970. It was perhaps the best known system language until C debuted a few years later. Since then, C ...
# caitanya puruṣa - infinite divine self-awareness
# sat puruṣa - state of pure divine existence
The first five of these are arranged according to the specification of the
panchakosha
A ''kosha'' (also ''kosa''; Sanskrit कोश, IAST: ), usually rendered "sheath", is a covering of the '' Atman'', or Self according to Vedantic philosophy. The five sheaths, summarised with the term Panchakosha, are described in the '' T ...
from the second chapter of the
Taittiriya Upanishad
The Taittiriya Upanishad (, ) is a Vedic era Sanskrit text, embedded as three chapters (''adhyāya'') of the Yajurveda. It is a '' mukhya'' (primary, principal) Upanishad, and likely composed about 6th century BCE.
The Taittirīya Upanishad is ...
. The final three elements make up
''sat-cit-ananda'', with
cit being referred to as ''chaitanya''.
The essential nature of
Brahman
In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' (; IAST: ''Brahman'') connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality of the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part XII In the ...
as revealed in deep sleep and Yoga is Chaitanya (pure consciousness).
Vedanta
The Vedantists also speak about the Consciousness or ''Mayaopahita-chaitanya'' that is associated with the indescribable
Maya
Maya may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (East Africa), a p ...
which is responsible for the functions of creation, preservation and dissolution of entire Existence, and about the Consciousness or ''Avidyaopahita-chaitanya'' that is associated with
Avidya which causes the wrong identification of the
Atman with the body etc.; after negating both Maya and Avidya, that is, after all distinctions are obliterated, what remains is Pure Consciousness or Chaitanya.
The form of an object that the mind assumes, after coming into contact with that object or enveloping it, is called ''
Vritti
Vritti (Vrutti) (Sanskrit: वृत्ति, Harvard-Kyoto: vṛtti, Gujarati: વૃત્તિ), means "streams of consciousness", it is also a technical term used in yoga with five specifically defined "movements of thought" which can bo ...
''. The process of enveloping is called ''Vritti-Vyapti''. ''
Vyapti'' is pervasion and the pervasion by the mind of a certain location called the object is ''Vritti-Vyapti''. The awareness that the object is there illuminates the object due to the presence in this moving process called the mind and is called ''phala-vyapti''. It is only because of the consciousness attending on the mind that the object is perceived.
Vedanta
''Vedanta'' (; , ), also known as ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six orthodox (Āstika and nāstika, ''āstika'') traditions of Hindu philosophy and textual exegesis. The word ''Vedanta'' means 'conclusion of the Vedas', and encompa ...
says that the object cannot be wholly material and there is no qualitative difference between the object and consciousness which consciousness by coming into contact with the object knows that the object is there which fact implies that consciousness is inherent in the object. This is the ''Vishaya- chaitanya'' or the 'object-consciousness' which does not mean consciousness of the object but the object which is a phase of consciousness which prevails everywhere.
To
advaitins, it refers to a pure
consciousness
Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...
that knows itself and also knows others.
See also
*
Cetanā
Cetanā (Sanskrit, Pali; Tibetan Wylie: sems pa) is a Buddhist term commonly translated as "volition", "intention", "directionality", etc. It can be defined as a mental factor that moves or urges the mind in a particular direction, toward a speci ...
, Buddhist concept
*
Cit (consciousness)
Chit ( or Cit) is a Sanskrit word meaning consciousness. It is a core principle in all ancient spiritual traditions originating from the Indian subcontinent, including Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism.
Hinduism
In Upanishads it is referred to as '' ...
References
{{Indian philosophy, state=collapsed
Consciousness
Hindu philosophical concepts
Sanskrit words and phrases