Why Distinguish Between the Functional Roles of Manas and Consciousness?

When both hands need to move together, they must be coordinated and act in unison to accomplish the task; otherwise, it becomes difficult. The same applies to both eyes, both ears, both nostrils, both feet, and both legs—they must act in coordinated harmony, with identical or similar objectives, to perform tasks easily; otherwise, executing inconsistent actions becomes challenging. Why is this so? The movements of both hands are commanded by the brain, which is directed and controlled by the manas (the mental faculty). When the manas intends to perform a certain action with the hands, it issues a command, and both hands must act simultaneously. If the manas wishes to use the left and right hands to perform two different tasks at the same time, the brain’s transmitted command must be split into two parts, the consciousness and the body-consciousness must diverge, and the nervous system must exert extra effort to coordinate—unless specialized training has been undertaken over time.

However, no matter how much they are trained, both eyes cannot independently make contact, form volition, and discern separately; it is very difficult to separate their functions. Both nostrils also struggle to function independently—one inhaling while the other exhales—though it might be possible with specialized training. Both ears are relatively easier to activate separately. Similarly, it is quite difficult for both feet and both legs to perform separate, uncoordinated movements independently. The difficulty arises because they belong to a single root, a single neural transmission system, and receive commands from a single brain. The ease or difficulty depends on whether the manas has sufficient attention and energy, as well as whether the six consciousnesses have adequate energy.

Separating the functions of the manas and the mental consciousness allows for a better and clearer understanding of their respective characteristics. When they are mixed together, the characteristics of neither consciousness can be clearly discerned. Once the functions of the manas and mental consciousness are separated, by observing the manas alone, one can understand its various attributes—what afflictions it has, what habits it carries, and what mental factors are present. There is no need to chew over others’ words; one gains the ability to observe the true reality directly.