The Inner Instrument (Antaḥkaraṇa: Manas, Buddhi, Ahaṅkāra)
The mind taken apart: the processor, the decider, and the 'I'-maker — none of them you.
The antaḥkaraṇa is the 'inner instrument' — the toolkit of the mind, analyzed into parts: manas, which gathers and processes the impressions of the senses; buddhi, the intellect that judges and decides; and ahaṅkāra, the ego or 'I-maker' that claims experiences as 'mine.' Crucially, in Vedānta and Yoga none of these is the true self; they are subtle equipment that the witnessing self lights up but is not.
How it traveled
- Bṛhadāraṇyaka UpaniṣadMithilā (kingdom of Videha) · -700explains
- Bhagavad-gītāKuru-Pañcāla region · -150explains
Key passages(20)
Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad · Vedic Revelation (śruti)
Vivekacūḍāmaṇi · Śaṅkara (traditionally ascribed; authorship doubted)
Vivekacūḍāmaṇi · Śaṅkara (traditionally ascribed; authorship doubted)
Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad · Vedic Revelation (śruti)
Vijñāna-bhairava · Anonymous (Bhairava Āgama / Tantra)