Gurudev - Question and Answers

Question - Gurudev, what is mind? I have still not understood the difference between mind and the consciousness. Gurudev Sri Sri - Are you looking at me? Are you listening to me? See, if your mind is elsewhere, even if your eyes are open, you cannot see me. Even though the words are falling on your ear, you cannot hear me. Mind is that faculty of consciousness through which we hear, see, smell and taste. Suppose your mind is elsewhere and you are having a nice pudding, you won't even feel what you are eating. It is one consciousness which functions in 4 different ways : 1. The mind which performs the perceiving function of the consciousness. 2. Judging, discriminating, enquiring, agreeing, disagreeing, etc, which is called the intellect is the second mode of consciousness. 3. Memory which is involved with storing that which has been perceived. 4. Identifying with what has been perceived is the fourth mode of consciousness which is called the ego. Therefore manah (mind), buddhi (intellect), chitta (memory) and ahankar (ego) are the 4 different functions of consciousness.