In the light of Vedanta’s treatment of the concept of ‘Manas’, consider the…
2024
In the light of Vedanta’s treatment of the concept of ‘Manas’, consider the following statements :
(A) Manas is an independent reality
(B) Manas is a fundamental substance
(C) Manas is not an Indriya (Sense organ)
(D) Manas is invisible and infinitesimal substance
(E) Manas is a function of Antahkarana
Choose the correct answer from the options given below :
Answer: B. (C) and (E) Only — Concept — the Vedantic “inner instrument” In Advaita Vedanta the mind is not a thing standing on its own: it is the Antahkarana, a single “inner instrument”…
- A.
(A) and (D) Only
- B.
(C) and (E) Only
- C.
(A) and (B) Only
- D.
(B) and (D) Only
Attempted by 2 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept — the Vedantic “inner instrument”
In Advaita Vedanta the mind is not a thing standing on its own: it is the Antahkarana, a single “inner instrument” evolved from the sattva aspect of the subtle elements. Being an evolved product, it has only dependent, empirical being, and the one Antahkarana is named after whichever function it is discharging at the moment.
Manas — the deliberating function (sankalpa–vikalpa: raising and weighing alternatives).
Buddhi — the determining function that settles a judgement.
Ahamkara — the function that appropriates experience as “I”.
Chitta — the recollecting function.
Vedanta also enumerates the subtle body (sukshma sharira) as seventeen constituents: five organs of knowledge, five organs of action, five vital airs, plus Manas and Buddhi. Manas is therefore listed beside the ten Indriyas, not inside that class.
Application — each statement read in Vedanta’s own terms
Statement | Vedanta’s position |
|---|---|
(A) Manas is an independent reality | Not Vedanta’s view. Only Brahman is self-standing; the Antahkarana is an evolute of sattva and borrows its being from Brahman. |
(B) Manas is a fundamental substance | Not Vedanta’s view. Manas is a functional mode of the Antahkarana, not a primary substance (dravya) in its own category. |
(C) Manas is not an Indriya | Vedanta’s view. The seventeen-fold subtle body lists Manas alongside the ten Indriyas, so it is not counted as one of them. |
(D) Manas is invisible and infinitesimal substance | Not Vedanta’s view. Vedanta assigns the Antahkarana medium (madhyama) magnitude, pervading the body; it is not an atom-sized (anu) substance. |
(E) Manas is a function of Antahkarana | Vedanta’s view. Manas simply is the Antahkarana operating in its deliberating capacity. |
Cross-check — why (A), (B) and (D) look attractive
Those three reproduce the Nyaya–Vaisheshika account of Manas: there it is the ninth eternal substance, atomic (anu) in magnitude, imperceptible, and expressly an internal sense organ (antah-indriya). Samkhya too counts Manas among the thirteen instruments. So a statement can be perfectly correct in another darshana and still not answer this stem, which asks only for Vedanta’s treatment. That gives a one-line filter: any statement that makes Manas a substance, an atom, or an Indriya belongs to a rival school, not to Vedanta.
Result: the two statements that state Vedanta’s own position are (C) and (E), so the correct choice is the pairing “(C) and (E) Only”.