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140 Śramaṇa, Vol 58, No. 1/January-March 2007
thinker and a controller. Thus mind itself is allocated the role of a tool or a instrument without the final function of perception, thinking controlling and so on.
In Yoga philosophy the term citta is used to denote the mind and buddhi. The vṛttis are the disturbances that the mind is subjected to the ideas thoughts and other forces of the mind. 'Vṛtti ' literally means whirlpool and nirodha signifies restraint or control.
The Yoga recognize three types of concentration. Concentration of a passionate type as when fighting a mortal enemy-kṣipta (wild); by an ignorant attachment or by instinct (pramūḍha); short term momentary type called vikalpta. In contrast to these three, there is one-pointed concentration (ekägra) on an object for a long time which can advance to a stage of nirodha (cessation of objects or vṛttis).
Yoga refers to an important characteristic of mind. It sometimes tends towards good and sometimes towards bad-liberation and samsara respectively. It is like a river-which flows both ways towards ill as well as towards good. The teleology principle of material Prakṛti is to produce both these in man. The good part is never lost as it is mind's innate tendency to enjoy pleasures of life. This holds the key to yoga ethics that the desire for liberation is not motivated by any hedonistic (pleasure seeking) tendency but an innate tendency to take the path to liberation. It indicates that the individual has an innate power sakti stored up in the citta and one has to use it in such a way to lead on to the path of śreyasgood. This is the ultimate spiritual goal. (Das Gupta, 1969). Conclusion
The concept of mind has been capturing in Indian philosophy since Vedic thinkers. Indian philosophy besides alluding to the nature of manas, its uses and abuses, treats it as an important investigative or a probing tool of the inner world of man. However the concept of mind reaches the acme of philosophical interest in Samkhya and Yoga.
