Antakarana

Antahkarana (devanāgarī: अन्तःकरण Antaḥkaraṇa) is a Sanskrit term that means "internal organ". In Hindu philosophy it refers to the totality of the mind, including the thinking faculty, memory, the sense of I-ness, and the discriminating faculty.

In Theosophy the term is used with a special meaning that differs from the Hindu. According to H. P. Blavatsky the antahkarana is an aspect or function of the lower mind that retains its original purity, active whenever there is a spiritual aspiration. It is, figuratively speaking, a "path" or "bridge" that acts as a two-way communication. Through antahkarana the spiritual influence of the higher manas is conveyed to the personality, and all good and noble activity of the lower manas can reach the higher, to be assimilated in Devachan.

General description

Graphic representation of the seven principles by H. P. Blavatsky. The antahkarana is the green line uniting the green downward triangle (lower manas) and the blue upward triangle (higher manas).

H. P. Blavatsky, in The Theosophical Glossary defines it as follows:

Antahkarana (Sk.)., or Antaskarana. The term has various meanings, which differ with every school of philosophy and sect. Thus Sankarâchârya renders the word as “understanding”; others, as “the internal instrument, the Soul, formed by the thinking principle and egoism”; whereas the Occultists explain it as the path or bridge between the Higher and the Lower Manas, the divine Ego, and the personal Soul of man. It serves as a medium of communication between the two, and conveys from the Lower to the Higher Ego all those personal impressions and thoughts of men which can, by their nature, be assimilated and stored by the undying Entity, and be thus made immortal with it, these being the only elements of the evanescent Personality that survive death and time. It thus stands to reason that only that which is noble, spiritual and divine in man can testify in Eternity to his having lived.

In the sevenfold constitution of human beings described in the Theosophical literature, the fifth principle (counting from the physical body upwards) is called manas, commonly translated as "mind". This principle is dual, comprising the higher mind (the spiritual mind, or reincarnating Ego), and the lower mind (the sensual mind, or the psychological ego). According to H. P. Blavatsky, antahkarana is the aspect of the lower mind that does not get entangled with kāma (the animal soul), thus acting as an "imaginary bridge" between the lower and higher egos:

The Antaskarana is therefore that portion of the Lower Manas which is one with the Higher, the essence, that which retains its purity; on it are impressed all good and noble aspirations, and in it are the upward energies of the Lower Manas, the energies and tendencies which become its Devachanic experiences. The whole fate of an incarnation depends on whether this pure essence, Antaskaraṇa, can restrain the Kāma-Manas or not. It is the only salvation. Break this and you become an animal.

The antaḥkaraṇa in Theosophy is not seen as a structural principle but as a temporary function, active when the lower mind aspires towards the higher:

Q. The Antahkarana is the link between the Higher and the Lower Egos; does it correspond to the umbilical cord in projection? A. No; the umbilical cord joining the astral to the physical body is a real thing. Antahkarana is imaginary, a figure of speech, and is only the bridging over from the Higher to the Lower Manas. Antahkarana only exists when you commence to “throw your thought upwards and downwards.” The Mâyâvi Rûpa, or Mânasic body, has no material connection with the physical body, no umbilical cord.

In order not to confuse the mind of the student with the abstruse difficulties of Indian metaphysics, let him view the lower Manas or Mind, as the personal Ego during the waking state, and as Antaskaraṇa only during those moments when it aspires towards its higher half, and thus becomes the medium of communication between the two. It is for this reason that it is called “Path.”

Antaḥkaraṇa puede verse como un camino que se puede andar al desarrollar cualidades espirituales. Se ha sugerido una conexión entre los "Portales" en el libro La Voz del Silencio y las diferentes "divisiones" del antaḥkaraṇa:

P. Se nos dice en La Voz del Silencio que debeemos convertirnos en “el camino mismo,” y en otro pasaje que Antahkarana es ese camino. p ¿¿Significa esto algo más que el hecho de que tenemos que cerrar la brecha entre la conciencia de los Egos Inferior y Superior?”.

R. Eso es todo.

P. Se nos dice que hay siete portales en el Camino: ¿existe entonces una división séptuple del Antahkarana? Además, ¿es Antahkarana el campo de batalla?.

P. Es el campo de batalla. Hay siete divisiones en el Antahkarana. A medida que pasas de uno a otro, te acercas al Manas Superior. Cuando hayas superado el cuarto, puedes considerarte afortunado.

De acuerdo a la Ley de Correspondencia hay una correlación entre los principios internos y órganos externos. Dentro del cerebro humano, se dice que la glandula pituitaria o la hypophysis está conectada antaḥkaraṇa:

The fourth of these cavities is the Pituitary Body, which corresponds with Manas-Antaskaraṇa, the bridge to the Higher Intelligence; it contains various essences.