Some defne mind as ‘consciousness’.  Others call it a continuous flow of thoughts.  I; Id; ego; and self are other terms used to define mind. Please note that they only replace a word with another word. They do not explain the nature of mind.  What then is mind?

A soul, to function, needs a hardware called body and a software known as mind. Software has four components = an operating system, application, user generated files and the ability to share. In the same way the mind too has four aspects, which the Hindu scriptures call – Manas, Sid, Budhi and Ahankaar.

Manas is that part of the mind that merely records or memorizes. It is the most dominant aspect of the mind. In most occasions the manas is mistaken to be the mind itself.

Sid, sifts through the forest of information stored by Manas. One crudely call it a search engine but more than that. This makes a person knowledgeable.

Budhi, ultimately makes the decision. This makes a person intelligent or idiotic.

Ahankaar means relishing. It is the final  part of the mind that shares the decision so taken with the soul. . In other words the soul relishes the decision.

Let me explain with an example.  You see an apple. The Manas recalls all objects that matches its shape, colour, smell and texture.  The list may include a tennis ball, which more or less matches the shape but not other attributes. Similarly there may be traffic light which matches the colour and not other features. There would be a countless number of objects.

Sid, selects the best fit and arrives at a conclusion that this is an apple. The Budhi  decides what to do with it. Ahankaar passes this decision to the soul.