Vṛtti (वृत्ति) – Fluctuations of the mind (thoughts, emotions, perceptions); most dynamic and gross.

Saṁskāra (संस्कार) – Latent impressions or mental habits left by past vṛttis.

Manas (मनस्) – The sensory mind, coordinating input and response; "inner instrument" of perception.

Citta (चित्त) – The storehouse of impressions, conscious, subconscious and unconscious mind.

Buddhi (बुद्धि) – Intellect, faculty of discernment, reason, and decision-making.

Ahaṁkāra (आहंकार) – Ego-identity, the sense of "I am this body/mind/personality" & "I do this".

Aham (अहम्) – The primordial I-sense, pure self-reference, "the strange loop" symbol.

Jīva (जीव) – The embodied self, individual, distinct soul undergoing experience, transformation and change.

Ātman (आत्मन्) – The true Self, pure consciousness, transcendental soul, unchanging, infinite, witness of all.

Vṛttis are mental waves — thoughts, emotions, memories, and perceptions constantly rising and falling. Cognitive events (thoughts, perceptions, emotions) / contents of working memory.

Manas is the part of the mind that collects sensory data and handles attention — like a gatekeeper deciding what to focus on. Working memory / attention / sensory integration.

Citta is the overall field of mind-stuff: it stores memories, habits, and deeper patterns.  Long-term memory / unconscious processing.

If the mind were a lake, vṛttis are the ripples, manas is the surface movement reacting to wind, and citta is the deep water reflecting everything.

The capacity to discriminate, reason, judge, and make decisions. It evaluates inputs from manas and chooses a response.

Cognitive Science Correlates: Executive function / decision-making / Analytical reasoning /Cognitive control & inhibition

The function that identifies the pure “I” (aham) with thoughts, roles, body, emotions — forming the personal identity and ego. It says “I am this.” and "I do".

Cognitive Science Correlates: Narrative self / autobiographical identity, Self-concept and ego structure, Ego-identification / default mode network (DMN) activity

Definition: The bare, pre-reflective sense of being a subject — “I am.” Not yet identifying with roles or narratives .

Cognitive Science Correlates: Minimal self / self-referential consciousness, First-person perspective, Sense of agency

The deepest layer of identity — pure awareness, witness of all experiences, beyond mental content and roles. In some philosophical traditions equivalent to substrate of the universe.

Cognitive Science Correlates: Pure consciousness / background awareness, the ultimate substrate

"That which lives" or "the living being"

Jīva is the individualized expression of consciousness that experiences and engages with the world as a distinct center of awareness. Localized, embodied soul undergoing experience and change.