बुद्धि

Buddhi means, simply, the inner power that weighs, distinguishes and decides. The mind is pulled, wants and runs; the intellect chooses among these. Their work is different, and the Gita recognises each separately.

In the second chapter the intellect appears in more than one form. In 2.39 Lord Krishna says that the intellect was told in Sankhya and is now to be heard in yoga. So one intellect gives understanding and another carries understanding into action. In 2.41 the resolute intellect is called single, and the intellects of those who cannot resolve are called endlessly branching. And 2.53 says that when the intellect, bewildered by much hearing, stands steady in the Supreme, yoga is attained.

The test of the intellect here is not its sharpness. It is whether it has a centre to which it can return after every new voice. An intellect that knows a great deal can still be scattered, and one that knows little can still stand firm in its resolve.

Do not take buddhi as an enemy of the mind. The Gita does not scold the mind; it speaks of bringing it under control through practice. The intellect is the pivot of that practice.