It can be a decision about what needs to be done. But it can also mean clarity about an assessment of something.

In short, manas, the mind doubts (and is made up of vikalpas) buddhi, the intellect decides (and is function that expresses saṅkalpa). Vikalpa expresses a certain division in the mind. In saṅkalpa there is a momentary harmony, because all the functions of the mind agree on how something should be judged, and how it should be acted upon. Everyone's experience is pinball between the two, but the pinball machine of confident people is a bit clearer.

In action, therefore, there must be a clear conviction (saṅkalpa), based on my conditioning of the intellect, which decides whether or not I will take action, and of what kind. Of course, in general movement of the body, this happens in an extremely fast way. But that too is based on general conditioning (saṁskāra) of body-mind. But also general movement is based on general conditioning (saṁskāra) of body-mind, just like in saṅkalpa. This means that my life is always a mirror image of what my person is.

It is the will or willpower, dhṛti, the power of a belief and decision (strong or weak, firm or hesitant, correct or incorrect) that determines how much value the insight or judgment has for me, how much motivation the jīva puts it into the world, how far the action will carry, and how intense the karmic consequences will be.

Saṅkalpa can be very inspiring. For example, if someone recognizes injustice and has the dharmic attitude available, makes a decisive judgment (saṅkalpa), and courageously intervenes or speaks.

Saṅkalpa is not necessarily enriching. In the case of disruptive habits, addiction (strong rajas, and especially tamas), for example, there may be a strong, unshakable belief that I must have drugs. Or a strong misunderstanding that I have to stay in a relationship 'out of loyalty or love', although it is destructive for both lovers. So it is important what the underlying vāsana (unconscious odour) is, on the basis of which someone makes decisions in the intellect.

The arrangement of the intellect, and the manifesting vasana in the form of thoughts in the intellect, are therefore important.

In the desire for mokṣa, the recognition of the value of advaita vedānta may be called a noble form of saṅkalpa. This can generate such a determining mental willpower about what the seeker has to do that she or he wants to put everything aside to achieve her or his goal.

This can mean, for example, that I use saṅkalpa in meditation to focus on the truth of īsvara. That I strive for sattvic (balanced, refined) saṅkalpa. That I make choices based on dharma, so whether my action contributes. That I practice a saṅkalpa as correct self-knowledge.

So with saṅkalpa it is important what the content of the thought is, whether 'this' is worth having or doing, or not. When something catches my attention and I judge it to have no perceptive value, it becomes just a passing thought and disappears.

If, on the other hand, it is seen to have value, it is thought about (or even cherished) and that value turns the thought into a desire. The perceived sense of value evokes emotion and will (all manas), which then drive the desire and drive it toward its fulfillment. Depending on the nature of the desire – and the will, the force behind it – that urge for fulfillment can drive the desire for a split second or perhaps decades.

A person who wants to attain coûte que coûte mokṣa will stay with it until that happens, even if it is over many lifetimes. In one who has recognized the value of vedānta, the whole vikalpa sankalpa business comes to rest, for that seeker knows that she or he has found what she or he was looking for, and is seeker-off. Then all you have to do is stay with it, which is a party in itself.

Some more refinement. The counterpart of saṅkalpa is vikalpa, doubt. I weigh up between different vikalpas about what to do. This is a function of manas, the mind. It is sometimes said that a person weighs between saṅkalpa and vikalpa. But this is not true. If saṅkalpa were part of a doubting process, it would not be a saṅkalpa by definition. So I procrastinate and deliberate with the doubt function of the mind (vikalpa-vikalpa). Doubt really does have a function. For suppose that destructive saṅkalpa are bubbling up in my inner instrument all the time. Or I notice that I am stuck in my spiritual 'process'. When I'm stuck, while I know that I apparently don't know, it's the doubt that tells me that things have to change. Only then can I search and discover what my obstacle is. The biggest doubt is that we doubt the way we look at life, and that makes us a seeker of truth in the first place.

What happens at saṅkalpa? The mental impulse (vṛtti) saṅkalpa in the intellect gives a cognitive blow to the yo-yoing of vikalpas, based on the available conditioning and knowledge, and sets the mind in motion towards an action.

That's why self-assurance is such a strong force, and blissful state. The teacher should play an important role in this, by showing why you are in the satsang, and what the value will be for your life and self-image.

Jñānīs (knowers) do not in principle make new karma, and live out their svabhāva (that which is still individually intended at that moment, also called prārabdha karma). Besides the fact that the sage sees everything as himself, a really actionless whole, a jñānī experiences the manifestation very calmly. Not that she or he knows what is going to happen. Also for her or him, the horizon of īśvara is completely open. All that comes is The Olympic Games of Love, or is a love affair with god. But it looks like the previously described pinball ball travels a one-lane road.

Especially with the dharma and self-knowledge automatically 'in mind', decisions unfold completely naturally. With saṅkalpas based on an assimilated life-changing teaching as vedānta, and thus with the reflection of the light of consciousness consciously in mind, even the sky is limitless.