Vivekachudamani 16 The Subtle Body - By Swami Tattwamayananda

Behind our external appearance (gross body) is our subtle body. A movie actor or a diplomat may be impressive externally, which is their external appearance. Someone else may not be impressive externally but we may be impressed by their higher ideals and values. That is their subtle personality.A plant or a tree is the gross aspect. The seed is the subtle aspect.In the 98th verse, Shankaracharya defines the subtle body (Sukshma-Sarira). It has eight units (Puri-ashtakam): (1) Five organs of perception (2) Five organs of action (3) Five pranas (4) Five subtle elements (5) Antahkarana – mana, buddhi, chittam, ahamkara (6) Avidya (7) Kama and (8) Karma.Sukshma-Sarira is transmitted to next life – however, it is also non-eternal. Atman is eternal and it is the light that enables both the subtle and gross body to function. Atman reveals itself and other things.The 98th verse and the few verses preceding it should be understood in the context of the law of karma and the law of incarnation. According to the law of karma, our actions produce two types of results – one that is visible and immediate, another that is invisible. For example, if we help a person, the other person benefits (visible result). But we ourselves feel “I did something sensible” – this is the invisible result, which is stored in our Antahkarana as samskara. We collect these tendencies in our Antahkarana through actions involving the senses and the mind.At death, even though our senses of perception and action are gone, the tendencies that they created are stored in the Antahkarana (mind, intellect, memory and ego). These stored tendencies in the Antahkarana are never lost. It accompanies the soul when it takes a new body.The law of karma should not be interpreted as fatalism. We can shape our future by purifying the antahkarana. We can purify the antahkarana by doing unselfish, noble activities, reading of scriptures and through holy associations. Through such actions, the existing storehouse of negative samskaras is nullified with a new storehouse of positive samskaras.Shankaracharya includes avidya, kama and karma in his definition of subtle body. Avidya means ignorance of our true nature. Kama means desire. Karma means action. When we are ignorant of our own real nature (avidya), we have kama, or desire for enjoyments, which compels us to be engaged in all kinds of activities (karma) to satisfy the desire.The 94th to 97th verses describe the components of subtle body discussed in the 98th verse.94th verse: “The five instruments of perception are sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. The five instruments of action are tongue, legs, hands, and organs of secretion and generation.” The verse refers to the subtle dimension of these instruments that leave impressions in the chittam.95th and 96th verse: “The Antahkarana is made up of four compartments: mana, buddhi, chittam, ahamkara.”Suppose you see an object from a distance when there is not enough light. It looks like a pillar but you mistake it for a human form. At that time, your mind is speculating - is it a pillar or a human form or something else? When you come close to it, you come to a decision that it is a pillar. Here the intellect, as the deciding faculty, is functioning. You remember that you had seen such a pillar the previous week. This memory comes from chittam. Finally, you identify yourself with the act of seeing a pillar the previous week. That self-identification comes from Aham. 97th verse: “There are five pranas (vital force).”Breath is only the gross dimension of the vital force. One prana is given different names just like gold is given different names though ornaments.”99th verse: “When we are ignorant of our own real nature (avidya), we have kama, or desire for enjoyments, which compels us to be engaged in all kinds of activities (karma) to satisfy the desire.”