Guru continues. “Subtle body plays vital role than gross body while pursuing the path of liberation. Subtle body is also known liṅgaśarīra or sūkṣmaśarīra. According to Vedānta, subtle body never dies till it attains liberation. Subtle body is made up of eight components called as puryaṣṭaka, which consist of the following eight- 1) five organs of action (karmendriya-s), 2)  five organs of senses (jñānaendriya-s), 3) antaḥkaraṇa (four in numbers - manas, buddhi, cittam and ahaṃkāra or ego), 4) five prāṇa-s (prāṇa, apāṇa, etc), 5) five elements (ākāśa, air, etc) 6) desire, 7) ignorance and 8) karma (some texts say lust and avidyā instead of desire and ignorance). This subtle body has the impressions of previous births and is the reason for undergoing pleasures or pains of vāsanā-s in this birth. Vāsanā means impressions of anything remaining unconsciously in the mind which becomes karma over a period of time to manifest as actions and cause pleasure or pain for us to experience.

“Only in the dream state, soul shines forth as it is dissociated from puryaṣṭaka, except buddhi. However, the soul is not affected by even buddhi, as soul always remains as a witness and never partakes in any actions. In buddhi represents all the four components of antaḥkaraṇa and forms a veil over the self (soul). In spite of this veil, the soul is in no way affected and remains the same always. Soul is not affected by seeing, hearing or even hunger and thirst. These are all caused by prāṇa. However, only because of the self, antaḥkaraṇa is active. Without soul, no living being can exist. Because of the soul, ego is active; but ego in no way affects the soul within. Ego is the cause of desire, attachment, hatred, etc. Ego changes according to guṇa-s (sattva, rajas and tamas) and states of consciousness (active, dream and deep sleep states). During active state ego is rajasic in nature, in dream state it is sattvic in nature and in deep sleep state ego is tamasic in nature (tamasic because it is inert or no ego state). Ego is the main impediment in identifying our body as the self. For example, I am happy, I am sad are due to active functioning of ego during active state.

“But the self is completely different and does not partake in any of the activities. It is not the reason for ego or any components of antaḥkaraṇa. Without the soul, nothing will happen and the soul is neither happy nor sad; it is always inert. Avyakta is māyā. {Avyakta can be explained like this: Avyakta is the state of prakṛti in its un-manifested form, with the three guṇa-s in equal proportions.  Avyakta is the first stage of the Brahman that cannot be explained, as this is the purest form of Brahman, without parentage.  This stage is also known as turya or the fourth state of consciousness, the other three being sleep, dream and deep sleep.  It is the non-dualistic state, where the Brahman without a second is realized.  This stage is explained by Brahma Sūtra (III.ii.23) which says tadvyaktamāha hi. This means “That Brahman is un-manifest”.  This is further explained as ‘It is not comprehended through the eye, or through speech, or through other senses.  Nor it is attained through austerity or karma.  It is imperceptible, for It is never perceived’.  When the nirguṇa Brahman (the Brahman without attributes) desires to create, the māyā undergoes modifications and this modified stage of māyā is called avyakta.} Māyā is the Power of the Self and can be realized and understood only by those, who have acquired spiritual knowledge. It is neither existent nor non-existent and cannot be described easily. This can be removed only through spiritual knowledge. As long as māyā is not understood, spiritual realization will never be possible. You should basically understand that three guṇa-s form māyā.

“Lust, anger, pride, ego, enmity, etc. are the reasons of rajo guṇa. Tamo guṇa conceals the reality and project unreal as real. Tamo guṇa is the worst of the three. The one who has this guṇa will never understand the intricacies of realization. He may be intelligent, but if this guṇa prevails, he can never purse the path of self-realization. Tamo guṇa is very powerful and this in conjunction with rajo guṇa cause transmigration. The third one is sattva guṇa, which is pure like water. All the three guṇa-s generally co-exist. If the predominance of sattva guṇa is more, one is ready to seek the Brahman. In sattva guṇa, mind is pure, calm, satisfied and blissful all the time. Only by remaining in this state, true spiritual path can be pursued. {Prāṇāyama and meditation are practiced only to reach this state.} Avyakta is the causal body. In other words, māyā is the causal body veiling the self within (unless māyā is understood, realization is not possible).

“The purpose of Vivekachūḍāmaṇi is only to realize the Self. In order to realize the Self, we should know what is non-Self. If you ask yourself “who am I” you will come to know that you are the Self. Unless you negate everything else that is not self, only then can you realize the Self. Everything in this world is non-self, except the Self. All non-self are deceptive in nature. Only the Self is True.

“My dear student, now I will explain about the Self. By understanding this, you will be liberated. In every human being, there is a basis for “I” and this is That (Self). The One  that is observing in all the three states of consciousness is That. The one that is beyond five sheaths (pañcakośa) is That. The Self sees everything as Self only. But That cannot be seen by anyone. That makes buddhi shine, but buddhi cannot make That shine. Only because of That, gross body and subtle body are active. It is pervading the entire universe (omnipresence). Only because of the Self (the soul within), we experience happiness and sadness. It is always in the state of bliss. It is devoid of form and does not modify at any point of time (from birth to death, the self always remains the same; it does not age with the body). Only because of It, body is active. The Self knows what is in our mind, the quality of our ego, activities of organs of perception and action, etc. This Self is situated in the mind that is full of sattva in nature, hidden behind buddhi and avyakta and shines like a bright sun. It not only shines, but also illuminates the whole universe. You must understand that this Self does not act on its own nor make other parts to function. This is not born nor it dies. This does not change in size. This does not die even if the body dies. This is not mūlaprakṛti or its modifications. This is known as Nirguṇa Brahman, also known as Paramātma.

“My dear student, by controlling your mind, know that you are That.”

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