Thought 71: Your outer body

You have an outer personality and inner personality. The outer personality is the gross physical body – which is the outer shell (actually, there are five shells concentric to one another in it). Your gross physical body is only a vehicle, which carries your inner personality - wherever you go. You are not this vehicle – you are the user of the vehicle; you use it for carrying your internal personality around. Your physical body is also your ID card – it gives you an identification, which is uniquely yours. Since every Ruupa has a Naama, your name is always identified by your gross physical body.

The world is an assortment of objects and beings – which are all names and forms (Naama-Ruupas). Every being is always identified by the Naama-Ruupa (which is the outer shell). But the interaction between persons is always between the internal personalities – and not between the Naama-Ruupas. Thus, the outer gross physical body provides a platform for the internal subtle body to interact with the outside world of names and forms.

Your inner personality is your Antahkarana (your internal instrument) – which is also known as the subtle body. The Antahkarana consists of four subtle compartments – the mind (Manas), the Chitta (memory recall faculty), the Ahamkaara (the ego, which is the doership) and the Buddhi. Mind and Buddhi essentially constitute your inner personality and the outer shell constitutes your outer personality, which is frequently mistaken as the only personality that you have.

You know the outer shell well – but you do not know the inner personality well. Your knowledge of the inner self, which is the real “You”, is even worse. Most people think that the outer shell is the “real” You. Those with a little more knowledge believe that the inner self is the mind or the Buddhi or the ego – but none of them is the real “You”.

You also have a core personality consisting of the inner self, which is the real “You”. You are the awareness dwelling in the inner core of outer shelf. This awareness or the real “You” is also called the Aatma. Aatma is the life giving force in the body-mind complex. Thus, you may or may not realize this - divinity is the core of your inner personality.

The next thought is about “Your mind”