Thought 78: You encounter more and more subtlety as you penetrate inside your body-mind complex

You have a gross body, which is your outer personality. You have a subtle body (inside the gross body) which is your inner personality. You have the Aatma, which glows inside the subtle body.

Mind and Buddhi are subtle – they are not manifest to your Jnaanendriyas (which are the eyes, ears, nose, skin and tongue). These Jnaanendriyas are the windows through which the outside world enters your mind and Buddhi. There is no other way by which information about the outside world could enter your mind and Buddhi.

Mind and Buddhi comprise your inner personality – which portrays your individuality. You are what you are because of your inner personality, which is determined by your mind and Buddhi. Your physical body is only a vehicle, which carries your inner personality wherever you go. You employ the three equipments (body, mind and Buddhi) to interact with the world outside. If your mind and Buddhi are good, your thoughts and actions are good and vice versa. The human mind has a tremendous energy potential.

The mind and Buddhi are subtle instruments. Subtle instruments control the gross instruments such as the gross physical body. Nerves control the muscles; nerves are more subtle than muscles. Psyche controls the nerves; psyche is more subtle than the nerves. As the nerves break down, the muscles do not function. As the psyche breaks down, nerves and therefore, the muscles break down. Thus, as you penetrate inside, there is an increasing subtlety, immensity and inwardness. As you penetrate inside a human being, energy value also increases - more in terms of quality than in terms of quantity. (Swami Ranganadhananda)

Beyond the psyche is the self – which is the subject. You are the subject; you are never the object. Whatever is perceptible to the subject is an object. The subject, which is the Aatma, is an infinite source of energy. The inward penetration brings us to this infinite source of pure energy (Puruisham Mahaantam, which means that the Purusha (Awareness), which is the self, is infinite in its dimension). (Swami Ranganadhananda).

Muscular and intellectual energies are ordinary when compared to spiritual energies but they are extraordinary when dealing with the world. For instance, a small mahout sitting on top of a mighty elephant is able to control it. But, unfortunately, we cannot solve the human problems by intellectual energy only. The evil is spread in this world far and wide - and some of the great intellectuals are also great criminals.

It is essential, therefore that one has to grow internally; which means, mature internally. More books, more computers, more education, more research, more scholarship does not bring internal maturity because this internal maturity is beyond the intellect. (Swami Ranganadhananda).

The next thought is about “The choice is yours”