bhümir äpo 'nalo väyuù “Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind,

khaà mano buddhir eva ca intelligence and false ego--all together

ahaìkära itéyaà me these eight comprise My separated
bhinnä prakåtir añöadhä material energies.” - BG 7:4

Slide All beings have two bodies covering them. One is the
1 physical body made of the five gross elements (earth, water,
4. The fire, air & ether) and the other is the Subtle, or Psychic or
Structure of Astral body (called Sükñméya Çaréra in Sanskrit).
My Subtle
(Astral) Body
Extracts Only
1
©Dina-Anukampana Das

Slide We all experience that there are several divisions to our own
4. The Structure of My Subtle (Astral) Body
2 psyche. We have all had the experience of arguments going
„ Also known as my ‘psychic’ body. on within ourselves, for example when contemplating
whether or not to commit a serious or even a crooked act.
„ Our psyche has many divisions.
„ We experience arguments going
on within our ‘selves’. Are they
ghosts or just different faculties.
The Subtle body is made of the 3 subtle material elements,
„ Can they be controlled, and namely mind, intelligence and false ego.
trained?
„ Are they always controlled?

Just as a man may wear a shirt and over that, a coat,

similarly, the soul is covered by an invisible subtle body, and
2
©Dina-Anukampana Das

then by the gross physical body made of the 5 elements.

Slide What does Gross/subtle mean?
3 See the Chart Gross means easily perceivable by the five gross
– The 8 knowledge-acquiring senses (jïänendriya).
Elements Of The five gross elements (païca mahä bhüta) can be arranged
in order of subtle to gross :–
the Material
Ether is the most subtle element within which the
Universe information of existence of the material world lies in the
form of sound which can be heard. Air contains not only
sound but it can also be felt by our skin. Fire contains
sound and touch, and it also has form which our eyes can
see. Water has sound, touch and form within it, with the
addition of taste. Earth has all these plus smell. Therefore
earth is said to be more gross than air because it can be
perceived by more of our senses.
In this same sense, mind is even more subtle than ether,
because none of our 5 senses can perceive it. It can be
perceived only by another mind. Intelligence is an even finer
energy and requires more discussion and contemplation to
identify, locate and perceive.
Slide Energetic Chart of the Complete Whole, the Absolute Truth Sense Objects
4 The Spiritual Sky
The Spiritual
Liberated Sky
Souls
Liberated Souls
Spiritual Knowledge:
Spiritual Knowledge:
Real Ego: “I am an
Real Ego:
Ego: “I am an
The world that I perceive outside my body can be defined as
Beyond
Sense Objects, which means that the whole universe is
eternal servant of
Beyond Supersoul
Supersoul(God)
(God)
eternal servant of
Perception
Perception
God. I must enjoy by
God. I must enjoy by
pleasing His senses.”
pleasing His senses.”
My ‘Prema’
Prema’ = Love for God
MyBody
nothing more than something to hear, something to touch,
Body ‘Prema’
Prema’ = Love for God Spirit
Spirit

{
Soul (Consciousness)
Spiritual
Spiritual
Soul(Self)
(Self)A.M.B
A.M.B (Consciousness)

something to see, something to taste and something to smell.

Ego
Ego(Sense
(Senseofof“I”/identity) Matter
Matter(Non-
(Non- -
Ignorance:
Ignorance:
False Ego: - “I “I”/identity) (Non
(Non-
False Ego: - “I
am this body Memory
Memory(Mother
(MotherofofBuddhi)
Buddhi) )
Buddhi
Buddhi) conscious)
conscious)
am this body
(gross &
(gross & Buddhi
Buddhi(Intellect)
(Intellect)D&C Subtle
SubtleMatter
Subtle). I must D&C
Subtle). I must Matter
Kaama
enjoy all that I
enjoy all that I Manas
Manas(Mind)
(Mind)TFW 33Elements
survey.” TFW Elements
survey.”
Senses Gross
GrossMatter
Senses55++55 Matter

These sense objects have the power to attract or stimulate

55Elements
Elements
Force
Forceofof‘Kaama
‘Kaama’
’ = Desire (Urge) for Material Sensations / Activity
‘Kaama
‘Kaama’’ = Desire (Urge) for Material Sensations / Activity

our various 5 senses, and through repeated contemplation,

The Matter
MatterComprises
TheWhole
Whole Sense Comprises
Universe SenseObjects
Objects 88Elements
Elements
Universe

desire, or the urge for material sense stimulation or activity,

4
Summary: ‘Prema’ covered by ‘Ignorance’ (I am this body) transforms into ‘Kaama’ 4
Summary: ‘Prema’
©Dina-Anukampana Das covered by ‘Ignorance’ (I am this body) transforms into ‘Kaama’
©Dina-Anukampana Das

is born.
Senses
Contrary to modern science’s concept, we have not only 5
but 10 senses.
Slide 5 knowledge (information)-
(information)- We
We Shall
ShallIdentify
Identify and
and Define
Define
Knowledge Acquiring Senses
5 acquiring senses The
The Mind
Mind by
Functions
by the
Functions which
theThree
Three
which we
we use
use itit to
to The ears, skin, eyes, tongue and nose are called
j’ïänendriyas (knowledge acquiring senses), which indicates
Data Input perform:
perform:
Thinking = Processing
TT
Data/Info : All Data inpu
Mind = CPU, like a computer’s
comes ONLY from the 5
senses
that the mind cannot be aware of any knowledge or
(accept/reject = like/don’t like)
FF Feeling = Emotions information of the surrounding world except through these
Output: Voice,
Hands, Legs, Anus, 5 ‘gateways’. (Therefore the 4 inherent defects of the senses
W
W ‘Willing’ = Psycho-
Psycho-
Genitals
motor co-
co-ordination
(Executing the
necessitates that all information/knowledge we get from the
5 working (action) senses
conclusion of my
thinking and feeling) 5
sensual perception must also be imperfect.) These senses
can be likened to a computer’s sources of data input eg.
©Dina-Anukampana Das

Mouse, keyboard, scanner, microphone etc.

Where is your Mind?
We all say that we have a mind, but without consciously
defining it or understanding it, but when asked to show
where our mind is, we are usually stumped. However a
perfect answer is given in the Bhagavad Gita – the mind is
located at the centre of the 5 senses. This is easily confirmed
because by stimulating any of the senses, I can attract your
attention.
What is Concentration?
The mind is actually at the centre of all 10 senses. The
Bhagavatam states that when two or more of our 10 senses
are focused on one object, then the mind is focused in
concentration. We can verify this that by hearing our
teacher and consciously looking at the teacher, we can keep
sharp focus of our attention. At the same time when our
working senses start to do something, it distracts and slows
down our mind.
Working Senses
The working senses can be likened to the output devices in a
computer. This makes the mind to be like the CPU (central
DATA processing unit). After processing the data input by
our senses, we must do something with that knowledge or
experience. When we come to a conclusion, we then have
to act. We interact with the world outside of our body only
through our 5 karmendriyas or working senses. These are
our voice, our hands, our legs, our anus and our genitals.
These five instruments are the only way by which we
influence or interact with the world around us. All our
other organs are within the body and maintain it, but we
cannot use them to perform work outside of our bodies.

We Shall Identify and Define The Mind by the Three

Functions which we use it to perform:

“If we cannot define something then we cannot discuss it.”

In normal parlance, we use the word ‘mind’ in many
different ways, but to define it scientifically we need some
parameters that we can verify with each other. In the Vedic
model of the subtle body, the mind is defined by the three
functions which we use it for. This makes it tangible, or
conceivable, so to speak.

1. T
Thinking is one function that we all do. It can be defined as
processing the data/knowledge that is input through the five
senses. Let us define that energy or that part of our psychic
body which we use to process data, or to think, as our Mind

2. F
Feeling refers to our emotions. We all experience emotions
from fear to anxiety to anger. One part of our psychic body
is the seat of these emotions. Now is that part the same one
which we use for thinking? Our common experience is that
whenever we are feeling very upset, we avoid making any
important decisions because our thinking process is
clouded. We usually will put it off for some time and make
an effort to calm ourselves down before we make the
important decision. This indicates the validity of this model,
that the part of our psychic body, let us call it the Mind,
which we use for thinking is the same seat of our
emotions/feeling.

3. W
Willing in this context does not refer to our will-power or
determination (that is a function of the Intellect, which is
defined below). It is defined as executing the conclusion of
or our thinking and feeling, and in medical language this
function is known as psycho-motor coordination.
Sometimes when a patient is suffering from depression, he
may be instructed to do one hour’s gardening every day –
this type of occupational therapy proves therapeutic for the
mind. Many of us have experienced that playing an
 absorbing computer game or going for a drive can help us to
calm down quickly if our mind is feeling ill at ease. We can
also observe that if, for example, while a teacher is
explaining something, if he begans searching for a pen or
something else while speaking, his mind and his speech slow
down.
This indicates that it is the same Mind that is used for
performing the function of willing, as for thinking and
feeling.

A prominent characteristic of the mind is to like or dislike

something, to accept or reject something.
Slide Answer: Two Functions of The Intellect

6 When one can

CONTROL his
D 1) Discriminating, decision
making Intellect
mind (go-
(go-swami),
it will be his 2) Controlling & Directing
C
1st Function: D
BEST friend. the DearBrotherMind
When one’s mind
The Mother of Intellect is Smrti,
Smrti, or
controls him (go-
dasa),
(go-
dasa), his own
memory power. If memory is
powerful, then it gives strength to
Discrimination.
mind will be his
WORST enemy.
the intellect, with which it can
overpower & control the mind
The intellect performs the higher task of making decisions
(This can be
accomplished by the
PURE intellect which is Mind is my BEST FRIEND or
rationally, based on our past experiences stored in our
completely free from
false identification with
the material body.)
Mind is my WORST ENEMY.
memory. (ref. SSR Ch 6 “animal means that one has no
How to resolve this?
memory”; BG 2:63 “when memory is bewildered,
6
©Dina-Anukampana Das

intelligence is lost”)

2nd Function: C
Control the mind.
A little experiment - If I were to request you to focus your
eyes and your mind on a particular object, say a rose flower
for a few moments. If you agree to my request, you then use
your mind to ‘will’ your eyes to move their focus to the
particular flower. Now if I continue speaking descriptions of
the flower to aid your meditation on it, eg. “This is a pink
flower. It is fully blossomed. It has about 20 petals. It is
very sweet smelling. It is about 3 cm wide. etc" These
sounds enter your ears and as you contemplate the rose, it
helps you to drive out all other thoughts from your mind
and focus your attention wilfully on the flower. Now how
do we do this? As we hear the spoken words through our
ears, sound passes through our ears to the mind. We think
about it, then, using our intellect, we make a decision
whether we want to do this or not. Then after deciding we
do want to, we send signals to our eyes to focus on the
object in question, we send signals to our other senses to be
still, and we control our mind to think only about the
selected input source. We all do these psychological activity
spontaneously. This function of deflecting and controlling
the mind is done by what is called our ‘buddhi’ or intellect.
It functions primarily on the basis of our memory. Every act
we do, according to the particular mood we are in, we do
based on our memory. But when we get into a rage, we lose
our memory and hence our rationality and are unable to
weigh consequences properly. In this (or any other
negative) psychological stage, it is described that our Mind
has taken over control of the intellect instead of the intellect
controlling the mind. Later on, when we calm down again,
as the mind becomes freed of the lower energy of anger (or
lust or greed), the intellect gradually rises to the top again,
and regains control of the mind. At that time, we see things
in a different perspective, and we regret what we might have
said or done harshly in anger. If we start trying to observe
this change, of when our naughty mind slips out of control
of our intellect and begins to cheat us (like a dog slipped out
of its leash), and when it turns our intellect into its slave,
after a few weeks, because we’ve been looking for this subtle
change, we become aware of it. Understanding this model of
mind and intellect struggling for supremacy helps us control
anger etc. without judging ourselves too harshly. Otherwise
we feel bad and think “I am a bad person”. Separating our
self by de-identifying from our mind, helps us to take
control of it. When we are merged in our identity with the
mind, the process of taking control of the mind does not
begin – at that time, we ourselves are in cohoots with the
enemy, namely the unbridled, angry mind. A vivid analogy
is that of a man taking his dog for a walk. The poor fellow
has mis-identified himself with the dog, and so every time
the dog stops to smell some other dog’s stool, the man
himself kneels down to smell it. Everytime his dog barks at
someone and threatens to bite that person, the foolish man,
who is a slave to his mind, immediately releases the dog
from the leash and allows it to maul the other person. This
is the condition of one who has fully identified himself with
servitude to the whims of his mind because he has
misidentified his very self (soul) with the subtle body
(mind).
Slide Sense of “I”, Sense of Identity. Whom do I think I am – this
Nature of The Ego
7 Real Ego Whom do I think I am?
is fundamental to ALL our psychic processes. Eg. If riots
Kinkara = This is fundamental to ALL our break out between Hindus and Muslims, if I think of myself
psychic processes.
Kim + Karoti
as Hindu, I might feel like attacking a Muslim. But if I did
“I am the servant
(of God).”
------------------------------------
Am “I” Malay, Indian,
Chinese, Young, Old, Poor,
not think of myself that way, I would not be able to muster
False Ego
Rich, Beautiful, Hindu,
Muslim, American etc etc?
etc? such feelings of hatred. If on the other hand, I identify
Ahankara =
Aham + Karoti
Aren’t these all merely
designations of “my” myself as being a pure spirit soul, a conscious spark of God
body… not actually
“I am the doer” ‘ME’….? and His eternal servant, then I will also see that all other
creatures possessed of life force are conscoius sparks and
7
©Dina-Anukampana Das

therefore also pure spirit souls like me, and all of us are dear
to our creator, God. I will see them lovingly as my
brothers/sisters. The soul is always pure. But only when
covered by the ugly mind and lusty senses, it appears
impure, but it is just like the sun being covered by clouds. If
the ignorance is removed, at once that soul acts on the
platform of purity. As Lord Jesus said very succinctly, “Hate
the sin, not the sinner.” It is ignorance of our true, blissful,
eternal spiritual identity that we mistakenly identify our
selves with the temporary body and mind, and thus we
behave badly, labouring under that illusion. If all people
could be made to realize, “I am not this body – I am the
spirit soul trapped within” all wars would soon come to an
end!
bhümir äpo 'nalo väyuù “Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind,
khaà mano buddhir eva ca intelligence and false ego--all together
ahaìkära itéyaà me these eight comprise My separated
bhinnä prakåtir añöadhä material energies.” - BG 7:4

Force of attraction
between senses & OUR GROSS &
their objects – ‘kama’ SUBTLE BODIES

}
Perform Karma -

}
Activities (output)
Earth ------- Smell Nose

}
Know-
Water ------- Taste Tongue ledge- Hands
5 Gross
F i re --------- F o rm Eyes or info-
acquiring
Material Legs
Air ---------- Texture Skin senses
Energies
Voice
Ether ------- Sound Ears (input) Anus
Genitals

}
……………………….

{ }
3 Subtle
Mind → → → Thinking, Feeling & Willing
5 Objects
of the Material Intellect* → → Discrimination; Control Mind
senses Energies
False ego → → Sense of Identity / “I am” 7
©Dina-Anukampana Das
*‘Memory’ (smrti) is the mother of ‘Intellect’ (buddhi).
 apareyam itas tv anyäà “Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna,
prakåtià viddhi me paräm
jéva-bhütäà mahä-bäho there is another, superior energy of Mine,
yayedaà dhäryate jagat which comprises the living entities (jéva-
ätmas) who are exploiting the resources of
this material, inferior nature.” - BG 7:5

Slide
8 The Soul Is the Self, the Person

Nature of It is the Soul that is conscious; The

The Soul Soul is He Who Suffers or Enjoys any
experience that the Self perceives
through the senses/mind/intellect &
ego. The bodily instruments of
perception (psychic & sensuous) do
NOT suffer or enjoy independently –
For instance, when someone who knows us intimately asks
there is one unitary/individual enjoyer
or sufferer in each body – that is the us if we are we angry, our answer might be yes or no.
Self, the Soul

Vedanta describes soul’s nature

as “aananda
“aananda mayo ’bhyaasaat
’bhyaasaat””
= Eternally Pleasure-
Pleasure-seeking 8
©Dina-Anukampana Das

Nectar of Instruction, Text 10, Purport by Srila Prabhupada

(Opening Paragraph):

At the present moment almost everyone is engaged in some

kind of fruitive activity. Those who are desirous of gaining
material profits by working are called karmés, or fruitive
workers. All living entities within this material world have
come under the spell of mäyä. This is described in the Viñëu
Puräëa (6.7.61):
viñëu-çaktiù parä proktä
kñetrajïäkhyä tathä parä
avidyä-karma-saàjïänyä
tåtéyä çaktir iñyate
[Cc. Madhya 6.154]
Sages have divided the energies of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead into three categories—namely, the spiritual
energy, marginal energy and material energy. The material
energy is considered to be the third-class energy (tåtéyä
çaktiù).
 From Intro to Bhagavad Gita As It Is:
The Bhagavad-gétä (8.6) also explains the general
principle that makes it possible to enter the spiritual
kingdom simply by thinking of the Supreme at the time
of death:
yaà yaà väpi smaran bhävaà / tyajaty ante kalevaram
taà tam evaiti kaunteya / sadä tad-bhäva-bhävitaù
“Whatever state of being one remembers when
he quits his present body, in his next life he will
attain to that state without fail.” Now, first we
must understand that material nature is a display
of one of the energies of the Supreme Lord. In the
Viñëu Puräëa (6.7.61) the total energies of the
Supreme Lord are delineated:
viñëu-çaktiù parä proktä / kñetra-jïäkhyä tathä parä
avidyä-karma-saàjïänyä / tåtéyä çaktir iñyate
Cc. Madhya 6.154
The Supreme Lord has diverse and
innumerable energies which are beyond our
conception; however, great learned sages or liberated
souls have studied these energies and have analyzed
them into three parts. All of the energies are of viñëu-
çakti, that is to say they are different potencies of Lord
Viñëu. The first energy is parä, transcendental. Living
entities also belong to the superior energy, as has
already been explained. The other energies, or
material energies, are in the mode of ignorance. At the
time of death either we can remain in the inferior
energy of this material world, or we can transfer to
the energy of the spiritual world. So the Bhagavad-gétä
(8.6) says:
yaà yaà väpi smaran bhävaà / tyajaty ante kalevaram
taà tam evaiti kaunteya / sadä tad-bhäva-bhävitaù
“Whatever state of being one remembers when
he quits his present body, in his next life he will attain
to that state without fail.”
In life we are accustomed to thinking either of the
material or of the spiritual energy. Now, how can we transfer
our thoughts from the material energy to the spiritual
energy? There are so many literatures which fill our
thoughts with the material energy—newspapers, magazines,
novels, etc. Our thinking, which is now absorbed in these
literatures, must be transferred to the Vedic literatures. The
great sages, therefore, have written so many Vedic
literatures, such as the Puräëas.