The subtle body (sūkṣmaśarīra) is comprised of nineteen faculties, and one of those faculties is called the inner instrument or antaḥkaraṇa. The inner instrument is made up of the following four functions:
Mind (manas)
Intellect (buddhi)
Memory (chitta)
Ego (ahaṁkāra)
Mind
Mind, or manas in Sanskrit, is where all the data which we take in through the five senses is stored. One of the principle functions of the mind, when dealing with all this data, is known as sankalpa-vikalpa. Sankalpa-vikalpa is the state of uncertainty or indecision, the tendency to vacillate between one possibility and another.
Thoughts, feeling, emotions, sensations, perceptions, our 'inner chatter', etc. The mind is all of these.
Intellect
Intellect, or buddhi, is that with which we inquire, gain knowledge, discern and determine. It is the intellect which enables us to come to a decision after the process of sankalpa-vikalpa (vacillation between pros and cons). In any experience, first the mind is activated, then the intellect.
Memory
Memory, or chitta makes thinking possible, because thinking involves bringing in a thought from the past. Memory is the lens through which ego (I-sense) recognises a familiar world. Memory is the function which recollects past impressions, and which triggers thinking in a certain direction.
Ego
In Vedānta, it should first of all be understood that ego (ahaṁkāra) does not mean ego in the sense of conceit or pride. The Sanskrit word 'ahaṁkāra', is made up of the words 'ahaṁ' ('I') and 'kāra' (cause). So ahaṁkāra is that which causes our sense of 'I', as being nothing more than a limited, psycho-physical being. It is as a result of the ahaṁkāra that the true self (ātma) misidentifies with non-self (mind and body). The ahaṁkāra also serves the purpose of coordinating and appropriating unto itself all the different functions of the body and mind.
This is a clip from this longer video (posted below) which explains the nineteen faculties of the subtle body, how the subtle body differs from the true self, and how the subtle body continues to exist after the death of the physical body.
The Subtle Body: What is it? How is it Different From the Self? And Does it Die?
• The Subtle Body: What ...
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