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The human has 3 bodies – the body that is material and visible, that is born with organs and limbs, and will decay and die.
The second is the invisible, non material body. This body is caused by previous impressions of karmas. Endowed with powers of perception such as sight, hearing, touch etc., it is equipped with intellect and mind and is capable of thought, memory, doubts, emotions and feelings, needs and desires. This body is the Signifier of life, of breath, of sentience, the experiencer of the fruits of karmas, both positive and negative. It expresses its desires, needs, and emotions by the means, and within the limitations, of the material body.
As Brhman exists everywhere, it exists in both in the inert gross body and the immaterial invisible body. The mind and intellect are illuminated by the self-illumined and always present Brhman, which is known as Atman when within the human body. It is this Signifier body by which the individual understands Atma and attains Oneness with Brhman.
But, just as a glass takes on the color of the wine that is poured into it but is not really red, this signifier body with the reflection of the pure awareness that is Atman, instead creates the ego, the “I” ness. By this superimposition of the false ego, the “I” ness, over its true self, the Atma, it creates its own barrier to knowing Brhman.
The ego, enabled with the power to act because of Atma, but now with the false identification of and ownership with the material body, executes its desires through the material body. The results from these actions, karmas, belong to this Signifier body, not the Atma which is always pure, free, and unattached.
At death, the signifier leaves the inert material body, carrying the mind, breath, and the karmas and becomes unmanifest until the time it manifests again in a human body. The dead body returns to the earth where it came from and becomes manure. Atma remains as Brhman.
-- Viveka-Choodamani by Shankara. (The Crest-Jewel of Wisdom)
-- Commentary by Swami Dayananda Saraswati. (My summary - any errors are mine.)
„Exchange unprofitable religious speculations for actual God-contact. Clear your mind of dogmatic theological debris; let in the fresh, healing waters of direct perception.“ — Lahiri Mahasaya
“Stillness is the altar of Spirit. Where motion ceases, Spirit begins to manifest.” - Paramahansa Yogananda
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The 3 Bodies
