Body and mind are the first two layers of the individual self — the gross body (physical) and the subtle body (mind, intellect, ego, senses). On the path of knowledge, both are recognized as experiences appearing in the experiencer, not as what we truly are.

The Body

• The gross body (sthula sharira) is the physical form — the densest layer of memory, made of the five elements.

• It is experienced through the senses and is subject to birth, growth, decay, and death.

• The body is not the self — it is an object of experience, known by the experiencer as 'this body.'

The Mind

• The subtle body (sukshma sharira) includes the mind (manas), intellect (buddhi), ego (ahankara), and sensory apparatus.

• The mind is the faculty that processes experiences, forms knowledge, and generates thoughts and emotions.

• Like the body, the mind is an experience — it is seen, known, and witnessed by the Experiencer.

On the Path of Knowledge

• The practice of neti neti ('not this, not this') involves negating both body and mind: 'I am not the body, I am not the mind.'

• When body and mind are seen clearly as experiences, the identification with them dissolves, revealing the experiencer as one's true nature.

Related Concepts

Gross body, subtle body, causal body, layers of memory, experiencer, neti neti, mind