Life and Soul: The 3 States, Real or Unreal?

[MANTRALAURA at DELPHI.COM]

sarvebhyo namaH,

manas = Mind; the internal organ or antaHkaraNa
of perception and cognition, the faculty or
instrument through which thoughts enter or by
which the objects of sense affect the soul; in
this sense "manas" is always regarded as distinct
from aatman and puruSha . . . and belonging only
to the body, like which it is -- except in the
nyaaya -- considered perishable.

  "vivekachuuDaamaNii" states in verses 93 - 94:

  "The inner organ (antaHkaraNa) is called
manas, buddhiH, ego, or chittam, according to
their respective functions: manas, from its
considering the pros and cons of a thing; buddhiH,
from its property of determining the truth of
objects; the ego, from its identification with
this body as one's own self; and chittam, from its
function of remembering things it is interested in."

  "tattvabodha" also states:

saNkalpavikalpaatmakaM manaH |

"manas is of the nature of indecision or doubt."

  "vivekachuuDaamaNii", verse 293:

  sarvaatmanaa dR^ishyamidaM mR^iShaiva
naivaahamarthaH kShaNikatvadarshanaat.h |
  jaanaamyahaM sarvamiti pratiitiH kuto.ahamaadeH
kShaNikasya sidhyet.h ||

  "This objective universe is absolutely unreal;
neither is egoism a reality, for it is observed to
be momentary. How can the perception, 'I know all',
be true of egoism, etc., which are momentary?"

  Further, in verse 294:

  ahaM padaarthastvahamaadisaakShii nityaM
suShuptaavapi bhaavadarshanaat.h |
  bruute hyajo nitya iti shrutiH svayaM
tatpratyagaatmaa sadasadvilakShaNaH ||

  "But the real 'I' is that which witnesses the
ego and the rest. It exists always, even in the
state of profound sleep. The shruti itself says,
'It is birthless, eternal,' etc. Therefore the
paramaatman.h is different from the gross and
subtle bodies." (See kathopanishad.h I.ii.18)

(To be continued)

OM shaantiH, shaantiH, shaantiH

dhanyavaadaH,
  Mantralaura