[Advaita-l] What is the Carrier of Vasanas?

[Sharath T Poojary]

Dear Sir,

Thank you for answering my doubt. You explanation of the the antahkarana is lucid and clear to understand. However, my doubt still remains there. As antahkarana is of the body (influenced by food and the environment it is subject to), will it not be destroyed when the body is destroyed? Example: If I take an Engine for BODY and it's property of vibration (when ON) as ANTAHKARANA, then will not the vibration STOP if I destroy the Engine itself?

Antahkarana cannot be there in the absence of body. This is because Antahkarana is the subtle essence, but of the body itself.

So if antahkarana is destroyed with the body, who MOVES from that dead body to another? If the answer is still antahkarana, then is it something independent of body?

Dear sir, please tell me what exactly moves from one body to another.

Regards,
Sharath 


On Wed, 19 Dec 2007 Krishnamurthy Ramakrishna wrote :
>antah-karaNa
>The antah-karaNa is the seat of thought and feeling consisting of  manas
>(mind), buddhi (intellect), chitta (memory bank) and ahankAra (ego).
>The literal meaning is "internal tool". The outer sense organs are the
>bAhya-karaNa or "external tool". The information captured by the external
>tool is captured by the internal tool, processed and offered to the jIva for
>his experience/decision. The most subtle part of the food, the jIva consumes
>forms the fuel for the antahkaraNa (the most gross portion is excreted, the
>middle portion transforms to flesh). So food is an essential ingredient for
>proper function of the antahkaraNa. The antahkaraNa is impacted by the type
>of food we eat. sAtvika, rAjasa, and tAmasa foods(gIta 17-8,10) promote
>respective guNas in the antahkaraNa and drive respective reactions in the
>jIva. This is why many seekers carefully choose what they eat.
>As stated earlier, the antah-karaNa consists of manas (mind), buddhi
>(intellect), chitta (memory bank) and ahankAra (ego). The mind is the origin
>of thoughts - "sankalpa vikalpAtmakam manah"; sankalpa pertains to
>imagination, volition, mental resolve, intention, determination etc.;
>vikalpa relates to doubts, uncertainty, indecision, hesitation, suspicion
>etc. The mind is a tool for the conduct of the jIva and is also called
>manOmaya kOsha - manOmayah icchA shaktimAn karaNa rUpah. The buddhi sorts
>the thoughts and helps in deciding them in to right and wrong (nischyAtmika
>buddhih). The buddhi has the agency of doing and is called vijnyAnamaya
>kOsha - vijnyAnamayO jnyAnashaktimAn kartru rUpah. The chitta stores the
>thoughts. The ahankAra provides an identification - I am a man, I am a
>woman, I did this, I am rich, I am poor etc. The presiding deities of mind,
>intellect, memory and ego are Moon, BrahmA (chatrmukha brahma- four headed
>brahmA), vishnU and Rudra respectively. Any action originates as a sankalpa
>in the mind, going through the stages of deciding and storing the
>thought/action and expresses in ego - I did this, I did not do this etc. So
>it is in the anthah-karaNa that the fruit of the action accumulates.
>
>-----Original Message-----
> From: advaita-l-bounces at lists.advaita-vedanta.org
>[mailto:advaita-l-bounces at lists.advaita-vedanta.org] On Behalf Of Sharath T
>Poojary
>Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 8:49 AM
>To: A discussion group for Advaita Vedanta
>Subject: [Advaita-l] Can Anyone Answer My Doubt?
>
>Hi,
>
>When they say the soul is born again and again, WHOM are they refering to?
>The SELF is birthless and stays where it has been. The body, ego and mind,
>since they are the part of material world are destroyed with the body on
>death.
>
>You see mind is actually material in nature. It is caused by the background
>working of the body, especially the BRAIN. Of course, the sense of
>PERCEPTION and Realness that seems associated with the mind/thoughts is due
>to SELF (CONSCIOUSNESS). Self illumines the mind, but mind belongs to the
>material part (body). This being so, WHO is there to take RE-BIRTH? WHO is
>the CARRIER of VASANAS to the next birth?
>
>I hope someone who has seen through this problem will help me see it too.
>I'm anxiously waiting for a reply.
>
>Regards,
>Sharath
>
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