The one with 17 parts - Chapter 24

सूक्ष्मशरीरं किम् ?

अपञ्चीकृतपञ्चमहाभूतैः कृतं सत्कर्मजन्यं

सुखदुःखादिभोगसाधनं

पञ्चज्ञानेन्द्रियाणि  पञ्चकर्मेन्द्रियाणि पञ्चप्राणादयः

मनश्चैकं बुद्धिश्चैका

एवं सप्तदशाकलाभिः सह यत्तिष्ठति तत्सूक्ष्मशरीरम् ।

What is the subtle body?

That which is made up of the five great elements which have not undergone grossification, that which is born of the good actions of the past, that which is the instrument for the experience of joy, sorrow, etc, and that which remains with 17 parts (the five sense organs, the five organs of action, the five pranas, the mind and the intellect) is the subtle body.

The physical body has a gross and a subtle component. We had seen previously that the aspect of the physical body that can be perceived by sense organs is the gross body. The subtle body on the other hand is not available for perception through any of the sense organs. Even while one is intimately aware of one’s subtle body (and that of others) it cannot be seen, touched or heard unlike the gross body. The subtle body too is made up of the five great elements but unlike the gross body, the subtle body is made up of the subtle form of these elements. Matter is inert and by extension anything that is made up of matter must be lifeless too. That being the case what makes a physical body that is made up of elements conscious, sentient and throbbing with life and vitality?

In vedantic philosophy, Self or atman (आत्मन्) is manifested in the gross body with the subtle body serving as a medium for this manifestation. Consider this to be similar to the phenomenon of light being reflected through the water in a container. When the reflection of consciousness is received by the subtle body, it becomes conscious and the gross body remains sentient until such time that it is associated with a subtle body. When the reflection of consciousness ceases, the gross body comprised of matter becomes inert. Even while it is the instrument through which one experiences life, the experiences themselves are limited by one’s karma, for the subtle body itself is born of one’s accumulated punyam (पुण्यं) and paapam (पापं).

A total of 17 parts are said to make up the subtle body namely the five organs of perception (which bring inputs from the external world in the form of voice, touch, form, taste and smell), the five organs of action (through which we respond to the external world), the five pranas that energize various systems in the body, the mind (which manifests as thoughts and emotions) and the intellect (which manifests as will and ascertainment). We shall now take up these 17 parts for a detailed discussion.