We see only what is clearly present before our senses. In the Vivekachoodamani, the master of Vedanta, Sri Adi Sankaracharya, indicates the presence of something else that we cannot see with our plain eyes. It is the presence of the subtle body called the linga shareeram. It is composed of subtle aspects of the five elements such as sound from space, touch from air, heat from fire, taste from water and smell from the earth.
This subtle body is a direct product of our mental inclinations that have been formed over eons together owing to the type of actions, emotions and thoughts we have entertained from time immemorial. In one word, it is called vasana or tendencies. This residual tendency causes us to go through many experiences in life – good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant, which are direct results of our actions. This subtle body limits our personality from experiencing the infinity that we really are as by nature, it is composed of the texture of ignorance of the self. This ignorance is beginningless.
Every word we speak, thought we think, feeling we experience and action we do leaves an imprint in our consciousness. This imprint is called vasana. It is not revealed to the naked eye, but it constantly generates thoughts and experiences and prods us to do more actions just as has been recorded in the vasana blueprint.
The subtle body is revealed to us in the dream state. The different vasanas erupt like bubbles in the dream state and since the consciousness is withdrawn from the mind in deep sleep, there is a hazy understanding of the events experienced in the dream state.
In the waking state, we express through the tendencies, the subtle and the gross body. In the dream state, the gross body is not active. Hence, we express through the tendencies and the subtle body only. As the discriminating faculty called the intellect is at rest in the sleepy state, we are aware of the waves of the mind which take the form of people, objects and situations that are registered in our consciousness.
The ‘I’ that is watching the world in the waking state, the dreams in the semi-sleep state and that wakes up to say that, “I slept well,” is the witness of all the three states of awareness and was never a part of anything that it has witnessed. The carpenter carves out many designs and makes many objects out of wood, using his tools. In the same way, the absolute consciousness uses the subtle body and the gross body as tools to go on creating situations and experiences in the canvas of life.