About You
You know the world through yourself. How well do you know the one who is knowing?
A closer look at the human being
We spend years learning about the world, yet often give little time to the personality through which we experience it. We can describe our work, our appearance and our history. The quieter questions remain: What directs my choices? Why do I react as I do? What is the nature of the awareness behind my experiences?
Vedanta invites a systematic study of oneself. Its purpose is to make familiar experiences clearer, giving you a thoughtful vocabulary for the body, thoughts, emotions, reasoning and Consciousness.
Beyond anatomy
Anatomy describes the physical structures of the body. Vedantic inquiry examines another dimension: the capacities through which we perceive, feel, think and act. These are philosophical categories, rather than additional anatomical organs.
This teachings distinguish the gross physical body, the subtle body and the causal body. The gross body is the visible, changing physical person. The subtle body is the framework of experience and activity. The causal body points, in this teaching, to the unmanifest potential and ignorance underlying individual experience.
The twenty subtle components
Prabha's teaching presents twenty components of the subtle body. Five are powers of perception: hearing, touch, sight, taste and smell. Five are powers of action: speaking, handling, moving, excreting and reproducing. Five describe the vital functions that sustain embodied life.
The remaining five concern the inner personality: Mind, gross Intellect, subtle Intellect, Memory and Ego. In everyday introductions, the two aspects of Intellect are considered together, giving the four familiar headings below. Studying their roles helps turn a vague idea of the inner self into a clearer inquiry.
Mind
The flow of thoughts, feelings and desires. Notice what attracts you, unsettles you and holds your attention.
Intellect
The capacity to reason, discriminate, validate and choose. Examine what is worthwhile before you act.
Memory
The impressions and experiences that inform your responses. Recognise when the past is colouring the present.
Ego
The sense of 'I' through which you identify with roles, possessions and experiences. Explore what you call your own.
Clarity before terminology
Words such as soul, brain, mind, Consciousness, karma, yoga and meditation are often used without a shared definition. This article challenges that confusion. A fruitful inquiry begins by asking what each term means in the teaching you are studying, rather than treating them as interchangeable.
You are invited to question with care, seek a clear explanation and test the usefulness of an idea through observation and reflection. The Human Composition lessons in the video series provide a natural place to begin.
Know yourself. Connect more deeply.
The YOU in ME, Forever… brings this inquiry into relationships. An expectation may arise in the Mind, a familiar wound may colour Memory, and a defensive response may come from Ego. The Intellect gives you the space to understand these movements and choose a more thoughtful response.
Begin with one ordinary moment today. Notice what you feel, identify what you expect, and pause before you respond. Self-understanding becomes meaningful when it changes the quality of your next conversation.
Visual explorations
Explore these illustrations at your own pace. Select an image to open a larger view.