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What is the subtle body?
सूक्ष्मशरीरं किम् ?
अपञ्चीकृतपञ्चमहाभूतैः कृतं सत्कर्मजन्यं
सुखदुःखादिभोगसाधनं
पञ्चज्ञानेन्द्रियाणि पञ्चकर्मेन्द्रियाणि पञ्चप्राणादयः
मनश्चैकं बुद्धिश्चैका
एवं सप्तदशाकलाभिः सह यत्तिष्ठति तत्सूक्ष्मशरीरम् ।
sūkṣmaśarīraṃ kim ?
apañcīkṛtapañcamahābhūtaiḥ kṛtaṃ satkarmajanyaṃ
sukhaduḥkhādibhogasādhanaṃ
pañcajñānendriyāṇi pañcakarmendriyāṇi pañcaprāṇādayaḥ
manaścaikaṃ buddhiścaikā
evaṃ saptadaśākalābhiḥ saha yattiṣṭhati tatsūkṣmaśarīram.
The subtle body is called as such because it is made up of subtle elements, and it cannot be perceived by the senses.
Characteristics of the subtle body
Material cause: It is created out of the subtle or un-grossified five elements.
Efficient cause: It is caused by our good karmas.
Purpose: It is the instrument for experience of joy, sorrow and enjoyments.
Seventeen constituents of the subtle body
Five faculties of perception: Seeing, hearing, tasting, touching and smelling.
Five faculties of action: Speaking, grasping, locomotion, excretion and reproduction.
Five prānās or physiological functions: Intake, elimination, digestion, reverse motion, circulation
The mind and the intellect.
The Self is not the subtle body
It is said that we live our lives in our minds, not in our physical bodies. For example, one person may enjoy an event, while another person in the very same event will be thinking about their work, and not remember the event later. This obsession with thinking, which happens in the subtle body, keeps us from realizing our Self, which is our true nature. We need to inquire and realize that we are not our subtle body. This is because it changes, and it is negated during deep sleep and during moments of flow. By developing a healthy level of detachment from our thoughts, we are able to slowly stay rooted in the Self.