Gross Body v/s Witness

One of the first steps in our spiritual journey towards self-realisation is to work on what is body(deha), what is soul(jīva), and what is witness(ātma). In this article, we will focus on deha and ātma, leaving jīva and ātma for a different article.

Deha: The Gross Body

Deha is essentially composed of our gross physical body. Look closely at our body: it is made up of skin, blood, plasma, bones, marrow, fat, and so on. If you analyse further, each tissue is made up of cells – skin cells, blood cells, muscle fibres. Within these cells are organelles, within organelles molecules, and within molecules atoms.

What we call the physical body is therefore a temporary arrangement of subtler parts, assembled together for a time. How are these things sustained? We consume food, breathe air, drink water – all of which sustain the process of having a body. A perfect balance between the types of food we eat and the quality of life we live determines how well these components function, which in turn determines the healthiness of the body.

Suppose, for instance, that one of these components does not work properly. We fall sick. Depending on the type of sickness, we undergo various treatments until we replenish or repair what is missing to make ourselves healthy again. But what do we say in such moments? “I am sick,” “I am healthy,” “I am happy,” “I am sad.” We continuously associate the word “I” with the gross body to define how we feel.

The Observer Behind Change

If you analyse such statements – “I am sick” or “I am healthy” – what are you actually referring to? You are defining the state of your physical body. Let us suppose you are sick: does that “I” really change? If “I” changes, then you would not have been able to recognise the change. In order to recognise change, there must be something constant that is recognising it.

If you were sick, it actually means that you – the observer – have observed that the physical body is sick and are attributing this to yourself by saying “I am sick.” The same can be said about feelings too: “I am happy,” “I am sad.” What you are really saying is that you have observed that your mind is calm or agitated, and you have attributed that condition to yourself, the observer.

One may argue that it is only memory that remembers what wellness felt like, and in comparison one says “I am sick.” In this case, note that memory is a function of the brain and not the witness of experience. Memory is a ripple in the mind, illumined when it arises. The witness does not store memory; it reveals it.

In fact, this fully supports the fact that the witness “I” must be constant. The very act of saying “I remember” shows that memory is observed, not the observer. If the “I” were the body, then the “I” would change completely with sickness, and no continuity would remain to compare states. Recognition itself proves that the witness is unchanging.

The Constancy of the Witness

Hence, logically speaking, the witness is always constant and does not change. It is available here and now. Anything that comes in front of the witness is observed as material to be observed. It could be a subtle material like the mind or a physical material like the gross body.

Scriptures support this view too. They clearly indicate that just as a person changes clothes after the old ones are soiled or torn, the jīva changes body from one life to another. The Bhagavad Gītā (2.22) says:
“Just as a person discards worn-out garments and puts on new ones, so the embodied self discards old bodies and takes on new ones.”

Thus, the jīva continues its journey necessary for the exhaustion of karmas. The end of life in a physical body does not mean the end of the witness “I.” The “I” is not the body-self.

The Fate of the Body

We know that once the physical body is unable to support life – that is, when it is unfit for chidābhāsa (the reflection of consciousness) – it is considered inert. Based on customs, the body is cremated or buried, eventually changing composition and returning to nature. The witness “I” cannot be the body, for it persists beyond the body’s dissolution.

Self-Evident “I”

Witness-consciousness, also known as “I,” is self-evident always. You may need to say “I am happy” or “I am sad”, which still implies a degree of separation between “I” and the condition of the mind. But what is self-evident and not necessary to be explained is simply “I.”

The “I-ness” is always present and does not need any introduction. The very existence is “I.” It is “I” that enlivens the gross body, and it is because of the blessing of “I” that we understand that “I” is different from the body.

The “I” does not change with the body’s states. It is the silent flame that witnesses them all – untouched, constant, and ever-present. To discern this separation is the first step toward self-realisation.

Closing Reflection

Thus, the journey begins by recognising that the deha is a composite, perishable arrangement, while the witness “I” is constant, self-evident, and distinct. To confuse the two is the root of bondage; to separate them is the beginning of freedom. The body may fall sick, the mind may become agitated, memory may arise and fade – but the witness remains, shining by its own light.