Intellect - Gross & Subtle

Of late there has been a lot of discussion on the need to educate and bring ethics and moral values in people. As much as this is correct and important,  I think this education has to run deeper into soul of each individual, not just at the peripheral level. Having the individual read books, watch videos & documentaries and laying down the court rules does only to a certain extent and limited time.  The transformation has to happen from the soul layer and change the IMB layers in that order- the reverse of BMI (Body, Mind, Intellect).  The Atman (soul) is the pure truth with no gunas (character) and no blemishes. Intellect (I) is the thinking layer close to it that is reflected from the Atman. The intellect advises the mind of the right & wrong, truth & untruth,  light and darkness, correct & incorrect etc. etc.  Mind (M) usually sways to the external influence of sense organs in the Body (B), but the individual has to train his/her mind to listen to intellect which preaches the truth as per the Atma.  Once the Mind is brought under control, it can easily control the Body and the related sense organs in the righteous way.  In this way , the entire personality is integrated and brought to moral ethics.

Sw. Chinmayananda brings out the above point wonderfully in his  analysis of Adi Shankara's VivekaChoodamani.  In the meaning for slokas 213-214, Sw. Chinmayananda says as below:

"With a gross intellect, we see only gross things.  The grosser the intellect, grosser the vision. Our intellect at this moment is so gross, so full of sensuality, that we no more see a woman going along, we only see "lust" moving on legs. When the mind is made a little subtle,  you see "beauty" going.  A little more subtle and you see a "living being". Make it as subtle as that of a philosopher's and you will see a "divinity" on the move.

How do we make our intellect subtle? Subtle intellect means that intellect which is not running headlong to crash into sense objects. That intellect that is not working under the pressure of its vasanas, the intellect which is fully redeemed from their deadening pressures, is a subtle intellect. Vasanas are removed through dedicated activity (Nishkaama Karma)."