118. Change is Constant
C hange is constant in the physical or manifested world whereas the unmanifested or atma remains changeless. A mechanism is needed to bring coherence between these two worlds. Metaphorically, it’s like the ball bearing mechanism between a stationary hub and a rotating wheel or like a gearbox handling two different speeds from the engine and wheels. Similarly, it’s a mechanism of senses, mind ( mann ) and intellect ( buddhi ) between the changeless atma and the ever-changing world of objects. Krishna described a hierarchy that the senses are superior to sense-objects, the mind is superior to the senses, and superior to the mind is the intellect, and superior even to the intellect is the self or atma (3.42). The physical part of the senses automatically responds to changes in the physical world. The mind is a combination of the controller part of the senses and memory. The mind is expected to handle every outside change brought to it by the physical part of the senses to ...