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They say that the senses are superior (to the body); superior to the senses is the mind; superior to the mind is the intellect; one who is superior even to the intellect is He (the Self).

The senses, they say, are high; higher than the senses is the mind; higher than the mind is the understanding; and higher than the understanding is he.

Krishna sets out a ladder of the inner person. The senses are subtler than the body and its objects; the mind (manas) is higher than the senses; the understanding (buddhi) is higher than the mind; and beyond the understanding is he, the self (ātman). This hierarchy echoes a similar teaching in the Katha Upanishad. Its purpose here is practical. Desire works through the lower levels, so one who knows the highest, the self, has a standpoint from which the lower can be governed rather than ruled by them.