In plain words
This is only a rented house. But it is good to enquire in what way these vehicles, the senses, the Manas, the Buddhi and the rest, lift us up and in what way they bring us down. The whole world is the form of the five elements. They are sound, touch, form, taste and smell. These were called space, air, fire, water and earth. All of them came forth from Sat, Cit and Ānanda alone. Their own home is Sat-Cit-Ānanda itself.
This space is one great vessel. Within it lie the four remaining elements, namely fire, air, water and earth; they are contained in it. Each of them is subtler than the one before. Water is subtler than earth and spreads very wide. That is why it is lighter than earth. Fire takes a form still subtler than water. Air takes a form still subtler than fire. It spreads still wider. Space is subtler still than this air. That is why the five kośas enclose these five elements: space, air, fire, water, earth. Within them the Manas, the Buddhi, the citta and the Ahaṅkāra lie hidden.
Within space, swift motion begins. It has movement. This movement takes shape as air, and from it heat begins. That heat begins from movement is known to science as well. If you rub your hands hard against each other, heat begins in them. It is from air alone that heat arises. For heat to grow, air is essential. When this heat cools, it turns into water. When that water solidifies, it takes shape as earth. So space is the very root and base of these five elements. Not only did they come into being for the good of the world; they stand as the proof in showing forth the all-knowing Divinity. Then there are the Manas, the Buddhi, the citta and the Ahaṅkāra. The Ahaṅkāra is joined with the prāṇa. Its home is the vijñānamaya kośa. The Manas dwells within the citta. This is the manōmaya kośa. In short, the Manas dwells between the jīva and the living being. Between the Manas and the body dwells the prāṇa. In short, when we want to determine this, the Buddhi dwells above the Manas. The prāṇa stays below. This Buddhi and this prāṇa are made of fire. It is because these two fiery forms dwell in the body that the body's warmth is kept.
We should not think of this Manas as something petty, something slight. The Manas itself is this world. The Manas itself is this man. So we must try to recognise the Manas with great care. The Buddhi above, the prāṇa below. These two are made of fire.