Yogic Science: PanchKosha — the five layers of our existence
“Kosha” means a covering or a layer. According to Yogic Philosophy, all human beings have five layers or sheaths. The koshas provide a framework for conceptualizing ourselves, starting from the outermost physical layer to the subtlest innermost layer closest to the soul. These 5 koshas span the components of the 3 bodies (see note: https://vkaybansal.medium.com/yogic-science-treha-deha-the-3-body-anatomy-f61427f1949d).
The 5 koshas are:
Physical Sheath or the Annamaya Kosha
The Physical body or the Gross Body is called the Annamaya Kosha. Anna means food. It is called the food sheath because the physical body is born out of and sustained by food (right from the mother’s womb till death).
Vital Sheath or Pranamaya Kosha
Pranamaya pervades the Annamaya. It is subtler than Annamaya (cannot touch it, but you can feel it). Pranamaya is the vital life force that provides the energy for physical life. Pranamaya consists of the following components from the Subtle body:
- Five Pranas (PAVSU — Prana, Avana, Vyana, Samana and Udana, the life forces that take care of respiration, waste management, circulation of oxygen and nutrient, digestion and reversal functions during emergencies)
- Five Organs of Action — speech, hands, legs, anus, and genitals.
Together the 5 pranas and the 5 organs of action enables a physical body to perform actions by providing the energy and tools. Hence they are also called Kriya Shakti(Action power). Pranamaya enables Kriyashakti (physiological functions).
When a person dies, the Annamaya (Gross body) remains, but the Subtle body (that includes Pranamaya, Manomaya, and Vignanamaya) leaves the body. That is why even though physical organs are present, there is no Kriya shakti left to run them. Similarly, if a physical organ is transplanted from a deceased donor, the organ starts working in the person receiving it as that body has Kriya shakti in it.
Mind Sheath or Manomaya Kosha
Manomaya refers to psychological functions (mind-related). All emotions, feelings, anger, jealously, love, compassion, desires are all generated by Manomaya. This sheath is also called Iccha Shakti (Desire power).
Iccha shakti drives kriya shakti (desire prompts a person to act). Manomaya sends signals to Pranamaya to act.
Manomaya consists of the following component from the Subtle body:
- 5 organs of knowledge or perception — eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin
- Mind
- Memory
- Ego
Intellectual Sheath or Vignanamaya Kosha
Vignanamaya has the cognitive power and is also called the Jnana (Gyana) Shakti or knowledge power. This drives all the reasoning, judgment, decision, analysis, and discriminatory functions.
Vignanamaya consists of the following component from the Subtle body:
- 5 organs of knowledge or perception — eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin
- Intellect
- Memory
- Ego
The 5 organs of knowledge, memory, and ego are both in the Manomaya and Vignanamaya.
To think it simply, Intellect Sheath knows, the Mind Sheath desires, and the Vital Sheath acts.
Bliss Sheath or the Anandamaya Kosha
The innermost and the subtlest sheath is the Anandamaya. It is also called the causal body. Anandamaya carries all our sanskaras/impressions from earlier births. That is where all our conditioning, tendencies, and personalities are present in seed form, and they express themselves from time to time, even across births.
Modern Psychology divides mind awareness into two states, calling them “conscious mind” (what we are aware of) and “unconscious mind” (that we are not aware of). The unconscious mind (per modern psychology) has memories that we are not aware of. We attribute various things like intuition, sleepwalking, deep sleep, becoming unconscious when the pain becomes too intense for the body to bear, or under anesthesia, etc. as the unconscious mind.
Anandamaya results in a similar state. Anandamaya carries our sanskaras/impressions from previous births that we don’t remember in memory bank (Chitt), but they get expressed unknowingly from time to time. When someone is in deep sleep (doesn’t remember anything), they are in a bliss state. In deep sleep, Anandamaya is at play, all ego, pain, anxiety, worries, agitation, emotions, are merged into ignorance (blissfully ignorant). In such a state, when there are no thought manifestations and complete calmness, the bliss of the Self manifests.
Beyond the 5 sheaths. Who am I?
The fundamental truth of Vedanta is that “I” am the True Self, the Atman. I am not the physical body, not the mind, not the intellect, not the sheaths. We falsely start identifying ourselves with the 5 sheaths which is the cause of all our sufferings.
Per Vedanta, if you keep a red rose behind a clear crystal, the crystal takes red color and it appears as if it’s a red crystal. If you replace the red rose with a yellow rose, the crystal will appear yellow. The clear crystal has no color of its own and just takes the color of the roses. Similarly, the Self is formless and limitless. It is these sheaths that make “me” appear different. At the Annamaya level, one starts identifying himself as “I am fat”, “ I am beautiful”, “I am mortal”. At Pranamaya, Manomaya level, one starts saying “I am hungry”, “I am healthy”, “I am dying”. At Vignanamaya level, one says “I am smart”, “I am the best” and finally at Anandamaya level, one says “I am the doer”, etc. which are all wrong as the Self is just reflecting the sheaths.
The knowledge of bodies and sheaths and what’s beyond the sheaths helps us to think out of the box. Through continuous determination and effort, one can try to uncover the Self and get liberated from all the shackles.
