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Panchakosha (पञ्चकोशाः) (view source)
Revision as of 17:28, 16 October 2015
, 17:28, 16 October 2015→Anandamaya kosha: Last paragraph; for regularity 'kosha' replaces kosa, as kossha is used mostly in the reading.
{{For|KOSHA|Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency}}
{{Hinduism small}}
A '''Kosha''' (also '''Kosa'''; [[Sanskrit]] [[:wikt:कोश|कोश]], [[IAST]]: {{IAST|kośa}}), usually rendered "sheath", is a covering of the [[Atman (Hinduism)|Atman]], or Self according to [[Vedantic]] philosophy. There are five Koshas, and they are often visualised as the layers of an onion.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Roeser|first1=Robert W.|title=An introduction to Hindu India's contemplative psychological perspective on motivation, self, and development|date=2005|page=15|edition=pdf|url=http://ase.tufts.edu/iaryd/documents/researchPaperHindu.pdf|accessdate=25 June 2015}}</ref>
==Origins==
The five sheaths (pancha-kosas) are described in the [[Taittiriya Upanishad]].<ref>David Frawley, ''Yoga and the Sacred Fire: Self-Realization and Planetary Transformation'', p.288</ref> From gross to fine they are:
# Annamaya kosha, "foodstuff" sheath (Anna)
# [[Prana|Pranamaya kosha]], "energy" sheath (Prana/apana)
# [[Manomaya kosha]] "mind-stuff" sheath (Manas)
# [[Vijnanamaya kosha]], "wisdom" sheath (''[[Vijnana]]'')
# [[Anandamaya kosha]], "bliss" sheath (''[[wikt:bliss|Ananda]]'')
According to Vedanta the wise person, being aware of the subtle influences of the five elements within each kosha, ever discerns the [[Atman (Hinduism)|Self]] amidst appearances.
==The five sheaths==
=== Annamaya kosha ===
This is the sheath of the physical self, named from the fact that it is nourished by food. Living through this layer man identifies himself with a mass of [[skin]], [[flesh]], [[Adipose tissue|fat]], [[bone]]s, and [[feces|filth]], while the man of discrimination knows his own self, the only reality that there is, as distinct from the body.
=== Pranamaya kosha ===
Pranamaya means composed of [[prana]], the vital principle, the force that vitalizes and holds together the body and the mind. It pervades the whole organism, its one physical manifestation is the breath. As long as this vital principle exists in the organisms, life continues. Coupled with the five organs of action it forms the vital sheath. In the Vivekachudamani it is a modification of [[vayu]] or air, it enters into and comes out of the body.
=== Manomaya kosha ===
Manomaya means composed of [[Mind|manas]] or [[mind]]. The mind (manas) along with the five sensory organs is said to constitute the manomaya kosa. The ''manomaya kosa'', or “mind-sheath” is said more truly to approximate to personhood than ''annamaya kosa'' and ''pranamaya kosha''. It is the cause of diversity, of ''I'' and ''mine''. [[Adi Shankara|Sankara]] likens it to clouds that are brought in by the wind and again driven away by the same agency. Similarly, man’s bondage is caused by the mind, and liberation, too, is caused by that alone.
=== Vijnanamaya kosha ===
Vijnanamaya means composed of [[vijnana]], or intellect, the faculty which discriminates, determines or [[will (philosophy)|will]]s. [[Chattampi Swamikal]] defines vijnanamaya as the combination of intellect and the [[five sense organs]]. It is the sheath composed of more intellection, associated with the organs of perception. Sankara holds that the [[buddhi]], with its modifications and the organs of knowledge, form the cause of man’s [[Reincarnation|transmigration]]. This knowledge sheath, which seems to be followed by a reflection of the power of the [[Cit (consciousness)|cit]], is a modification of [[prakrti]]. It is endowed with the function of knowledge and identifies itself with the body, organs etc.
This knowledge sheath cannot be the supreme self for the following reasons;
*It is subject to change.
*It is insentient.
*It is a limited thing.
*It is not constantly present.
=== Anandamaya kosha ===
{{main|Anandamaya kosha}}
Anandamaya means composed of ananda, or [[wikt:bliss|bliss]]. In the [[Upanishads]] the sheath is known also as the ''[[causal body]]''. In deep sleep, when the mind and senses cease functioning, it still stands between the finite world and the self. Anandamaya, or that which is composed of Supreme bliss, is regarded as the innermost of all. The bliss sheath normally has its fullest play during [[deep sleep]]: while in the dreaming and wakeful states, it has only a partial manifestation. The blissful sheath ([[anandamaya kosha]]) is a reflection of the Atman which is truth, beauty, bliss absolute.
The following entry is for the utility of Hindu aspirants who are familiar with Panchakosha:
Just as each of the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, and ether) appear in corresponding subtlety among each of the five senses so too the intellect cognizes ever subtler causes and effects at play through each of the five sheaths.
For example, the annamayakosha, the coarsest sheath, is based in the earth element, which is guarded by Ganesha, while the very subtlest sheath Anandamaya is based in the quanta/ether element, and is guarded by a black disc of utter darkness over the sun, which can be removed only by Ganesha.
Awareness of that reflection of atman/self within the most subtle sheath, Anandamayakosha, however, is but the foundation for discerning that which the elements, energies, senses, and kosha serve. To that end, one re-examines the components of the five koshas in daily devotional meditation after recitation of twenty-one OM, viz, one OM per each of the five elements, the five pranas, the five indriyas, and the five kosha, equaling twenty OM, then a twenty-first OM is offered for the ineffable, such that a spiritual discernment of ever-increasing subtlety arises in the purified intellect, alaya nirvijnana, the womb of the tathagata, wherein silence ensues and clarity blossoms.
==See also==
* [[Sarira (Vedanta)|Three bodies]]
* [[Mandukya Upanishad]]
* [[Advaita Vedanta]]
* [[Chakra]]
* [[Kundalini]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.ramakrishna.org/activities/message/weekly_message40.htm Swami Adiswarananda explanation of kośas]
*[http://www.swamij.com/shankara-atma-bodha.htm ATMABODHA, by AdiSankara, translated by Swami Chinmayananda]
{{Yoga}}
{{Indian philosophy}}
{{Ayyavazhi large}}
{{Portalbar|Yoga|Hinduism}}
[[Category:Hindu philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Ayyavazhi philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Vedanta]]
[[Category:Advaita Vedanta]]
{{Hinduism small}}
A '''Kosha''' (also '''Kosa'''; [[Sanskrit]] [[:wikt:कोश|कोश]], [[IAST]]: {{IAST|kośa}}), usually rendered "sheath", is a covering of the [[Atman (Hinduism)|Atman]], or Self according to [[Vedantic]] philosophy. There are five Koshas, and they are often visualised as the layers of an onion.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Roeser|first1=Robert W.|title=An introduction to Hindu India's contemplative psychological perspective on motivation, self, and development|date=2005|page=15|edition=pdf|url=http://ase.tufts.edu/iaryd/documents/researchPaperHindu.pdf|accessdate=25 June 2015}}</ref>
==Origins==
The five sheaths (pancha-kosas) are described in the [[Taittiriya Upanishad]].<ref>David Frawley, ''Yoga and the Sacred Fire: Self-Realization and Planetary Transformation'', p.288</ref> From gross to fine they are:
# Annamaya kosha, "foodstuff" sheath (Anna)
# [[Prana|Pranamaya kosha]], "energy" sheath (Prana/apana)
# [[Manomaya kosha]] "mind-stuff" sheath (Manas)
# [[Vijnanamaya kosha]], "wisdom" sheath (''[[Vijnana]]'')
# [[Anandamaya kosha]], "bliss" sheath (''[[wikt:bliss|Ananda]]'')
According to Vedanta the wise person, being aware of the subtle influences of the five elements within each kosha, ever discerns the [[Atman (Hinduism)|Self]] amidst appearances.
==The five sheaths==
=== Annamaya kosha ===
This is the sheath of the physical self, named from the fact that it is nourished by food. Living through this layer man identifies himself with a mass of [[skin]], [[flesh]], [[Adipose tissue|fat]], [[bone]]s, and [[feces|filth]], while the man of discrimination knows his own self, the only reality that there is, as distinct from the body.
=== Pranamaya kosha ===
Pranamaya means composed of [[prana]], the vital principle, the force that vitalizes and holds together the body and the mind. It pervades the whole organism, its one physical manifestation is the breath. As long as this vital principle exists in the organisms, life continues. Coupled with the five organs of action it forms the vital sheath. In the Vivekachudamani it is a modification of [[vayu]] or air, it enters into and comes out of the body.
=== Manomaya kosha ===
Manomaya means composed of [[Mind|manas]] or [[mind]]. The mind (manas) along with the five sensory organs is said to constitute the manomaya kosa. The ''manomaya kosa'', or “mind-sheath” is said more truly to approximate to personhood than ''annamaya kosa'' and ''pranamaya kosha''. It is the cause of diversity, of ''I'' and ''mine''. [[Adi Shankara|Sankara]] likens it to clouds that are brought in by the wind and again driven away by the same agency. Similarly, man’s bondage is caused by the mind, and liberation, too, is caused by that alone.
=== Vijnanamaya kosha ===
Vijnanamaya means composed of [[vijnana]], or intellect, the faculty which discriminates, determines or [[will (philosophy)|will]]s. [[Chattampi Swamikal]] defines vijnanamaya as the combination of intellect and the [[five sense organs]]. It is the sheath composed of more intellection, associated with the organs of perception. Sankara holds that the [[buddhi]], with its modifications and the organs of knowledge, form the cause of man’s [[Reincarnation|transmigration]]. This knowledge sheath, which seems to be followed by a reflection of the power of the [[Cit (consciousness)|cit]], is a modification of [[prakrti]]. It is endowed with the function of knowledge and identifies itself with the body, organs etc.
This knowledge sheath cannot be the supreme self for the following reasons;
*It is subject to change.
*It is insentient.
*It is a limited thing.
*It is not constantly present.
=== Anandamaya kosha ===
{{main|Anandamaya kosha}}
Anandamaya means composed of ananda, or [[wikt:bliss|bliss]]. In the [[Upanishads]] the sheath is known also as the ''[[causal body]]''. In deep sleep, when the mind and senses cease functioning, it still stands between the finite world and the self. Anandamaya, or that which is composed of Supreme bliss, is regarded as the innermost of all. The bliss sheath normally has its fullest play during [[deep sleep]]: while in the dreaming and wakeful states, it has only a partial manifestation. The blissful sheath ([[anandamaya kosha]]) is a reflection of the Atman which is truth, beauty, bliss absolute.
The following entry is for the utility of Hindu aspirants who are familiar with Panchakosha:
Just as each of the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, and ether) appear in corresponding subtlety among each of the five senses so too the intellect cognizes ever subtler causes and effects at play through each of the five sheaths.
For example, the annamayakosha, the coarsest sheath, is based in the earth element, which is guarded by Ganesha, while the very subtlest sheath Anandamaya is based in the quanta/ether element, and is guarded by a black disc of utter darkness over the sun, which can be removed only by Ganesha.
Awareness of that reflection of atman/self within the most subtle sheath, Anandamayakosha, however, is but the foundation for discerning that which the elements, energies, senses, and kosha serve. To that end, one re-examines the components of the five koshas in daily devotional meditation after recitation of twenty-one OM, viz, one OM per each of the five elements, the five pranas, the five indriyas, and the five kosha, equaling twenty OM, then a twenty-first OM is offered for the ineffable, such that a spiritual discernment of ever-increasing subtlety arises in the purified intellect, alaya nirvijnana, the womb of the tathagata, wherein silence ensues and clarity blossoms.
==See also==
* [[Sarira (Vedanta)|Three bodies]]
* [[Mandukya Upanishad]]
* [[Advaita Vedanta]]
* [[Chakra]]
* [[Kundalini]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.ramakrishna.org/activities/message/weekly_message40.htm Swami Adiswarananda explanation of kośas]
*[http://www.swamij.com/shankara-atma-bodha.htm ATMABODHA, by AdiSankara, translated by Swami Chinmayananda]
{{Yoga}}
{{Indian philosophy}}
{{Ayyavazhi large}}
{{Portalbar|Yoga|Hinduism}}
[[Category:Hindu philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Ayyavazhi philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Vedanta]]
[[Category:Advaita Vedanta]]