Sharira Traya (शरीरत्रयम्)

Sharira Traya is a Sanskrit term (शरीरत्रयम्) referring to 'three bodies'. As a unique paradigm in Indian philosophy, the human being is composed of three shariras or "bodies" emanating from Brahman as a result of avidya, "ignorance" or "nescience". They are often equated with the five koshas (sheaths), which cover the atman. This is an essential doctrine in Indian philosophy and religion, especially Yoga, Advaita Vedanta and Tantra.

They are an integral part of the human existence unlike many Western views proclaiming that humans are mere physical bodies. According to these views the mental faculties or the mind are also directly controlled by the physical brain. Bharatiya traditions are all rooted in the fact that the human body and mind are bound as one entity until a certain stage when the being is able to overcome the karmas that make the Jiva travel in a loop of births and deaths. This concept is also a fundamental principle on which the explanation of Punarjanma or Reincarnation rests on; as the Jiva travels from one body to another with a Sukshma Sharira or subtle form in the cycle of births and deaths.

The Three Bodies

The Pancha koshas are instrumental in designating what are called the Shariras, which have distinct roles in this grand system of Sristi. They are

1. स्थूलशरीरम् ॥ sthūla-śarīra (gross body)
2. सूक्ष्मशरीरम् ॥ sūkṣma-śarīra (subtle body)
3. कारणशरीरम् ॥ kārana śarīra (causal body)

स्थूलशरीरम् ॥ Sthula Sarira - Gross body

Sthula sarira or the gross body is the material physical mortal body that eats, breathes and moves (acts). It is composed of:

1. Panch Mahabhutas: Prithvi (पृथ्वी, Earth), Apas/Varuna/Jal (जल, Water), Agni(अग्नि, Fire), Vayu (वायु, Air), Aakash(आकाश, Ether).
2. Five sense organs (ज्ञानेन्द्रिय): Eyes, Ears, Skin, Tongue and Nose
3. Five vital forces (Pranas) : Prana (respiration), Apana (evacuation of waste from the body), Vyana (blood circulation), Udana (actions like sneezing, crying, vomiting etc.), Samana (digestion)

The Sthula sarira’s main features are Sambhava (birth), Jara (old age or ageing) and Maranam (death), and the "Waking State". The Sthula sarira is the anatman.

The outermost layer, called the annamayakośa, the sheath of material existence. It is his primitive identification with an ego encapsulated in his physical body (sthūla-śarīra, the gross body). Food aids in the formation of the five sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin) and organs of action (speech, hands, feet, genitals, and evacuation).

Prana (Vital air) refers to the activities that support the body and take place as a result of the air that we take in for physiological functions that result from the food sheath (but do not require direct interaction with the world). Mental refers to the mind, which regulates the vital air sheath, such as the connection between breath and emotions. The intellectual sheath refers to the mind and the intellect. The intellect discerns and makes decisions and the mind communicates these decisions within the body. The three layers together constitute what is called the “subtle body” (sūkṣma-śarīra), and they are the sheath of vitality (prāṇamayakośa), the sheath of emotions (manomayakośa), and the sheath of ratiocination (vijñānamayakośa). The sheath of vitality roughly corresponds to the subjective vitality.

The innermost layer, the sheath of bliss (ānandamayakośa), comprises the “causal body” (karana śarīra), and it is experienced by everyone in the state of deep, dreamless sleep (suṣuptī), as well as during certain forms of meditation. Dualities and distinctions are not completely destroyed at this level, but they are harmonized so completely that this state is experienced as the one of profound relaxation and bliss (Ānanda). The bliss sheath is considered to be blissful because it is free of the agitation of the other sheaths. It is experienced only in states of deep sleep and is composed of our innate tendencies before they become thoughts or actions. It is also called “causal body” because it is the ground and cause of all the other sheaths. Finally, this also is peeled away, the pure reality of the center alone remains, absolute non-duality, ineffable, indescribable, Brahman-consciousness, underlying the five sheaths and the three bodies. This is what Vedanta suggests as the highest spiritual goal of human life. Variety and distinctions in paths of yoga can be attributed to their emphasis on different Kośas of the self.

Karana sarira - causal body

Main article: Causal body

Karana sarira or the causal body is merely the causeTemplate:Sfn or seed of the subtle body and the gross body. It has no other function than being the seed of the subtle and the gross body.Template:Sfn It is nirvikalpa rupam, "undifferentiated form".Template:Sfn It originates with avidya, "ignorance" or "nescience" of the real identity of the atman, instead giving birth to the notion of jiva.

Swami Sivananda characterizes the causal body as "The beginningless ignorance that is indescribable". Siddharameshwar Maharaj, the guru of Nisargadatta Maharaj, also describes the causal body as characterized by "emptiness", "ignorance", and "darkness".Template:Sfn In the search for the "I am", this is a state where there is nothing to hold on to anymore.Template:Sfn Ramanuja concludes that it is at this stage that consummation of the atman with the Paramatman is reached and the search for the highest Purusa, i.e., of Ishvara, ends.Template:Sfn

According to other philosophical schools, the causal body is not the atman, because it also has a beginning and an end and is subject to modification.Shankara, not seeking a personal god, goes beyond Anandamaya Kosha in search of the transcendent Brahman.Template:Sfn

The Indian tradition identifies it with the Anandamaya koshaand the deep sleep state, where buddhi becomes dormant and all concepts of time fail, although there are differences between these three descriptions.

The causal body is considered as the most complex of the three bodies. It contains the impressions of experience, which results from past experience.

Suksma sarira - subtle body

Suksma sarira or the subtle body is made up of seventeen (17) elements:

1. Five organs of perception (ज्ञानेन्द्रिय): Eyes, Ears, Skin, Tongue and Nose
2. Five organs of action: (कर्मेन्द्रिय): Speech, hands, legs, anus and genitals
3. Five vital forces (Pranas) : Prana (respiration), Apana (evacuation of waste from the body), Vyana (blood circulation), Udana (actions like sneezing, crying, vomiting etc.), Samana (digestion)
4. manas
5. Buddhi, the Intellect, discriminating wisdom

In Samkhya philosophy, which does not acknowledge a causal body, it is also known as the linga-sarira.

Three bodies and five sheaths

The Taittiriya Upanishad describes five koshas, which are also often equated with the three bodies. The three bodies are often equated with the five koshas (sheaths), which cover the atman:

1. Sthula sarira, the Gross body, also called the Annamaya Kosha
2. Suksma sarir', the Subtle body, composed of:
   1. Pranamaya Kosha (Vital breath or Energy),
   2. Manomaya Kosha (Mind),
   3. Vijnanamaya Kosha (Intellect)
3. Karana sarira, the Causal body, the Anandamaya Kosha (Bliss)

Four states of consciousness and turiya

The Mandukya Upanishad describes four states of consciousness, namely waking consciousness, dream, and deep sleep, and turiya, the base-consciousness. Waking consciousness, dream, and deep sleep are equated with the three bodies, while turiya is a fourth state, which is equated with atman and purusha.