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=== Anandamaya kosha ===
 
=== Anandamaya kosha ===
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The fifth sheath is the Anandamaya Kosha. This blissful sheath is a reflection of the Atman which is truth, beauty, bliss absolute. In deep sleep, when the mind and senses cease functioning, it still stands between the finite world and the self.  
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The fifth sheath is the Anandamaya Kosha. This is the most interior of the koshas, and is the first of the koshas surrounding the Atman. This blissful sheath is a reflection of the Atman which is truth, beauty, bliss absolute. In deep sleep, when the mind and senses cease functioning, it still stands between the finite world and the self.  
    
It is endowed with the three Vrittis, viz., Priya, Moda and Pramoda. Priya is the happiness that arises in one from the mere sight of a desired object. Moda is the happiness which one enjoys when he is in possession of a desired object. Pramoda is the happiness which one gets from the actual enjoyment of the desired object. This sheath makes itself spontaneously felt to the fortunate during the fruition of their virtuous deeds.  
 
It is endowed with the three Vrittis, viz., Priya, Moda and Pramoda. Priya is the happiness that arises in one from the mere sight of a desired object. Moda is the happiness which one enjoys when he is in possession of a desired object. Pramoda is the happiness which one gets from the actual enjoyment of the desired object. This sheath makes itself spontaneously felt to the fortunate during the fruition of their virtuous deeds.  
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The Anandamaya Kosha cannot be the Atman, because it is endowed with changeful attributes. It is a modification of Prakriti. It is the effect of past good deeds. It has an end. You are not the Anandamaya Kosha. You are entirely distinct from this sheath. You are always the knower of this sheath.  
 
The Anandamaya Kosha cannot be the Atman, because it is endowed with changeful attributes. It is a modification of Prakriti. It is the effect of past good deeds. It has an end. You are not the Anandamaya Kosha. You are entirely distinct from this sheath. You are always the knower of this sheath.  
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It is the subtle most of the five koshas. In the silence of deep meditation, this too is let go of, so as to experience the center.
The following entry is for the utility of Hindu aspirants who are familiar with Panchakosha:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Anandamaya kosha is the most interior of the koshas, the first of the koshas surrounding the Atman, the eternal center of consciousness. Ananda means bliss. However, it is not bliss as a mere emotion experienced at the level of the sheath of mind. Ananda is a whole different order of reality from that of the mind. It is peace, joy, and love that is underneath, beyond the mind, independent of any reason or stimulus to cause a happy mental reaction. It is simply being, resting in bliss called ananda.
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Yet, even this bliss, however wonderful it is, is still a covering, a sheath, a lampshade covering the pure light of consciousness. It is the subtle most of the five koshas. In the silence of deep meditation, this too is let go of, so as to experience the center.
      
==See also==
 
==See also==

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