THE ATMA AND THE PANCHA KOSHAS

PANCHAKOSADI YOGENA TAT-TANMAYA EVA STHITAH

SUDDHATMA NEELAVASTRADI YOGENA SPATIKO YATHA

Because of its identification with the five koshas  or sheaths ATMAN seems to have borrowed  their qualities upon itself. Like in the case of a crystal which seems to gather unto itself color of the blue cloth in its vicinity.

Sankara points out, in this verse, how the perfect and immaculate Self is contaminated by the impure and imperfect surroundings! The nature of Self  is absolute purity.  It is the same everywhere. The infinite Atma is never contaminated by the finite objects in creation. Nor is it spoiled by the different layers of matter arising out of our non-apprehension of the Truth.  We wrongly imagine that this Supreme Self, in association with the imperfect objects and conditioned by various limitations, attaches to itself the bad odor of  the five sheaths or koshas  when Life is expressed  through the mind and the sense organs.  Any super imposition on the Self can never change the basic nature of the Self.  In the example of the rope and the serpent, the latter’s venom cannot poison the rope, its substratum!

The personality of man is divided into five layers depending on their  distinct functions. These are called as the PANCHA KOSAS- the five sheaths. They are : 1 Annamaya Kosa  - Food sheath 2  Pranamaya Kosa-  Vital air sheath 3 Manomaya Kosa – Mental Sheath 4 Vijnanamaya Kosa –Intellectual Sheath   5Anandamaya Kosa-Bliss Sheath.

Taittiriya Upanishad ,in its Bhruguvalli  4 ( iii)describes  these five kosas and the experience of  Bhrugu, the son of Varuna. Anxious to understand the nature of BRAHMAN, Bhrugu approaches his father to explain it. Bhrugu was asked to perform tapas and find out the nature of Brahman. After performing penance and after very careful analysis he found that  Annam- Food is the Brahman as beings are born out of annam and merge into it at death. He went to Varuna and wanted to know more about Brahman. His father asked him to continue tapas and find it for himself. Bhrugu sat in severe penance and found Prana to be the Brahman since all beings are born out of Prana and merge into it after death. He was not satisfied. He wanted to know more about the Brahman and approached his father. Varuna again asked Bhrugu to continue penance and get clarification. After contemplation, Bhrugu found manas or mind to be the Brahman as all beings are born out of it and finally merge into it. Continuing his tapas, as directed by his father, Bhrugu found intellect as the Brahman since all beings are born of the world of the Five Elements, live and merge again into it. Not satisfied with this experience, he again met his father to know more about the Brahman.  Continuing his tapas, he found that Ananda or BLISS to be the Brahman. All beings are born of Ananda, enjoy Bliss and merge into Ananda!

Associations and super impositions have their effects on the original object. The original object may look different on account of the proximity of those associations. But in fact the original object does not undergo any change because of that. A clear glass tumbler catches the color of the table cloth on which it is placed. Similarly, we identify our nature with the Five sheaths or kosas  due to close association. We have to remember that the pure SELF, though it is surrounded by the five sheaths, is never contaminated. ANNAMAYA KOSA represents the gross physical structure, and the anatomy of the body. PRANAMAYA KOSA stands for the vital air sheath and the physiology of the body. MANOMAYA KOSA stands for mental health and psychology. VIJNANAMAYA KOSA is the intellectual aspect of the body. ANANDAMAYA KOSA,  finally is the Bliss sheath of our body. The SELF or the ATMAN can never borrow extraneous qualities or color! It is pure, uncontaminated and effulgent!  We should not be misled by the  seeming identification with nearby objects .