Vivekachoodaamani

[Guest guest]

The pancha kosha contd.

 

207. The fifth sheath is aanandamaya kosha or the blissful sheath,

the reflection of the real blissfulness. But it is reflected in the

tamas quality of maayaa and one feels it only under favorable

circumstances. It comes from good actions and appears without any

effort on one's own part.

 

208. The blissful sheath can be seen only in sushupti. In dream and

in the wakeful state you can get a glimpse of it when you meet with

favorable conditions or the fulfillment of desires.

 

209. This is not the atman because it has something to depend on

while the atman shines in its own glory. Then also it is the

transformation of nature. It requires good actions to be blissful so

it has a cause. Therefore it is not the atman. It remains with the

body which is the result of the gunas. Therefore it is not the atman.

 

210. If you can do away with these five sheaths through the

instructions of the scriptures, what remains? The witness, the

consciousness – that is the Atman – self-effulgent, free from the

five sheaths, the witness of the three states, never changing, pure,

ever blissful. Know this as your own self. That is the Atman.