Anandamaya-kosa or the causal body

[Guest guest]

Dear 'all',

 

I hope it is alright to ask a question that is not part of our topic of

inquiry? Would our learned members please comment on why the

Anandamaya-Kosa is sometimes referred to as the Causal Body? Are there any

scriptural references to substantiate this?

 

Many thanks,

 

Peter

[Guest guest]

advaitin, "Peter Merriott" <not_2@b...> wrote:

> Dear 'all',

>

> I hope it is alright to ask a question that is not part of our topic

of

> inquiry? Would our learned members please comment on why the

> Anandamaya-Kosa is sometimes referred to as the Causal Body? Are

there any

> scriptural references to substantiate this?

>

> Many thanks,

>

> Peter

 

Namaste,

 

Quite simply Ignorance is Bliss, and the cause of all this illusion

and delusion................ONS...Tony.

[Guest guest]

Thank you, Tony. Humorous and insightful all in the one sentence. I would

also welcome any other comments our friends might care to offer.

 

Peter

 

 

Tony OClery [aoclery]

09 April 2005 20:49

advaitin

Re: Anandamaya-kosa or the causal body

 

 

 

 

advaitin, "Peter Merriott" <not_2@b...> wrote:

> Dear 'all',

>

> I hope it is alright to ask a question that is not part of our topic

of

> inquiry? Would our learned members please comment on why the

> Anandamaya-Kosa is sometimes referred to as the Causal Body? Are

there any

> scriptural references to substantiate this?

>

> Many thanks,

>

> Peter

 

Namaste,

 

Quite simply Ignorance is Bliss, and the cause of all this illusion

and delusion................ONS...Tony.

[Guest guest]

advaitin, "Peter Merriott" <not_2@b...> wrote:

> Thank you, Tony. Humorous and insightful all in the one sentence.

I would

> also welcome any other comments our friends might care to offer.

>

> Peter

Namaste, Peterji,

 

It is averred the seeds in potential form are stored in this kosa,

leading to manifestation and birth....ONS...Tony.

[Guest guest]

Thank you Tony-Ji:

 

Being aware of this is the real key. However, if one gets trapped in

the duality and then it starts creating the diffusion of confusion.

 

May be that is the reason why our sages gave a loud and clear

warning "andhaM tamaH pravishnti".

 

Regards,

 

Dr. Yadu

 

 

 

 

-- In advaitin, "Peter Merriott" <not_2@b...> wrote:

> Thank you, Tony. .

>

> Peter

>

>

> Tony OClery [aoclery]

> 09 April 2005 20:49

> advaitin

> Re: Anandamaya-kosa or the causal body

>

>

>

>

> advaitin, "Peter Merriott" <not_2@b...>

wrote:

> > Dear 'all',

> >

> > I hope it is alright to ask a question that is not part of our

topic

> of

> > inquiry? Would our learned members please comment on why the

> > Anandamaya-Kosa is sometimes referred to as the Causal Body? Are

> there any

> > scriptural references to substantiate this?

> >

> > Many thanks,

> >

> > Peter

>

> Namaste,

>

> Quite simply Ignorance is Bliss, and the cause of all this illusion

> and delusion................ONS...Tony.

[Guest guest]

hariH OM!

 

i always try to include in my posts that whatever views i hold could

very well be wrong. this is not only true in of itself, but it also--

and more importantly--prevents the ahankara (ego-mind) from getting

trapped by ANY form of ideation, as well as avails my having an open

mind to and respect for other's viewpoints. as ramana said, even the

concept and method of advaita itself must be relinquished at the

threshold of mosksha, lest you be trapped by a thought when ready to

enter a place where thoughts are not invited!

 

bearing this in mind, i respectfully disagree with tonyji that

ignorance (avidya) is the cause of *any* of the koshas. avidya is

the cause of the idea that the ego-mind or jiva is *separate* from

other jivas.

 

the cause of the manifestation of jivas or jivatmas is *desire* or

mayashakthi inhering in seed form as mulaprakrit in brahman Itself!

 

brahman's leela is a wondrous and *beautiful* miracle.. and to

renounce it is to renounce the will inhering in brahman. we must

always keep in mind the mahavakya: "all this, verily, is brahman."

in my view, to ignore this is a grave mistake. simply because it

sets up an internal combative dynamic. where one is found to be

constantly resisting that which sensually affects them. therefore,

one is forced to constantly define and then discard the events of the

world as well as the world itself as an illusion. the whole process

becomes an unnecessary drudgery. a calculated waste of energy. this

is really nihilism and not advaita (nonduality between not only the

popular idea between atman and brahman but also between matter and

spirit; between what is "above" and "below"). the approach of

advaita requires little and eventually no effort at all.

 

another important point, as has been alluded to by many sages, is the

fact that one cannot *live* [the nirguna aspect of] advaita. (in

this same vein, the ajativada doctrine is only applicable upon the

breakthrough into Self-realization itself, as mentioned in the first

paragraph!) this further confirms the unavoidability of apprehending

the world with not only repect, but honor and appreciation, and

eventually *celebration*. ramana, when he was dying and giving his

final darshan to his friends (some call them devotees, he saw them

all as jnanis!), had tears of sadness in his eyes. not joy, sadness,

as many who saw him, testified. why? the answer becomes clear when

the true nature of advaitam is grasped.

 

namaste,

frank

 

_______________

 

advaitin, "Peter Merriott" <not_2@b...> wrote:

> Thank you, Tony. Humorous and insightful all in the one sentence.

I would

> also welcome any other comments our friends might care to offer.

>

> Peter

> advaitin, "Peter Merriott" <not_2@b...>

wrote:

> > Would our learned members please comment on why the

> > Anandamaya-Kosa is sometimes referred to as the Causal Body? Are

> there any scriptural references to substantiate this?

> >

> > Many thanks,

> >

> > Peter

>

> Namaste,

>

> Quite simply Ignorance is Bliss, and the cause of all this illusion

> and delusion................ONS...Tony.

[Guest guest]

Hi Peter,

 

The innermost sheath of bliss is equated to the ignorance of deep sleep.

Upon awakening from this 'no-thing-ness', the whole world apparently springs

into existence. Hence 'causal'? The subject is discussed in the Taittiriya

Upanishad section II, though I don't think the actual concept 'causal' is

specifically mentioned. The bliss sheath is also referred to in

Mundakopanishad II.2.

 

Best wishes,

 

Dennis

 

 

Message: 3

Sat, 9 Apr 2005 17:34:37 +0100

"Peter Merriott" <not_2

Anandamaya-kosa or the causal body

 

Dear 'all',

 

I hope it is alright to ask a question that is not part of our topic of

inquiry? Would our learned members please comment on why the

Anandamaya-Kosa is sometimes referred to as the Causal Body? Are there any

scriptural references to substantiate this?

 

Many thanks,

 

Peter

[Guest guest]

Thank you Dennis and Tony...

 

.... for the pointers. It is obviously connected to Karana Sarira

(cause/causal sheath). I just wondered about these two together Anandamaya

Kosa (bliss sheath) and Causal Sheath and thinking perhaps there was

something I was misunderstanding, or that two different systems of thought

and terminology had been joined together erroneously. I will look for any

commentary on this by Sankara.

 

Thanks again,

 

Peter

 

 

Tony OClery [aoclery]

10 April 2005 22:44

advaitin

Re: Anandamaya-kosa or the causal body

 

 

 

 

advaitin, "Peter Merriott" <not_2@b...> wrote:

> Thank you, Tony. Humorous and insightful all in the one sentence.

I would

> also welcome any other comments our friends might care to offer.

>

> Peter

Namaste, Peterji,

 

It is averred the seeds in potential form are stored in this kosa,

leading to manifestation and birth....ONS...Tony.

[Guest guest]

advaitin, "Peter Merriott" <not_2@b...> wrote:

> Thank you Dennis and Tony...

>

> ... for the pointers. It is obviously connected to Karana Sarira

> (cause/causal sheath). I just wondered about these two together

Anandamaya

> Kosa (bliss sheath) and Causal Sheath and thinking perhaps there

was

> something I was misunderstanding, or that two different systems of

thought

> and terminology had been joined together erroneously. I will look

for any

> commentary on this by Sankara.

>

> Thanks again,

>

> Peter

Namaste Peterji,

 

Sankara seemed to consider the causal as nescience.......Here is

page that may help you..............ONS...Tony.

 

Kosas – Sheaths (Pancha- kosas)

>From `Vedanta Treatise'

By Sri A. Parthasarthy

Vedanta Life Institute, Mumbai.

 

The structure of man can be divided into five material layers

enveloping Atman (indwelling soul). Atman is the core of your

personality. It is represented by the mystic symbol of AUM

(pronounced OM). The five layers of matter are like five

concentric circles around the symbol. They are called sheaths

or KOSAS in Sanskrit. The five sheaths (pancha-kosas) are:

 

Food sheath (Anna-maya kosa)

 

Vital-Air sheath (Prana-maya kosa)

 

Mental sheath (Mana-maya kosa)

 

Intellectual sheath (Vignana-maya kosa)

 

Bliss sheath (Ananda-maya kosa)

 

Food sheath

 

Food sheath is the physical body. The five organs of perception and

the five organs of action are a part of it. It is called food sheath

because it is caused by food, maintained by food; and finally ends

up as food.

 

Vital-Air sheath

 

There are five faculties functioning within you. They correspond to

the five physiological functions. They are called the five Pranas.

Together they constitute the vital-air sheath. They have been given

that name because they are related directly to air you breathe.

 

Faculty of perception (prana): is the functioning of the five senses

as seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching.

 

Faculty of excretion (apana): throws out, evacuates

excreta of the body such as faeces, urine, sperms, sputum,

perspiration etc.

 

Faculty of digestion (samana): digests food received by the stomach.

 

Faculty of circulation (vyana); distributes digested food to

different parts of the body through blood stream.

 

Faculty of thought-absorption (udana): takes in fresh knowledge.

 

These five faculties (pranas) are sharp and clear when you are

young. As you get older the pranas lose their strength and vitality.

That explains why a ripe old man can hardly see, hear etc. His

faculties of excretion, digestion and circulation become very weak.

His capacity to absorb and accept new thoughts and ideas is reduced

to the bare minimum.

 

Vital-Air sheath is subtler than food sheath. It controls the food

sheath. When your pranas function properly your physical body

remains healthy and strong. And when they slacken and work

inefficiently the body is adversely affected.

 

Mental sheath

 

The mental sheath is the mind. Mind consists of passions and

emotions, feelings and impulses. It is full of likes and dislikes.

Mental-sheath controls vital-air and food sheaths. For instance,

when the mind is disturbed, the physiological functions (pranas) and

the physical body are affected.

 

Intellectual sheath

 

Intellectual sheath is the intellect. It functions as thinking,

reflecting, reasoning, discriminating, judging, etc. It analyses

and distinguishes between pairs of opposites. It controls the

above three sheaths.

 

Bliss sheath

 

Bliss sheath consists of Vasanas alone. When you are in deep sleep

i.e. dreamless sleep you are in bliss sheath. When you cross the

bliss sheath and move to other sheaths you experience the dream and

waking states of consciousness. Vasanas are therefore unmanifest in

deep sleep while they are manifest in the form of thought in the

dream and actions in the waking state. Consequently you experience

mental agitations, be they great or small, as long as you remain in

dream and waking states. When however you enter the state of deep

sleep all your mental agitations cease and you experience

undisturbed peace and bliss. Hence it is that this sheath is called

bliss sheath. But the bliss experienced in deep sleep is relative.

It is not to be confused with the absolute bliss of Self-realisation.

 

The five sheaths enumerated above may also be classified under three

different headings viz. gross body, subtle body and causal body.

Food sheath and the gross portion of vital-air sheath together

constitute the gross body. The subtle portion of vital-air sheath

combined with mental and intellectual sheaths form the subtle body.

While the gross body is made up of gross matter, the subtle body is

constituted of passions, desires, emotions, feelings and thoughts.

Bliss sheath is the causal body consisting of Vasanas alone.

 

Your causal body is the storehouse of all your impressions and

latent energies in you, all your Vasanas. When this hidden material

in the causal body expresses itself as feelings and thoughts it

takes the form of your subtle body. The same material works out as

perceptions and actions in the gross body. Let the causal body be

instilled with the suggestion of health, the subtle body will

entertain thoughts of health and the gross body is bound to be

healthy. Let the causal body be saturated with the suggestion of

godhead, the subtle body will revel in the thought of godhead, the

man is bound to be godly. A man is the architect of his own

personality inasmuch as it is his own causal body that is

responsible for his behaviour, movements and environments.

 

The substratum of your causal, subtle and gross bodies is

your real Self.

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