Guest guest Posted April 17, 1999 Report Share Posted April 17, 1999 The Five Sheaths The five sheaths are the five coverings of an embodied soul, which determine the personality and nature of individual consciousness. They are: Annamaya kosha--The food sheath, composed of gross matter which constitutes the gross body. Pranamaya kosha--The five vital airs and five organs of action: a)Five vital airs, or vayus are: prana, apana, samana, udana, and vyana. b)Five organs of action (karmendriyas) are: speaking, handling, locomotion, excretion, and generation. Manomaya kosha--The mind and the five senses of perception. a)The mind here refers to the inner psychic instrument (antahkarana), ego or I-ness (ahamkara), and and subconscious or instinctive mind (manas). b)The five senses of perception are--smelling, tasting, seeing, feeling by touch, and hearing. Vijnanamaya kosha--The intellect (Buddhi)* Anandamaya kosha--the bliss sheath, composed of ignorance*. *Tough listed seperately, antahkarana, ahamkara, manas, and buddhi are all part of the four-fould psychic instrument. *Here ananda does not mean the bliss of union with the Divine, but rather, the extent of ignorance of one's true nature. These are the coverings of the bound soul which make up the individual, that is to say, the bound, finite soul. This is under the veil of Maya, as evidenced by the suffix of the same on each primary word. When the individual sacrifices himself in the fire of Bhairava, these are burned away, and yield to divine Consciousness. Mahabhakti M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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