Athma - One's Real Self

Tattva Bodha - 5

The sthula sareera of an individual is matter only as the Pancha Bhuthas, of whose gross matter it is made of, are matter only.  The sukshma sareera is also matter only as it is made of subtle matter of these material Pancha Bhuthas.  The karana sareera is also matter only as it is nothing but the seed of these two bodies.  So all the three bodies of an individual are matter only, and do not contain a sentient substance. But the human body is sentient, conscious of itself and the environs and is capable of intelligently reacting to the environs and not inert like a table or chair which are matter only and not sentient.  From this we infer that there must be an independent inner sentient entity, Consciousness principle, lending sentience to sukshma, stula sareeras. That invisible inner entity, the Consciousness principle, is called Athma. Tattva Bhodha introduces Athma with these words:

स्थूलसूक्ष्मकारणशरीराद्व्यतिरिक्तः पञ्चकोशातीतः सन् अवस्थात्रयशाक्षी सच्चिदानन्दस्वरूपः सन् यस्तिष्ठति स आत्मा।(sthula sukshma karana sareerad vyathiriktaha panchakosatheethaha san avasthathraya sakshi sachidananda svarupaha san yas thishtathi sa Athma)

That which is other than the Sthula, Sukshma, Karana sareeras, beyond the five Kosas, the witness of the three Avasthas and of the nature of Sat, Chit and Anandha (Existence, Knowledge, Bliss) is Athma.

We had seen earlier that sentient Athma is different from three sareeras. Since five kosas are only the three sareeras seen from another angle Athma is beyond the five kosas as well. Avasthas relate to the sareeras, and Athma which is different from sareeras, exists only as a witness to the avasthas. These descriptions tell what Athma is not.  What is not Athma is referred to as anathma. So Sareera Thriam, Kosa Panchakam and Avastha Thriam all come under anathma. After describing Athma negatively by telling what it is not through the listing of the anathmas, the text proceeds to describe positively Athma as Sat, Chit, Anandha. They are not three separate attributes but the nature of this Consciousness principle, Athma, described in three different ways. 

Swami Paramatmananda lists the properties of Consciousness as follows:
1)    Consciousness is not a part, product or property of the body. It is not a part like hair, nails etc.; it is not a property like birth, growth etc., and it is not a product like enzymes, cells etc.
2)    Consciousness is an invisible, independent entity that pervades the body and makes it alive.  Kena Upanishad describes in Mantra 2 thus:

श्रोत्रस्यश्रोत्रं मनसो मनो यद् वाचोहवाचं स उ प्राणस्यप्राणः। (strosya strotram manaso mano yad vachohavacham sa u pranasya pranaha)

चक्षुषश्चक्षुः (chakshushas chakshuhu)

Ear of the ear, mind of the mind, speech of speech, prana of prana and eye of eye.  

That  means Consciousness is the power behind all the faculties of the body that makes them carry out their respective functions.
3)    This Consciousness is not limited by the boundaries of the body. It is boundless or infinite.  When associated with the upadhi of body it is called Athma; when associated with the whole Universe it is called Brahman.   This concept of Athma as Brahman is something unique to Advaita Vedanta and from this flows property 4.
4)    Consciousness will continue to survive the body medium even after the body perishes.
5)    The surviving Consciousness is not recognisable by us because the medium through which it was recognised is absent.  Through its reflection in the anthakaranam, Chithabasa, Consciousness lends sentiency to the human body. At the time of death, as sukshma sareera with Chithabasa leaves the body, the medium that reflected Consciousness is not available and so the surviving Consciousness is not recognisable.

This can be illustrated with the analogy of electricity.   Electricity passing through filament of the bulb makes it glow, which in turns makes the bulb shine with light and illumine the environs. Electricity is one and it makes aglow bulbs of all sizes and shapes and powers. So we can say:
1)    Electricity is not part, product, property of the bulb.
2)    It is an invisible entity that pervades the filament and make the bulb shine.
3)    It is not limited to the boundaries of the bulb.  It is infinite.
4)  It will continue to survive the bulb medium even after the bulb is fused out.
5)    The surviving electricity is not recognisable as the medium for recognition is not there.

The text defines Sat, Chit and Ananda as the inherent nature of Athma.  “Sat” stands for Existence i.e. pure existence.  This existence principle is not bound by time and is valid for all the three periods of time, past, present and future. So it is eternal.  Athma being eternal and unchanged in the three periods of time is indicated by ‘Sat’.  “Chit” stands for Knowledge, not knowledge about anything but Absolute Knowledge that illuminates for one  the objects of experience in the outer and inner world.  The Consciousness principle illuminates all it comes across without any preference and irrespective of their nature and quality.  The Consciousness being boundless or infinite is complete, पू्र्णः purnaha.  Purnatvam is total bliss as nothing is lacking and no shortness or deficiency is felt.  This is the “குறையொன்றுமில்லை” state that Sri Andal attributes to Lord Govinda in Thiruppavai verse 28.

This Athma is our real self.  It makes the Anthakaranam  sentient through its manifestation in the Anthakaranam as its reflection, called Chithabasa. The sentient Anthakaranam in turn makes the whole body sentient. One mistakes the ego as the real self, not knowing about the invisible inner self that has lent sentiency to the ego itself  due to which the ego identifies with actions, pleasures sorrows, emotions etc. and claims doership and enjoyership.  We can say that Athma is the ego’s Ego on the analogy of Kenopanishad Mantra we saw earlier.  The ego is only the imposter “I” and the Real “I”, is Athma, that cannot be known directly as it is invisible and is not available for perception by the senses or for conceptualisation by intellect.  The goal of Self enquiry is to discover the Real “I”, Athma, rejecting  all anathmas and claim identification with it as one’s Self, disowning the imposter, ego, and through it  disclaim the body-mind  complex as “me” 

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Avastha Thriam – Three states of Experience

Tattva Bodha – 4

The existence of a human being is divided into three states of experience. These are Jagrat avastha (waking state), Swapna avastha (dream state) and Sushupthi avastha (deep sleep). During Jagrat avastha, one is aware of one’s body, senses and anthakaranam and with their help one is aware of the external physical world of objects, persons and events and also of one’s thoughts and emotions.  During Swapna avastha one is not aware of the body and senses and only partially aware of anthakaranam with whose help one projects an inner world of objects, persons and events which is subjective and not open to others and which is as real to dreamer as the external world was at the time of Jagrat avastha. In the Sushupthi avastha one is not aware of anthakaranam also and one experiences total ignorance and the bliss born of ignorance which one recognises only when one wakes up.  With this brief introduction to three states we shall now see them in a little more detail now.

Jagrat avastha, the waking state

During the waking state all the three bodies sthula, sukshma and karana sareeras are active. Stula sareera is active making interaction with external world possible.  For contacting sensory objects and reacting to contacts, sthula sareera needs sense organs and anthakaranam. So sukshma sareera is active.  Sukshma sareera always goes with karana sareera and so all three are active. In fact waking state is the only state where all the three sareeras are active, sthula sareera in particular.  Since anthakaranam is active, the waker enjoys pleasure and pain and the consequent emotional reactions like happiness, sorrow, anger etc. due to the interaction with the external world. As one is fully functional the waker has a technical name Viswa which means fully complete.

Swapna avastha, the dream state

During the dream state, the sthula sareera  is not operational and sukshma sareera is only partially operational as besides prana, only the chitham, the memory faculty of anthakaranam is functional So the dreamer is not alive to the external world but experiences a new internal world of people, objects and events that is projected by the chitham from a cocktail mix-up of impressions stored in the conscious and subconscious chitham during the waking state.  Anthakaranam functions like a sophisticated video recorder in the waking state recording in chitham not only the sound and form but also smell, taste and sensation of touch and also of emotions including imaginations, phobias, etc.

In the dream state, chitham functions like a video player playing out a new script crafted from the stored data, which the dreamer experiences as a subjective world. This is very much real to the dreamer and to the dreamer a dream is not a dream in dream.  Only when he wakes up he realizes that it is all a dream and not real. This internal experience is limited to the dreamer only and he cannot let anybody share it even if he wants to in the dream. Why, he himself cannot continue the dream even if he wants to if dream is broken or if he becomes awake. 

For the dream world, the chitham is the srishti, sthithi laya karanam for chitham projects the dream world, sustains it and also dissolves it in itself.  It is also the upadhana karanam, material cause, as well as the nimitha karanam, efficient cause for the dream world.  For chitham creates the dream world out of itself only. One may wonder as to how, many of the things experienced in dream had not been encountered in real life.  Because it may be of things read, imagined, desired or seen in a movie or T.V. show in the waking experience, all jumbled up in a random order, or of objects connected to them.  For instance you may dream about Everest, if you had read about a trip to Mount Kailas.  Or the dream may be about a monkey wearing a bikini carrying an umbrella that may be a jumble from memories of a street performer with monkey, a bikini clad model seen in a T.V. show and an umbrella you had desired to buy.  Rarely the previous janma’s memory gets projected in the dream. Seeing exactly future events to come, in dream is not dreaming but it is the extra sensory power in operation. The dreamer has a technical name Taijasa, meaning internally illumined, that is what the dream world is for the dreamer.

Sushuthi Avastha, deep sleep state

During deep sleep state, sthula sareera is not operational and sukshma sareera except prana is also not operational and only karana sareera is operational. Anthakaranam which was fully operational in waking state and partially operational in dream state is also not fully operational in deep sleep state with the result the sleeper neither experiences the objective external world nor the subjective internal world of dreams.  There is total blankness and an agitation-free peace and relaxation that comes of anthakaranam going blank. This blankness is the blankness of total ignorance.  So it is called सुख अज्ञान अनुभवः(sukha ajnana anubhavaha), an experience of relaxing ignorance. This experience is recorded in the dormant anthkaranam which at that time stands resolved. It is claimed only when one gets up, not at that time of deep sleep. The reaction is “I don’t know anything. I slept well. I feel relaxed”.  And blankness is not vacuum for there is an entity that stands witness to this state of peace and ignorance and makes possible the recollection of relaxation and ignorance in this state.  This entity is our Real Self, Athma. Since in this state there is no tension, no stress and no pain, everybody loves to be in it.  The sleeper in deep sleep state has a technical name Prajna, which means blissfully ignorant.

So the same individual, Jiva, has three names, Viswa, Taijasa and Prajna depending upon the current state of experience. It is similar to one person being called father, husband and son depending upon the state of relationship of the person calling. But the Real Self of the Jiva is neither of these and it is Athma, the invisible, immortal, inner Self, as Swami Paramathmananda beautifully puts it.

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Kosa Panchakam - Five layers of personality

Tattva Bodha - 3

In the previous blog “ Sareerathriam – Three bodies” we saw that each individual is constituted of three bodies, Sthula, Sukshma,  and Karana sareeras.  This division as three bodies was from matter angle; gross, subtle and causal that they were composed of.  In this blog we shall see the same three bodies divided into five layers based on another functional angle. These layers are called Kosas. Kosa means a sheath and it is as if they were the sheaths encasing the Athma.  I said as if because Athma is all-pervasive and it cannot be encased either by the three bodies or by the five kosas. The kosas are  Annamaya, Pranamaya, Manomaya, Vijnanamaya and Anandamaya in the increasing order of subtlety.  Before going into the study of kosas let us see how they stand in relation to the three bodies.

Annamaya kosa the grossest corresponds to the Sthula sareera and the Anandamaya kosa, the subtlest to Karana sareera. So there is no difference between Annamaya kosa and gross body and also between Anandamaya kosa and causal body. It is as if each one of them is having two different names from different standpoints. The remaining three kosas Pranamaya kosa, Manomaya kosa and Vijnanamaya kosa are the three functional sub-divisions of the remaining body, Sukshma sareera.  Now we shall see each one of these kosas separately.

Annamaya Kosa

Maya means modification and annamaya means modification of food.  Annamaya kosa as gross body is a product of annam, food. The foetus in the womb is sustained by the food mother takes.  Moreover its origin itself is a result of the union between father’s sperm and mother’s egg, both products of food they have taken. After birth it is sustained by food it takes and after death it becomes one with the soil to become eventually the food for others.  Being gross body, it is subject to the six modifications viz., existence, birth, growth, modification, decay and death.  Anatomical organs of the human body are the parts of annamaya kosa.  When one identifies oneself with annamaya kosa one says “ I am fair/dark, tall/short, thin/fat etc.”

Pranamaya Kosa

This can be called as the energy sheath or vital air sheath as it contains the five pranas that are vital to the body and carry out the physiological functions of the human system.  Besides the five pranas viz., Prana, Apana, Samana, Vyana and Udhana this kosa contains the five Karmendriyas viz., Tongue/Mouth, Hands, Legs, Anus/Excretory organ and Genitals. Pranas and Karmendriyas are described in the blog on Sareera Thriam. The five pranas function continuously all time all through life, naturally and involuntarily. They energise the body through their actions and the energy is expressed through the organs of action.  So pranamaya kosa represents Kriya sakthi and so long as it functions efficiently, one remains healthy and active.  Through Pranayama yogis try to control and regulate prana and through that the mind to progress in yoga to acquire Siddhis, supernatural powers. When one identifies oneself with pranamaya kosa one says “ I am hungry, thirsty etc.”

Manomaya Kosa

Manomaya kosa can also be called the mental sheath as it contains Manas of anthakaranam.  This kosa is a combination of Jnanendriyas viz Eye, Ear, Tongue, Nose and Skin, and Manas, Chitham and Ahamkara of anthakaranam. Jnanendriyas as well as chitham and Ahamkara are common to this and Vijnanamaya kosa, which is to be discussed next.  Jnanendriyas and anthakaranam are described in the blog on Sareera Thriam.  This is the seat of emotions and this is where the desires arise irrespective of one’s resources and energy; and vacillations occur in choosing between alternatives. So manomaya kosa represents Iccha sakthi. Identifying with mental sheath one says “ I am happy or sad “or one feels “I want this/that etc.”

Vijnanamaya Kosa

This can be also called the rational or knowledge sheath as it contains Buddhi of Anthakaranam, a faculty of cognition.  This kosa is a combination of Jnanendriyas and Buddhi, Chitham and Ahamkara of Anthakaranam. This represents Jnana sakthi. For an action to take place, desire must be there.   For desire to arise, knowledge must be there. For instance, if you have no knowledge of smart phone, you will not desire it.  If you do not desire, there will be no action of purchase.  Here also when Manas desires, it is evaluated by Buddhi with the help of the Chitham and a decision taken and relayed to Manas which transmits it to organs of action. Further all desires presuppose knowledge; but all desires may not result in action.  It is Buddhi that discriminates between right and wrong, possible and not possible  and decides on proper course of action. That is why in Kathopanishad it is said “बुद्धिं तु सारथिं विद्धि (Buddhim tu sarathim viddhi)”-Understand buddhi as the driver (of the body-chariot). 

Anandamaya Kosa

This kosa is also called Bliss sheath. We have seen that Anandamaya Kosa is another name for Karana Sareera and so this has also the properties of causal body. So it is in the form of undifferentiated ignorance and contains the other kosas in seed form. Deep sleep is a miniature version of pralayam for at that time the external world stands as though dissolved for the sleeper and all one’s faculties with the exception of pranas are also resolved for the time of deep sleep in this kosa.  So as memory, mind, ego, and intellect  stand resolved temporarily, one is free of past worries, present tensions and future anxieties in deep sleep state. In fact one is blissfully ignorant of everything around him and everything about himself and others. Even one is not aware that one is in sleep while sleeping.  Only when one wakes up, one is aware that one has slept.  One cannot say that one is sleeping in sleep and if one says “I am sleeping” then that one is not really sleeping. One enjoys in sleep the peace and quiet that comes of Athma Jnanam, but only here it is from total ignorance. So this bliss is "impure" bliss; born of ignorance and it is of temporary duration as it disappears when one wakes up and other kosas become active.  Ignorance and "impure" bliss constitute the Anandamaya Kosa. The suffix maya used here is in the sense of saturation and not in the sense of modification as in other kosas.

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