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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Sareera thriam - Three bodies

Tattva Bodha-2

Each and every individual has three bodies; gross, subtle and causal i.e. sthula, sukshma and karana sareeras. Sthula sareera is visible to oneself as well as to others.  Sukshma sareera is not visible to onself but one is conscious of it and it is known to him but it is neither visible nor known to others. Karana sarrera is not known or visible either to oneself or to others. Now we shall see each one of them in detail.

Sthula sareera:  

It is made out of gross elements of Pancha bhuthas i.e. space, air, fire, water and earth.  This can be seen from a few instances. The body is sustained by food from the earth and also it needs minerals like sodium and pottassium in the body for survival.  The water in the body gives it the shape. The fire in the body keeps the body temperature at 98.4 F in all environs. The air in the body helps blood circulation and the space in the body allows intake of food and water. This is the general common cause for all bodies.  But there is a special cause, visesha karanam, which is unique for each individual body and varies from individual to individual, which is Purva janma karma. The physical body in human form is itself acquired as a result of Punya karmas in the past.

This body serves as a temporary abode for Jiva for all interactions with the outside world and is a counter for experiencing pleasure, pain etc. This is the one anatomically analysed and described. It can be broadly divided into head, trunk, hands and legs. It houses the golakams, the visible external part of the physical organs. This body is subject to shad vikaras, six modifications. They are:

1. Asti (potential existence) - In the womb it exists as a foetus.
2. Jayate (birth)  - After the gestation period it emerges to experience the outer world as child.
3. Vardhte (grows) - It grows in height and weight for a time
4. Viparinamate (matures) - After adolescence, it stops growing structurally and only undergoes minor structural modifications, functioning in its peak vitality.
5. Apakshiyate (decays) - After middle age the joints weaken, limbs ache, hair whitens/falls, skin wrinkles and there is decline in all functions.
6. Vinasyati (dies) - the decline culminates in death, when the body disintegrates into the constituent elements.

Sukshma Sareera:

The general common cause is the subtle elements of Pancha bhutas.  The special cause is Purva janma karma. While the sthula sareera houses the external and internal gross physiological systems, the sukshma sareera, is the counterpart that performs all physiological functions and operates the jnanendriyas and karmendriyas.  For instance for the ear the golakam is in the sthula sareera and the hearing power operates from sukshma sareera so much so the golakam will stand as an ornamental piece only if the hearing power does not operate.  The sthula sareera will die when the sukshma sareera leaves it. So while sthula sareera is called भोगायतनं ( bhogayatanam) i.e. abode of experiences, the sukshma sareera is called  भोगसधनम् (bhoga sadhanam) i.e. instruments for the experience.  Sukshma sareera is also subject to change but it enjoys a longer life than sthula sareera as sukshma sareera is dissolved only in pralaya or at the time of Videha Mukthi.
The constituents of sukshma sareera are nineteen in number.  They are the five jnanendriyas (organs of perception), five karmendriyas (organs of action), five pranas, and the four constituents of Anthakarana. These organs represent the invisible subtle part that is the energy behind the physical anatomical organs called golakams and they operate in their respective fields only. The five jnanendriyas are:

1. Ear - the field of experience is reception of sound 
2. Eye - the field of experience is perception of forms and colours 
3. Tongue - the field of experience is cognition of taste
4. Nose - the field of experience is cognition of smell
5. Skin - the field of experience is cognition of touch 

The five karmendriyas are:

1. Tongue/Mouth - function is speech
2. Hands - function is to grasp things
3. Legs - function is locomotion
4. Anus/Excretory organ - function is elimination of waste products
5. Genitals - function is pleasure/procreation

From the above it can be seen that jnanendriyas are input organs and karmendriyas are output organs.  Let me remind once again that what is referred to here is only the functioning capacity behind the organs and not these organs as seen from outside. Those organs die with sthula sareera while these interior powers survive with sukshma sareera but their new powers will depend upon the new body acquired through karma phala.

Prana means the life force and here it means the energy generating system for the manifold functions of the body. It is generally divided into five pranas   Tattva Bodha does not enumerate them but Swami Paramatmananda has enumerated the main five pranas in his talks on Tattva-Bodha.  They are:

1. Prana - respiratory system
2. Apana - evacuavatory system
3. Vyana - circulatory system
4. Samana - digestive system 
5. Udhana - reversing system, which functions in emergency only, to throw out toxins in the internal system and at the time of death to enable sukshma sareera to pack up and part with the sthula sareera

Vedanta-sara of Sadananda lists five more pranas as enumerated by Sankhyas which are classified only as Upa-pranas by some Vedantins:

1. Naga - vomiting
2. Kurma - opening and shutting of eye-lids
3. Krukala - hunger
4. Devadutta - yawning
5. Dhananjaya - General arogya of the body

Anthakaranam is not discussed at this stage in the text.  Here also only two constituents are mentioned.  While discussing  Srishti (creation) anthakaranam is fully discussed.     Anthakaranam, the inner equipment, is a continuous flow of thought modifications (vritti) and it is classified into four according to the different function it performs.  It is like the same person being called singer, when he sings and dancer when he dances. We shall see it in its four roles briefly.  It receives the sense perceptions, cognises them on the basis of previous experiences and commands the senses to respond. It does not contact the external world directly by itself and the senses also cannot function without the intervention of the anthakaranam.  The four classifications are:

1.  Manas, the mind, the emotional, doubting faculty
2.  Buddhi, the intellect, the rational, deciding faculty
3. Chitham, the memory. the recollecting, reflecting faculty
4. Ahamkara, the ego, the 'I' notion

Karana Sareera

Karana sareera, the causal body, is the seat of all vasanas and is also the seed of the other two bodies. Swami Sivananda describes it as  "The beginningless ignorance that is indescribable" The text defines it as

अनिर्वाच्य अनादि अविध्या रूपं शरीरद्वयस्य कारणमात्रम् सत्स्वरूपाऽज्ञानं निर्विकल्पकरूपं यदस्ति तत्कारणशरीरम् (anirvachya anadhi avidhya rupam sareera dwayasya karanamatram satsvarupa ajnanam nirvikalpakarupam yadasthi tat karana sareeram)

That which is inexplicable, beginning-less, in the form of ignorance, the sole cause of the two bodies, ignorant of one's own true nature, free from duality - is the causal body

It is beginningless and it survives pralayam also but it comes to an end in videha mukthi. As it has no parts it is nirvikalpaka rupam. Ignorance of a thing one can state whether it exists or not.  But pure ignorance itself one cannot.  So it is neither sat nor asat, and is inexplicable. In short causal body is the one in the form of ignorance, which is inexplicable, which is beginning-less, which veils the Real nature of Self, which is the cause of the other two bodies and which has no parts. 

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