Who am I?

The Five Layers of Being

With a global population of 7.2 billion, the human species seems to be the most dominant of all and we managed to reach the peak of our glory in just a very short amount of time. We have traversed the lands, we are exploring the waters and often we set out to venture across the mysterious, gargantuan space. We have manifested every imagination, every drawing in the book and made it a reality. Our technology keeps on growing and ever expanding. We have understood mathematics and reached heights in science; we have split something as minuscule as an atom and we have created something as gigantic as the pyramids. We have asked every question that our mind could comprehend; we have answered as many as we could and still seek the rest. One such question that still remains and have been intriguing people over all ages; Who am I? Who are we? What makes us human? What makes me, me?? What makes you, you??? What is the basic difference between you and me-- How we look? But then, I could get a plastic surgery to look exactly like you. But that won’t make me, 'you'. What is it then? Maybe its my memories? My childhood? How I grew up and where I studied? My friends and my family. But what if I had an accident and lost all my memory? What if I couldn't even recall who I am? Total amnesia. Who will I be then? Am I still 'me' or am I 'nobody'? And what if something even worse happened? I got a plastic surgery and on my way back home, I had an accident and lost my mind and my memories. I won’t remember who I was. I wouldn't even look like I used to before. My friends and family won't recognize me. I won't recognize myself. Nobody would! So, who am I now? Am I still 'me' or am I 'nobody' now? Or am I somebody 'new' now?

I think everyone will agree with me that I would still be 'me'. So then, I am clearly not my body and not my mind either. But that is all the identity I have. If that is taken away; what am I left with? Who am I? We all have our own answer to this, and we all are spot on. There can be many layers of truth. Just because you are correct, doesn’t necessarily mean that the other is wrong. It is all about perspective. Taking as many of them as I could into quick considerations, I would like to try to give my answer to the question in matter.                             

                           
A human being has many layers or dimensions of existence; and yet none of these is the true nature of it. You may have heard about the soul and probably are familiar with its various characteristics; some may not even believe that there exists something like a “soul" which resides within all of us. But, it is there alright and its also supposed to be the main controller of our body and mind; sadly, many do not even acknowledge its existence.  In many cultures it is known as the spirit, atman or the ruh (also, ruah). In Sanskrit, it is termed as jivatman, literally meaning the incarnated soul.

A soul is which incarnates in the physical world, while the body is only a vehicle to experience karma. It is not because there is a body- it has a soul. Instead, because there is a soul, there is-

·         The Physical Body

·         The Energy Body

·         The Mental Body (instinct or individual mind)

·         The Higher- Mind Body (intellectual or conscious mind) &

·         The Bliss Body 

These five bodies or sheaths (kosha- as they are referred to in yogic traditions) are utilized by the soul on its journey to neutralize its karma ("action” or “doing”; what we sow, we reap) and mature. So, upon birth, a soul picks up a set of these sheaths and begins its journey for one lifetime at the end of which, when the sheaths are damaged and can no longer function properly, the soul simply moves on to the next set of sheaths and starts another life and on this goes until it completes its journey. The soul exists in the astral dimension which is similar to the physical dimension, but it doesn't have any physical matter in it. People who have activated certain chakras and resolved karmic lessons might be able to see into this dimension (they are often called clairvoyants). The soul itself is immortal in nature and it cannot resolve its karma until it is in the physical world, as karma only exists here. Let's take a quick glance at the five sheaths of the soul...

1. The Physical Body: This is the first body which exists in the first dimension of human existence. It is where everything physical exists. It is where you are reading this blog now. It is called the Annamaya Kosha in Sanskrit, which can be translated as the food body (the term "maya" means illusion, and all of these bodies has been referred to as an illusion because it is not the true nature of who we are, and it is just a vehicle for the soul). The physical body is quite literally the food body because it is made up entirely of what we have consumed over the years of our existence and which is a part of our body now.

2. The Energy Body: It is known as the Pranamaya Kosha in Sanskrit and translates to the prana body (the term "prana" means life force and is aka chi, ki, mana, pneuma, odic force, etc). Pranic energy is always in motion in existence. It is all around us. It is in the living, as much as it is in the non-living. In our energy body, it is circulated all around by the various chakras. There are a total of 114 chakras in the human system; 2 of which lie outside the physical body. These chakras regulate the flow of energy and when they cannot function properly, it may manifest as diseases in the physical body. Pranic healers and reiki practitioners are trained to heal the energy body which also heals the physical body (much faster than generally possible through medication) as all the sheaths are interdependent.

3. The Mental Body (Thought Body): It is known as the Manomaya Kosha or the mind body; however, its proper translation would be "a sheath made of thoughts". And that is what it essentially is. Thoughts are made up mostly of information and memory that we process in our day to day lives through our sense organs. The human mind can be specifically categorized into 4 distinct categories, each unique in its own. These are: Buddhi (intellect), Manas (memory and intelligence), Ahankara (ego) & Chitta (cosmic intelligence or divine knowledge). Manas constitutes the manomaya kosha along with our five primary senses and it is mostly related to what modern science terms as the subconscious mind and also some aspects of the conscious mind.

4. The Higher-Mind Body (Knowledge Body): It is known as the Vijñānmaya Kosha; jñāna means knowledge and it is also known as the knowledge body as it is the seat of intellect (Buddhi) or the aspect of mind which discriminates and determines; “The power of discernment and judgement”. But it is way more than that. It holds many higher mental faculties including conscience and will. It also serves as the link between the individual mind and the universal mind. If this sheath is developed to its highest potential, one can access the universal mind (some call it Akashi records) and cosmic intelligence flows into the conscious mind of an individual. You may not have seen Qatar, but it can show you exactly how the streets of the country are! You can know what is written in a book without ever opening it. It is not bound by time- past, present or future. The highest potential of a human being is beyond description. We have yet to scratch the surface of immense possibilities that lie dormant within each one of us.
 

5. The Bliss Body: The Bliss Body aka the Anandamaya Kosha, where ananda means a state which is free from any sort of happiness or grief, and there exists only unconditional love and bliss for all elements of existence. It is hard to explain until not experienced by the individual. It happens to be the inner most kosha and is closest to the soul; some scriptures have noted that the soul carries this sheath along with it even after death. This sheath is mostly undeveloped in the majority of the people and only great sages, saints and mystics who have realized the true self are able to identify this sheath and make it a part of their daily lives. It is not possible to experience this blissful state all the time until the necessary inner work has been done. One who carries ananda in life, will be untouched by everything. They will be blissful in prosperity or poverty, with a good person or a bad one, in opportunities or problems, even in battle, whatever it is; life or death; the person will go through life blissfully.

Within these five sheaths, every individual experiences life in its many colours.  We shall discuss more about each of these sheaths in details as there are many more aspects of existence still to be revealed. Also a note specifically, 

Here, it is written that every soul has these sheaths; however, it has not been mentioned that you are the soul. The beautiful process of existence is so simple, yet it is the most complex of all. Be aware.

ॐ