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What are the five sheaths?
पञ्च कोशाः के ?
अन्नमयः प्राणमयः मनोमयः विज्ञानमयः आनन्दमयश्चेति ।
pañca kośāḥ ke ?
annamayaḥ prāṇamayaḥ manomayaḥ vijñānamayaḥ ānandamayaśceti .
What are the five kośā or sheaths? They are annamaya, prāṇamaya, manomaya, vijñānamayaḥ and ānandamaya kośās.
Explanation of kośā
- A kośā or sheath covers a sword, without affecting the sword
- Here, a sheath refers to anything external to the Self
- Any sheath is finite and is subject to modifications. E.g. the food sheath is born, grows and eventually dies
- By itself, a sheath is not a problem. It’s the identification with the sheath that’s a problem.
- When the ego mistakenly identifies with the sheath, it assumes the sheath as its own. E.g. by identifying with the food sheath, the ego thinks that it is the body that grows old
- By removal of its misidentification with each sheath, the ego realizes its true nature as the Self free from all identifications.
What is the food sheath?
अन्नमयः कः ?
अन्नरसेनैव भूत्वा अन्नरसेनैव वृद्धिं प्राप्य अन्नरूपपृथिव्यां
यद्विलीयते तदन्नमयः कोशः स्थूलशरीरम् ।
annamayaḥ kaḥ ?
annarasenaiva bhūtvā annarasenaiva vṛddhiṃ prāpya annarūpapṛthivyāṃ
yadvilīyate tadannamayaḥ kośaḥ sthūlaśarīram .
Characteristics of the food sheath
- It is a modification of food
- It is born from the essence of food, grows by the essence of food and merges into the earth
- The earth (soil) again generates food and the cycle continues
- The food sheath is also known as the gross body
- Identification with the body causes the ego to assume that it is finite, and so we try to extend the life of the body, cover up defects of the body, try to make the body infinite and no matter what we do, we do not succeed. Furthermore, we remain discontent.