An Introduction to the Five Koshas
From a Yogic perspective, the whole human being, or body/energy/mind complex, is divided into five parts.
Known as the Koshas (meaning ‘sheaths’), each sheath covers, overlays and obscures the more subtle sheath beneath. These levels not only describe the whole spectrum of the human existence, they also provide a framework for human spiritual evolution.
When thinking of the whole human being divided in this way, it is also vital to remember that the body is a system. Like any system, what affects one sheath (either positively or negatively) will affect the other layers of being in some way too.
Annamaya Kosha – Physical Body
Pranamaya Kosha – Energy Body
Manomaya Kosha – Mental Body
Vijnamaya Kosha – Wisdom Body
Anandamaya Kosha – Bliss Body
Annamaya Kosha
The Physical Body – ‘Anna’ = Food
As this is the vehicle in which we move around, we nurture and care for this kosha so it helps to give us joy in life and supports our experience of the other Koshas. The Yoga practises that most nurture this Kosha are the Yoga postures (asanas) providing overall general fitness, stress relief, flexibility, toning, balance, strengthening and relaxation.
Pranamaya Kosha
The Energy Body – ‘Prana’ = Energy
Prana energises all the Koshas and is the vital force that permeates all matter, including human beings. The yogis view Pranamaya Kosha as an entity in itself that not only takes up the same space as the physical body, but overlaps it. This energy (pranic) body consists of more than just the energy produced from the body’s cells burning glucose, but also from food, the breath, water and the universe itself. Prana is said to flow through the body within energy channels called ‘nadis’. The three most prominent nadis are thought to flow through the spinal column and are called ‘ida’, ‘pingala’ and ‘sushumna’. Where these nadis intersect is where the chakras or ‘pranic vortexes’ are located.
Ida is said to be associated with:
The mental force
Creativity
The right brain
The left nostril
Lunar energy
The feminine aspect.
Pingala with:
Physical activity
Solar energy
The left brain
The right nostril
Our masculine aspect
Sushumna becomes active when ida and pingala are balanced and this is the ideal time for meditation. There are also areas in the body where prana serves different functions and is known under different names:
Udana – head, arms and legs
Prana – chest
Samana – upper abdomen
Apana – lower abdomen and pelvis
Vyana – whole body – used to ‘top up’ the others
Yoga postures affect pranamaya kosha by helping to remove energy blockages as well as balancing and increasing energy. Pranayama practices also work to balance and build awareness of energy in the body.
Manomaya Kosha
The Mental Body – ‘Mana’ = Mind
At the level of manomaya kosha, the mind is operating at a fairly basic instinctual level. The basic desires of the individual are obtaining food, protection from danger, finding a mate and nursing the offspring – this is regardless of whether the individual is a human being or an animal. The difference with the human mind is that we also have the capacity for higher levels of thought which may enable us to make better decisions, experience better feeling responses and behave better, too.
Manomaya kosha has four parts to it that are designed to work as a team to get the job done:
Manas – the instinctive mind
Ahamkara – the sense of ‘I’-ness – ‘me’ is separate from ‘that’
Chitta – memory helps us to decide how to respond to a particular situation
Buddhi – the lower levels of the intellectual mind. At this level of mind, Buddhi is assisting us to make better decisions in our interactions with the world. Buddhi actually operates all the way up to the higher levels of mind experienced by Vijnanamaya Kosha and Anandamaya Kosha.
Vijnanamaya Kosha
The Knowing Body – ‘Vijnana’ = Knowing
Within this Kosha, the emotions are no longer functioning at the crude level of exploitation and survival but at the more evolved levels of joy, love, compassion, accomplishment, security and mutually fulfilling relationships. This is the level of higher Buddhi – intuition, wisdom, good intellect, psychic abilities and higher knowledge. Chitta and ahamkara are also operating at higher levels with the bulk of the ‘dross’ or useless impressions cleared from the memory and the sense of ‘I’-ness which has developed a sense of oneness with all things.
With Yoga practice, we are constantly accessing and developing vijnanamaya kosha by working on the lower three koshas to reduce our identification with them and to eliminate the ways we are blocked by them.
However, we can work directly with this kosha by keeping it engaged with plenty of good activities like learning and mixing with others who are functioning at the higher mind level.
In Western management theory, Abraham Maslow labelled such people as ‘self-actualised’ and identified the following characteristics within them:
Objective – accepting circumstances just as they are and the capacity to handle uncertainty
Accepting – themselves and others just as they are
Honest, humorous and simple
Work for others – committed to meaningful work in which they are problem-centred rather than self-centred
Independent – value their autonomy and privacy
Relationships – establish deep and satisfying interpersonal relationships with a few compatible people
Human welfare – having affection and empathy for all humanity
Resist enculturation – resist conforming to the prevailing culture without being purposely unconventional
Creative – and original in thought
Democratic – valuing the rights of others
Anandamaya Kosha
The Bliss Body – ‘Ananda’ = Bliss
The blissful state that is ananda is not simply an emotion, but an experience of love, peace and ecstasy from being in contact with the ultimate consciousness. Each of us already is this highest level of consciousness. However, as we discussed at the beginning of our look at the Koshas, this higher level of consciousness is obscured by the dramas of everyday life as we get stuck in the pattern of experiencing life through the lower Koshas. It is up to us to transcend these day-to-day dramas and realise our higher consciousness.
Sources:
From: Vivekananda, Dr. Rishi “Practical Yoga Psychology”. Yoga Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar, India. 2005. pp. 23-35
