The Framework: Understanding Your Constitution
त्रयः शरीराः (Trayaḥ śarīrāḥ) - Three bodies
पञ्चकोशाः (Pañca-kośāḥ) - Five sheaths
Vedānta provides a detailed map of human existence, describing three bodies and five sheaths (koshas) that cover the Self like layers of an onion. Understanding this framework is essential for self-inquiry and discrimination (viveka) between what you truly are and what you are not.
The Three Bodies (Śarīra Traya)
1. Sthūla Śarīra - The Gross Body
स्थूल शरीर - The physical body
Composition:
- Made of five gross elements (pañca mahābhūtas):
- Earth (pṛthvī) - solidity
- Water (jala) - liquidity
- Fire (agni) - heat
- Air (vāyu) - motion
- Space (ākāśa) - room
Characteristics:
- Tangible and visible
- Has weight, form, and color
- Subject to birth, growth, decay, death
- Requires food and maintenance
- Experienced in waking state
Function:
- Vehicle for experiencing physical world
- Tool for action (karma)
- Means of expressing consciousness
Your relationship to it:
- You are NOT this body
- You HAVE a body
- You are the awareness of the body
Evidence you’re not the body:
- You can observe your body
- Body changes constantly; you remain
- You say “my body” (possessive—implies you’re separate)
- In deep sleep, no body awareness, yet you exist
2. Sūkṣma Śarīra - The Subtle Body
सूक्ष्म शरीर - The psychological/mental body
Composition:
Made of five subtle elements (tan-mātras):
- Sound potential (śabda tan-mātra)
- Touch potential (sparśa tan-mātra)
- Form potential (rūpa tan-mātra)
- Taste potential (rasa tan-mātra)
- Smell potential (gandha tan-mātra)
Contains 19 components:
A. Five Organs of Perception (Jñānendriyas)
- Ears (śrotra) - hearing
- Skin (tvak) - touch
- Eyes (cakṣu) - seeing
- Tongue (rasana) - tasting
- Nose (ghrāṇa) - smelling
B. Five Organs of Action (Karmendriyas)
- Speech (vāk) - speaking
- Hands (pāṇi) - grasping
- Feet (pāda) - moving
- Reproductive organ (upastha) - procreating
- Excretory organ (pāyu) - eliminating
C. Five Prāṇas (Vital Airs)
- Prāṇa - inward movement (breathing in)
- Apāna - downward/outward movement (elimination)
- Samāna - equalizing (digestion, assimilation)
- Udāna - upward movement (speech, growth)
- Vyāna - pervading (circulation)
D. Four Aspects of Mind (Antaḥkaraṇa)
- Manas - Doubting, desiring mind
- Buddhi - Intellect, decision-making
- Ahaṃkāra - Ego, I-sense
- Citta - Memory, conditioning
Characteristics:
- Invisible to physical eyes but “real”
- Continues after physical death
- Carries karmic impressions (saṃskāras)
- Experienced in waking and dream states
- Transmigrates (in traditional view)
Function:
- Bridge between consciousness and physical body
- Perceives, thinks, remembers, desires
- Seat of personality and individuality
- Experiences pleasure and pain
Your relationship to it:
- You are NOT the subtle body
- You WITNESS thoughts, emotions, sensations
- You are the awareness in which mind appears
Evidence you’re not the subtle body:
- You observe your thoughts (observer ≠ observed)
- Thoughts come and go; you remain
- You say “my mind,” “my thoughts”
- Even in deepest meditation, awareness remains when thoughts cease
3. Kāraṇa Śarīra - The Causal Body
कारण शरीर - The seed body
Composition:
- Made of avidyā (ignorance) in potential form
- Contains all karmic seeds (vāsanās) in unmanifest state
- The “blueprint” for gross and subtle bodies
Characteristics:
- Most subtle, barely “existing”
- Not experienced except in deep sleep
- Storehouse of all impressions
- Cause of other two bodies (hence “causal”)
Function:
- Holds latent tendencies
- Preserves continuity across lives (traditional view)
- Veil of ignorance covering Self
- Experienced as blankness/ignorance in deep sleep
Your relationship to it:
- You are NOT the causal body
- You are the awareness that knows “I slept well”
- Pure awareness even of ignorance
Evidence you’re not the causal body:
- Upon waking, you know you slept (you witnessed sleep)
- If you were totally absent, who reports the experience?
- The witness of ignorance cannot be ignorance itself
The Five Sheaths (Pañca Kośa)
The Taittirīya Upaniṣad describes five layers covering the Self. These overlap with the three bodies:
1. Annamaya Kośa - Food Sheath
अन्नमय कोश - Sheath made of food
Corresponds to: Gross body (sthūla śarīra)
Description:
- Physical body made from food
- Sustained by food
- Returns to food (earth) at death
Characteristics:
- Born from parents’ bodies
- Grows, changes, ages
- Has specific form and limits
- Bound by time and space
Practice for discrimination:
Contemplate:
- “This body was once a baby, now adult—what remained constant?”
- “This body came from food, will return to earth—am I this temporary form?”
- “I can observe my body—I am not what I observe”
Realization:
नाहं अन्नमयः (Nāhaṃ annamayaḥ)
I am not this food sheath
2. Prāṇamaya Kośa - Vital Energy Sheath
प्राणमय कोश - Sheath made of life force
Corresponds to: Part of subtle body (the five prāṇas)
Description:
- Vital energy animating the body
- Breath, circulation, nervous system
- What leaves at death, making body “dead”
Components:
- Five prāṇas (prāṇa, apāna, samāna, udāna, vyāna)
- Five sub-prāṇas (nāga, kūrma, kṛkara, devadatta, dhanañjaya)
Characteristics:
- Gives life to food sheath
- Controls physiological functions
- Not visible but felt (as energy, vitality)
- Subtler than body but still material
Practice for discrimination:
Contemplate:
- “Energy is high sometimes, low other times—what witnesses this?”
- “In deep sleep, prāṇa functions but I’m not aware—am I prāṇa?”
- “I can observe my breath—I am not the breath”
Realization:
नाहं प्राणमयः (Nāhaṃ prāṇamayaḥ)
I am not this vital sheath
3. Manomaya Kośa - Mental Sheath
मनोमय कोश - Sheath made of mind
Corresponds to: Part of subtle body (manas and five sense organs)
Description:
- The thinking, doubting mind
- Sensory perceptions
- Likes and dislikes
- Emotions
Characteristics:
- Processes sensory input
- Creates thoughts constantly
- Source of desires and fears
- More subtle than prāṇa
- Functions in waking and dream
Practice for discrimination:
Contemplate:
- “Thoughts constantly change—what remains constant?”
- “I observe happy thoughts and sad thoughts—am I either?”
- “Mind can be disturbed or calm—what witnesses both states?”
Common trap:
Most people identify strongly with this level—“I am my thoughts, my personality, my emotions.”
Realization:
नाहं मनोमयः (Nāhaṃ manomayaḥ)
I am not this mental sheath
4. Vijñānamaya Kośa - Intellectual Sheath
विज्ञानमय कोश - Sheath made of knowledge/intellect
Corresponds to: Part of subtle body (buddhi, ahaṃkāra)
Description:
- The discriminating intellect
- Decision-making faculty
- Sense of “I” and “mine” (ego)
- Witness of the mind
Characteristics:
- Subtler than mind
- Gives sense of being subject (knower)
- Creates feeling of individuality
- Functions as inner witness
- Most refined aspect of personality
Attributes:
- Kartṛtva - Sense of doership (“I do”)
- Bhoktṛtva - Sense of enjoyership (“I experience”)
- Identification with body-mind (“I am this person”)
Why it’s tricky:
This sheath seems like the Self because:
- It’s the witness of thoughts
- It’s unchanging relative to mental fluctuations
- It gives sense of “I”
- Very close to actual Self
But it’s still not the Self because:
- It’s an object of awareness
- It’s still individual (not universal)
- It appears and disappears (deep sleep)
- It’s illumined by consciousness
Practice for discrimination:
Contemplate:
- “Even this sense of ‘I am’ arises—what is aware of it arising?”
- “The ego was formed in childhood—what existed before?”
- “In deep sleep, no ego, yet upon waking I know I existed—what remained?”
Realization:
नाहं विज्ञानमयः (Nāhaṃ vijñānamayaḥ)
I am not this intellectual sheath
5. Ānandamaya Kośa - Bliss Sheath
आनन्दमय कोश - Sheath made of bliss
Corresponds to: Causal body (kāraṇa śarīra)
Description:
- State of contentment and peace
- Absence of desires and thoughts
- Experienced in deep sleep
- Veil of ignorance (avidyā) itself
Characteristics:
- Most subtle of all sheaths
- Experienced as happiness, peace, relief
- Felt when desires are fulfilled or mind is quiet
- Present in deep dreamless sleep
- Still a covering (not pure Self)
Why it’s the subtlest trap:
- Feels like liberation
- Very peaceful
- No problems here
- Many mistake this for the goal
But it’s still not the Self because:
- It comes and goes (not permanent)
- It’s still an experience (requires experiencer)
- There’s subtle ignorance (you don’t know anything in deep sleep)
- It’s a state, not your nature
Practice for discrimination:
Contemplate:
- “I say ‘I slept blissfully’—who knew this bliss?”
- “This peace comes and goes—what witnesses its coming and going?”
- “Even this most subtle covering is observed—by what?”
Realization:
नाहं आनन्दमयः (Nāhaṃ ānandamayaḥ)
I am not even this bliss sheath
What You Actually Are
Beyond All Sheaths
पञ्चकोशातीतः आत्मा (Pañca-kośa-atītaḥ ātmā)
The Self beyond the five sheaths
After negating all five:
- Not the body (annamaya)
- Not the life force (prāṇamaya)
- Not the mind (manomaya)
- Not the intellect/ego (vijñānamaya)
- Not even the bliss sheath (ānandamaya)
What remains?
Pure Awareness (Cit):
- The witness of all five sheaths
- That which illumines all experiences
- Your true nature (svarūpa)
- Never born, never dies
- Always present
- Self-luminous consciousness
Characteristics of the True Self:
- Sat - Existence itself
- Cit - Consciousness itself
- Ānanda - Fullness itself (not bliss as experience, but completeness)
Not an object:
- Cannot be perceived (it’s the perceiver)
- Cannot be thought (it’s that which knows thoughts)
- Cannot be experienced (it’s the experiencer)
Closer than close:
- You ARE this
- Not something to attain
- Simply recognize what you already are
- Always present, even now
The Practice: Discrimination (Viveka)
Systematic Inquiry
Method:
- Identify with a sheath: “I am the body”
- Observe it: Notice it as an object of awareness
- Question: “If I can observe it, am I it?”
- Negate: “I am not this”
- Move deeper: To next sheath
- Repeat: Until nothing remains but awareness itself
Daily Practice
Morning contemplation:
Sit quietly and inquire:
- “What am I aware of?” (Body sensations, breath)
- “What is aware of this?” (Mind noticing)
- “What is aware of mind?” (Intellect/witness)
- “What is aware of awareness?” (Stop—you’ve arrived)
Throughout the day:
When identified with body:
- Notice: “I’m identifying with body”
- Remember: “I’m the awareness of body”
- Rest as: Awareness itself
When identified with thoughts:
- Notice: “I’m identified with thoughts”
- Remember: “I’m the awareness of thoughts”
- Rest as: Awareness itself
When identified with emotions:
- Notice: “I’m identified with emotion”
- Remember: “I’m the awareness of emotion”
- Rest as: Awareness itself
Deep Sleep Investigation
Special practice:
Before sleep:
- Set intention to remain aware
- Notice transition from waking to sleep
- Ask: “What remains when all sheaths are absent?”
Upon waking:
- Don’t move immediately
- Notice: “I know I slept”
- Ask: “Who knew? What was present in deep sleep?”
- Recognize: Pure awareness, always present
Integration: Living from Understanding
Practical Implications
Once you recognize you’re not the sheaths:
For the body:
- Care for it as a vehicle
- Don’t be overly identified
- Not “I am sick” but “body is sick”
- Health matters but not ultimate
For thoughts/emotions:
- Let them come and go
- Don’t cling or resist
- Not “I’m angry” but “anger is present”
- More freedom, less reactivity
For ego:
- Recognize it as just another object
- Don’t fight it or inflate it
- Natural humility arises
- Ego functions, but you’re not it
In relationships:
- Relate from wholeness, not neediness
- See the same Self in all
- Compassion flows naturally
- Less drama, more love
In challenges:
- Remember your true nature
- Problems affect sheaths, not Self
- Maintain perspective
- Resilience increases
Common Questions
Q: If I’m not the body, why care for it?
A: The body is a vehicle. You maintain your car but don’t think you ARE the car. Similarly, care for the body without identification.
Q: If I’m not the mind, how do I function?
A: Mind functions fine—better actually, when there’s no over-identification. You use the mind; you’re not used by it.
Q: This sounds like dissociation. Is it?
A: No. Dissociation is psychological splitting. This is recognizing your true nature while fully present. You’re MORE engaged, not less—but from freedom, not compulsion.
Q: Do the sheaths disappear when you realize the Self?
A: No, they continue functioning. But you’re no longer deceived by them. Like knowing a movie is just images on a screen—you can still enjoy it, but you’re not fooled.
Q: Which sheath is the real problem?
A: The vijñānamaya kośa (intellectual/ego sheath) because it’s the seat of “I am this individual person” idea. But ultimately, all five must be seen through.
Q: Can I skip to realizing the Self without understanding the sheaths?
A: Some people do, through grace or direct transmission. But for most, understanding the map helps discrimination and prevents getting stuck in subtle states thinking they’re the goal.
Contemplation
*Like layers of clothing
Covering naked truth—
Remove them one by one
Until what’s left cannot be removed.
Body—not you.
Energy—not you.
Mind—not you.
Intellect—not you.
Even bliss—not you.
What remains
When all is negated?
Not nothing—
But that which knows all things.
You are the space
In which all sheaths appear.
The light
By which all is known.
Not hidden within the layers—
But always here,
Aware of the layers,
Free from all coverings.
Stop seeking yourself
In what you’re not.
Be what you are—
Awareness itself.*
May this understanding guide you to discriminate between the sheaths and your true nature—the eternal, unchanging awareness that you have always been. 🎭🙏