Have you ever felt your physical body is more than just muscles, bones and skin? Are you wondering “is there more?”
The mind. Where is that exactly? We have a sense of the life force, but is there a model to help us understand more?
A teaching that offers a way to make sense of our experiences here on earth is found in the Upanishads and the Vedanta teachings. These ancient texts teach that our reality can be understood from the viewpoint of panchamaya kosha, the five layers of consciousness. Ayurveda and Yoga integrate this wisdom to guide us toward optimum health and well-being.
Pancha means five, maya means appearance/illusion, and kosha layer or sheath. Maya is full of what seems to appear before us like an image we see through the darkness of night that looks like a person but then, at a closer look, it appears to be a fence post. Each kosha signifies a more refined dimension of consciousness. The first two koshas are related to the physical body. The mind is split into two: a lower mind incorporating intellect, emotion, reason, and concept and then a layer of more subtle body of pure wisdom.
Like layers of an onion, our core, our innermost layer is the light of pure bliss and awareness. From there, we blossom out layer by layer, constructing our reality, slowly cementing consciousness into the physical body: Annamaya kosha.
ANNAMAYA KOSHA
The outermost layer equates to the material body. Anna means “food” or “manifest material”, maya means “what appears”. The physical body is the flesh of the 5 elements combined to crystalize consciousness. What we eat, our food body, is the aspect that is in direct contact with the manifest world. Ayurveda teaches us that our diet, exercise, sleep, and rest are all related to this layer. Even the types of yoga we do, dry brushing, and massage help keep this layer of ourselves balanced and healthy.
PRANAMAYA KOSHA
The next layer of experience is pranamaya kosha. Pra, meaning “forth” and “move, breathe” implies a dynamic force, the vital life force, animating in quality. This earth body literally requires breath to come forth into the world. This essential, life-giving aspect of reality is pranamaya kosha. It is considered to be a bridge between body and mind.
MANOMAYA KOSHA
After pranamaya kosha, there’s an inner aspect of mana “mind”. This sheath is manomaya kosha, our mental awareness. Emotions, feelings and mental states permeate as the perception of the vital force, prana. A stable flow of prana will bring clear perception and understanding.
VIJÑANAMAYA KOSHA
Jñana means ‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’. It is ‘specialized’ and ‘unique’; therefore, vijñanamaya kosha is inner wisdom, a knowing that can be connected to ‘past lives’. This subtle, inward layer is cognized as our intuition and inside voice that is always right. The knowingness and sense of I exist here.
ANANDANMAYA KOSHA
Ananda, meaning ‘bliss,’ is the innermost realization of our true state, the light of consciousness. Immersive and all-encompassing, this soul-awakening sheath is pure and divine.
Though a list of just layers, when illuminated by a teacher, this concept can offer you a deep insight for understanding yourself. Applying this wisdom to daily living can help us live more in harmony with the natural flow of life. It supports a deeper understanding of ourselves, so that we can make holistic choices. We are complex beings. But in the complexity, these modalities can bring simplicity. May we open to the grace of divine consciousness as we navigate the journey of life.
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