The core of the universe is covered by several sheaths, envelopes; it is like boxes within boxes. The human soul or Atman is also covered by several sheaths of kosha. This is just like a silkworm that goes on building a cocoon out of its saliva. The jivatman is entrapped in the sheaths, koshas, it has built slowly in the mother's womb- one of skeletal structure, tissues, organs and body. Each one of this start from subtler state and become solid or gross state. Once the jivatman is thus entrapped it tries hard to get out of its own embodiment, but fails due to the gross and ignorant state of the jiva. How to overcome this impediment, the walls created by its own desires, attachment, greed, etc is the problem. This problem has been carefully studied by great sages and solutions are offered to the needy and willing! But, most of the people who live and work for livelihood or sensuous life are not interested in these.But it is not the intention of the learned ones to propagate the secrets they have discussed, but only to help the needy only. Thus knowledge was never sold for a fee!
The sheaths that envelope the soul are many and varied. They are all extremely subtle and cannot be seen, touched or even experienced at times. The single egg cell in the mother's womb that accommodate a sperm and feeds it develops a body of its type and delvers over a period of gestation. The child develops and appears in flesh and blood and grows in to a well-built man or woman over decades of constant feeding. Thus the person acquires all the qualities of the food and its physical, social, and cultural environment. This is the first invisible imperceptible envelop that the jiva acquires and thus behaves as if it is of particular nature like a mountain tribal, coastal inhabitants following a certain cultural tradition, religion, caste and creed. It is very difficult make the jiva understand it is not the true nature, but an acquired sheath of ignorance. Thus, people suffer due to avidya, knowledge covered by a sheath of lack of understanding the true nature. .
The well recognized sheaths of a jiva are the sheaths of food (annam), life-force (prana), Mind (manas), knowledge (jnyan) and joy (ananda). It is needless to impress up on the readers that all these coverings, envelopes, or sheaths of ignorance, and not the reality. The jivatman suffers due to falsely believing these as true. For example, the joy one gets by attaining power, position, name, fame or the desired objects is not true since this joy is short lived; it disappears soon as the desire is fulfilled or objects are attained!. So also, all the knowledge is of the worldly interests and of material nature. These are of no avail for the release of the embodied soul.
We build walls around ourselves and later on cry. This is like children marking a boundary and cry foul in games. We put thick curtains and make our rooms dark and sweat! We create unwanted relations, friends and relatives and feel cheated. There is no end to these walls we go on building from childhood and later lament in old age. Where is the solution for our foolishness. Sri Krishnanandaji of Sri Shivananda Ashram, Hrishikesh, rightly said, "All relational existence is unreal". Do we understand. Unless the subtle thread of anthahkarana is cut, the jiva cannot leave the body even though the body is dilapidated and lying in ICU. This is like the old people unwilling to leave their dilapidated buildings although they fear these may collapse in no time during the rainy days! This is the predicament of the jiva.
The sheaths of physical body, the objects of desire of senses, the fickle mind, the perverted intelligence and the ego are all invisible sheaths of ignorance. Satisfying the needs of these will ultimately destroy the jiva. None of these will ever help the jivatman get released from eternal bondage, the shackles of repeated births and deaths. Whatever satisfies the mind, senses, buddhi and ego are not helpful in redemption, liberation of the should from further embodiment. This is true knowledge. Hence, Bhagavan Shree Krishna advises Arjuna to overcome all these by yogabhyasa. tasmad yogirbhavaarjunaa | Even the three gunas, all knowledge of worldly existence are of no use, hence to be discarded. Knowledge is also a burden, vishayaa veda nistraigunyobhavaarjunaa |
We build walls around ourselves and later on cry. This is like children marking a boundary and cry foul in games. We put thick curtains and make our rooms dark and sweat! We create unwanted relations, friends and relatives and feel cheated. There is no end to these walls we go on building from childhood and later lament in old age. Where is the solution for our foolishness. Sri Krishnanandaji of Sri Shivananda Ashram, Hrishikesh, rightly said, "All relational existence is unreal". Do we understand. Unless the subtle thread of anthahkarana is cut, the jiva cannot leave the body even though the body is dilapidated and lying in ICU. This is like the old people unwilling to leave their dilapidated buildings although they fear these may collapse in no time during the rainy days! This is the predicament of the jiva.
The sheaths of physical body, the objects of desire of senses, the fickle mind, the perverted intelligence and the ego are all invisible sheaths of ignorance. Satisfying the needs of these will ultimately destroy the jiva. None of these will ever help the jivatman get released from eternal bondage, the shackles of repeated births and deaths. Whatever satisfies the mind, senses, buddhi and ego are not helpful in redemption, liberation of the should from further embodiment. This is true knowledge. Hence, Bhagavan Shree Krishna advises Arjuna to overcome all these by yogabhyasa. tasmad yogirbhavaarjunaa | Even the three gunas, all knowledge of worldly existence are of no use, hence to be discarded. Knowledge is also a burden, vishayaa veda nistraigunyobhavaarjunaa |
A person becomes totally free by abandoning, discarding, casting off what all that have been acquired since its entry into the realms of the earthly existence as a cell or molecule from its earlier pure state of particle of energy, a photon. One should become Light to oneself.
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