Sharira
Śarīra (IAST)Translation: "Bodies of the Jīva"
A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy
Sanskrit: शरीर
Transliteration: Śarīra
Translation: "body; “that which perishes”; sheath (from the verb root śrī – “to waste away”)"
- According to Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta, the body is that which is supported by the self, controlled by the self, and exists for the sake of the self. It has eight constituents: the five elements (Mahābhūta), primordial Nature (Prakṛti), egoism (Ahaṅkāra), and the Great (Mahat).
- It is divided into the gross body (Sthūla-Śarīra), the subtle body (Liṅga or Sūkṣma-Śarīra), and the causal body (Kāraṇa-Śarīra).
- Advaita Vedānta calls the causal body the sheath of bliss. The subtle body is composed of the mental sheath, the sheath of the intellect, and the sheath of breath. The gross body is composed of the food sheath.
- According to Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, the body is made up of earth, water, fire, and air and is not constituted of the five elements as postulated by Sāṅkhya and Advaita Vedānta.
The Bodies of the Jīva as defined in The Serpent Power by Arthur Avalon
The bodies are threefold: causal (Kāraṇa-Śarīra or Para-Śarīra, as the Shaivas call it), subtle (Sūkṣma-Śarīra), and gross (Sthūla-Śarīra). These bodies in which the Ātma is enshrined are evolved from Prakṛti Śakti, and are constituted of its various productions. They form the tabernacle of the Spirit (Ātma), which as the Lord is "in all beings, and who from within all beings controls them." The body of the Lord (Īśvara) is pure Sattva-Guṇa (Śuddha-Sattva-Guṇa-Pradhāna). This is the aggregate Prakṛti or Māyā of Him or Her as the Creator-Creatrix of all things. Jīva, as the Kularnava Tantra says, is bound by the bonds (Paśa); Sadaśiva is free of them. The former is Paśu and the latter Paśupati, or Lord of Paśus (Jīva). That is, Īśvari is not affected by Her own Māyā. She is all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful. Īśvara thus rules Māyā. Jīva is ruled by it. From this standpoint, the Mother and Her child the Jīva are not, thus, the same. For the latter is a limited consciousness subject to error, and governed by that Māyā-Śakti of Hers which makes the world seem to be different from what it in its essence is. The body of Jīva is therefore known as the individual Prakṛti or Avidyā, in which there is impure Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas (Malina-Sattva-Guṇa-Pradhāna). But in the Mother are all creatures. And so in the Trishati the Devi is called "in the form of one and many letters (Ekanekakṣarakriti). As Eka, She is the Ajñāna which is pure Sattva and attribute (Upadhi) of Īśvara; as Aneka She is Upadhi or vehicle of Jīva. Whilst Īśvara is one, Jīva are many, according to the diversity in the nature of the individual Prakṛti caused by the appearance of Rajas and Tamas in it in differing proportions. The Ātma appears as Jīva in the various forms of vegetable, animal, and human worlds.
कारणशरीर – Kāraṇa-Śarīra (Causal Body)
The first or Causal Body of any particular Jīva, therefore, is that Prakṛti (Avidyā Śakti) which is the cause of the subtle and gross bodies of this Jīva which are evolved from it. This body lasts until Liberation, when the Jīvātman ceases to be such and is the Paramātman or bodiless Spirit (Videha-Mukti). The Jīva exists in this body during dreamless sleep (Suṣupti).
The second and third bodies are the differentiations through evolution of the causal body, from which first proceeds the subtle body, and from the latter is produced the gross body.
सूक्षमशरीर – Sūkṣma-Śarīra or लिङगशरीर – Liṅga Śarīra (Subtle Body)
The Subtle Body, which is also called Liṅga Śarīra or Puryashtaka, is constituted of the first evolutes (Vikṛti) from the causal Prakṛtic body - namely, the Mind (Antaḥ-Kāraṇa), the internal instrument, together with the external instruments (Bahya-Kāraṇa), or the Senses (Indriya), and their supersensible objects (Tanmātra).
The third or Gross Body is the body of "matter" which is the gross particular object of the senses derived from the supersensibles.
अन्तःकरण – Antaḥ-Kāraṇa (Mental Body)
Shortly, the subtle body may be described as the Mental Body, as that which succeeds is called the gross body of Matter. Mind is abstractedly considered by itself, that is, as dissociated from Consciousness which is never the case, an unconscious force which breaks up into particulars the Experience-Whole which is Cit. It is called the "working within" or "internal instrument" (Antaḥ-Kāraṇa), and is one only, but is given different names to denote the diversity of its functions. The Sāṅkhya thus speaks of Buddhi, Ahaṅkāra, Manas, to which the Vedānta adds Citta, being different aspects or attributes (Dharma) of Mind as displayed in the psychical processes by which the Jīva knows, feels, and wills.
These may be considered from the point of view of evolution — that is, according to the sequence in which the limited experience of the Jīva is evolved — or from that in which they are regarded after creation, when the experience of concrete sense objects has been had. According to the former aspect, Buddhi or Mahat Tattva is the state of mere presentation; consciousness of being only, without thought of "I" (Ahaṅkāra), and unaffected by sensations of particular objects (Manas and Indriya). It is thus the impersonal Jīva Consciousness. Ahaṅkāra, of which Buddhi is the basis, is the personal consciousness which realizes itself as a particular "I", the experiencer. The Jīva, in the order of creation, first experiences in a vague general way without consciousness of the self, like the experience which is had immediately on waking after sleep. It then refers this experience to the limited self, and has the consciousness "I am So-and-so".
Manas is the desire which follows on such experience, and the Senses (Indriya) and their objects are the means whereby that enjoyment is had which is the end of all will to life. Whilst, however, in the order of evolution, Buddhi is the first principle, in the actual working of the Antaḥ-Kāraṇa after creation has taken place, it comes last.
तन्मात्र – Tanmātra (Thatness)
It is more convenient, therefore, to commence with the sense-objects and the sensations they evoke. The experiencer is affected by Matter in five different ways, giving rise in him to the sensations of hearing, touch and feel, colour and form and sight, taste, and smell. But sensible perception exists only in respect of particular objects and is thus perceived in its variations only. But there exist also general elements of the particulars of sense-perception. That general ideas may be formed of particular sense-objects, indicates, it is said, their existence in some parts of the Jīva's nature as facts of experience; otherwise the generals could not be formed from the particulars given by the senses as the physical facts of experience. This general is called a Tanmātra, which means the "mere thatness," or abstract quality, of an object. Thus, the Tanmātra of a sound (Śabda Tanmātra) is not any particular sensible form of it, but the "thatness" of that sound — that is, that sound apart from any of its particular variations stated. The Tanmātra have, therefore, aptly been called the "generals of the sense particulars" — that is, the general elements of sense perception. These necessarily come into existence when the senses (Indriya) are produced; for a sense necessitates something which can be the object of sensation. These Sūkṣma (subtle) Bhūta, as they are also called, are not ordinarily themselves perceived, for they are supersensible (Atindriya). Their existence is only mediately perceived through the gross particular objects of which they are the objects of immediate (Pratyaksa) perception only to Yogis. They are, like the gross sense-objects derived from them, five in number namely, sound (Śabda Tanmātra), touch and feel (Sparśa Tanmātra), color and form (Rūpa Tanmātra), flavor (Rasa Tanmātra), and odor (Gandha Tanmātra) as universals. Each of these evolves from that which precedes it.
इन्द्रिय – Indriya (Senses)
Sensations aroused by sense-objects are experienced by means of the outer instruments (Bāhya-Kāraṇa) of the Lord of the body, or senses (Indriya), which are the gateways through which the Jīva receives worldly experience. These are ten in number, and are of two classes: viz., the five organs of sensation or perception (Jñānendriya), or ear (hearing), skin (feeling by touch), eye (sight), tongue (taste), and nose (smell); and the five organs of action (Karmendriya), which are the reactive response which the self makes to sensation — namely, mouth, hands, legs, anus, and genitals, whereby speaking, grasping, walking, excretion, and procreation are performed, and through which effect is given to the Jīva's desires. These are afferent and efferent impulses respectively.
The Indriya, or sense, is not the physical organ, but the faculty of mind operating through that organ as its instrument. The outward sense-organs are the usual means whereby on the physical plane the functions of hearing and so forth are accomplished. But as they are mere instruments and their power is derived from the mind, a Yogi may accomplish by the mind only all that may be done by means of these physical organs without the use of the latter.
With reference to their physical manifestations, but not as they are in themselves, the classes into which the Indriya are divided may be described as the sensory and motor nervous systems. As the Indriya are not the physical organs, such as ear, eye, and so forth, but faculties of the Jīva desiring to know and act by their aid, the Yogi claims to accomplish without the use of the latter all that is ordinarily done by their means. So a hypnotized subject can perceive things, even when no use of the special physical organs ordinarily necessary for the purpose is made. The fact of there being a variety of actions does not necessarily involve the same number of Indriya. An act of "going" done by means of the hand (as by a cripple) is to be regarded really as an operation of the Indriya of feet (Padendriya), even though the hand is the seat of the Indriya for handling. By the instrumentality of these Indriya, things are perceived and action is taken with reference to them. The Indriya are not, however, sufficient in themselves for this purpose. In the first place, unless attention (Alochana) co-operates there is no sensation at all. To be "absent-minded" is not to know what is happening. Attention must therefore co-operate with the senses before the latter can "give" the experiencer anything at all. Next, at one and the same moment, the experiencer is subject to receive a countless number of sensations which come to and press upon him from all sides. If any of these is to be brought into the field of consciousness, it must be selected to the exclusion of others. The process of experience is the selection of a special section from out of a general whole, and then being engaged on it, so as to make it one's own, either as a particular object of thought or a particular field of operation. Lastly, as Western psychology holds, the senses give not a completed whole, but a manifold — the manifold of sense. These "points of sensation" must be gathered together and made into a whole. These three functions of attention, selection, and synthesizing the discrete manifold of the senses, are those belonging to that aspect of the mental body, the internal agent (Antaḥ-Kāraṇa), called Manas. Just as Manas is necessary to the senses (Indriya), the latter are necessary for Manas. For the latter is the seat of desire, and cannot exist by itself. It is the desire to perceive or act, and therefore exists in association with the Indriya.
मनस् – Manas (Mind)
Manas is thus the leading Indriya, of which the senses are powers. For without the aid and attention of Manas, the other Indriya are incapable of performing their respective offices; and as these Indriya are those of perception and action, Manas, which co-operates with both, is said to partake of the character of both cognition and action.
Manas, through association with the eye or other sense, becomes manifold, being particularized or differentiated by its co-operation with that particular instrument, which cannot fulfil its functions except in conjunction with Manas.
Its function is said to be Saṅkalpa-Vikalpa, that is, selection and rejection from the material provided by the Jñānendriya. When, after having been brought into contact with the sense-objects, it selects the sensation which is to be presented to the other faculties of the mind, there is Saṅkalpa. The activity of Manas, however, is itself neither intelligent result nor moving feelings of pleasure or pain. It has not an independent power to reveal itself to the experiencer. Before things can be so revealed and realized as objects of perception, they must be made subject to the operation of Ahaṅkāra and Buddhi, without whose intelligent light they would be dark forms unseen and unknown by the experiencer, and the efforts of Manas but blind gropings in the dark. Nor can the images built up by Manas affect of themselves the experiencer so as to move him in any way until and unless the experiencer identifies himself with them by Ahaṅkāra — that is, by making them his own in feeling and experience. Manas, being thus an experience of activity in the dark, unseen and unrevealed by the light of Buddhi and not moving the experiencer until he identifies himself with it in feeling, is one in which the dark veiling quality (Tamas Guṇa) of Śakti Prakṛti is the most manifest. This Guṇa also prevails in the Indriya and the subtle objects of their operation (Tanmātra).
अहङकार – Ahaṅkāra ( Ego / “I-maker” )
Ahaṅkāra the "I-maker" is self-arrogation — that is, the realization of oneself as the personal "I" or self-consciousness of worldly experience in which the Jīva thinks of himself as a particular person who is in relation with the objects of his experience. It is the power of self-arrogation whereby all that constitutes man is welded into one Ego, and the percept or concept is referred to that particular thinking subject and becomes part of its experience. When, therefore, a sensation is perceived by Manas and determined by Buddhi, Ahaṅkāra says: "It is I who perceive it." This is the "I" of phenomenal consciousness as distinguished from "this" the known. Buddhi functions with its support.
बुद्धि – Buddhi (Intellect)
Buddhi considered with relation to the other faculties of experience is that aspect of the Antaḥ-Kāraṇa which determines (Adhyavasayatmika Buddhiḥ). "A man is said to determine (Adhyavasyati) who, having perceived (Manas), and thought, 'I am concerned in this matter (Ahaṅkāra)' and thus having self-arrogated, comes to the determination, 'This must be done by me' (Kartavyam Etat Māyā)." "Must be done" here does not refer to exterior action only, but to mental action (Manasi Kriyā) also, such as any determination by way of the forming of concepts and percepts ("It is so") and resolutions ("It must be done"). Buddhi pervades all effects whatever other than itself. It is the principal Tattva because it pervades all the instruments (Indriya), is the receptacle of all the Saṃskāra or Karmic tendencies, and is in Sāṅkhya the seat of memory. It is the thinking principle which forms concepts or general ideas acting through the instrumentality of Ahaṅkāra, Manas and the Indriya. In the operations of the senses Manas is the principal; in the operation of Manas, Ahaṅkāra is the principal; and in the operation of Ahaṅkāra, Buddhi is the principal. With the instrumentality of all of these, Buddhi acts, modifications taking place in Buddhi through the instrumentality of the sense functions. It is Buddhi which is the basis of all cognition, sensation, and resolves, and makes over objects to Puruṣa that is, Consciousness. And so it is said that Buddhi, whose characteristic is determination, is the charioteer; Manas, whose characteristic is Saṅkalpa-Vikalpa, is the reins; and the senses, Indriya, are the horses. Jīva is the Enjoyer (Bhokta) that is, Ātma conjoined with body, senses, Manas, and Buddhi. In Buddhi, Sattva Guṇa predominates; in Ahaṅkāra, Rajas, in Manas and the Indriya and their objects, Tamas.
चित्त – Citta (Mind)
Citta in its special sense is that faculty (Vṛtti) by which the Mind first recalls to memory (Smaranam) that of which there has been previously Anubhava or Pratyaksa Jñāna — that is, immediate cognition. This Smaranam exists only to the extent of actual Anubhava. For remembrance is the equivalent of, and neither more nor less than, what has been previously known; remembrance being the calling up of that. Chintā, again, is that faculty whereby the current of thought dwells, thinks and contemplates upon (Chintā) the subject so recalled by Smaranam, and previously known and determined by Buddhi. For such meditation (Dhyāna) is done through the recall and fixing the mind upon past percepts and concepts. According to Vedānta, Buddhi determines but once only, and the further recall and thought upon the mental object so determined is the faculty of the separate mental category called Citta. Sāṅkhya, on the principle of economy of categories, regards Smaranam and Chintā to be functions of Buddhi. In the works here translated and elsewhere Citta is, however, currently used as a general term for the working mind — that is, as a synonym for the Antaḥ-Kāraṇa.
Summary of Subtle Body
To sum up the functions of the subtle body: the sense-objects (Bhūta, derived from Tanmātra) affect the senses (Indriya) and are perceived by Manas, are referred to the self by Ahaṅkāra, and are determined by Buddhi. The latter in its turn is illumined by the light of Consciousness (Cit), which is the Puruṣa; all the principles (Tattva) up to and including Buddhi being modifications of apparently unconscious Prakṛti. Thus, all the Tattva work for the enjoyment of the Self or Puruṣa. They are not to be regarded as things existing independently by themselves, but as endowments of the Spirit (Ātma). They do not work arbitrarily as they will, but represent an organized co-operative effort in the service of the Enjoyer, the Experiencer or Puruṣa.
The subtle body is thus composed of what are called the "17" viz., Buddhi (in which Ahaṅkāra is included), Manas, the ten senses (Indriya), and the five Tanmātra. No special mention is made of Prāṇa or Vital Principle by the Sāṅkhya, by which it is regarded as a modification of the Antaḥ-Kāraṇa, and as such is implicity included. The Māyāvadins insert the Prāṇa pentad instead of the Tanmātra.
The Jīva lives in his subtle or mental body alone when in the dreaming (Svapna) state. For the outside world of objects (Mahābhūta) is then shut out and the consciousness wanders in the world of ideas. The subtle body or soul is imperishable until Liberation is attained, when the Jīvātman or seemingly conditioned consciousness ceases to be such and is the Supreme Consciousness or Paramātman, Nirguṇa Śiva. The subtle body thus survives the dissolution of the gross body of matter, from which it goes forth (Utkramana), and "reincarnates" (to use an English term) until Liberation (Mukti). The Liṅga Śarīra is not all-pervading (Vibhu), for in that case it would be eternal (Nitya) and could not act (Kriya). But it moves and goes (Gati). Since it is not Vibhu, it must be limited (Parichchhinna) and of atomic dimension (Anuparimana). It is indirectly dependent on food. For though the material body is the food-body (Annamaya), Mind is dependent on it when associated with the gross body. Mind in the subtle body bears the Saṃskāra which are the result of past actions. This subtle body is the cause of the third or gross body.
The whole process of evolution is due to the presence of the will to life and enjoyment, which is a result of Vasana, or world-desire, carried from life to life in the Saṃskāra, or impressions made on the subtle body by Karma, which is guided by Īśvara. In its reaching forth to the world, the Self is not only endowed with the faculties of the subtle body, but with the gross objects of enjoyment on which those faculties feed. There, therefore, comes into being, as a projection of the Power (Śakti) of Consciousness, the gross body of matter called Sthūla Śarīra.
The word Śarīra comes from the root "Śri," to decay; for the gross body is at every moment undergoing molecular birth and death until Prāṇa, or vitality, leaves the organism, which, as such, is dissolved. The Soul (Jīvātman ) is, when it leaves the body, no longer concerned therewith. There is no such thing as the resurrection of the same body. It returns to dust and the Jīva when it reincarnates does so in a new body, which is nevertheless, like the last, suited to give effect to its Karma.
स्थूलशरीर – Sthūla Śarīra (Gross Body)
The Sthūla Śarīra, with its three Dośas, six Kośa, seven Dhatus, ten Fires, and so forth, is the perishable body composed of compounds of five forms of gross sensible matter (Mahābhūta), which is ever decaying, and is at the end dissolved into its constituents at death. This is the Vedantic body of food (Annamaya Kośa), so called because it is maintained by food which is converted into chyle (Rasa), blood, flesh, fat, bone, marrow and seed-components of the gross organism. The Jīva lives in this body when in the waking (Jagrat) state.
The human, physical, or gross body is, according to Western science, composed of certain compounds of which the chief are water, gelatine, fat, phosphate of lime, albumen, and fibrine, and of these water constitutes some two-thirds of the total weight. These substances are composed of simpler non-metallic and metallic elements, of which the chief are oxygen (to the extent of about two-thirds), hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. Again, to go one step farther back, though the alleged indestructibility of the elements and their atoms is still said by some to present the character of a "practical truth," well-known recent experiments go to re-establish the ancient hypothesis of a single Primordial Substance to which these various forms of matter may be reduced, with the resultant of the possible and hitherto derided transmutation of one element into another; since each is but one of the plural manifestations of the same underlying unity.
Recent scientific research has shown that this original substance cannot be scientific "matter" — that is, that which has mass, weight and inertia. Matter has been dematerialized and reduced, according to current hypotheses, to something which differs profoundly from "matter" as known by the senses. This ultimate substance is stated to be Ether in a state of motion. The present scientific hypothesis would appear to be as follows: The ultimate and simplest physical factor from which the universe has arisen in motion of and in a substance called "Ether," which is not scientific "matter". The motions of this substance give rise from the realistic point of view to the notion of "matter". Matter is thus at base one, notwithstanding the diversity of its forms. Its ultimate element is on the final analysis of one kind, and the differences in the various kinds of matter depend on the various movements of the ultimate particle and its succeeding combinations. Given such unity of base, it is possible that one form of matter may pass into another. The Indian theory here described agrees with the Western speculations to which we have referred, that what the latter calls scientific or ponderable matter does not permanently exist, but says that there are certain motions or forces (five in number) which produce solid matter, and which are ultimately reducible to ether (Ākāśa). Ākāśa, however, and scientific "Ether" are not in all respects the same. The latter is an ultimate substance, not "matter," having vibratory movements and affording the medium for the transmission of light. Ākāśa is one of the gross forces into which the Primordial Power (Prakṛti-Śakti) differentiates itself. Objectively considered, it is a vibration in and of the substance of Prakṛti of which it is a transformation in which the other forces are observed to be operating. Lastly, Ākāśa is not an ultimate, but is itself derived from the supersensible Tanmātra, with its quality (Guṇa) whereby Ākāśa affects the senses; and this Tanmātra is itself derived from the mental I-making principle (Ahaṅkāra), or personal consciousness produced from the superpersonal Jīva-consciousness as such (Buddhi), emanating from the root-energy, or Prakṛti-Śakti, the cause and basis of all forms of "material" force or substance. At the back of both "matter" and mind, there is the creative energy (Śakti) of the Supreme who is the cause of the universe and Consciousness itself.
Matter affects the Jīva in five different ways, giving rise in him to the sensations of smell, taste, sight, touch and feel, and hearing.
As already explained, the Tanmātra are supersensible, being abstract qualities, whilst the senses perceive their variations in particular objects only. These sense particulars are produced from the generals or Universals.
महाभूत – Mahābhūta (The Great Elements)
From the Śabda Tanmātra and from the combinations of the latter with the other Tanmātra are produced the gross Bhūta (Mahābhūta), which as things of physical magnitude perceivable by the senses approach the Western definition of discrete sensible "matter". These five Mahābhūta are Ākāśa (Ether), Vāyu (Air), Tejas (Fire), Apas (Water) and Pṛthvī (Earth). Their development takes place from the Tanmātra, from one unit of that which is known in sensible matter as mass (Tamas), charged with energy (Rajas) by the gradual accretion of mass and redistribution of energy. The result of this is that each Bhūta is more gross than that which precedes it until "Earth" is reached. These five Bhūta have no connection with the English "elements" so called, nor, indeed, are they elements at all, being derived from the Tanmātra. Dynamically and objectively considered they are (proceeding from Ākāśa) said to be five forms of motion, into which Prakṛti differentiates itself" viz., non-obstructive, all-directed motion radiating lines of force in all directions, symbolized as the "Hairs of Śiva" affording the space (Ākāśa) in which the other forces operate; transverse motion and locomotion in space (Vāyu); upward motion giving rise to expansion (Tejas); downward motion giving rise to contraction (Apas); and that motion which produces cohesion, its characteristic of obstruction being the opposite of the non-obstructive ether in which it exists and from which it and other Tattva spring. The first is sensed by hearing through its quality (Guṇa) of sound (Śabda); the second by touch through resistance and feeling; the third by sight as colour; the fourth by taste through flavour; and the fifth by the sense of smell through its odour, which is produced by matter only in so far as it partakes of the solid state.
The hard and stable obstructive "earth" is that which is smelt, tasted, seen, and touched, and which exists in space which is known by hearing – that is, the sounds in it. The smooth "water" is that which is tasted, seen, and touched in space. "Fire" is what is seen and touched – that is, felt as temperature – in space. "Air" is what is so felt in space. And sound which is heard is that by which the existence of the "Ether" is known. These Bhūta when compounded make up the material universe. Each thing therein being thus made of all the Bhūta, we find in the Tantras that form, color and sound, are related, a truth which is of deep ritual significance. Thus, each of the sounds of speech or music has a corresponding form, which have now been made visible to the eye by the Phonoscope. Thus, the deaf may perceive sounds by the eye just as, by the Optophone the blind may read by means of the ear.
In the same Śāstra, various colours and figures (Mandalas) are assigned to the Tattva to denote them. Ākāśa is represented by a transparent white circular diagram in which, according to some accounts, there are dots (chhidra = hole), thus displaying the interstices which Ākāśa produces; for Ākāśa, which is all-pervading, intervenes between each of the Tattva which are evolved from it.
Vāyu is denoted by a smoky grey, six-cornered diagram; Tejas, red, triangular diagram; Apas, white, crescent-shaped diagram; and Pṛthvī, yellow, quadrangular diagram which; as the superficial presentation of the cube, well denotes the notion of solidity. Similarly, to each Devatā also there is assigned a Yantra, or diagram, which is a suggestion of the form assumed by the evolving Prakṛti or body of that particular Consciousness.
The gross body is, then, a combination of the compounds of those Mahābhūta, derivable from the Ākāśa ("Ether") Tattva.
The Bhūta and the Tanmātra, as parts of these compounds, pervade the body, but particular Bhūta are said to have centres of force in particular regions. Thus the centres (Cakra) of "Earth" and "Water" are the two lower ones in the trunk of the body. Fire predominates in the central abdominal region, and "Air" and "Ether" in the two higher centres in the heart and throat. These five Tanmātra, five Bhūta, and the ten senses (Indriya) which perceive them, are known as the twenty gross Tattva which are absorbed in Yoga in the centres of the bodily trunk. The remaining four subtle mental Tattva (Buddhi, Ahaṅkāra, Manas) and Prakṛti have their special centres of activity in the head. Again, the Bhūta may be specially displayed in other portions of the bodily organism. Thus, Pṛthvī displays itself as bone or muscles; Apas as urine and saliva; Tejas as hunger and thirst; Vāyu in grasping and walking. Fire is manifold, its great mystery being saluted by many names. So Tejas manifests both as light and heat, for, as Helmholtz say, the same object may effect the senses in different ways. The same ray of sunshine, which is called light when it falls on the eyes, is called heat when it falls on the skin. Agni manifests in the household and umbilical fires; as Kamagni in the Mūladhara centre; in Vadava or submarine fire and in the "Lightning" of the Suṣumnā in the spinal column.
Matter thus exists in the five states etheric, aerial, fiery, fluid, and solid. Pṛthvī does not denote merely what is popularly called "Earth". All solid (Parthiva) odorous substance is in the Pṛthvī state. All substance in the fluid (Apya) state is in the Apas state, as everything which has cohesive resistance is in that of Pṛthvī. This latter, therefore, is the cohesive vibration, the cause of solidity, of which the common earth is a gross compounded form. All matter in the aerial (Vayava) condition is in the Vāyu state. These are all primary differentiations of cosmic matter into a universe of subtly fine motion. The Tattva regarded objectively evoke in the Indriya smell, taste, sight, touch, and hearing.
The gross body is thus a combination of compounds of these Mahābhūta, derivable ultimately from Ether (Ākāśa), itself evolved in manner described.
प्राण – Prāṇa (Breath)
The gross and subtle bodies above described are vitalized and held together as an organism by Prāṇa, which is evolved from the active energy (Kriya Śakti) of the Liṅga Śarīra. Prāṇa, or the vital principle, is the special relation of the Ātma with a certain form of matter which by this relation, the Ātma organizes and builds up as a means of having experience. This special relation constitutes the individual Prāṇa in the individual body. The cosmic all-pervading Prāṇa is not Prāṇa in this gross sense, but is a name for the Brahman as the author of the individual Prāṇa. The individual Prāṇa is limited to the particular body which it vitalizes, and is a manifestation in all breathing creatures (Prani) of the creative and sustaining activity of the Brahman, who is represented in individual bodies by the Devi Kuṇḍalinī.
All beings, whether Devatās, men, or animals, exist only so long as the Prāṇa is within the body. It is the life-duration of all. What life is has been the subject of dispute in India as elsewhere. The materialists of the Lokayata school considered life to be the result of the chemical combinations of the elements, in the same manner as the intoxicating property of spirituous liquors results from the fermentation of unintoxicating rice and molasses, or as spontaneous generation was supposed to occur under the influence of gentle warmth. This is denied by the Sāṅkhya. Though Prāṇa and its fivefold functions are called Vāyu, Life, according to this school, is not a Vāyu in the sense of a mere biomechanical force, nor any mere mechanical motion resulting from the impulsion of such Vāyu.
According to the view of this school, Prāṇa, or vitality, is the common function of the mind and all the sense, both sensory (Jñānendriya) and motor (Karmendriya), which result in the bodily motion. Just as several birds when confined in one cage cause that cage to move, by themselves moving, so the mind and senses cause the body to move while they are engaged in their respective activities. Life is, then, a resultant of the various concurrent activities of other principles or forces in the organism.
The Vedantists agree in the view that the Prāṇa is neither Vāyu nor its operation, but deny that it is the mere resultant of the concomitant activities of the organism, and hold that it is a separate independent principle and “material” form assumed by the universal Consciousness. Life is therefore a subtle principle pervading the whole organism which is not gross Vāyu, but is all the same a subtle kind of apparently unconscious force, since everything which is not the Ātma or Puruṣa is, according to Māyāvada Vedānta and Sāṅkhya, unconscious or, in Western parlance “material” (Jada).’ The gross outer body is heterogeneous (Parichchhinna) or made up of distinct or well-defined parts. On the other hand, the Prāṇamaya self which lies within the Annamaya self is a homogeneous undivided whole (Sādhārana) permeating the whole physical body (Sarvapindavyapin). It is not cut off into distinct regions (Asadharana) as is the Pinda, or microcosmic physical body. Unlike the latter, it has no specialized organs each discharging a specific function. It is a homogeneous unity (Sādhārana) present in every part of the body, which it ensouls as its inner self. Vāyu, which courses through the body is the manifestation, self-begotten, the subtle, invisible, all-pervading, divine energy of eternal life. It is so called from the fact of its coursing throughout the universe. Invisible in itself, yet its operations are manifest. For it determines the birth, growth and decay of all animated organisms, and as such it receives the homage of all created being. As vital Vāyu, it is instantaneous in action, radiating as nerve force through the organism in constant currents. In its normal condition, it maintains a state of equilibrium between the different Doṣas and Dhatus, or root principles of the body. The bodily Vāyu is divided, as are the principles called Pitta and Kapha, into five chief divisions according to the differences in location and function. Vāyu, known in its bodily aspect as Prāṇa, the universal force of vital activity, on entry into each individual is divided into tenfold functions (Vṛtti) of which five are chief. The first or breathing, bear the same name (Prāṇa) as that given to the force considered in its totality – the function whereby atmospheric air with its pervading vitality, which has been first drawn from without into the bodily system, is expired.
On the physical plane, Prāṇa manifests in the animal body as breath through inspiration (Sa), or Śakti, and expiration (Ha), or Śiva. Breathing is itself a Mantra, known as the Mantra which is not recited (Ajapā-Mantra), for it is said without volition.
The divine current is the motion of Ha and Sa. This motion, which exists on all the planes of life, is for the earth plane (Bhurloka) created and sustained by the Sun, the solar breath of which is the cause of human breath with its centrifugal and centripetal movements, the counterpart in man of the cosmic movement of the Hamsah or Śiva Śakti Tattva, which are the soul of the Universe. The Sun is not only the centre and upholder of the solar system, but the source of all available energy and of all physical life on Earth. Accompanying the sunshine, there proceeds from the orb a vast invisible radiation, the pre-requisite of all vegetable and animal life. It is these invisible rays which, according to science, sustain the mystery of all physical life. The Sun as the great luminary is the body of the Solar God, a great manifestation of the Inner Spiritual Sun.
Apāna, the downward “breath” which pulls against Prāṇa, governs the excretory functions; Samāna kindles the bodily fire and governs the processes of digestion and assimilation; Vyāna, or diffused “breathing,” is present throughout the body, effecting division and diffusion, resisting disintegration, and holding the body together in all its parts; and Udāna, the ascending Vāyu, is the so-called “upward breathing”. Prāṇa is in the heart; Apāna in the anus; Samāna in the navel; Udāna in the throat; and Vyāna pervades the whole body. By the words “navel” and so forth, it is not meant that the Vāyu is in the navel itself but in that region of the body so designated – the abdominal region and its centre the Maṇipūra Cakra. The five minor Vāyu are Naga, Kurma, Krikara, Devadatta, and Dhananjaya, which manifest in hiccup, closing and opening the eyes, digestion, yawning, and in that Vāyu “which leaves not even the corpse”. The functions of Prāṇa may be scientifically defined as follows: Appropriation (Prāṇa), Rejection (Apāna), Assimilation (Samāna), Distribution (Vyāna), and Utterance (Udāna). The Prāṇa represents the involuntary reflex action of the organism and the Indriya one aspect of its voluntary activity.
In the case of the individualized Prāṇa, or principle which vitalizes the animal organism during its earth life, it may be said, when regarded as an independent principle, to be a force more subtle than that which manifests as terrestrial matter which it vitalizes. In other words, according to this theory, the Ātma gives life to the earth organism through the medium of terrestrial Prāṇa, which is one of the manifestations of that Energy which issues from and is at base the all-pervading Ātma, as Śakti.
References:
- Grimes, John (1996). A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English. Albany: State University of New York Press
- Avalon, Arthur (1950). The Serpent Power: Being the Shat-Chakra-Nirūpana and Pādukā-Panchakā. Adyar, Madras: Ganesh & Co. (Madras) Ltd. p. 54-78.
