The purpose of life is the realisation of one’s own
essential nature. It is to know that you are the pure ever-free Atman.
The Vedanta expounds the great truth that Atman alone is real, the
phenomenal world is unreal. You are Atman, but you forget your real
Svarupa due to identification with the body. This is called
Deha-Adhyasa. This is the greatest obstacle to Self-Knowledge or
Atma-Jnana. To get over this delusion of identification with body the
Vedantic Seers have made a detailed analysis of the different bodies,
gross and subtle, and systematically proved that the Jiva is not the
body but is identical with the Paramatman. The study of the three
bodies, the five sheaths and the three states of waking, dream and deep
sleep, helps man to understand that he is different from all these
diverse modifications and that he is the unchanging, constant, witness
of all these. This helps him to feel that he transcends the three
states, the three bodies and the Panchakoshas.
Constant
remembrance of this and meditation on this knowledge will lead him to
the realisation of his Atma-svarupa. Therefore, the study of the
Panchakoshas is a valuable aid in the process of disassociating yourself
from the bodies and the sheaths. It enables you to rise above
body-consciousness, to feel that you are the Atman and thus remain quite
unaffected and unattached amidst all distractions and tribulations of
life.
The individual experiencer (the true Self or Atman) is a consciousness-centre enveloped by
several layers of matter existing as the factors causing objective
awareness in it. The analysis of these layers or bodies is necessary to
ascertain the nature of the true Self.
The three types of Bodies:
Disciple: How many bodies are there in an individual (Jiva)?
Guru: There are three bodies in every individual (Jiva).
Disciple: Please name them.
Guru:
The physical body or the gross body (Sthula Sarira), the astral body or
the subtle body (Sukshma Sarira or Lingadeha) and the causal body or
the seed body (Karanasarira) are the three bodies.
Disciple: Please illustrate them.
Guru:
The shell of a tamarind corresponds to the physical body. The pulp
represents the subtle body. The seed corresponds to the causal body. Ice
represents the physical body. H2O represents the subtle body. The
Tanmatras or root-elements correspond to the causal body.
- Guruji Swami Sivananda