SPICEblog

I love the idea of the Jnana Yoga Five Sheaths. (The following is my interpretation, inspired by but not really representing Jnana Yoga)

The idea is that there are five sheaths outside of the perfect self. These sheaths cover/hide the perfect self. So you must work on them (often in order) in order to make them "transparent/less distracting" so that your pure self becomes visible/accessible to you.

The first level is (and I love this) the “food” level (Annamaya). It is your body and your connection to physical world. Of course your body is made up of the food you eat and in fact your body will eventually be food for something else. It is important to realize that you are just temporally not dirt (I remember you telling me that this was critical to Carlos Castaneda). But this gets into why I do so much yoga. On one level regular yoga practice eliminates pain in my body (by ha! creating a little pain over long periods of time), gives me flexibility, balance, a quickness in physical reactions and a constant buzz in my ears. But it is also a practice in integrating my body to my self. It is, when good, a meditation on my body, one part at a time as I identify a part and mediate on relaxing that part. It is the start of the process of going inward.

The next sheath is the Energy Sheath (Pranamaya).

In physics everything is a manifestation of energy. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only be transformed and transported. In the journey from of hatha yoga you transport energy that is stuck in the body to flow freely through your body. This kind of energy is clearly “white”. (In Tibetan Buddhism there is also a red energy.) Because it moves and transforms one thinks it is changing, but it is not, it is constant. It is very useful, or essential that this level of our being be trained, regulated, and directed, so that it flows smoothly. My practice become aware of energy everywhere, explore it, know it, love it, watch it as it transforms (inside you/outside you), see the whole world as energy. And ultimately see that it does not change.

Mental Sheath (Manamaya)

This one is pretty clear to anyone who is at all interested in meditation. It is the uncontrolled appearance and path of thoughts and emotions. Again the solution is to watch thoughts and emotions pop into existence and following them with amusement and without being attached to them.

Wisdom Sheath (Vijnanamaya)

In the process of watching thoughts and emotions it becomes apparent that there is a “watcher”. This is the “Wisdom” Sheath. It is the level that has the higher wisdom to seek Truth, to go within, in search of the eternal center of consciousness. This is the level that Quakers access to “Discern the Truth”. A Theist might think that it is God, the “still small voice” in the bible.

A major part of sadhana (spiritual practice) is gaining ever increasing access to this level of our being. It is the level that has the higher wisdom to seek Truth, to go within, in search of the eternal center of consciousness. It is the level in which to act in the world.

The Bliss Sheath (Anandamaya)

Often confused for Satori/Nirvana it is the joy of simply being. It is a very nice place to hang out. It might be my personal final destination the reward for integrating all those other parts. However, it is that last trap on the way of the ultimate spiritual path.

First Non-Sheath

Is the Mystery.