Koshas Cont: Manamaya, Vijnanamaya & Anandamaya
As we continue to reveal the sculpture of our divine nature within, we come to the even finer layer of the mind. In a sculpture this might be the subtle curves of a cheek bone, the shape of the fingers and hands, the outlines of the jewelry, etc. Mantra is the chisel used at this level of our being, just like asana or pranayama were the chisels before. And as we learn to use the tool of mantra with even more subtlety and focus, the divine image begins to take form— as Patanjali teaches, when the thought waves of the mind are calm, our true nature is revealed.
The practice of mantra follows the same principles of surrender as the practice of asana and pranayama. Mantra must be relaxed, yet focused, to achieve its goal. This is described in Shiva Sutra 2.2, Prayatnah Sadakah. In this Sutra we see the repetition of a mantra likened to shooting an arrow— “Or just as when the archer, placing an arrow on the string of a bow and then pulling back on that arrow and letting it go, where it flies swiftly, striking the point at which it was aimed. It is in this same way, O Devi, the supreme light of God Consciousness (prakāśa) is attained by just one thrust of awareness.”
We repeat the mantra with one pointed focus on our goal, and we repeat it with a relaxed yet steady aim. Like our approach to asana, the mantra itself is not the goal, it is just a chisel we use to reveal our true nature which is fully formed within us. Pranayama is not the goal, it is just a finer chisel, and mantra too is not the goal, it is just a finer chisel yet.
The dimension of mantra is extremely subtle, and for that reason the Yogic Tradition has actually broken it down into sub categories in order to help us navigate these extremely subtle dimensions.
When we start repeating a mantra, we are often doing so at the most physical level, the Vikhari Level. We hear it with the ears, we say it aloud, etc. This is similar to the physical Kosha of asana, the Annamaya Kosha, the phsycail level of our being. Though this is a wonderful starting point, as you do a mantra longer you may naturally begin to feel the same level of focus, but with less and less external effort. The mantra may become quieter naturally, and slower. This is the transition from the phsycail level of mantra to the subtle level, the Madhyama level of the throat. This is similar to the transition that naturally occurs when you complete your asana practice and feel a deeper connection with your breath. Eventually, the practice of mantra can become even more subtle, where you feel the vibration with almost no physical experience, yet you are totally there for it— at this stage you are not repeating the mantra, the mantra is repeating itself within you. This is the effort of mantra that the Shiva Sutras describe— the effortless effort of repeating the mantra like releasing an arrow from the bow.
Vijnanamaya Kosha
One of the final chisels in our tool box as we reveal the divine within ourselves is not as much about the chisel, but how we use the chisel. The VIjnanamaya Kosha literally means the “shell composed or wisdom or intellect”, meaning this layer of our being lies very close to the true director within us. The word intellect often makes us think of an intellectual person, who can be quite wordy and confusing at times depending on your experiences in life. For the yogi, the intellect we are referring to has nothing to do with the mind that we might associate with a diploma, but rather, the intuitive intelligence that is within us all. For example, a lot of the work we are doing with our yoga practice asks that we ‘feel’, or to ‘listen to your body’, while we move so that we can keep in touch with the body’s amazing intelligent pathways of movement. THis is an example of the intellect at the heart of this Kosha— we use our ‘lower mind’ to focus on the awareness of the ‘higher mind’.
In the realm of the tattvas, the map of manifestation according to the yogic tradition, the mind has three aspects— the manas, which is the sensory input, the Ahamkara, the identifying mechanism, and the Buddhi, the discerner. You can imagine your mind like a phone camera— the manas is the open lens of the camera, taking in all the data endlessly. The Ahamkara is the little box that floats around your screen, focusing on the faces that appear, this is the organizing aspect of the Ego, and the Buddhi is You— The user of the device, the only one who can discern how to use the phone in a way that leads to growth instead of distraction— this is the intuition, the intellect, the knowledge represented by the Vinjanamaya Kosha. In the yogic tradition the sustained experience of this Kosha is called ‘The Witness’, an experience of pure awareness.
When we hear the term “witness” it feels like a passive bystander, and in a way this is right and it also misses the point. If we call back to the original description of our work in yoga as a means of revealing the divine that is already within the sculpture, than we can better understand how something like a ‘witness’ could be the most powerful way of revealing that divinity. If we can ‘see’ something we can become it. As poet laurette Amanda Gorman put it at the last inauguration, "There is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it. If only we're brave enough to be it.” When we can see something, then we can be that something. The Witness is more than a passive bystander, its a profound practice unto itself.
As Babaji teaches: “The metaphysical side of yoga is very subtle, and it is very real. Many students like to read and fantasize about spirituality, but it’s much better to practice and actually experience what a chakra is. Through practice you should be able to find it, to feel it, and also to be able to open it and to go into it. It doesn’t matter what it looks like. Sometimes the process of stabilizing the mind and practicing a meditation will act like psychic Draino by cleaning out a lot of the debris in your psychic system. The inner fire of yoga is the reward. “ (SP 50)
Though we might not feel like avengers, we all have the superpower of feeling this subtle energy of the chakras within us. The SHambhavananda Tradition focuses primarily on the heart chakra, as it is both a very deep chakra and yet also reachable and familiar to us on a daily basis.
Similar to the practice of mantra, when we breathe into our heart we encounter the microcosm of the Koshas once again. At first the breath into the heart is a physical experience. If we are able to work with this consciously, and treat our experience as a direction and not the destination, then conscious work at the physical level of the heart will guide us to a subtler experience, and eventually towards an experience of our heart itself. As was said earlier, the work at the heart is beyond the chisel, and reflects the depth of your practice overall. Let yourself work with intuition here, surrendering any grip we might have to technique, yet maintaining awareness of the heart.
Anandamaya Kosha
ANd there is yet another Kosha, the Ananda Maya Kosha, the Bliss Sheath. As can be intuited, there is little to no practice that needs to occur at this level. This sheath is similar in nature to the top limb of Patanjali’s eight limbs of yoga, Samadhi. This sheath represents a merging with the practice, wherein the practice, the practitioner and the goal of the practice are no longer differentiated, but merge into one unified experience. “Samadhi is when, in the practice of dhyana, both the practitioner and the object of focus dissolve into the Self. Then there is no such thing as practitioner or object, only absorption in the Self” (3.3). As Shambhavananda has taught, when you walk through this portal, the small ‘you’ dissolves.
The classic story to help describe this phenomenal experience is that of the rain drop and the ocean. The rain drop is one with the cloud, and as it slowly emerges from the cloud it begins to look at itself, and the other raindrops around it. They are all falling together, so it doesn’t even appear that they are falling— but I imagine there is a nice breeze where they are living. This raindrops entire life takes place in the time between the cloud and the ocean, and as it falls it develops likes and dislikes, property, diplomas, and promotions. At every stage of its life, the raindrop proclaims, “I am a rain drop”, as it holds its achievements up, or says “I am a rain drop” as it pushes away that which it doesn’t want to associate with. I am a raindrop, I am a rain drop, I am a raindrop, is uttered thousands upon thousands of times throughout its life. Until finally, as the raindrop begins to approach the ocean, and its body begins to expand and dissolve, the rain drop merges with the ocean, and a voice is heard, in a distinctly different tone, ‘I Am the Ocean’. This merging is beyond the identity we carry with us, and represents the Unity that is at the heart of Yoga itself, the Union that Yoga itself literally defines itself as.
Ultimately, Surrender is the practice of this kosha, as it is the only practice without an object. Surrender is at the heart of every stage of our Koshic journey, but surrender alone is the tool that remains at this final level. And as we have seen, the nature of such a practice is internal in nature, and cannot be given to you, or described to you well enough to understand it— you can only understand it though practice. As Patanjali says about this final understanding of our practice, “Through self-enquiry the practitioner gains insight, but eventually all mental logic must come to an end in bliss. Following that is the comprehension that all is the Self (yoga)” (1.17).
Conclusion
We have taken time to walk through the many layers of our being, known as the Koshas, in order to help you see and feel the path that you are walking upon. The purpose of seeing all the different chisels is to show you how all of the practices have the same goal, yet exist at different levels of experience. Each one is best, as the old saying goes, yet each one is also unique from the rest. If you are someone who commonly skips asana practice in order to dive into your meditation practice, take a moment to consider that asana might unlock new levels in your breath and mantra. On the other hand, if you are hesitant to meditate because it doesn’t offer you the same comfort as the work of asana, remember that the techniques themselves are not the goal, and that once you were uncomfortable in asana too. The take away is that we are practicing surrender at every level, and that every level represents our karma, that which we are working through to reveal the divine within us. Without our karma, there wouldn’t be any marble to chisel away at, so for now, take your time and try to feel the layers of your being as you continue to reveal your inner divinity to yourself and the world around you.