426. Vistāraḥ विस्तारः
Vistāra means expansion. Universe is
nothing but the expansion of the Brahman. This confirms His omnipresence.
427. Sthāvara-sthāṇuḥ
स्थावर-स्थाणुः
Both sthāvara
and sthāṇu mean immovable. Brahman need
not move as He is omnipresent and hence He is adored as Sthāvara. Universe
rests in Him firmly and this is indicated by sthāṇu. Universe is not different
from the Brahman and hence both are referred as immovable.
Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad Gītā (II.24), “The Soul is eternal, omnipresent,
immovable, constant and everlasting.”
428. Pramāṇam प्रमाणम्
Repetitive nāma 959.
Lord Viṣṇu is the authentic proof
for the existence of the universe. The proof is in the form of knowledge. He
virtually presides over everything. For example, the purest form of consciousness
is the Brahman, who is realized through pure knowledge.
This nāma says that He is the Supreme authority of the
universe. He alone has the Absolute and independent Authority.
429. Bījamavyayam बीजमव्ययम्
Bīja means the primary cause of anything and avyaya
means imperishable. He is not only the cause, but also imperishable.
This nāma conveys that He is the Creator of the
universe. It also says that He is
eternal, the unique quality of the Brahman. All the beings originate from Him
and ultimately merge into Him. The intervening period is the period of
transmigration.
430. Arthaḥ अर्थः
He is the most sought
after by men as He alone is capable of offering liberation, because He is Bījamavyaya (previous nāma). He alone is capable of offering liberation, the
relief from the pains of transmigration.
431. Anarthaḥ अनर्थः
He needs nothing, as
everything originates from Him. It can also be explained that He is not this
(neti) not this (neti). That is why Upaniṣad-s
explain Him as not this, not this (neti neti). In other words, He is indescribable. He, who is
most sought after (previous nāma) is beyond explanation,
an exclusive quality of the Brahman.
432. Mahākośaḥ महाकोशः
He is covered by five kośa-s or coverings. The Self within (often referred as the
individual soul) is sheathed by five coverings and deep within these coverings,
He is seated, constantly witnessing all the activities of the man.
Further reading on kośa-s:
Tattvabodha asks “pañca kośāḥ ke?”
meaning what are the five sheaths? The
five sheaths are annamaya, prāṇamaya, manomaya, vijñānamaya and ānandamaya
kośa-s. These five sheaths are translated
as sheaths of food, vital air, mind, intellect and bliss. These five sheaths
are related to the three types of bodies – gross, subtle and causal.
Gross body à annamaya kośa
Subtle body à prāṇamaya kośa, manomaya kośa, vijñānamaya kośa
Causal body à ānandamaya kośa
The Self within can be realized only
if all these sheaths are transcended, as the Self remains encased by these
sheaths. These sheaths cause illusion by making a person to identify with these
sheaths. The exterior annamaya kośa is
grossest of the five and the interior ānandamaya kośa is subtlest in nature.
The following diagram will explain the five kośa-s with relation to the three
types of bodies.
Gross body consists of annamaya kośa. This kośa (sheath) is gross in nature, hence associated with gross body. These are called sheaths because they form
veils around the soul or ātman. This
soul or ātman is nothing but the Brahman Himself, who is beyond these bodies
and five sheaths. Knowledge of these sheaths becomes essential so that one can
negate them as Brahman. As already
discussed, Brahman can be realised only by affirmation and negations.
Annamaya kośa or the physical sheath
is produced by the combination of gross elements viz. ākāś, air, fire, water
and earth. This sheath is called annamaya kośa, as it is sustained only through
the intake of food. The consumed food
nourishes not only the external organs and also flesh, blood, nerves, bones,
etc. Pañcadaśī (III.3) explains the formation of the gross body. It says that gross body is formed out of
procreative fluids of parents, which are formed out of the food consumed by
them. The quality of procreative fluids
again depends upon the quality of the food consumed by them. The physical
sheath becomes important not only to sustain the other sheaths, but also a
necessity to undergo one’s accrued karmas, that enters the fetus at the time of
conjugation. Karmas are unfolded mostly
through gross body and very rarely through the mind. The physical sheath, which
is grossest in nature, is formed by the subtlest sheath ānandamaya kośa. The subtlest becomes subtler, gross, grosser
and grossest. In other words, the ānandamaya kośa forms vijñānamaya kośa,
vijñānamaya kośa forms manomaya kośa, manomaya kośa forms prāṇamaya kośa and
prāṇamaya kośa forms annamaya kośa. It
is like the gross body that cannot be formed without the causal body. It is
always the subtlest that leads to the grossest.
It is only because of the subtlest soul, the gross body is formed. Even in the case of gross elements, the
subtlest among them, the ākāś is the cause for the rest of the elements. Taittirīya Upaniṣad
(II.1) beautifully explains this phenomenon. “From this Self comes space; from
space air, from air, fire; from fire, water; from water, earth; from earth,
plants and herbs; from plants and herbs, food; from food comes human beings.”
Tattvabodha says that annamaya kośa is formed out of essence of the
food (essence is created due to the digestive system), sustained by the essence
of the food and is ultimately consumed to the earth, in which plants grow
producing food grains. The quality of the physical body depends upon the type
of food one consumes. Certain food items
create quality organs, whereas certain types of food cause malfunctioning of
organs. Particularly smoking not only
injures organs like heart and lungs, but also depletes the positive energy of
the body as a whole. Presence of smokers in spiritual meets erodes the huge
amount of positive vibes generated. A
drop of poison is enough to turn the entire glass of water poisonous.
The importance of the gross body
cannot be ignored. It is only the gross
body that makes us to realize the Brahman.
By effectively controlling the nine apertures in the gross body, the
inherent nature of the gross body can be modified. For example, the sensory organs can be effectively
controlled from associating with the materialistic world. This can happen only by practice, for which
annamaya kośa is essential.
Beneath the annamaya kośa is the
prāṇamaya kośa. Tattvabodha explains prāṇamaya kośa as “prāṇādi pañca vāyavaḥ
vāgādīndriya pañcakaṁ prāṇamayaḥ प्राणादि पञ्च वायवः वागादीन्द्रिय पञ्चकं प्राणमयः” This means ‘vital force
and five types of prāṇa-s,
five action faculties speech, movement, holding, evacuation and
reproduction form the prāṇamaya
kośa’. Prāṇa is the vital force and its
modifications into five type prāṇa-s viz. prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, udāna and samāna
are known as five types of prāṇa-s. The
inhaled air is converted into five types of prāṇa-s. Deep and slow breathing keeps the mind calm
and composed whereas, fast and shallow breathing makes the mind agitative. One
should practice abdominal breathing, where diaphragm expands and contracts
making the lungs to function to its fullest capacity.
Prāṇa, one of the derivatives of
prāṇa primarily is the cause for the functioning of the heart, senses, nerves
and blood vessels. Prāṇa is generally
active in the chest area. Apāna is the cause
for evacuation of undigested food and impure water from the body and active in
the lower abdominal area. It is also the cause for procreation. Vyāna is the
cause for blood circulation and nourishes every cell of the body. It is primarily responsible for the
functioning of hands and legs. Cramps
happen in legs if vyāna is not active in pumping blood to the legs. Udāna is connected to the mind and intellect
and is the cause for thoughts. It carries the inputs from external sensory
organs to the mind. It is also responsible to push the subtle and causal bodies
out of the gross body during death. It
is the cause for vomiting, burping, tears and sneezing. When subtle and causal bodies have left the
gross body dhanañjaya (not sure of this spelling), a type of prāṇa continues to remain in the
body and causes the bulging of the corpse and decomposes it and finally escapes
through the top of the head. Samāna is
the cause for assimilation of the food.
Prāṇa and its modifications,
function in the body during all the three states of consciousness, awake, dream
and deep sleep. If the course of any one of these prāṇa-s is modified or ceases
to function, it triggers udāna to push the causal and subtle bodies out of the
gross body causing death. When prāṇa is controlled and regulated, it helps to
keep the entire system in good health. By practicing prāṇāyāma one can keep his
body in natural condition. To pursue
spirituality, a healthy body is essential.
Annamaya kośa is related to the gross body and prāṇamaya kośa is related to the subtle body.
Mental sheath or manomaya kośa
belongs to the subtle body. Tattvabodha
says it is made up of mind and organs of perception viz. ear, skin eye, tongue
and nose. Inherently mind is addicted to
the senses. When one begins to pursue
the spiritual path, one has to work against the inherent nature of the
mind. It is like swimming against the
water current, though tough yet possible.
When one practices to look within, instead of looking at the
materialistic world, mind gets trained to look within. Mind is often associated with ego and makes a
person to falsely associate with his gross body. Gross body alone is perishable amongst the
three types of bodies. Mind instead of identifying with the imperishable Self,
falsely gets associated with the gross body. This is called inherent ignorance. Mind
undergoes quick changes causing alternative bouts of joy and sorrow. When a mundane mind says “I”, it means only
the gross body and when a yogi’s mind says “I”, it refers to the Self
within.
Next to the mental sheath is the
sheath of intellect or vijñānamaya kośa, which is also associated with the
subtle body. Vijñāna means intelligence and its opposite is ajñāna or
ignorance. Intellect along with organs of perception or jñānendriya-s forms the
sheath of intellect. When the organs of
perception join with the mind it is called manomaya kośa and when the organs of
perception join with the intellect it becomes vijñānamaya kośa. Though
intellect is the refined form of the mind, it does not mean that it is supreme
to the mind. Mind is the knowing
principle and the intellect is the deciding factor. When one is able to
transcend both the mind and the intellect, his knowledge becomes complete, as
both mind and intellect are associated with the pluralistic world. Intellect
largely depends upon the impressions in the subconscious mind for its
decisions. Impressions in the mind and
impressions in the subconscious mind are different. Impressions of the subconscious mind are more
powerful than the impressions in the mind. Impressions in the subconscious
mind, like karmic account, accompany the causal body during
transmigrations. Intellect interacts
only with the mind and not with any other faculties. When the mind is incapable of taking any
decisions on its own, it always refers to the intellect. Intellect is mind’s guru.
One could wonder why knowledge forms the sheath for the Brahman. It is to be recalled that the Brahman within,
is sheathed by ignorance and this state of the Brahman is known as jīva. The Soul or the Brahman within can be
realized only if the sheath of ignorance is penetrated. With vijñānamaya kośa,
ajñāna or the ignorance can be transcended to realise the Self-illuminating Brahman.
The fifth and final sheath is known
as ānandamaya kośa or the sheath of bliss.
The previous four sheaths are associated with gross and subtle
bodies. Ānandamaya kośa alone is
associated with the inner most causal body.
The causal body is full of ignorance.
Pañcadaśī (III.9) explains the sheath of bliss as, “there is a position
or function of the intellect, which at the time of enjoying the fruits of good
actions, goes on a little farther inward and catches the reflection of the
bliss and at the end of this enjoyment, merges in deep sleep.” Tattvabodha explains ānandamaya kośa as the
impure sattva guṇa. It is called impure
sattva guṇa because it has the traces of rajo guṇa and tamo guṇa. If the traces of these two guṇa-s are not
present, then it is not ānandamaya kośa.
Only the nirguṇa Brahman has no traces rajo and tamo guṇa-s. When the nirguṇa Brahman is sheathed by
individual ignorance is called jīva and the same nirguṇa Brahman sheathed by
collective ignorance of all the beings is known as Īśvara. Ignorance and māyā are
the same.
433. Mahābhogaḥ महाभोगः
Bhoga means
enjoyment and contextually it means the Bliss. Brahman is full of Bliss. When
one begins to realize Him, his first experience would be only bliss.
Taittirīya Upaniṣad
(III.6) explains this. It says, “Bliss is Brahman. It is from bliss that these
beings are born. Having been born, they are supported by bliss and they when perish
they go back to bliss and disappear into bliss.” Thus, the Upaniṣad does not differentiate
between the Brahman and Bliss. Brahman is ‘sat-cit- ānanda’.
434. Mahādhanaḥ महाधनः
This nāma says that He is not only
the source of Bliss, but also makes His devotees to enjoy His Bliss. Devotees
are those who always stand connected to Him. What He has, He shares with His
devotees. Bliss is referred here as the wealth.
