Adi Sankaracharya compares the Atman to a crystal in verse 15 of Atma Bodha. The glass is transparent. When a piece of glass is placed on a colored material, it will take on the color of the material. A crystal placed on a blue cloth will appear blue, a crystal placed on a red cloth will appear red, and a crystal placed on yellow paper will appear yellow. So too, he says, the Self/Atman is crystal clear. He takes the qualities of the five sheaths that are closest to him in each individual.
The experience of the Self in the limited form as jivatman goes through the various modifications of the body like birth, growth, disease, decay, old age and death along with joy and sadness, which is bondage. Atman when identified with these five kosas or sheaths is jivatman experiencing pleasure and pain, and the six modifications of the physical body such as the example of a crystal above.
The five things are:
Annamaya kosa: made up of skin, meat, blood, bones, etc. The physical body is impermanent, of temporary existence, it is composed of inert elements and undergoes changes over time. Birth, growth, disease, decay, aging and death belong to the physical body, not to the BEING.
Pranamaya kosa: also composed of five elements of nature and are independent of the Self, but operate by the power of the Self. Thoughts such as ‘I am hungry, I am sick’ and all ‘I am’ are irrelevant to the SELF, the witness and they are separate from these.
Manonmaya kosa: It is constituted by the mind, memory and the five organs of knowledge. These sense organs alone cannot perceive objects. The mind plays a role in recognizing the object as it passes through the organ. The mind also goes through agitations and modifications such as desire, doubt, faith, courage, etc. It is an object of consciousness since the ME is what sees and the mind is what is seen and they cannot be the same.
Vigyanamaya kosa is composed of Buddhi, ahankara and Jnana-indriyas. Buddhi are the thoughts of the nature of analysis as differentiation, judgment and reasoning. Ahankara is the thought of doer and enjoyer. The jnana-indriyas are the organs of knowledge: eye, ear, tongue, nose and skin.
The final nucleus is the Anandamaya kosa, it is composed of ignorance (of the Being) and vasanas (tendencies).
The bliss we experience during deep sleep (because we are unaware of non-self, body, mind, intellect, all mundane objects) is called Anandamaya kosa. We make the bed with soft pillows, adjust the lights, and turn down the music to drift off to sleep, but once we’re fast asleep, none of this matters. Deep sleep is due to being very close to the Self without the knowledge of the not-self.
We experience momentary bliss when we are one with nature near water or mountain or during karma where we are one-way.
The intellectual differentiation of the I from the non-I, which is composed of five sheaths, by the method of negation of each sheath, is called panca-kosa viveka. The removal does not mean the literal removal of these sheaths, but the intellectual denial that none of these sheaths is the SELF, that it is an independent, separate witness and that which illuminates these sheaths. This realization or differentiation of the Self from the five sheaths is called elimination in Vedanta.
Denial of five things…
Annamaya-kosa is not the Self – physical body
The physical body is made up of the food ingested by the parents, it grows with the food ingested by the mother in the womb, it grows with the food ingested by the individual, and it becomes food for other living beings such as birds, insects, etc. to the death of the physical body.
• This physical body, which is made of flesh, bones and blood, is not the Self because: The body has a temporary existence, it has a specific time frame for its existence after which it disintegrates, while the Self is permanent.
• The physical body is constantly subject to changes such as birth, growth, age, disease, decay and finally death. The Self is ‘nirvikari’, ‘unchangeable’ and therefore this body cannot be that Self.
• The body is inert: The body is made of Calcium, Carbon and other elements, which are inert in nature while the Being is conscious in nature.
Pranamaya-kosa is not the Self – physical body
The five pranas (prana, apana, vyana, udana, samana) and the five organs of action (hands, legs, speech organs, genitalia, and anus) form the pranamaya kosa. These also originate from the five inert elements of nature by the panchikarna. Therefore pranamaya kosa is not the Self.
Therefore, actions are not of the BEING, functions such as breathing are not of the BEING. Statements like ‘I’m hungry, angry, happy or sad’ do not belong to ME. I am the ME always free, existing as a witness and I AM the same in everything.
Mononmaya-kosa (mental body) not the Self
This is the mental envelope formed by the mind, memory and the five organs of action. These organs of action cannot function by themselves. The mind reaches the object through the particular organ and generates an experience. It is amazing to realize that the mind is the only experience experienced by the experiencer in the dream state. Only the mind creates man’s attachment to the body and the objects of the senses.
Mononmaya-kosa is not the Self because
• the mind arises while awake and ceases while in deep sleep, but the Self has no beginning (anadhi) or end (anantha).
• The mind is erratic, with desire, doubt, anger, fear, joy, sadness, etc. It is not stable and immutable like the Self (nirvikari).
• The mind is constantly scared or afraid of change, constantly restless and in pain. The mind, which is in the grip of pain, fear and doubt, can never be the blissful Atman.
When we say that ‘my mind was not here’ it simply confirms that ‘I’ is different from ‘mind’. It is an object of consciousness; It’s not me, the ‘ME’.
Viganamaya kosa (causal body) is not the Self
Sankaracharya explains in his Vivekachudamani verse 206 that Vijanamaya kosa cannot be the Supreme Being because it is subject to change, inert, limited, remains as an object of knowledge and is not always present. A temporary, perishable thing cannot be the imperishable ME.
A. Vijanamaya kosa is subject to change: intellectual ideas change. When sattva predominates, it is stable and clear, when rajas takes over, it is restless and hasty, and when tamas dominates, it is dull and sleepy. Since the Self is immutable (nirvikari), vijanamaya kosa cannot be the self and is not the Self.
b. Vijanamaya kosa is inert: it is born from five elements (tanmantras) by the process of pancheekarana; they are inert in nature. It is only by the light of consciousness that it is enlightened and functional. Therefore, it is not-Self.
against Vijanamaya kosa is limited: Every thought that appears in the intellectual space dies and gives rise to a different thought. Therefore what is not permanent cannot be the Self, which is vibhu (omnipresent) and ever present.
d. Vijanamaya kosa is an object of knowledge: Vijanamaya kosa, which is an object of awareness (as I am aware of my state of mind today) cannot be the source, a subject that never becomes an object.
my. Vijanamaya kosa is not constantly present: this kosa is absent in sleep. When one is asleep, the body, mind and intellect are absent. The ability to reason and decide is the intellectual function. That which is not permanent cannot be the Self, which is nithya.
Ananadamaya kosa (causal body) is not the BEING
A. Anandhamaya kosa is conditioned by the sense of perception, desire and possession. That which depends on external objects cannot be the Self, which is nirvikalpa.
b. When one is in a deep sleep, he does not recognize anything other than bliss. When the individual is awake, he acknowledges the fact that he did not know anything during the dream. So Anandhamaya kosa is subject to modification and cannot be the Self, which is nirvikara.
against According to the law of causality, every action has a consequence that comes from the individual. The experiences of Anandhamaya kosa are due to the punyas/good deeds of previous births and these have a beginning and an end. Anandhamaya kosa cannot be the Self, which has no beginning and no end. It is perpetual-nithya.
d. Anandhamaya kosa is associated with other matter: this kosa is always attached to other kosas: annamaya, manonmaya, pranamaya and vijananmaya kosas. What remains with the association of something external can never be the Self – nirguna and nirangana
I, the SELF is totally free of anything and everything in between. I have no qualities or attributes. I simply exist as a witness!