It took me considerable time to map the koshanas concept to the human form with all the functions. So let me explain the Panchakoshanas as I understand it.
The 5 sheaths of a human existence are:
1. Annamayakoshana - The physical sheath
2. Manonmanyakoshana - The astral or ghost sheath
3. Pranamayakoshana - The Pancha prana sheath
4. Vignanamayakoshana - the soul itself as sheath
5. Anandamayakoshana - The 'existence' (?) after the great merge or the bliss sheath
Let us look at their functions briefly.
1. Annamayakoshana:
This is the external form of a human, this is manifested (also as eating action by mother - while the child grows in the womb) and maintained by the action of eating once the individual is born. Please note that it is said in some scriptures that, just before entering the birth canal, a new born experiences a special type of prana - called - 'Vaishnava Prana', that passes over the brain in a down to up manner, and completely erases any past memories. Thus the baby starts with a clean slate - ready for wordly inputs. It is sometimes thought that this is the same prana that causes the water to break, in a 100% natural birth.
This body exists to expend karma in the external world. The below organs of actions (5 Karmendriyas) are used to expend karma through this sheath:
Speech or Vak – Mouth
Grasp or Paani – Hands
Move or Paada – Foot
Excrete/Expulse or Paayu – Anus/Rectum
Fornicate or Upastha – Sexual organs
In nutshell, this is the conveyor of actions to the external world. Food nourishes this sheath. Some where, I have read that some indian sadhus claim that they have practiced some stringent sadhanas by which they directly observe energy from sun or prakruthi or MAHAT.
2. Manonmayakoshana:
This is the astral or ghost body of a human. This is manifested at conception and grows as the body grows. Sometimes they may stay for some additional time after the physical form is destroyed. In the ordinary souls, the Annamayakoshana and Manonmayakoshana, together act to feel the effects of internal sense organs or the 5 Gnanendriyas. They are as given below:
Sight or Chaksu – Eyes
Hearing or Shrotra – Ear
Smell or Ghraana – Nose
Taste or Rasaana – Taste
Touch or Sparshana – Skin
Please note how the senses are sensed by our brain/mind complex to produce the intended effect.
In nutshell, this is the conveyor of senses to the internal organs. The related astral body is a transient state and hence there is no ability to eat, sleep or have sex.
3. Pranamayakoshana:
This is the third sheath consisting of 5 main and several sub Vayus. You may imagine this to be a flexible/fluidic sealed bottle containing 5 primary gases each maintaining their individuality/functions by flowing through the Nadi systems (like the great barrier reef of the human body !. I tend to imagine that the complex personality of each human is being reflected here as a multi-facetted arrangement of fluidic-sealed bottle and perhaps the multi-colored reef occurring naturally is reminding us this complexity). They convey the senses from the first two sheaths to soul as effects of tanmatras. The five pranas or Pancha pranas are listed below with their auxiliary functions. The auxiliary functions are adequately explained in the link provided in the reference section.
Prana Vayu – Vayu flowing and operating in head and thoracic region.
Apana Vayu – Vayu flowing and operating in lower abdominal region.
Samana Vayu –Vayu flowing and operating in the upper abdominal region.
Udana Vayu – Vaya flowing and operating in the throat, head, and face regions.
Vyana Vayu – Vayu flowing, operating, and permeating the whole body.
Please note that some Gurus consider the process of death as compete, only when the Vayus are completely withdrawn by the MAHAT. When the accounted/set karmas of the life are exhausted, MAHAT withdraws these Vayus and completes the process of death. There is more to these Pranamayakoshana and perhaps when the time comes, I may write another blog just on this third sheath.
4. Vignanamayakoshana:
This is the fourth sheath – the soul. (also called as causal body or 'Karana Shariram') This is indestructible till the great merge happens. When the pranas convey the senses (while performing the karmic activities) as tanmatras to the soul, it faithfully transfers the sensations to the great divine energy. This feedback required by the divine energy is caused by the primordial question that originated in the divine energy – “Who am I?” Imagine the infinite commits (of sensations) by the various life forms to the divine energy – all culminating finally in the great merge after its journey through many types/forms of bodies-thus committing/reinforcing the answer to the primordial question as “I am God”!!
Please refer to my other related blog at - 5. The Great Merge (mayoan.com)
5. Anandamayakoshana:
This is the divine energy itself – the final “Mukthi” state of an individual soul. This is bliss itself as existence.
Another important consideration is how the actions of Karmendriyas can impact pranas and how it is consequently converted as tanmatras and transferred to soul and then to the divine energy. Similarly, the sensations of Gnanendriyas too are imposed upon soul as tanmatras. And the thoughts/free-will, themselves, from the mind/intelligence complex are imposed as "Chittam" right into the soul itself - and they become the locus of all thoughts for that soul. They remain as impressions affecting several forms that the soul may take in its journey through countless life-death cycles, or such thoughts cleansed in hellish situations as part of dispensing justice or expending karma. But note that our regular physical breathing is not the same as these Pranas. Controlled breathing, a smaller number of breathing cycles leads to- (means -less activities), less agitation in the koshanas and hence less agitation in Chittam. The reverse is true too - a smaller number of thoughts (alpha state of mind - say for example, 4 thoughts in a minute), leads to less energy consumption and helps us present a calm disposition. Please note the act of Brain too as part of mind-body complex. The sensations from the sense organs are felt by brain, processed, and then transferred to the pranas by mind. On the inside-to-outside transfers, the Chittam presents thoughts relevant to current context to the mind, and it is the brain that converts these thoughts into actions by activating the Karmendriyas. Also, note that the mind as captured in statements like - "love felt in the heart", "a hearty laughter", "a brave heart", etc., is centered in the heart but the intelligence is centered in the brain (when someone emphasizes advanced concepts to their students and ask them to think, they unconsciously point to their head while speaking about it). Thus, intelligence acts as an effective filter to mind in an outside to inside manner (have you heard 2 people verbally fighting, and at the end when they make up- they sometimes say - "I hope you have not taken it to the heart !!"). And it acts as effective filter to control actions in an inside to outside manner. In a cosmic sense, thus, mind dominates over intelligence and the purpose of intelligence is to generate super refined higher thoughts in mind - in an outside to inside manner. Conversely, when mind processes only higher intelligent thoughts, in an inside to outside manner, the resulting actions, become great and commendable!
Please note the mind itself acts as an internal sense organ - that passes, unexpressed thoughts (through Karmendriyas), and feelings such as jealousy, greed, rage etc., to the "Chittam" and as the same as tanmatras to the divine energy.
So, we can consider our brain (intelligence/thinking) to be our tool that is essential for survival. But mind(feelings) is some part of you - yourself!! Having said that and since we are constantly fighting for justice/freedom/success etc., we cannot underestimate the importance of our tool- the brain, since it, the intelligence, is a fundamental requirement when we are in pursuit of excellence. After the Great Merge, it is said that we FEEL bliss for eternity, but as long as the brain of a soul, as part of survival instinct, differentiates the divine energy and THINKS it as a separate God, Great Merge may not happen for that soul.
I presume that for the last 3 koshanas, the energy comes directly from MAHAT. When the intake of this energy stops, (a related term is 'Pranan left the body)', death happens- this is the real death and not the medical death observed in the 1st and 2nd koshanas.
We also must think about how the 3- imperfections (Please refer to my other blog - 20. The 3-Imperfections (mayoan.com)) operate in these sheaths.
The first imperfection, ‘Anavam’ – operates in the soul itself.
The second imperfection, ‘Maya’ – operates in the first two sheaths.
The third imperfection, ‘Ganmam’- operates in the first sheath.
Sage Patanjali has similar classifications called Kleshas which are five in number.
1. Avidya or ignorance – I consider this as Maya as above.
2. Asmita or I-am-ness – I consider this as Anavam as above.
3. Raga or Attachment – I consider this as Maya as above.
4. Dvesha or Repulsion – I consider this as Maya as above.
5. Abhinivesha or Will to live or survival instinct – I consider this as Anavam as above.
Thus, we can see how Sage Patanjali considers the Ganmam to be a by-product of Maya and Anavam , and thus has treated it as such.
Reference: