The KOSHAS
Kosham means layers. This chapter describes the five layers of the body with its medical background and relation between the diseases and their causes.
Sankara says beautifully 'The only thing our mind keeps on saving is what next'.
Dhadhakkim, Dhadhakkim means what next. Constantly, the mind thinks only about what next, what next.
Meditation is a technique created for people who think that they are all right, who think they do not have problems that others have and want to know what next, is there, in their lives.
Medication looks at the body in parts. i.e. hands separate, etc. If we take the field of dentistry, there are seven areas in that field; one mouth and seven areas! Now these seven areas have been further split and have become nine. As they specialize deeper, the nine will become eleven. This is the status now, in Bharat. In America, the specialisation is even more.
An American devotee, a dentist, shared this information, about the high specialisation in his country. If we look at things in such high detail, how can we understand anything useful? Studying the simple tooth itself may take 32 years! Then, imagine how long it will take to study the rest of the body. A specialist will be able to take care of only the part he has specialized in, who will cure the rest?
The problem with today's medicines is that they really cannot cure many of the diseases. This is because the body is approached from the outside. The whole approach goes from outside in. Since the approach is from outside to inside, we need to approach part by part.
However, meditation looks at the outside from within. Meditation approaches the body in its totality. There is nothing like meditation for the head, hand and stomach. Any meditation technique energises the whole body; the whole body benefits.
Medical science has grown vastly, with specialisations but the cures have not grown. Why is it so?
We must first understand that disease is not caused by disorder in any particular organ. Disease is related to the whole body. The result of an unhealthy body will reflect as a disease one day.
When only the diseased part is treated, the cause for the disease will not be eliminated. Since medical science looks at curing only affected body parts, the simple approach of eliminating the root cause of the disease has been totally ignored.
Why did this approach of dividing the body in to parts come into practice?
The reason is that there are many mysteries about the body, which we still do not understand. Many functions of the body remain unexplained. We cannot say that our body is a single unit nor can we say that that it comprises the body, life and mind.
We have five layers in our body. These layers are known as koshas.
They are:
- 1. ANNAMAYA KOSHA
- 2. PRANAMAYA KOSHA
- 3. MANONMAYA KOSHA
- 4. VIGNANAMAYA KOSHA
- 5. ANANDAMAYA KOSHA
It is difficult to understand these five koshas as they are of a subtle nature and based on spirituality. As we are used to analysing every thing through scientific methods we will try to explain these five koshas scientifically.
Take the example of an electric cable. What is inside the electric cable?
Copper wire.
What is inside the copper wire?
Electricity.
What is electricity made of?
Electricity is made of electrons.
What are electrons made of?
Electrons are made of vibrations and information.
What constitutes the information and the vibrations?
It is all energy!
Will people not laugh if you say there are five invisible layers inside a cable? Only people who know science will agree to this.
Similarly, there is a definite thing called spirituality.
Spirituality was taught in schools called gurukulam. In the olden days, the disciples did not do chores for the Master nor did they massage his legs, they were in the gurukulam to learn about spirituality.
What do we search for ultimately, in life?
We really do not know what we are searching for.
Education, in the gurukuls, was meant to identify the answer to that search. The qurukul system, an eastern concept, is totally forgotten now. When foreigners invaded Bharat, amongst the many things they destroyed was the gurukul system. Spirituality has almost been wiped out by this destruction and it has been masked by ignorance.
Even in the old days, there were quacks, pretending to be doctors. In that era, Hippocrates launched a new concept of reforming people. He proclaimed, 'even if you are not able to help, it is alright, but always keep in mind that you should do no harm to others.' He is the father of allopathy. Since there was no spirituality at the time, something intelligent needed to be done; hence, the concept of allopathic form of medicine came into being, to prevent people going off track!