Who am I - understanding nature of bodies.

Since the time immortal the man is seeking answer to this question - Who am I? Those who engage themselves only in the material world identify themselves with some or the other non-permanent thing. We point to our body and say - "this is me". However, scriptures strongly deny this idea and proclaim that the real you is not the bodies or sheaths or states of mind but are ever existing consciousness full of bliss.

You might be wondering that I used the word "bodies" above as most of us are aware of only one body i.e. the physical body. Scriptures, however, talks about three kind of bodies:

• Sthula Sharira (gross body)
• Suksma Sharira (subtle body)
• Karana Sharira (causal body)

The gross body consists of five famous elements - earth, water, air, fire and ether. A proper combination of the above five elements makes not only our body but the entire world that we see and experience. The gross body undergoes various modifications every now and then. Before making our entry in this world we exist in the womb of our mother. Later we take birth. We fuel this body with food, water and air so that it can grow. With increasing age we take good and bad experiences from this world and thus we mature. As we become old the body starts decaying and finally it dies. Thus the gross body is subjected to change.

The subtle body also consists of the same five elements however they do not take gross form. It is not visible to the naked eye. Subtle body consists of seventeen parts - five sense organs of awareness (Jyanendriya), five sense organs of action (Karmendriya), five pranas, mind and intellect.

The five sense organs of awareness are - ears, skin, eyes, tongue and nose. The sense organs of action are - speech, hands, legs, anus and genitals. Five pranas are - prana, apana, udana, vyana and samana. I will explain interesting things about them later. Mind is the instrument with which we think and feel various emotions. Intellect is that faculty which helps us to decide what is good and what is bad.

The causal body is the reason for the formation of gross and subtle bodies. It can not be expressed in words. Nobody knows when it was born. For most of us it exists in the form of ignorance. It is this ignorance that makes us identify ourselves with the other two body. Because of this ignorance our real nature remains hidden from us.

Ok. Let me stop here for today! Next week I will explain something about five sheaths.