The Many – Sharira

There are 3 main sharira that a jiva utilizes as Upadhi or vehicle. The Sthula-shariram – sense or gross body, the Sukshma-shariram, subtle body and the Karana-shariram or the causal body.

In the Mandukyopanishad, the Self is said to have four states, Jagrat – waking, in which a Jiva is called Vaishvanara; dreaming in which he is called Taijasa ; the third Sushuptih or excellent sleeping in which he is called Prajna and the fourth is the pure consciousness itself which is called Turiya. Sthula-Shariram is the Upadhi of Jiva for Vaishvanara consciousness, Sukshma-Shariram is for Taijasa consciousness and Karana-Shariram for Prajna consciousness as stated in Devi Bhagavatham as below.

“Both Īśvara and Jīva have, by the influence of Vidyā and Avidyā three bodies and three names. When the Jīva lives in his causal body, he is named Prājña; when he lives in subtle body he is known as Taijasa; while he has the gross body, he is called Viśva.” It continues to say – “So when Īśvara is in His causal body, he is denominated Īśa; when He is in His subtle body, he is known as Sūtra; and when He is in His gross body, He is known as Virāṭ.”

Just like the Jiva, Bhagavan also has three Dehas named Isa, Sutra and Virat corresponding to the three human forms of consciousness.

It is the three aspects of the Jiva-Icha, Kriya and Jnana or Will, Activity and Wisdom – that are manifested by the 3 Upadhis. Sthula-Shariram corresponds to Kriya, Sukshma-Shariram is the organ of Jnana and Karana-Shariram is that of Icha. While the Sthula-Shariram contains the Karmendriyas or the organs of action, the true centers of these organs which direct and control them are in the Sukhsma-Shariram. Similarly organs of the Jnanendriyas are in the Sthula-Shariram while their centers are in the Sukshma-Shariram.

The Tattva of Sharira is intrisically connected with other important tattvas like kosha, Pranas, and the Lokas. We need to have a clear understanding of these at the individual levels and also have proper knowledge of the complex network they form to understand about the Jiva’s journey forward. We will look at this network in our upcoming posts.