The many – Puruṣārtha – Practices of Dharma in Itihasas – Ramayana – 1

While Krishna demonstrated that Dharma was subtle and context-specific, according to some scholars and philosophers, Rama showed that it was straight forward to the extent of being called formalistic and lacking human material. If we look at the Ramayana from a certain angle it may look to be so, especially when we read about episodes which deal with fulfillment of a formal duty or a promise – Dasaratha fulfulling his promise to Kaikeyi, Rama going to the forest simply to fulfil his duty as a son, and at a later stage abandoning his wife Sita to fulfill his formal duty as a ruler and so on.

But this formalism can be attributed to the times of Rama and his Kula and not to Rama personally. Rshi Jamadagnya or Parasurama killed his mother at his father’s orders since it was his dharma to obey his father. Similarly 1000 sons of King Sagara (of the same ikshvaku kula) met their end at the behest of their father. For the most part, it was this kuladharma that drove Rama to take many of his decisions.

Rama stated thus when trying to justify killing Vali-“tvam tu dharmam avijnava kevalam rosam ashtitah|vidusayasi mam dharme pitr-paitamahe sthitam”- “yet you – who knows nothing of dharma and simply following your passions, rebuke me for abiding by my sacred ancestral laws” emphasizing on his pitr-paitamahe dharma.

In another instance Rama states thus – “eko hy aham ayodhyam ca prthivim capi laksmana | tareyam isubhih kruddho nanu viryam akaranam| adharma-bhaya bhitas ca paralokasya canagha | tena laksmana nadyaham atmanam abhisecaye| – “Enraged, I can subdue with my arrows single handed not only Ayodhya but also the earth. But it is not a question of valor here. Oh, the sinless Lakshmana! I am terribly concerned of doing wrong and of ruining my prospects in the other world. Hence, I do not allow myself to be crowned”

Rama decided to go to the forest just to fulfil his formal duty as a son. But in the process he abandoned his rightful claim to the throne despite protests from the praja of his kingdom who did not want him to go. On another occasion, he had to abandon his wife Sita being fully aware of her innocence just to fulfil his formal duty as the king towards his citizens. Now if the citizens’ voice and opinion mattered that much, then he should have stayed in the kingdom in the first place thus fulfilling his praja’s wishes. We can observe that Dasaratha asked Rama to go to the forest prioritizing his personal dharma over dharma in the sense of wider good, his promise-keeping being his personal dharma and choosing the right king for his citizens being the dharma for the greater good. In a similar situation, Rama did the exact opposite. He asked Sita to take the test by fire, thus abandoning his personal dharma to uphold the greater dharma – of that of the King.

Contradictory actions like the ones stated above can only be standardized by understanding the underlying dharma that Rama was trying to uphold – as a king, son, husband, brother, friend and in the many other roles that he played. While some people may look at the Ramayana in this formalistic way, we can also view it from a broader perspective in a more positive way to see that dharma was practiced such that the practitioners placed the greater good higher than their personal interests.

More about that in the next post.

The many – Purusārtha – Practices of Dharma in Itihasas – Mahabharata-2

Before the story of Kausika, Krishna narrates the story of an innocent hunter named Balaka who had a rare skill. He could hunt animals even when they were outside the range of his sight, just by listening to the noise made by the animal while drinking water. He was simple hearted and was the sole support for his blind parents. Krishna describes him as someone who followed his sva-dharma or his own dharma, never spiteful and one who always spoke the truth. One day he killed a wild animal who turned out to be an ascetic in disguise. This ascetic had gotten a boon from Brahma and was hell-bent on killing all the creatures around. Hence what Balaka did was a great service although he did not know of the true intentions of the creature. Balaka went straight to heaven even after having killed the ascetic.

These 2 stories bring out contradicting aspects of dharma. While Kausika went to hell for a virtuous act of promise-keeping and truth-telling, Balaka went to heaven for killing (and thus breaking the code of Ahimsa). Perhaps that was Krishna’s intentions too- to put out such contradictions that a man can face while practicing dharma and also to show the intrinsic subtle nature of dharma.

In a Kantian model, Truth-telling and promise-keeping may get the highest rank. But in Krishna’s model, his dharma demanded that the moral agent prioritize the alternatives that he had in front of him before acting in a certain way. Krishna clearly ranks saving lives ahead of the value of truth-telling when he says “prāṇinām avadhas tāta sarvajyāyān mato mama” – saving lives should take the highest priority. Thus his dharma is dictated by constraints of the situation and reflects a societal structure that attributed a higher importance to saving innocent lives than any other dharma. Vyasa reflects the same thought when he responds to a question by Yudhistira thus – “dharmo vyāvasthikaḥ smṛtaḥ” – “depends on circumstances”. Krishna thus persuaded Arjuna by invoking the subtle ways of dharma that breaking vows was still the right thing to do sometimes when compared to fratricide.

Seen from another point of view, this teaching of Krishna is directly opposite to his teachings to Arjuna in Bhagavad Gita. Whereas in B.G he invokes Kshatriya-dharma and asks Arjuna to follow it strictly, fight the war and kill his elders, in this episode he asks Arjuna to break the same code of conduct of a kshatriya that is truth-keeping and not kill Yudhistira.

Mahabharata is full of such tricky situations. It constantly challenges our definitions of dharma thus becoming an extended attempt to clarify what dharma is and what we as practitioners should do when we try to be dharmic in this world.

We will move to Ramayana in our next post.

The many – Puruṣārtha – Practices of Dharma in Itihasas – Mahabharata-1

A moral dilemma which often leads to the application of dharma in all its subtlety can be defined as a situation where there are opposing pulls from strong moral values such as satya and ahimsa. Mahabharata is full of such circumstances and predicaments that are closely woven with social structures that both aggravate and cushion them. Its a story in which both gods and men are seen to confront with destiny alike.

According to Shri Bimal Krishna Matilal Krishna is an enigma in the Mahabharata and represents the most confusing kind of moral enigma in the whole of the Hindu ideal of dharma. In Karna Parva, Yudhisthira berates Arjuna when he sees that Arjuna is not able to slay Karna and in sheer frustration, asks him to give up his Gandiva bow. Arjuna discloses that he has taken a secret vow to kill anyone who asks him to give up his bow and wants to kill Yudhisthira citing his Kshatriya dharma of vow-keeping! (Bimal Krishna Matilal points out that promise keeping is identified with truthfulness in almost all cultures). Krishna is obviously enraged by such a childish fight between the brothers, given the circumstances of the war, and interferes. He takes a lesson or two on dharma for Arjuna explaining about the subtle and unfathomable (sukshma and duranvaya) ways of dharma. He begins by talking about Satya or truth and states thus. (Translation by Shri Julius Lipner)

satyasya vacanaṃ sādhu na satyādvidyate param | tattvenaitatsudurjñeyaṃ yasya satyamanuṣṭhitam || bhavetsatyamavaktavyaṃ vaktavyamanṛtaṃ bhavet | sarvasvasyāpahāre tu vaktavyamanṛtaṃ bhavet || prāṇātyaye vivāhe ca vaktavyamanṛtaṃ bhavet | yatrānṛtaṃ bhavetsatyaṃ satyaṃ cāpyanṛtaṃ bhavet || tādṛśaṃ paśyate bālo yasya satyamanuṣṭhitam | satyānṛte viniścitya tato bhavati dharmavit ||  

Speaking the truth is virtuous (sādhu); nothing is higher than the truth (satyam). But, in fact, it is very difficult to discern how speaking the truth should be practised. And it can well be that [on occasion] the truth must not be spoken, while what is not the truth (anṛtaṃ) should be uttered.…Sometimes what is not the truth becomes “the truth,” while what is the truth becomes untruth (anṛtaṃ). Only a simple-minded person (bāla) sees truth as something to be practised thus [namely, at face-value or blindly]. But having distinguished truth [proper] from non-truth, one becomes a knower of dharma (dharmavit).

While Krishna says here that nothing is higher than satyam (na satyādvidyate param), he also endorses previously that the best action is not to take a life or follow Ahimsa. Now Arjuna faces a situation where he can only choose one of the two – he can break his promise and not kill his brother and be untruthful or take the life of Yudhisthira and fulfil his promise but by breaking the dharma of Ahimsa in the process.

Krishna elaborates further by quoting the story of a brahmana ascetic Kausika who was not well versed in the authoritative texts but who strongly believed that truth telling and by implication promise keeping were appropriate acts of Brahmanas. Hence he takes a vow that he will always tell the truth. One day he sees a group of commoners fleeing bandits and entering the forest. The bandits ask Kausika about the people and Kausika (true to his vow of truth telling) points them in the commoners’ direction. The robbers find the group of people and kill them all. Krishna ends the story by concluding that the ascetic was not able to distinguish the realities of dharma and hence he went to a ghastly naraka although he kept his promise!

“tenādharmeṇa mahatā vāgduruktena kauśikaḥ | gataḥ sukaṣṭaṃ narakaṃ sūkṣmadharmeṣvakovidaḥ |
aprabhūtaśruto mūḍho dharmāṇāmavibhāgavit || – by that immoral act (adharmeṇa), by that highly illspoken, word, he went to a ghastly hell. A fool, he was not knowledgeable enough of the authoritative texts and unable to distinguish the realities of dharma“

We may find this end rather surprising and disturbing since we hear that an ascetic who kept his vow and spoke the truth went to hell! But Krishna anticipates this reaction from us and clarifies thus.

“na tvetatpratisūyāmi na hi sarvaṃ vidhīyate | prabhavārthāya bhūtānāṃ dharmapravacanaṃ kṛtam || – Dharma has been promulgated for the development (prabhavārthāya) of beings“

“dhāraṇāddharmamityāhurdharmo dhārayati prajāḥ | yaḥ syāddhāraṇasaṃyuktaḥ sa dharma iti niścayaḥ || tasmād dharmārtham anṛtam uktvā nānṛtavāg bhavet – It is dharma that sustains creatures. Therefore speaking which is not true (anrtam) for the sake of dharma (ie for the sake of sustaining creatures) is not falsehood“

After hearing this short discourse from Krishna, Arjuna realized that his vow should not be followed to the letter.

Krishna also recites another anecdote to Arjuna and Yudhistira, of that of Balaka. We will look at that story in the next post.

The many – Puruṣārtha – Practices of Dharma

Krishna said in B.G thus –

“kiṃ karma kim akarmeti kavayo’py-atra mohitāḥ |
tatte karma pravakṣyāmi yaj-jñātvā mokṣyase’śubhāt ||

karmaṇo hyapi boddhavyaṃ boddhavyaṃ ca vikarmaṇaḥ |
akarmaṇaśca boddhavyaṃ gahanā karmaṇo-gatiḥ ||

“what is action? what inaction? Even the wise are perplexed. It is needful to discriminate action, unlawful action and inaction. Mysterious is the path of action”

Action or Karma is mysterious mainly because the underlying dharma that drives karma in a particular direction works in mysterious ways.

In its broad outlines, dharma is very simple. The boundaries of right and wrong are very simple and straightforward in the common walks of life for people of small development, restricted knowledge, and narrow intelligence who lead their lives without a murmur. But for people of higher intelligence, deep knowledge with a desire to evolve to higher grades of humanity and a yearning to perform their duties consistently with dharma, the practice of dharma is very difficult. It becomes difficult because of the fact that while dharma is universal, it is not absolute. It varies depending on the individuals. What is right for one may be wrong for another person. What is right in one situation may be wrong in another situation for the same individual. As Annie Besant says there is “nothing called absolute right and wrong in this conditioned universe”. This relativeness is what makes dharma subtle or sukshma.

This being the case, then how can simple minded people like us understand it and its subtleties? after-all we are also caught between more than one mutually contradictory paths of duty in our mundane lives during which time we would love to demonstrate the understanding of our dharma spontaneously. While the dharma shastras teach us about dharma as a whole, its divisions, and other foundational aspects, they do not seem to convey the subtle aspects well. If we think of our dharma shastras as providing only a skeletal account of dharma, then it is our Itihasas that add flesh and blood to this skeleton through their stories and narrative literature.

Mahabharata and Ramayana are full of situations in which the richness and ambiguity of the concept of dharma is interwoven at every step. As stated by Shri Bala Gangadhar Tilak in his Gita Rahasya, Vyasa uses phrases like “Suksmartha nyayutham” / full of discriminations between subtle positions and “aneka samayanvitam” / replete with numerous critical occasions to describe Mahabharata as a text for showcasing the role of sukshma dharma in our ancient societies and how commoners and intellectuals alike, reacted to difficult circumstances in life.

Mahabharata is full of complex characters who represent ambiguity to its core. Take for example the Pandavas. According to Shri A.K. Ramanujan – be it Arjuna the greatest warrior – who has a nervous breakdown at the start of the battle – or Yudhiṣṭhira-the greatest truth-keeper – who utters a lie (although he is made to do that) which passes as the truth only because it was Yudhiṣṭhira (known never to lie) who uttered it – or Bhima the strongest of men – who could win his battle with Duryodhana only by hitting below the belt – they all fail spectacularly at crucial moments in those virtues which they are known for throughout the world then and now. The Pandavas who were the good guys could only win by all the subterfuges performed by Krishna. All these show that it is not simply dharma which runs throughout the itihasa, but it is dharmasuksmata or subtle dharma that makes the characters act in ways in which they actually did.

In our coming posts , we will see, through Mahabharata, how subtle and relative dharma can be and how difficult it can be for one to practice it as envisaged and demonstrated by our elders.

The many – Puruṣārtha – Principles of Dharma-2

During vedic times, our Rshis must have observed the regularity of movements of celestial objects like the Sun and the moon, onset of the seasons and the alterations of day and night, among other phenomena to understand that there lies an order underneath. From there was born the principle of Rta which is the underlying principle for everything that is ordered in this universe. Soon Rta transformed from physical to divine – from the physical order it transformed into path of morality for men and law of righteousness for Gods. The definition of Rta as cosmic order should not limit it to the skies and the space above this loka. Jivas are also a part of this cosmos and just like with everything in our dharma, Rta also affects jivas in a personal way. Once our ancestors recognized the conception of Rta, the world became a much more ordered place. They stopped seeing the world as a chaotic place and started seeing it as a working of a harmonious purpose with Rta as its base. Dr Radhakrishnan states that this change gave us and still gives us a security and solace whenever disbelief tempts us, that whatever might happen we feel that there is a law of righteousness in the moral world answering to this beautiful order of nature due to which the idea that virtue will triumph as sure as the sun rises tomorrow. This concrete reinforced belief is only due to the belief that Rta can be trusted.

Our ancestors have always used the words Rta, Satya and Dharma interchangeably. But there are subtle differences between the three words which clearly show that they serve different purposes, although they seem to denote the same tattva of Dharma. Sri Vidyaranya also known as Mādhava Vidyāranya who was the Guru of the founders of Vijayanagara empire defines rta as a mental perception and realization of god. Rta is totally internal and natural to oneself sprouting without any compulsions from outside.

The Taittiriya Upanishad states thus – “Satyam vadha: Dharmam chara” – “speak the truth and practice dharma”. This clearly associates speaking with Satya and doing with Dharma. Adi Sankara Bhagavatpada summarizes thus – “Satyamiti yathasastrarthata sa eva anusthiyamanah dharmanama bhavati” This is further explained by Sri.K.Balasubramania Aiyar thus – “While ‘rta’ denotes the mental perception and realization of truth and ‘satya’ denotes the exact true expression in words of the truth as perceived by the mind, dharma is the observance, in the conduct of life, of truth. In fact, dharma is the way of life which translates into action the truth perceived by the man of insight as expressed by him truly. In short, ‘rta’ is truth in thought, ‘satya’ is truth in words and ‘dhrama’ is truth in deed.” (as stated by Judge Mishra in his foreword to the book-Voice of the Guru Pujyasri Chandrasekharendra Sarawati Swami-Hindu Dharma, The universal way of life).

In the coming posts we will look at other aspects of Dharma before moving to the next purushartha – Artha.

The many – Puruṣārtha – Dharma-Basic Principles

Any discussion of traditional dharmic thought about a jiva usually revolves around the principles of varna, asrama and puruṣārtha. These three are intimately related to each other and any one cannot be understood without understanding the others. But the notion of puruṣārtha is treated as the most fundamental of the 3 principles from a dharmic point of view. It is also important because as stated by Shri Aurobindo – it breaks down the common misrepresentation – that Indian dharmic culture denies all values of life, detaches from terrestrial interests, and insists on the unimportance of the life of the moment.

The term puruṣārtha comprises of 2 words – Purusa meaning human, soul, and universal being and artha meaning purpose or objective(artha here is different from artha-one of the puruṣārtha). So puruṣārtha means jiva’s purpose/objective/aim of life. The four puruṣārtha are Dharma (righteousness, moral principle), Artha (prosperity, resources, means), Kāma (pleasure, attachment), and Moksha (liberation, bliss).

The pursuit of material prosperity, fulfilment of one’s desire and attainment of liberation are all based on Dharma which is the foundation of all practical life. The word Dharma is derived from the word “dhri” which means to hold together or preserve. It can be translated as “that which upholds”. Krishna in Mahabharatha provides a complete definition of Dharma.

“Dharma protects and preserves the praja. So it is the conclusion of the Pandits that what maintains is Dharma”

While Praja may be fellow jivas for a jiva, its not the same for Krishna. When he says praja, he means the entire cosmos other than himself! From that point of view, Dharma can be seen to have 3 sides to it. Individual, social and cosmic. From an individual perspective, it refers to one’s duty and righteousness in performing that duty. Dr. Radhakrishnan states that any individual can be free from the holds of the past and be fearless of the chances of the future if he abides by his dharma in such a way. Dharma in a society is the code of conduct or morality to be followed to attain social harmony. In a society, it needs to be amply supported by the general conscience of the people. In any culture that has reached its dharmic heights, the underlying dharma would have become a matter of habit and second nature so that the citizens are not even explicitly conscious of it. In a cosmic perspective, dharma refers to the cosmic order and balance. In Vedas, this cosmic order is often referred to as Rta. It consists of laws that govern the functioning of the manifested universe in its creation, sustenance and destruction. But just like any other important principle in our dharma, Rta is much more than what has been said here.

We will look more into the principle of Rta, at the relationship between Dharma, Rta and Sathya in the next post.

The many – Principles prescribed in Sanatana Dharma

Krishna says in B.G – “Samatvam Yoga ucyate” – “Equilibrium/Equipoise is Yoga”

All of us know that Samsara is chaotic. For a Jivatma to attain this equilibrium amidst all the chaos is next to impossible. But our Dharma makes it possible by laying down a proper fundamental framework and asks us to follow it to escape the chaos and attain that equipoise. There are many components in this framework and all of them together make this framework robust and flexible at the same time giving ample scope to the Jiva to perform his duties, unfold his true powers and evolve to the higher realms of existence.

The many nodes in this framework include (not in any order) the many varnas, ashramas, sanskaras, Yagnas, forms of worship, the purusharthas and the likes. While we have seen what happens to the Jiva after death, these aspects indicate how a Jiva should live in order to attain his goals. The life philosophy that has come out of this framework allows enough scope for a Jiva to fulfill all his legitimate desires while keeping them in control so not to go overboard at any point of time in his life.

There is a continuous and a gradual building up of a personality in the Jiva from the day he is born in this loka. This growth trajectory is not the same for any two Jivas. Our rishis and ancestors have studied and understood him and his surroundings at different levels and have given us the framework that can work for every individual jiva regardless of his position in the evolution process. While we can consider the different aspects of this framework as a mere list and learn about them in isolation, they are not meant to be internalized so. These principles are meant to be definitive, systematic and universal with proper relationship with each other and hence should be absorbed as a whole and not in parts, to live a righteous life.

There is no doubt that a Jiva will be able to live a full and a meaningful life if he follows all the principles laid out in the framework appropriately and that he will be able to move up the ladder in his quest. From the next post onwards, we will look at each of these principles closely and understand how they impact our lives.

The many – Marga that a Jiva can take after death

The upanishads mention 2 margas or routes by which a departed jiva journeys to enjoy the fruits of his karma. one is called devayana or arcirmarga and the other is called pitrayana or dhumamarga. Both the margas are presided over by divinities.

Krishna states succinctly thus in B.G chapter 8- ” agnir-jyotir-ahaḥ śuklaḥ ṣaṇmāsā uttarāyaṇam| tatra prayātā gacchanti brahma brahma-vido janāḥ| dhūmo rātris-tathā kṛṣṇaḥ ṣaṇmāsā dakṣiṇāyanam| tatra cāndramasaṃ jyotir-yogī prāpya nivartate|” – “Light in the form of fire, the day, the bright fortnight, the six months of the northern course of the sun — the knowers of Brahman who take this path go to the Brahman. Smoke, night, the dark fortnight, the six months of the southern course of the sun — the Yogi
who takes this path reaches the light of the moon and returns”

Krishna divides the populace into 2. Jnanis-who are the knowers of Brahman, those who meditate on him by following the prescribed methods, those who live the spiritual life of knowledge, those who practice austerities or Tapas with great faith or Shraddha-such vyaktis travel through the northern path/uttarayana/devayana/arcirmarga/path of liberation/path of freedom/path of light and reach brahman, never to come back or be born again. On departing from this world, such Jnanis are guided by various divinities who take them through their realms and pass them on to the next higher realm, starting with Agni, followed by deity of the day, the bright half of lunar month and by the deity of the six months during which the sun moves to the north taking the uttarayana. Then they go higher up to the deity who rules over the entire year. From their they reach the realms of sun and then move to regions which are cool with lunar radiance. Then a flash of lightening signifying the knowledge of reality happens and all efforts that a Jiva can take stop there. An amanava-purusha or a super-human comes along, takes the Jnani by hand through a path of light higher and higher till he reaches the abode of the supreme being.

Chandogya Upanishad states thus – “atha yadu caivāsmiñchavyaṃ kurvanti yadi ca nārciṣamevābhisaṃbhavantyarciṣo’harahna āpūryamāṇapakṣamāpūryamāṇapakṣādyānṣaḍudaṅṅeti māsāṃstānmāsebhyaḥ saṃvatsaraṃ saṃvatsarādādityamādityāccandramasaṃ candramaso vidyutaṃ tat puruṣo’mānavaḥ sa enānbrahma gamayatyeṣa devapatho brahmapatha etena pratipadyamānā imaṃ mānavamāvartaṃ nāvartante nāvartante ||” – “Then, for those who know this, whether proper funeral rites are performed or not, they go after death to the world of light. From the world of light they go to the world of day; from the world of day to the world of the bright fortnight; from the world of the bright fortnight to the six months when the sun moves northward; from there they go to the year; from the year to the sun; from the sun to the moon; and from the moon to lightning. There someone, not human, receives them and leads them to Brahmaloka. This is the way of the gods. This is also the way to Brahman Those who go by this path never return to this mortal world. They never return.”

The second division consists of Jivas who are good, do good deeds, are very philanthropic, very service minded, full of virtues, have accumulated merits of both ishta and purta – performing great sacrifices and and philanthropic deeds, but yet not able to live a highly spiritual life. Such vyaktis take the dhuma marga or the daskhina patha in which they are assisted by deities of smoke, night, dark half of the lunar month and six months when the sun moves towards the south. From there they go to the land of the fathers or pitru-loka and finally reach the chandra-loka/moon through the realm of akasa/space. In Chandra loka, they enjoy all the privileges of the gods and then return to earth once their meritorious deeds are exhausted.

Chandogya Upanishad states thus – ” atha ya ime grāma iṣṭāpūrte dattamityupāsate te dhūmamabhisaṃbhavanti dhūmādrātriṃ rātreraparapakṣamaparapakṣādyānṣaḍdakṣiṇaiti māsāṃstānnaite saṃvatsaramabhiprāpnuvanti || māsebhyaḥ pitṛlokaṃ pitṛlokādākāśamākāśāccandramasameṣa somo rājā taddevānāmannaṃ taṃ devā bhakṣayanti ||” – “On the other hand, those who live in the village and perform acts of public service, charity, and so on, attain the world of smoke. From there they go to the world of the night; from night they go to the world of the dark fortnight; and from the dark fortnight they go to the world of the six months when the sun moves to the south. This means that they never attain the world of the year. From the six months of the southern solstice, they go to the world of the ancestors, and from there they go to the sky. Then from the sky they go to the moon.”

Krishna concludes the discussion on the 2 margas or paths by declaring thus – “naite sṛtī pārtha jānan yogi muhyati kaścana | tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu yoga-yukto bhavārjuna ||” – ” No Yogi, O Partha, who knows these two paths is ever deluded. Therefore, O Arjuna, at all times engage yourself in Yoga and reflect upon these 2 paths”

There is also a third path which some Jivas take in the process of their re-birth about which we will see in the next post.

The many – hops that a Jiva takes after death

Our dharma tries to train us to not differentiate between visible and invisible lokas, to see Devas as real and as accessible as men so that we are not overawed by them and for us to realize that Deva-hood is something that can be attained even by us. In this process it also trains us not to see death as “death” but as “life elsewhere”. This plays an important part in making us understand that the atma is more important than our material Sharira.

So what happens at death? The Jiva draws the sukshma-sharira away from the sthula-sharira by means of the pranamaya kosha. Without Prana, the sthula-sharira is just lifeless matter. Although there is still life left in the cells of the body, the ruling life is gone and hence they start to wither away. The Jiva is then in his Sukshma and Karana Shariras.

Kaushitaki Upanishad states thus – “yavad asmin sarire prano vasati tavad ayur atha khalu prana eva prajnatma idam sariram parigrihyotthapayati” – “As long as prana remains within it, the body is alive. Prana is the conscious spirit soul. Prana grasps this material body, and makes it rise up and move about.”

The prana-maya kosha has a tendency to hang around the anna-maya (due to its magnetic attraction to the body) as long as the sthula sharira is whole due to which the jiva is forced to be in Bhurloka although nature requires him to leave it after death. Hence to neutralize this tendency of the Prana-maya to hang around the anna-maya, certain vaidika samskaras have been framed. First is the destruction of the anna-maya by cremation as stated in Chandogya upanishad.

“sa jāto yāvadāyuṣaṃ jīvati taṃ pretaṃ diṣṭamito’gnaya eva haranti yata eveto yataḥ saṃbhūto bhavati” – “Then, when he dies as ordained, they [his sons or disciples] take him from his home to the fire from which he came. It is that same fire from which he was born [and to which he owes his birth”

This dispersal of the pranamaya-kosha is accelerated by the mantras chanted at the cremation. The disintegration of the annamaya is complete on the third day when the final remnants are thrown into running water. After the Pranamaya-kosha withers away, the Jiva moves to Preta-loka which is a special region in Bhuvar-loka.

He then dons the denser part of the manomaya-kosha as his outermost layer. He is now called a preta and inhabits the preta-loka. Depending on his karma, he either enjoys his time or suffers when he is in preta-loka. If he has to suffer, the coarser part of the Manomaya-kosha is rearranged to give him Dhruvam Shariram or Yatana Shariram.

Manu Smriti states thus – “pañcabhya eva mātrābhyaḥ pretya duṣkṛtināṃ nṛṇām |
śarīraṃ yātanārthīyamanyadutpadyate dhruvam” – “In the case of misbehaved persons, there is produced out of five constituents, another strong body, for the suffering of torments, after death”

His next objective is to move from preta loka/land of the departed to the pitri loka/land of the ancestors in the partially purified manomaya-kosha. The Shraddha rituals performed from after the burning of the body till the ritual of Sapindikarana facilitate this journey of his during which the coarser parts of the manomaya-kosha drop away. The objects used in the Sharddha and the vibrations of the mantras recited during the rituals help in the re-arrangement of the materials of the manomaya-kosha. All the offerings that the karta makes during these rituals feeds the deceased jiva during his journey to pitri-loka and the mantras facilitate this journey. At the end of the Sapindikarana ritual which is the concluding part of this set of Shraddha rituals, the jiva sheds the denser part of the manomaya-kosha and enters pitri-loka and becomes an ancestor.

During his stay in pitri loka, his remaining layer of manomaya-kosha is purified and all the desire particles drop away and then he finally moves to svarga. He spends time in Svarga and exhausts all the fruits of his karma at the end of which its time for him to return to earth. The finer layer of the manomaya-kosha dissolves away and the Jiva is in his vijnyanamaya-kosha. He creates a new manomaya-kosha for himself and the Devas build a pranamaya-kosha and annamaya-kosha according to his karma and he is born again into the bhurloka.

In the next post we will look at the different ayanas or paths that the Jiva takes in his journey after death.

The Many – levels of consciousness in the koshas

The body of the individual is constituted of five sheaths, known as annamaya, pranamaya, manomaya, vijnanamaya and anandamaya—the physical, vital, mental, intellectual and causal sheaths the investigation of which will enable the individual to know the Pure Consciousness. While the Taittiriya Upanishad deals with this subject of the five koshas, the Mandukya Upanishad-another important Upanishad, sometimes considered as the most important, deals with the very same koshas by way of the elucidation of the involvement of consciousness in these koshas.

Bhagawan Rama advises Hanuman in Muktikopanisad – “Mandukyam ekam evalam mumukshunam vimuktaye” – “For the sake of the liberation of the Soul, one Upanishad is sufficient—the Mandukya Upanishad”. Such is the significance of Mandukya Upanishad among the upanishad collection.

The upanishad classifies the koshas into 3 groups – physical or sthula sharira containing Annamaya Kosha, subtle or sookshma sharira containing Pranamaya, mayomaya and vijnanamaya and causal or Karana sharira containing the Anandamaya Kosha and explains how consciousness is involved in these 3 groups of koshas in the different states that a jiva can exist in, namely wakeful or Jagrat, dreaming or Taijasa and dreamless sleep or Sushupti states.

In the Jagrat/Visva or the waking state 4 koshas are operative and their actions are concentrated mostly on the physical body. Annamaya kosha works on the external physical activities through the brain. Pranamaya Kosha is used to carry on with the life-functions of the body. The consciousness uses mano-maya kosha to desire and to think. Elevated jivas like deep thinkers and philosophers can sometime use Vijnanamaya kosha in the waking state. But ordinary Jivas stop with Mano-maya kosha.

In Taijasa/Swapna or the dream state, the physical body is not operative and hence the Annamaya kosha does not come into picture. But the remaining 3 koshas – Pranamaya, Mano-maya and Vijnanamaya are active. This is clear from the fact that during any dream, we breathe, we think and we understand. The sukshma-shariram is active in this state.

In Prajna or the deep-sleep state none of these faculties are active. Hence all the 4 koshas Annamaya, Pranamaya, mano-maya and vijnanamaya are inactive. The consciousness is withdrawn entirely from the physical, vital, mental and intellectual. Hence our mind does not think, our intellect does not make decisions and we are not even aware of our existence in the first place. Only Anandamaya kosha or the causal sheath works in this state.

Now that we have seen the relationship between the koshas and the various states of the Jiva, we can look next at the eschatological question of what happens when death happens. This is an especially important question since many of our dharmic tattvas like samsara, karma, and re-birth depend on what happens to a Jiva after death. We will look at this through the tattvic web created by the Koshas, Lokas, Shariras and Pranas in our next post.