Sarira-Thrayam - Three Bodies of an Individual - 1

Discussion in 'Chitvish on Hindu Culture & Vedanta' started by Chitvish, Jul 20, 2007.

  1. Chitvish

    Chitvish Moderator IL Hall of Fame

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    Every indivdual is endowed with three bodies, though we are aware of only the physical body. They are:
    Sthula sariram – gross body
    Sukshma sariram – subtle body
    Karana sariram - Causal body

    Each body has 4 features:
    Raw material of which it is made
    Constituents or parts
    Function
    Nature

    Sthula sariram:
    This is also called gross body because it is made up of gross matter, consisting of the five elements - space, air, fire, water and earth.
    The parts are head, trunk, hands and legs. The gross body, according to the scriptures is the abode of the individual. This temporary abode has to be vacated when life ends !
    Living in this abode of sthula sariram, the individual interacts with the outside world.
    The nature of this body is its perceptibility to oneself and to others. It is subject to,
    birth, growth, decay and death, the changes being known as vikara.
    The life of sthula shariram is short and limited.

    Sukshma sariram:
    Let us see the four features:
    The parts of the subtle body are:
    Five sense organs of knowledge called Jnanendriyas:
    They experience five types of objects.
    They are meant for receiving experiences from the world and hence can be called entrance-gates.
    They are:
    Ear – srotram – the sense organ that perceives sound
    Skin – Tvak – the organ that perceives the touch
    Eye – saksu – the organ which sees colour and forms
    Tongue – rasana – the organ which perceives taste
    Nose – ghrana – the organ which perceives smell

    Five sense organs of action called Karmendriyas:
    They are the exit-gates because they are meant for our contribution to the world.
    They are:
    Mouth – vak – the organ of speech, whose function is to speak
    Hands – pani – the organ which does actions like carrying etc
    Legs – pada – the organ of locomotion
    Organ of excretion – payu – the organ to remove the wastes from the body
    Organ of reprduction – upastha – the organ for procreation

    The next set is
    Pancha Pranas - five physiological Systems
    They are meant to produce energy and support the sense organs. This is the inner system which energises the body:

    Prana – respiratory system
    Apana – excretory system
    Samana – digestive system
    Vyana – circulatory system
    Udana – reversal system ( vomiting, sneezing etc)

    The last four organs are called anthahkaranams.
    They are the four-fold inner organ.
    They are:

    Manah – mind
    Buddhi – intellect
    Chittam – memory faculty
    Ahankara – ego associated with self-identification
    These four are sometimes reduced to two, mind and intellect. Memory and ego are included in them.
    So all organs total to 19 in number and are the components of the subtle body.
    In short, the subtle body is the instrument of interaction with the world.

    Of the above two bodies
    Gross body is called Ayatanam
    Subtle body is called Karanam

    Coming to the nature of the subtle body, it is made of subtle matter, which only I can experience and not others. Thus we conclude that the gross body is fully manifest but the subtle body is only partially manifest.
    Finally, we have to note that the subtle body has a longer life than the gross body. When the gross body dies, the subtle body does not die, but survives and takes another physical (gross) body. It continues to take physical bodies until the resolution of this world which is called Pralayam.
    More in the next part.

    Love,
    Chithra.

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  2. meenu

    meenu Bronze IL'ite

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    At last I have found your post. The suddenchanges in this forum made navigation confusing. We feel our thursdays are not complete without reading chitvish post.Thank you,malathi for the separate thread. It saves a lot of time.We dont have to hunt for a post.
    Dear Chith,
    Todays post is very neat and precise. You have brought out all the features and explained the imporatant PADAMS which we come across in a ny simple explanationof Gita. The understanding of Gita willnot be completeif we do not know and differentiate between these terms. There is absolutely no confusion in expression but we require re reading to remember the meanings of these terms. The wait and confusion in looking for the post are well rewarded.
    Thank you,
    regards,
    Meenu
    I am making amends, am i not? See my feed back is the first. Talk of shedding the ego!
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2007
  3. ksv

    ksv Senior IL'ite

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    Dear Chitra Mami,

    A very well written note abt Sarira Thrayam.. I really admire the way u write.. Mami, tell me one thing, how did u gain so much knowledge. I know it's gained over a period of years. but how do u manage to gain it... is it a part of your daily routine...

    please share the secret if u can ..

    Thanks a lot..

    regards
    ksv.
     
  4. Chitvish

    Chitvish Moderator IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Meenu,
    Thankyou for leading the F b, this time.
    About changes in the forum, is it not usual to resent a change initially, our mind having got used to the earlier set up ?
    Anyway, I now feel, it should be easier for all of you to identify my posts in this forum.
    Yes, these terms have to be remembered before we go on to Gita. One can easily do it, Meenu !
    To tell you the truth, you have more than made amends !:tongue
    Love,
    Chith.



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  5. vmur

    vmur Silver IL'ite

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    Dear ChitVish,

    This was very informative and concise as usual. I did not know about the three different kinds of Sarira Thrayam. I have a question though. The Pancha pranas have similarities to the mantras that we chant during Neivedhyam. What is the connection? Maybe I should refer to your Neivedhyam post again, incase you have already mentioned it there.

    Also, in Ayurveda, Yoga and Pranayama, I hear there are methods to keep the pancha pranas in balance and equilibrium through various diets, asanas and breathing. It is the same Pancha Pranas right?

    As usual, by your posts, you kindle the questioning in us apart from educating us. You are a true teacher!

    Love
    Vidya
     
  6. Chitvish

    Chitvish Moderator IL Hall of Fame

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    This was posted by gayathriar:

    Dear C

    It is a very interesting post. Like Vidya, when I read about Prana, Apana, Samana, Vyana and Udana, I remembered the Naivedhayam and the Sandhya Vandhanam opening chants. They sound so familiar, but learnt the meaning of all but Prana today.

    I am a little confused after the classification of Karmedriyas( Five sense organs of action ) . Are the Pancha Pranas Ayatanam( gross body ) or Karana Shariram? Are the Anthakaranams parts of Sukshma Shariram?

    Chittam reminded me of Cheeniya's expansion of Chitvish, how very true...

    -Gayathri.

    <SCRIPT><!--D(["mb","\u003cdiv style\u003d\"direction:ltr\"\>\u003cdiv class\u003dea\>\u003cspan id\u003de_113f9665e145dcf6_3\>- Show quoted text -\u003c/span\>\u003c/div\>\u003cspan class\u003de id\u003dq_113f9665e145dcf6_3\>***************\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>There may be other replies also, but you will not receive any more notifications until you visit the forum again.\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>All the best,\u003cbr /\>IndusLadies\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\u003cwbr /\>~~~~~~~\u003cbr /\>Unsubscription information:\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>To unsubscribe from this thread, please visit this page:\u003cbr /\>\u003ca onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\" href\u003d\"http://www.indusladies.com/forums/subscription.php?do\u003dremovesubscription&type\u003dthread&subscriptionid\u003d26595&auth\u003d6ecb73a2255ba158204b869ecc9cf707\" target\u003d_blank\>http://www.indusladies.com\u003cwbr /\>/forums/subscription.php?do\u003cwbr /\>\u003dremovesubscription&type\u003cwbr /\>\u003dthread&subscriptionid\u003d26595\u003cwbr /\>&auth\u003d6ecb73a2255ba158204b869e\u003cwbr /\>cc9cf707\u003c/a\>\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>To unsubscribe from ALL threads, please visit this page:\u003cbr /\>\u003ca onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\" href\u003d\"http://www.indusladies.com/forums/subscription.php?do\u003dviewsubscription&folderid\u003dall\" target\u003d_blank\>http://www.indusladies.com\u003cwbr /\>/forums/subscription.php?do\u003cwbr /\>\u003dviewsubscription&folderid\u003dall\u003c/a\>\u003cbr /\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/div\>",0]);//--></SCRIPT><xml id=yoombaxml></xml>
     
  7. Chitvish

    Chitvish Moderator IL Hall of Fame

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    This was posted by Vidhi:

    Dear Chithra

    I missed this thread a lot. I just have heard three types of body but I do not know anything about it. Your post gave me a picture of it. I am looking forward for this Thursday to know what happens when we die.


    Love
    vidhi

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  8. Chitvish

    Chitvish Moderator IL Hall of Fame

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    This was posted by babyraji:

    dear mam
    this is really very informative post indeed.for beginners like me ,its really clear n educative.hoping 2 learn frm ur posts.
    one question mam,u r leading in various fields,how do u keep a balance of alll? v ought 2 learn a lot of things frm u mam
    regards
    raji

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  9. Chitvish

    Chitvish Moderator IL Hall of Fame

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    This was posted by gayathriar:

    Dear C

    It is a very interesting post. Like Vidya, when I read about Prana, Apana, Samana, Vyana and Udana, I remembered the Naivedhayam and the Sandhya Vandhanam opening chants. They sound so familiar, but learnt the meaning of all but Prana today.

    I am a little confused after the classification of Karmedriyas( Five sense organs of action ) . Are the Pancha Pranas Ayatanam( gross body ) or Karana Shariram? Are the Anthakaranams parts of Sukshma Shariram?

    Chittam reminded me of Cheeniya's expansion of Chitvish, how very true...

    -Gayathri.

    <SCRIPT><!--D(["mb","\u003cdiv style\u003d\"direction:ltr\"\>\u003cdiv class\u003dea\>\u003cspan id\u003de_113f9665e145dcf6_3\>- Show quoted text -\u003c/span\>\u003c/div\>\u003cspan class\u003de id\u003dq_113f9665e145dcf6_3\>***************\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>There may be other replies also, but you will not receive any more notifications until you visit the forum again.\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>All the best,\u003cbr /\>IndusLadies\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\u003cwbr /\>~~~~~~~\u003cbr /\>Unsubscription information:\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>To unsubscribe from this thread, please visit this page:\u003cbr /\>\u003ca onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\" href\u003d\"http://www.indusladies.com/forums/subscription.php?do\u003dremovesubscription&type\u003dthread&subscriptionid\u003d26595&auth\u003d6ecb73a2255ba158204b869ecc9cf707\" target\u003d_blank\>http://www.indusladies.com\u003cwbr /\>/forums/subscription.php?do\u003cwbr /\>\u003dremovesubscription&type\u003cwbr /\>\u003dthread&subscriptionid\u003d26595\u003cwbr /\>&auth\u003d6ecb73a2255ba158204b869e\u003cwbr /\>cc9cf707\u003c/a\>\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>To unsubscribe from ALL threads, please visit this page:\u003cbr /\>\u003ca onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\" href\u003d\"http://www.indusladies.com/forums/subscription.php?do\u003dviewsubscription&folderid\u003dall\" target\u003d_blank\>http://www.indusladies.com\u003cwbr /\>/forums/subscription.php?do\u003cwbr /\>\u003dviewsubscription&folderid\u003dall\u003c/a\>\u003cbr /\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/div\>",0]);//--></SCRIPT><xml id=yoombaxml></xml>
     
  10. Chitvish

    Chitvish Moderator IL Hall of Fame

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    This was posted by Pushpavalli Srinivasan:

    Dear Chithra,
    Your explanation to Sarira-Thrayam is very simple and could be easily understood by everybody. Further your claricafications on doubts will make it more enjoyable. Your reply to each and every Ilite personifies your humbleness and modesty. You are doing a wonderful job by motivating our youngsters to have a thirst for acquiring knowledge of our eternal culture.
    Love,
    Pushpavalli
    P.S. I had modifyed my addressing by dropping madam, as for your request. Hope that you will be happy.
    ***************

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