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The Five Kosas

by Elizabeth Eickmann

August 27, 2024

I am neither mind, nor intellect, nor ego;

I am neither the body nor the changes that the body undergoes;

I am neither the sense of hearing, nor that of taste, smell, or sight;

I am neither earth, nor water, fire, or air!

I am Existence Absolute, Knowledge Absolute, Bliss Absolute!

Neither virtue or vice am I,

Nor pleasure nor pain…

I am pure consciousness and bliss, I am Shiva Shivoham Shivoham

– Adi Sankaracarya

In Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom, BKS Iyengar briefly describes the Kosas as a telescope that collapses into itself; each section folding into the next. He says that in order to understand our Self, we need to examine each Kosa and get to know what it looks like. In that way we are able to account for how each one affects our view. If you imagine each Kosa as a different lens in the telescope, perhaps one lens is dirty and has spots on it. Maybe the next is tinted blue. The next lens in convex and changes the shape of the image. Maybe one of the lenses is scratched. When you look through the combination of these lenses, the resulting image is distorted. In order to get an idea of what is true, we need to open the telescope and identify these aspects of the lenses (Kosas).

So, how do we follow the advice of these two wise teachers? First we need to pull open our “Kosa telescope” and examine its parts. Each Kosa has a different character and changes from individual to individual and throughout the course of each life.

The first Kosa is what Adi Sankaracarya calls the Food Kosa (Anamaya). Or the Body Kosa. It is the vehicle that allows us to travel around and interact with our surroundings. The Body is a temporary thing that will eventually decay. Iyengar says “Only by attending to the body can we hope to accomplish anything in our spiritual lives.

The second Kosa is the Pranayama Kosa. Adi Sankaracarya calls the Pranayama Kosa the energy source that powers me and everything else. He also says that it is the glue that holds the subtle body to the gross body. Iyengar says, “Pranayama means the extension and expansion of all our vital energy.”  He also says that through asana we prepare “the body to withstand the increase in current that pranayama practice will bring.”

The next Kosa is the Manomaya or Mental Kosa. The sensory organs and the nervous system that are responsible for our understanding of our surroundings. Scientist, Neil DeGrasse Tyson has stated “Everything we do, every thought we’ve ever had, is Produced by the human brain.” That neatly sums up the Manomaya Kosa.  I’m reminded of those who experience synesthesia, a phenomenon where sensory crossovers allow some to taste colors, or feel sounds. Our unique sensory experience is not objective. And, Adi Sankaracarya warns us that “the mind has its own Dharma, thus we must be a witness to it.”

The Intelligence Sheath (Vijnanamaya Kosa) is the agent or doer. Adi Sankaracarya tells us that this is where the ego lies. Experiences of joy and sorrow are here. This is the connection between the conscious mind and the Universal mind. 

The final Kosa is Anandamaya or the Bliss Kosa. It is unified experience and to be unaffected by our surroundings. This is where the Atman (the self) resides. It is eternal and resides in love. When we are able to account for all of the other Kosas, we can enjoy the Anandamaya Kosa.

It is our job to examine our kosas like the lenses so that we may see the self, and enjoy pure love and devotion.  Iyengar states that we “must create within ourselves the experience of beauty, liberation, and infinity.” He states that practicing yogasana penetrates the inner body. He says, “Do not underestimate the value of asana. Even in simple asanas, one is experiencing the three levels of the quest: the external quest, which brings firmness of the body; the internal quest, which brings steadiness of intelligence; and the innermost quest, which brings benevolence of spirit.” So, let us sweat, and study, and reflect.

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Vivekacudamani, Sankaracarya, Adi; commentary by Swami Chinmayananda, Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, Chinmaya Kalpanam, Mumbai

Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom, Iyengar, B.K.S., with John Evans and Douglas Abrams.