Sarira-Thrayam - Three Bodies of an Individual - 1

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.

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!

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.

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 !
Love,
Chith.

Originally Posted by meenu

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!

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

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.

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

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

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.

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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