chapter 10 – śarīratrayam – human personality

Swamiji introduces the technical term śarīratrayam, which translates to the three-fold bodies of an individual. These three bodies are the sthūla śarīram (gross body), sūkṣma śarīram (subtle body), and kāraṇa śarīram (causal body). To understand each body thoroughly, Swamiji analyzes them based on four specific factors: their material, their components, their function, and their nature.

1. sthūla śarīram (the gross body)

  • Material: The gross body is made of gross matter, specifically the five gross elements (sthūla pañca bhūtāni): ākāśa (space), vāyu (air), agni (fire), jalam (water), and pṛthvī (earth). Because it is made of these elements (bhūtas), it is called a material body (bhautika śarīram).
  • Components: The physical body is broadly divided into four components: the central body (ātmā), the head (śira), the hands and sides (pakṣa), and the legs (uccha).
  • Function: It serves as a temporary residence or tenement (āyatanam) leased by the individual to transact with the world.
  • Nature: The gross body is subject to constant change and modification (savikāram). It undergoes six specific modifications (ṣaḍ vikāra): potential existence in the womb (asti), birth (jāyate), growth (vardhate), metamorphosis or aging after growth stops (vipariṇamate), decay (apakṣīyate), and finally, death (nāśaḥ or maraṇam). It is visible and evident to both oneself and others, and its longevity is limited to a maximum of 100 to 120 years.

2. sūkṣma śarīram (the subtle body)

  • Material: The subtle body is made of subtle matter, consisting of the five subtle elements (sūkṣma bhūtāni): subtle space, air, fire, water, and earth. It is also material in nature (bhautika śarīram).
  • Components: It comprises 19 distinct instruments:
    • Five sense organs of knowledge (pañca jñānendriyāṇi): the powers of sight (cakṣu), hearing (śrotram), smell (ghrāṇa), taste (rasanā), and touch (tvag). These refer to the subtle powers of perception, not the physical organs or golakam.
    • Five organs of action (pañca karmendriyāṇi): the powers of speech (vāk), hands (pāṇi), legs (pāda), evacuation (pāyu), and procreation (upastha).
    • Five vital life forces (pañca prāṇa): prāṇa (respiratory system), apāna (evacuatory system), vyāna (circulatory system), samāna (digestive system), and udāna (reversing/emergency system at the time of death).
    • Four internal organs (antaḥkaraṇāni): manaḥ (the emotional and doubting faculty), buddhi (the rational and judging faculty), cittam (the memory faculty), and ahaṅkāra (ego) (the self-referring or reflexive faculty).
  • Function: It is the primary instrument for all forms of transactions with the world, acting as a two-way traffic for receiving stimuli and expressing responses.
  • Nature: Like the gross body, it is subject to change, such as the weakening of memory or eyesight. However, it has a much longer life, continuing across multiple births until cosmic dissolution (pralayam). Furthermore, the subtle body is recognizable and evident only to oneself, not to others.

3. kāraṇa śarīram (the causal body)

  • Material: The causal body is made of causal matter, which is the absolute subtlest form of matter, technically known as avidyā, prakṛti, or māyā.
  • Components: It consists of the sthūla śarīram and sūkṣma śarīram existing in their unmanifest, dormant, or seed form before they are created.
  • Function: It functions as a receptacle, storehouse, or source. During creation, the gross and subtle bodies emerge from it, and during dissolution (pralayam), they resolve back into it.
  • Nature: The causal body has the longest life, surviving even cosmic dissolution, and is only destroyed at the time of liberation. Unlike the gross and subtle bodies, it is completely unevident and undecipherable to both oneself and others, making it an indistinguishable state (nirvikalpa svarūpam).