Is the Annamaya kosa related to the earth element? Certainly, it derives its existence and sustenance from the food we take from the earth. Is the Manomaya kosa of the water element as it is continually flowing as do our thoughts? Is the Pranayama kosa of the air element giving life to an otherwise corpse? Is the Vignanamaya kosa an element of fire as it gives us the wisdom and arivu to negate and burn the impurities that our thoughts carry? Finally is the Anandhamaya kosa the element of sky or Prapanjam that is forever in a state of bliss?
Could we be in the Annamaya kosa savoring the food we take in? Could we be in Manomaya kosa thinking of solutions? Could we have touched the Pranamaya kosa when the breath traverses within chilling the very core and bringing untold joy within? Could it be that we experience the Vignanamaya kosa as the words of wisdom come within as in torrential rain? Could one be experiencing the Anandamaya kosa when bliss traverses within in singing the praise of the Lord? Are we already experiencing each kosa in our daily lives?
Are we continually strengthening each sheath by getting addicted to our habits as in the lower kosas or enhancing the higher kosas with practice and tapas? Does this make the sheath grosser in nature in the latter? Are we to transform these kosas that are gross in nature, made of the 5 primary elements respectively, to a purer state? Are we supposed to reverse its nature bringing it to a finer and purer state? Is this what the saints did?
Man has looked up towards the skies for ages forgetting that he is divine in nature. He only needs to come to this realization and work on reversing his current state of affairs to be accepted into their fold i.e tune to the nature of the divine. The guru comes to tune us as the technician precisely tunes the strings in the piano that is out of tune. Similarly, time and again Agathiyar tells us that our 3 dosas are out of tune too ie are not in the proportion they are meant to be to maintain good health. Once this proportion goes haywire due to our carelessness or overindulgence in a particular food etc, our health deteriorates and we invite illness. Agathiyar says that even the 5 elements taken from both parents in a specified ratio if they do not conform to it lead to deformities in the newborn. The arrogant man who thinks he is in charge of his life surely is at the mercy of the divine in this area.
Ramalinga Adigal was the latest sage to bring on a complete transformation of his Self into a divine being where the divine came to tune him into a vessel for Arutperunjothi Aandavar to walk the earth. Swami Saravanananda in his "Blissful Life of God-Man", excerpts of which are posted at https://www.vallalarspace.com/Saravanaananda/Articles/85 says,
God Supreme of infinite Grace is ever One and one only, And He alone is working through all souls in all places at all times. So, He exposed from within the soul of Ramalinga Swamigal,..
From the above, we understand that the guru or divine only brings out the already inherent buddha or divinity in us by removing the veils. This was conveyed by Agathiyar too in his short memo to us recently.
ஆன்மா உடலையும் உயிரையும் தனது கட்டுப்பாட்டுக்குள் வைத்துக் கொள்ளும் ஒரு சூச்சமம். இந்தச் சூச்சமத்தை பிறந்த குழந்தைகள் 1 முதல் 5 வராகை வரையிலும் உடன் இருந்து மறையும். மறைத்தலின் காரணம் இன்னதென்று இப்போது உனக்குச் சொல்ல இயலாது. ஆனபோதிலும் ஆன்ம ஒருவரின் செயலைப் பொறுத்தே மீண்டும் அவனை வந்து சேரும். ஆன்மா உன்னோடு இருந்து உன்னை ஒரு பாதைக்கு இழுத்து செல்லும் அப்போது நீ அதனை உணர்ந்தாள், உன்னில் அதிர்வாய் தோன்றி மறையும். அந்த அதிர்வினை நீ உனக்குள் நீடிக்கப் பழகினால் உன்னால் ஆன்மா என்னும் உனது அதிர்வுகளில் ஊடுருவி என்னுள் (இறை / அகத்தியன்) வந்து சேர ஒரு வழி.
Swami Saravanananda says,
But because of our unripeness and worldly attachments, we are not turning inwardly to make our life anew. Most of the people are all running after sensuous life of deluded enjoyments and pleasures.
Indeed the pull of all sensuous things is so great that it is a battle to detach from its grasp. But the truth is that we are rather helpless because we have dormant vasanas that have not been exhausted and that we carried on into this life. These vasanas are our previous desires that did not see the light of the day then and we had carried into this birth. The world to us now appears as an attractive bed to sow the seeds and fulfill our desires. If until now I was trying to bring many to the path, it ended in frustration. Tavayogi finally tells me to "Let it be." They shall need to live out their karma or the baggage of all desires they carry with them. If we were to disturb the cause of the divine and natural law, they would have to come again to exhaust these desires. Osho says it beautifully when he asks us to exhaust all our desires.
Swami Saravananda writes, "In our life from the sensuous plane, we were unable to get a true Blissful life of permanency. Such a permanent Divine Blessed life is to be lived from the Soul abode only." It is very timely that Agathiyar wants us to know about the soul or Atma now. Each time Agathiyar comes he says that he only sees our Atma and addresses it. But while he talks about Gnana and Atma Vidutalai or the release of the Soul, we come to him for petty things in life. But the most compassionate father comes down t our level to give solutions too.
In his piece posted at https://arutperunjothiagaval.blogspot.com/2008/02/introduction-to-arutperunjothi-agaval.html, Swami Saravananda writes,
"His (Man's) intellectual faculty constitutes the middle plane from where he can either look down at the material/physical world or look up in wonderment at the spiritual plane. When he looks up, he comprehends, though partially, truths about spirit, soul, and God."
If according to Swami Saravananda the "intellectual faculty constitutes the middle plane from where he can either look down at the material/physical world or look up in wonderment at the spiritual plane" then it is apt that the Vignanamaya kosa that gives us the arivu or wisdom to differentiate, shall guide our thoughts that keep arising continuously towards higher thoughts and regions finally bringing us to the plane of bliss or the Anandamaya kosa.