From http://agatthiyarjnanam.blogspot.com/ we learn further of the various faiths and their understanding and explanation of the various bodies too.
- Buddhism identifies three types of bodies. They are Nirmaana kaya- material body, Sambogha kaya or bodhisattva body- a blissful subtle body that is capable of entering bodies where it can impart important knowledge and Dharma kaya- the body with supreme consciousness.
- The Upanishads talk about five types of bodies, the Annamaya kosam (material body), Pranamaya kosam (body of vital breath), Manomaya kosam (a body created by the mind), Vijnanamaya kosam (a body created by discrimination) and Anandamaya kosam (body of bliss). These five bodies or sheaths are present one over the other with the outermost being the Annamaya kosam).
- Adivaita classifies the body into three types, the Sthula sareera (gross), Sukshma or linga sareera (subtle) and Kaarana sareera (causal body). The gross body is made up of matter or five elements. This is the Annamaya kosam. The Sukshma body is made up of the five tanmaatra or subtle elements. Pranamaya kosam, Manomaya kosam and Vijnanamaya kosam belong to this category. The causal body is like the Anandamaya sareeram or body of bliss.
- Yoga bijam classifies the body into Pakkva and Apakkva deha. The Apakkva deha has to be turned into Pakkva deha by processing it in the fire of the kundalini. Kaya kalpam is the process of turning the material body into Divya deha. This process is achieved by using Mani, Mantra and Audadam or medicinal preparation. Mani is the process of transforming the body through chemical means. Mantra is transformation through kundalini yoga and Audadham or Aushadam is using the medicinal method for transformation.
- Ramalinga Adigalar talks about Siddha deha, Pranava deha and Jnana deha.
- In Siddha works, we read about Sthula deha, Yoga deha, Siddha deha, Pranava deha or mantra deha and Jnana deha or Divya deha. The process of converting the Sthula deha into Divya deha is called Kaya siddhi. The Siddha alchemy also refers to this process only.
Having given a general idea of the various bodies according to the numerous faiths, Dr. Geeta Anand goes on to explain these various bodies from the context of the Siddhas.
The Siddhas did not believe in attaining moksha after death. There is no guarantee that one will actually achieve it also! They believe that the body should be used properly as a moksha sadhana.
1. Gross or material body or Sthula deha
The material body is also called maanushi tanu, nava sutra veedu (house of nine principles). It is made up of the twenty four principles - five elements, five subtle qualities, five senses of knowledge, five senses of action, manas, chittam, buddhi and ahamkaram. This body is made up of seven types of dhatus or materials. They are rasa, raktha, maamsa, majjai, asthi or bones, seminal fluid or suklam and medas or fat. It possesses the three faults or dosha namely vata (vali), pittha (azhal) and kapha (aiyam). It undergoes five types of modifications, aging, getting white hair, diminishing sight, disease and death. Such a body made up of the seven dhatus should be turned into yoga sareera by lighting the fire of kundalini. It is the material body that binds a soul to a particular place, time and situation.
2. Yoga deha
Hata yoga strengthens the material body and removes the screen between the body and the mind. It removes the duality of body and mind. Isha Upanishad states that one who controls the body along with the mind attains deathless state. Tirumandiram recommends ashtanga yoga or the yoga with the eight components of yama, niyama, aasana, pranayama, dhaarana, dhyana and Samadhi. Siddha literature calls the process of attaining Yoga deha as deha siddhi.
3. Siddha deha
When one attains the Yoga deha further yogic practices raise the kundalini sakti. When the power of kundalini pierces the six cakra, the yogi attains special powers. The power that emerges from muladhara grants strength of the body and mind. The power that emerges from the svadishtana grants health. Power from manipuraka cakra grants a natural immunity. Power from anahata grants internal and external beauty. Senses become sharp. Power from visuddhi cakra makes the body firm like a diamond. The body of the Siddha that attains special powers becomes like a multicolored rainbow that can disappear without a trace. Achieving this rainbow body is a big step in the transformation. A material body is visible because of its color. When the yogi erases the color of the body it becomes invisible. A yogi who has attained a Siddha deha is not controlled by time, space and external causes. He takes any form anywhere at any time. He does not depend on his senses for cognition. When kundalini unfolds from its dormant state and ascends through the cakras it starts absorbing the element that each cakra represents. Thus, it absorbs the twenty four principles into itself. When it reaches the Ajna cakra the yogin’s body becomes Siddha deha. The twenty four principles do not affect the Siddha deha as it is not made of them. A Siddha deha is made of the Siva Sakti principle.
4. Pranava deha or Mandira meni or Mantra deha
Converting the Siddha deha into Mantra deha is the next step. Tantra sastras say that Siva and Sakti are present in the sahasrara and muladhara respectively. They are present in the right and left part of the body. The apana vayu that flows through the pingala nadi in the right side of the body is considered as the flow of Siva. The prana that flows through the ida in the left part of the body is called as flow of sakti. When the aspirant practices breath regulation he changes the direction of the breath and makes it flow through the sushumna instead of the ida and pingala thus bringing the left and the right part of the body into an equilibrium. This is called union of siva and sakti, samarasa. Then the sound, OM occurs within the yogi’s body and his Siddha deha becomes Pranava deha. The letters A, U and M of the pranava represent the Soorya, Chandra and Agni or pingala, ida and sushumna nadi respectively.
Tirumular calls the mantra tanu as sukshma panchakshara and Sivakaayam. As the pranava is called the unspoken mantra, Konkanar calls the transformation of the material body into Mantra deha as the silent letter became the body. The body is called Oomai deham or silent body. It is also called the pillar of Omkara.
A yogin who possesses the Pranava deha is a Jivan muktha. They are souls who have attained liberation while still in the body form. A yogin who possesses the Pranava deha is a Jivan muktha. They are souls who have attained liberation while still in the body form. Even when their senses are engaged with the external world their consciousness is constantly immersed in self-awareness enjoying the bliss. They are not affected by the “I-sense”. They remain as a witness.
Jivan mukthi is different from Videha mukhti in that Videha mukthi is attained only after the death of the person. In fact the Siddhas do not believe in Videha mukhti at all. A Jivan muktha’s body is deathless. His gross body becomes effulgent Divya deha. He attains Para mukthi with that Divya deha. He goes beyond time and remains as an embodiment of Sivam. It is believed that Jivan mukthas are still remaining in this world.
5. Jnana dega or Divya deha
Divya deha is called chinmayam, baindhava sareeram, Jnana deha. It is a body made of space. Those with Divya deha have merged with the supreme space. In this state every hair shaft in their body glistens and glows. Kakapujandar and Kambalichattai munivar call this body Kailaya deha. Sivavakiyar calls this body Sorgaloka veli. He says that in the limitless Sorgaveli the supreme truth remains as a mixture of white and red. In the sahasrara which is depicted as the thousand petal lotus, the yogin experiences white and red. The white indicates the prakasha aspect of the Divine and the red indicates the vimarsha aspect of the Divine. The process of reaching the divya deha from the Yoga deha or the Siddha deha is called laya. Laya is the process of merging of all the principles with each other and ultimately with Sivam. This is also called apancheekaranam or reverse manifestation. When kundalini goes beyond the ajna,to the other cakras, the sense of duality ceases to exist. When it reaches the sahasrara the yogin attain the Divya deha. He consumes the divine nectar that flows down. His body becomes deathless. This body is called the golden body or ‘ponnaar meni’. The kechari mudra helps the yogin consume the divine nectar. The yogi attains kayasiddhi.
Thus, the Siddha, instead of fighting with the body and its natural tendencies transform it using the same principles into a supreme vehicle that carries them towards liberation.
In the foreword to “An Introduction to the Philosophy of Saint Ramalingam” by Dr. C. Srinivasan, Rao Saheb K. Kothandapani Pillai BA wrote about these transformations,
These transformations occur in the body of the aspirant according to the intensity of spiritual warmth produced in him. The body is deprived of all its dross or impurities and made pure, fit for divine absorption (Sudha Deham). These are the practical transformation, which came over the body of the Swami stage by stage on the way to union with the absolute. Not only did he preach this science of deathlessness (Sudha Sanmarga) but actually attained this deathless state. None of the four saints, [Appar, Sundarar, Thirugnanasambanthar, and Manickavasagar] dropped their bodies on the earth nor was buried or burnt. They bodily vanished into the ether or into the lord divine. Thirugnanasambandar vanished into the divine light which shone forth at the time of his marriage. Appar merged bodily with the Lord absolute at Pugalur. Sundarar merged with the Lord of Mt.Kailash and Manickavasagar vanished into the ether of Siva Veli at Thillai. Conquest of death by imbibing supreme grace is the quintessence of his philosophy. The more he ascended in his holy pursuit the more was the descent of divinity in him.
Srinivasan writes of Manickavasagar’s transformation in the eyes of Ramalinga Adigal.
The Swami says that Saint Manickavasagar had achieved the transformation in the human frame first into Anburuvam or body of love, then into Aruluruvam or body of grace and then finally into Inburuvam or body of ecstasy, that is, the body of the God Supreme.
From the foreword to Kumara Devar in the above-mentioned book,
This saint, Kumara Devar, (the author of Sudha Sadhagam), has sung of the progressive transformation of the darkness abounding human body (Irul Deham) into delusive body (Marul Deham) then into the body of grace (Pranava Deham) which could be seen and felt. In an advanced state it is transformed into body of grace (Arul Deham), which could only be seen as a mirage or a rainbow, but with his grace, it merges with Shiva and enjoys eternal bliss in Shivadvaita union.
Summing up the subject of this bodily transformations, Dr C Srinivasan, says,
Accordingly, the impure human body, susceptible to disease and death, can, by the grace of god, be transformed into a pure and perfect body of love, then into a celestial body of grace and ultimately into an invisible body of bliss and merge with god supreme.
The veil can only be removed by spiritual communion and devotion to Erai. Hence when asked to come to the path of the Siddhas, the very first thing we are told to do is to chant the names of the Siddhas. Through recitation of their names, a bridge is formed connecting the divine realm with us. A conduit or channel is opened up for the divine energy to flow within us, removing all the blockages in the chakras as it travels within. Their energy is made accessible to us flowing unobstructed.
With and when devotion leads to sheer love for the divine without expectations, the heart then begins to melt and love for all arises. Compassion seeps in and flows abundantly. The body is slowly perfected without our effort but through the divine hand as Agathiyar tells me that he shall guide. Thavathiru Rengaraja Desigar too initiating his followers on doing charity and singing the praises of the Siddhas, initiates them on Agathiyar's Nama Japam and asks that we leave it to the Siddhas to guide our breath. Matter then becomes less prominent while the energies increase. The Suddha deham or perfected body slowly evolves into the Pranava deham or body of grace and light and finally into a Jnana deham or body of wisdom.
Just as a herb has to be purified before it can work effectively in healing an illness, the impure elements that constitute the impure body, by reason of the body made of the five elements, need to be converted into pure elements first. Hence the reason for one to adopt vegetarian based meals arises. A Siddha in the making has to be purged off all the impurities including the meat that he/she had consumed for ages that have become blood and flesh.
Rao Saheb. K. Kothandapani Pillai writes that Ramalinga Adigal, “desired to be blessed with a body which should not be destroyed by the five great elements of Nature such as wind, earth, space, fire and water, the firmament headed by the sun, the god of death, the diseases, the murdering weapons, the planets, the evil deeds resorted to for killing, or by any other means, the divine once infused in him alchemized his body and it was at once sanctioned to him.”
காற்றாலே புவியாலே ககனமத னாலே
கனலாலே புனலாலே கதிராதி யாலே
கூற்றாலே பிணியாலே கொலைக்கருவி யாலே
கோளாலே பிறஇயற்றும் கொடுஞ்செயல்க ளாலே
வேற்றாலே எஞ்ஞான்றும் அழியாதே விளங்கும்
மெய்அளிக்க வேண்டுமென்றேன் விரைந்தளித்தான் எனக்கே
ஏற்றாலே இழிவெனநீர் நினையாதீர் உலகீர்
எந்தைஅருட் பெருஞ்ஜோதி இறைவனைச்சார் வீரே.
Listen at http://www.thiruarutpa.org/thirumurai/v/T360/tm/thanith_thirualangkal
Both Agathiyar and Supramania Swami brought me to devotion for a start. Swami Saravanananda describes "devotion as the thawing and melting of the mind (intellect). Love means the thawing and melting of the soul (heart). He (God) is realized progressively by the seeker according to his capability." Compassion sets in. Ramalingam was compassionate. Saravanananda refers to this attribute of Ramalingam. Swami Saravanananda says,
The whole body of Ramalingam was soaked with divine bliss and every cell of his body began to enjoy the felicity. It is said that each cell of the body possesses partial consciousness and rudiments of intelligence. The divine light that passes into the cell makes them fully awakened into perfect or near-perfect intelligence. The result is the perfect immortal physical body. Ramalingam compares the process of illumination of the cells with marriage with the compassionate celestial lady.
Divine compassion is the natural expression of the lord; compassion to all beings (Jeeva karunya ‐ the spiritual thawing and melting of beings towards the less fortunate ones which lead to Jeeva karunya) is the natural expression of human beings. Those perfected beings who have realized completely and enjoyed such an expression and pleasure are called as Jeevan Muktas. Alleviating hunger and preventing murder are the most important aspects of Jeeva karunya. The aspirant pours out his soul to the Lord and prays fervently to mitigate their sufferings (other beings). Slowly, his body through the intensity of concentration of the mind begins to generate the flame of tapas, known as psychic heat.
Hence universal compassion and spontaneous service to fellow-beings and intuitive love for God are the best methods to imbibe the mercy of God who is nothing but love. The secret satisfaction of serving God by serving the multitude of living organisms in which God is manifested and ardent prayers for the mercy of God lead the aspirant into universal spiritual communion.
While the reason for the threefold differentiation of atoms in physical space is due to the presence of air in it, similarly the reason for the threefold differentiation in Atmas in the cosmic space is due to the presence of dynamic compassion. Due to the differences in the levels of will, wisdom, and action (karma) that are found in the cosmic space, Atmas have come to possess threefold bodies (karmic, pranava, gnana). Then there is always the thought of Erai day and night. The external mantra becomes internal. The external worship goes within. Then it takes place even when we are asleep. The divine that sustains us in this physical body begins to transform it working from within.
Srinivasan writes,
This practice of thinking of God always and incessantly and praying for His Grace assiduously and affectionately kindles soothing warmth in the body of the aspirant. Without knowing this secret, sages and seers of lore underwent severe penance and meditated for hundreds of years just to gain this warmth. Now when the universal spiritual communion and the sacred warmth grow more and more, the body and the soul of the aspirant are well prepared to receive the Grace of God. In the melting mood and in the emotional feeling of love for God, the grace of God Supreme descends in the form of light.
Rao Saheb. K. Kothandapani Pillai writes,
The Divine rays of Grace penetrate into the eyes, the mind and the intellect of the lovable individual and ignite not only with his melting compassionate feeling which has reached the saturation point but with the tremendous warmth developed out of his love for God.Science tells us that,
A typical cloud-to-ground lightning bolt begins when a step-like series of negative charges, called a stepped leader, races downward from the bottom of a storm cloud toward the Earth along a channel at about 300,000 kph. Each of these segments is about 46 meters long. When the lowermost step comes within 46 meters of a positively charged object, it is met by a climbing surge of positive electricity, called a streamer, which can rise up through a building, a tree, or even a person. When the two connect, an electrical current flows as negative charges fly down the channel towards earth and a visible flash of lightning streaks upward at some 300,000,000 kph, transferring electricity as lightning in the process. (Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/lightning/)Just as it is found that when the lightning strikes the earth a streamer arises from the ground to meet it, with Erai’s enormous mercy and grace showering on us and the little compassion that has risen in our hearts, when these two meet there blossoms a shower of divine energy that readily begins the transformation in us. As the Nayanmars served Siva through serving his servants, Agathiyar, Avvai, and Ramalinga too desire us to serve others with compassion. Let us bring this change in us first before the divine comes down and within us to transform us further.