Vivekachudamani 35 Identifying Ourselves Beyond the Five Sheaths - By Swami Tattwamayananda

151st verse: “A lake has pure water underneath but is covered by moss, grass and leaves at the top. The pure water is hidden. Similarly, our true nature stays hidden by five sheaths. The five sheaths are: Anamaya Kosha, Pranamaya Kosha, Manomaya Kosha, Vijnanamaya Kosha and Anandamaya Kosha.”Anamaya Kosha is the grossest and represents our physical being. Anandamaya Kosha is the most subtle.We identify ourselves with what we can connect with through our senses and mind. This is akin to weeds growing on the lake.Shankaracharya uses examples from the animal kingdom to explain how one reaches destruction when guided by the senses - Deer (sense of hearing), Elephant (sense of touch). Moth (sense of seeing), Fish (sense of taste), Bee (sense of smell). Each of these creatures reaches death as they are guided by one of their senses. What to speak of humans who have five senses active all the time.We often define ourselves with our physical identity. This is similar to a billionaire behaving like a beggar. Many great personalities, such as Lincoln, Gandhi and Stephen Hawking, were not physically remarkable but achieved great things by identifying with higher dimensions of their personality.155th verse: “There is a type of grass whose core is covered by leaves. When the outer layers of the leaves degenerate, the core comes out. Similarly, we should be able to separate the five sheaths and identify with our inner divinity.”Swami Vivekananda said: “Religion is the manifestation of divinity already in man.” We can manifest this divinity by being good human beings.Vedanta prescribes Sadhana Chatushtaya Sampatti as the disciplines to manifest this divinity. We have to have the right sense of priorities. First, we must use our discerning wisdom to determine what is real and what is unreal. Second, we must hold on to what is real and disregard what is unreal. Third is Śamādi ṣatka Sampatti. It lists six traits: Sama, Dama, Uparati, Titiksa, Shraddha, Samadhana. Fourth is Mumukṣutvam, a strong desire for spiritual liberation.Divine discontent is the feeling of incompleteness or imperfection in life that any cultured, evolved, human being feels. Great personalities such as Buddha felt this discontent and sought higher meaning of life. Shankaracharya emphasizes the importance of restraining the mind in the 326th verse. “Imagine a child playing with a ball at the top of a staircase. If the ball falls, it does not stop until it reaches the bottom. Similarly, in spiritual life, we should be very vigilant not to make mistakes. We should give our mind proper direction.”153rd verse: “When the five sheaths are taken away, we identify with our true dimension, which is self-effulgent, directly experienced and the source of eternal bliss.”Body is not supposed to remain intact for a very long time. We should not be unhappy when we get old or sick. The body is designed by God to become dysfunctional after a while.We spent most of our lifetime confronting the problem of death – we may be able to postpone it, but we cannot avoid it. Yaksha posed a question to Yudhishthira – “What is the most mysterious fact of life?” In answer, Yudhishthira said – “Every minute and second, we see so many creatures moving towards the abode of death. Still, we believe that we will not have to join this procession. This is the most mysterious fact of life.”