Journey to the Inner Divine

The way things work for me is that I sometimes find that a new understanding starts to grab me and I can’t stop. That is happening right now with the Hindu conception of the five koshas. The koshas are the sheaths or bodies that surround us, each one less dense than the one before. They create a sense of existence separate from the divine source and the shedding of these layers of separation is the path to union with the divine.

Once an idea like this takes hold in me I can’t stop exploring it. I read books, currently The Crown of Life by Kirpal Singh, and Lessons on the Upanishads by Swami Krishnananda. I watch Youtube videos of teachings on the subject, and I consult the teachers I currently work with, in this case my yoga teacher Cheryl Van Sciver.

I am not driven by a desire for information. I am a practitioner at heart and so I want to find perspectives that clarify my experience of practice and give me greater access to depth. Understanding the koshas is doing that and this is what I want to share. Know that this is my own understanding and it matches my experience, but it is not meant to be an accurate portrayal of any traditional views.

Creation starts with the formless and intangible divine that shines into manifestation and becomes experienced reality. The first layer of reality is the causal realm where the most faint sense of existence begins. This is the existence of existence without separation or distinction. Pure being with only the faintest sense of identity, I AM.

The next layer is the mental realm that exists as the pure witness. The observing consciousness that is free and unattached from anything that it sees. This is the birthplace of intuition, true wisdom and direct knowing.

Next comes the etheric realm. The ether is the first substance and it permeates all material substances and is the medium in which time and space appear. The astral body of this realm is only loosely tied to our physical existence.

Beneath the etheric body is the energetic body. In its most dense form this is the vital energy that animates our body. In subtler forms it is the spiritual energy that animate the chakras and in the form of kundalini propel us along the spiritual path.

Finally our physical body in the material world of time and space is the most dense form of matter.

What is currently shifting my understanding of the koshas is the discovery that traditionally it is said that all of the koshas exist in the body. The spiritual journey is not a journey out of and away from the body, it is a journey into the deeper subtleties of the body.

The inward path leads to the divine inside us, the atman, a seed of divinity that is the core of our existence and is not separate from the formless source of reality. What I am struck by in all this is that the journey to the divine takes us more deeply into our embodied existence, not away from it. This makes sense to me, it aligns with my actual experience of spiritual awakening, and it feels profoundly healthy and healing.

1. My experience of the inner journey through the koshas starts with the attainment of inner peace and a radical acceptance of the experience of being a physically embodied human on Earth.
2. This inner contentment allows me to become deeply still and quiet. In that state my senses are sensitive enough to notice the vibrations of my energy body.
3. As I rest even more deeply into this energetic level of being I slowly begin to drift into the dream-like experiences of the etheric realm.
4. Eventually I settle on that narrow point between my normal waking consciousness and sleep and from there I am jolted into a higher awareness in which I experience the penetrating focus of the witness and a flow of wisdom.
5. Continuing to rest comfortably any sense of separation melts away along with any sense of identity and I move closer and closer to the blissful oblivion of divine union.

What I am discovering and experiencing can not be done justice in a short essay, but I wanted to at least offer a taste of what is opening up in my own practice in the hope that it offers inspiration for yours.