Pancha Kosha (Five Sheaths) is explained in the 2nd chapter, Anandavalli section of the Taittiriya Upanishad where it says that these five sheaths cover our innermost Self, the Atman.
According to the Vedic philosophy
the outermost sheath is Annamaya Kosha (Food Sheath) made up of the gross body with skin, flesh and bones→
inside which resides the Pranamaya Kosha (Energy Sheath), the energy layer made up of vital air
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inside which resides the Manomaya Kosha (Mental Sheath) consisting of the mind
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inside which resides the Vignanamaya Kosha (Wisdom Sheath) representing the intellect containing the knowledge and the wisdom and gives the feeling of Kartha, the doer
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inside which resides the Anandamaya Kosha (Bliss Sheath), the layer of bliss which gives the feeling of Bhogtha, the enjoyer.
Each sheath is subtler than its outer sheath and each sheath pervades and controls all its outer sheaths. As per Pancha Kosha Viveka, the splendor of the Self is hidden inside these five koshas, none of these five koshas are Self and if all the koshas are negated and discarded then what remains is the Sentient Life Energy, the Self or the Consciousness or the Awareness or the Atman.
Swami Sarvapriyananda in one of his YouTube video lectures gives a simple example to understand the Pancha Koshas clearly.
- My hand with its skin, flesh, muscles, bones and blood belongs to Annamaya Kosha.
- When I raise my hand, the energy used to move the hand is the Pranamaya Kosha.
- The thought of wanting to raise the hand belongs to the Manomaya Kosha.
- The knowledge of how far the hand is raised, whose hand it is, which hand it is, etc., are the functions of the intellect belonging to the Vignanamaya Kosha.
- If there is a joy in raising the hand, say by a person after undergoing several months of physiotherapy, then that joy is coming from the Anandamaya Kosha.
Though each of these Pancha Koshas wrongly try to appear as Self, when all the five koshas stand negated then what remains is the Sentient Life Energy, the Self, the Consciousness, the Awareness, the Atman.
The Sentient Life Energy powers all the Pancha Koshas and witnesses all their activities.
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