Kosha

A kosha (also kosa; Sanskrit कोश, IAST: kośa), usually rendered "sheath", is a covering of the Atman, or Self according to Vedantic philosophy.

The five sheaths, summarised with the term Panchakosha, are described in the Taittiriya Upanishad (2.1-5),[1][2] and they are often visualised as the layers of an onion.

According to Vedanta the wise person, being aware of the subtle influences of the five elements within each kosha, ever discerns the Self amidst appearances.

[5] The gross body which is matter-born and matter sustained and transient and subject to perception is the Annamayakosha whose origin is food eaten by parents.

Whatever happens in the Annamayakosha is wrongly identified as belonging to the atman by reason of its being pervaded by the Pranamayakosha which is effect of Vayu, and totally unaware and dependent.

[9] The organs of knowledge and the mind form this kosha which is the cause of the sense of the "I" and of the "mine" and of the varying conceptions.

[10] Vijñānamaya means composed of vijñāna, or intellect, the faculty which discriminates, determines or wills.

Sankara holds that the buddhi, with its modifications and the organs of knowledge, form the cause of man's transmigration.

It has the power of reflection of the chaitanya which it accompanies as a modification of Prakrti (avidya) and characterised by knowledge and action and always identified with the body, organs etc.

This kosha is endowed with jnana and to it belong the waking and dream states and the experiences of joy and sorrow.

In deep sleep, when the mind and senses cease functioning, it still stands between the finite world and the self.

The bliss sheath normally has its fullest play during deep sleep: while in the dreaming and wakeful states, it has only a partial manifestation.

The Panchkoshas are anatman that hide the atman, these koshas or sheaths are required to be systematically removed.

After removal of the five sheaths and the resultant void through the process of negation, what remains is the Atman; and then the non-existence of all the modifications beginning with the ahamkara is self-witnessed, the self that witnesses is itself the supreme Self.