THE FIVE SHEATHS
YEAR 4
THE FIVE SHEATHS
The five sheaths (or kosha) work much like clouds when they cover the sun. The sun does not stop shining and is unaffected by the clouds and yet, when covered, its light appears much dimmer. When the clouds depart the sun is seen to be shining in all its glory still.
So it is with the essence of our being. It can be hidden from sight, but this does not mean that it has ceased to be. There is a story in the Taittirīya Upanishad Knowledge about how these five kosha are like nests for being. Although the five kosha can conceal the self from view, they can also be the very means for displaying the glory of the self.
A prerequisite for enrolment:
Completion of the first 9 courses.
The Five Sheaths is not available at present
WHAT IS THE COURSE ABOUT?
Each sheath (or kosha) is progressively more refined and more subtle than the one before. Understanding their nature means being free of their limits. Being free of their limits makes it possible to know your self as you truly are.
The second course in the 4th year, The Five Sheaths, explores the way in which our true selves are covered, what these coverings are, and how to dissolve them.
“Nature is a unity in diversity of phenomena; a harmony, blending together all created things, however dissimilar in form and attributes; one great whole animated by the breath of life. The most important result of an inquiry into nature is therefore to establish the unity and harmony of this, to comprehend nature, to lift the veil that shrouds her phenomena.”
'Cosmos' ~ Alexander von Humboldt
TOPICS EACH WEEK
What are the sheaths
Overvies of the 5 sheaths
The material sheath
The vital sheath
The mental sheath
The knowledge sheath
The bliss sheath
Training the mind through the senses
Discrimination through listening
The organs of knowledge
Sat, Cit and Ananda: Truth, Consciousness and Bliss
Our own Self as the source of joy.
OUR COURSE IN PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY MAKES WISDOM PRACTICAL.
Somewhere along the way, practical philosophy got hijacked by theoretical philosophy. It’s time to take it back. Our courses are for people seeking to understand the nature of existence and the world in which we live.