Insights from the Theory of Pancha Kosha (Five Sheaths of Consciousness)
THE LEVELS OF HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS AND CREATIVE FUNCTIONING: INSIGHTS FROM THE THEORY OF PANCHA KOSHA (FIVE SHEATHS OF CONSCIOUSNESS) Maharaj K. Raina, Ph.D. Woodland, CA ABSTRACT: Various cosmological positions have shaped beliefs about the character of creativity. From the Indian tradition, have emerged multi-level cosmological models that provide structural frameworks to understand the relationship between consciousness and creativity. Among them is pancha kosha (from Sanskrit –pancha means five, kosha sheath) encompassing five bodies (koshas) of consciousness: Annamaya (food body/physical body), Pranamaya (vital sheath/prana/ life force), Manomaya (the emotional body/mind), Vijnanamaya (cognition/ intellect/wisdom), and Anandamaya (bliss), considered the ‘‘most useful springboard for a modern scientific understanding of cosmology and evolution’’ (Goswami, 2000, p. 114). This article explains the theory and the attributes of various sheaths; draws implications related to human creativity’s nature and emergence; examines the role of ‘‘phenomenal awareness’’ (Rao & Paranjpe, 2016, p. 113), blissfulness (ananda), ‘‘extension of borders’’ and the ‘‘extension of persona’’ (Mahapatra, 2009, p. 72) in the manifestation of creativity; documents the role of such a state of consciousness in some exceptionally creative individuals’ lives, and discusses implications for broader understanding of experiential sources of creativity and consciousness. KEYWORDS: Cosmology, pancha kosha theory, levels of consciousness, transpersonal creativity, bliss (ananda), illumined perception, transcendence, concentration and commitment Every traditional human society known to anthropology has a cosmology (Abrams & Primack, 2001), and some cosmologies conceived the human being as a part of a ‘‘great chain’’ or a ‘‘great nest of being’’ of interpenetrating layers—material, mental and spiritual in nature, and as the nexus or crossing point between the world of matter and the world of Spirit, being comprised of both (Smith, 1958, 1992).
[Show full text]