The process of Superimposition responsible for the
confusion of the apparent reality with awareness.
Ignorance is not ‘bad’ although it may have unpleasant consequences. In fact it is actually a positive force that is responsible for the creation of the universe. It is made of three qualities that are found in everything: sattva, light, tamas, darkness or matter, and rajas, activity. Two of these three qualities, tamas and rajas, are inimical to self knowledge. The third, sattva, is an aid. Its existence is established by common sense. People say, “I am ignorant.”
Macrocosmic ignorance is the aggregate of the ignorance of all individuals, just as a forest is nothing but many individual trees. Because of its association with awareness it has a preponderance of pure sattva. Awareness associated with macrocosmic ignorance is endowed with omniscience and omnipotence and is the creator of the universe. It is the inner guide or ruler when considered from the standpoint of an individual.
Macrocosmic ignorance is known as the Causal Body because it is the cause of everything. The Causal Body is known as the ‘bliss sheath’ because it is full of bliss and hides the self from the individual. It is also known as the sleep state because all gross and subtle phenomena are resolved into it at the end of the cycle of creation. At the beginning of the next cosmic cycle it projects the subtle and gross bodies and all the objects of experience.
Microcosmic or individual ignorance is called impure sattva because it is mixed with rajas and tamas. Awareness associated with the individual is only capable of limited knowledge, power and action. It causes the sense of individuality, the ‘I’ notion. It is dreamless sleep. The Subtle Body is resolved into it at night so it is the cause of the dissolution of gross and subtle phenomena. In the sleep state it enjoys bliss. This accounts for the universal appreciation of sleep.
Except for the differences noted above macrocosmic and microcosmic ignorance are identical and share a common substratum, limitless awareness. Macrocosmic ignorance has two powers: concealment (tamas) and projection (rajas). It conceals the self from the intellect by casting a cloud over it. Because the individual intellect is covered it believes that it is limited in many ways. It thinks it is born and will die. It takes samsara to be real and believes that it needs objects, gross and subtle, to be happy even though it is nothing but limitless immortal awareness. It takes itself to be a doer and does actions for the results which it believes will make it happy.
Just as the traveler’s rope ignorance caused the rope to appear as a snake the projecting power of the macrocosmic causal body creates the material elements and all living entities. Awareness in association with macrocosmic ignorance is the substance of which the universe is made and the intelligence that shapes the material just as a spider is both the substance of its web and the intelligence that shapes it.
From consciousness associated with the projecting power of ignorance which has a preponderance of the quality of darkness, space evolves, from space air evolves, from air fire, from fire water and from water earth.
Next the qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas evolve out of space. Because space has a preponderance of the dark energy the qualities that evolve from them have a preponderance of the dark energy. They are called subtle matter (tanmatras) and uncompounded elements. The gross elements and the subtle bodies evolve from the subtle elements. The subtle bodies have seventeen parts: five organs of perception, the intellect, the mind, the five organs of action, and the five vital forces. The five organs of perception are the ears, the skin, the eyes, the tongue, and the nose and are produced separately in consecutive order from the sattva particles of space. That modification of the subtle body (the antakarana or internal instrument) that makes determinations is called the intellect (buddhi). The mind (manas) is that modification of the internal instrument which considers the pros and cons of a subject (sankalpa and vikalpa). The mind-substance (chitta) and I notion (ahamkara) are included in the intellect and the mind respectively. Memory (chitta) is that modification of the inner organ which remembers. The ‘I notion’ is that modification of the inner organ which is characterised by self-consciousness. All these modifications of the subtle body are produced from the sattva particles of space because they are luminous.
The intellect and the organs of perception constitute the intelligent sheath (vignanamayakosa). Because it is intelligent it is called the jiva or individual self. It thinks of itself as a doer and enjoyer. It thinks it is a traveler, subject to transmigration.
The mind with the organs of perception constitute the mental sheath (manomayakosa).
The five vital forces such and the organs of action constitute the vital air sheath (pranamayakosa). Its dynamism shows that it is the product of the rajas particles in space. The organs of action are the organs of speech, the hands, the feet, and the organs of evacuation and generation. The five vital forces are the Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana and Samana. Prana is that vital force which goes upward and has its seat at the tip of the nose. Apana is that vital force which goes downward and has its seat in the organs of excretion. Vyana is that vital force which moves in all directions and pervades the entire body. Udana is the ascending vital force which helps the subtle body leave the gross body at the time of death and has its seat in the throat. Samana is that vital force which assimilates food and drink and has its seat in the middle of the body. Assimilation means digestion of food and its conversion into blood and other materials of the body.
Of these sheaths, the intelligent sheath which is endowed with the power of knowledge is the agent; the mental sheath which is endowed with will-power is the instrument and the vital sheath which is endowed with activity is the product. This division has been made according to their respective functions. These three sheaths together constitute the subtle body.
The sum total of all subtle bodies is called samasti, the aggregate. An individual subtle body is called vyasti and has the same relationship to the total as a tree has to a forest.
Consciousness associated with this totality is called sutratma, hiranyagarbha and prana because it is imminent everywhere and because it identifies itself with the five great uncompounded elements endowed with the powers of knowledge, will and activity.
The macrocosmic subtle body (hiranyagarbha) is the aggregate of all subtle bodies. It is also called the dream state, because it consists of the impressions of the waking state and therefore is known as the resolving place for the gross universe.
Awareness associated with an individual subtle body is known as taijasa (full of light) on account of its being associated with the effulgent inner organ. It experiences subtle objects.
The microcosmic subtle body is made up of the three sheaths, is finer than the gross body and consists of the impressions of the waking state. For that reason it is called the resolving place of the gross body.
The aggregate and individual subtle bodies are identical like a forest and its trees.
Thus do the subtle bodies originate.
But the gross elements are all compounded.
The compounding takes place in this manner: each of the five elements is divided into two equal parts; of the ten parts thus produced, the first five halves of each element are each sub-divided into four equal parts. Then one half of each of the five is combined to one quarter of each of the other four, making each element five in one. Though the five gross elements are alike in so far as each of them contains all five elements, they have different names owing to the preponderance of a particular element in each. At the time of compounding space manifests sound; air manifests sound and touch; fire sound, touch and form; water sound, touch, form and taste; and earth manifests sound, touch, form, taste and smell.
From these compounded elements have evolved the seven upper planes i.e. Bhur, Bhuvar, Svar, Mahar, Jana, Tapas and Satyam; and the seven lower planes: Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Rasatala, Talatala, Mahatala and Patala in addition to the world, the four kinds of gross bodies contained in it together with the food and drink appropriate to them.
The four kinds of gross bodies are those that are born of the womb, the egg, moisture and the soil. Those born of the womb are humans, animals etc. Those born out of the eggs are the birds, reptiles etc. Those born of moisture are the lice, mosquitoes etc. Those that spring from the soil are the trees, vines etc.
The gross bodies in their fourfold variety may be collective or individual.
Awareness associated with the aggregate gross bodies is called vaisvanara and virat. The aggregate gross body of this is called the food sheath (annamayakosa) because it is a modification of food and is the enjoyer of the waking state because it is the means for enjoyment of gross objects. Consciousness associated with the individual gross body is called viswa because it enters the gross body without letting go of its identification with the subtle body. The individual’s gross body is also called the food sheath on account of its being a modification of food and is said to be in the waking state.
Both visva and vaisvanara at the time of compounding perceive gross objects, viz. sound, touch, colour, taste and smell respectively through the five perceptive sense-organs which are controlled respectively by the presiding deities of the elements from which they arise. They also perform the functions of speech, acceptance, walking, excretion and enjoyment respectively through the five organs of action, such as the tongue etc., controlled respectively by the presiding dieties of the elements from which they arise. They experience uncertainty, determination, personality and remembrance, respectively through the four inner organs, viz. mind, intellect, ego and memory (chitta) controlled respectively by their presiding deities.
The individual and collective gross bodies are identical and so are viswa and vaisvanara who are associated with the bodies. Thus has the gross phenomenal universe evolved from the five compounded elements.
The total of the gross, subtle and causal worlds makes a vast universe.
Thus has been shown in general the process of superimposition, which is responsible for the confusion of the apparent reality with awareness.
