The physical body, as we are aware, is made up of flesh and blood. The astral body is composed of life force (prana), and the mind. The causal body is held together by wisdom and perpetual bliss. When the Maker first thought about creating a human, He decided on a matrix of thirty five ideas (the causal body). Then nineteen of these ideas were utilized to form the astral body and the remaining sixteen the physical body. The reader must be made aware here that ordinarily, both the causal and astral bodies are not visible to the naked eye. The nineteen ideas of the astral body are broken down thus - ten senses, five life forces, the ego, feeling, mind and intelligence. Sankya philosophy goes into great detail in explaining the origin and nature of each of these nineteen ideas. The remaining sixteen ideas were converted into the gross physical body of sixteen basic elements, e.g. iron, copper, calcium, carbon etc.

Each of these three bodies has its own distinguishing qualities. The physical body is the result of solidified physical vibrations. The astral body is the result of energy and mind vibrations, and the causal body is of nearly pure vibration of Cosmic Consciousness. The physical body is dependent on food, the astral on energy, will and evolution of thought. The causal body is dependent on wisdom and bliss.

Now the Universal Soul is reflected in the individual as the individualized soul. It is this individualized soul that is surrounded by, so to speak, by the three bodies mentioned above. At death, the physical body is destroyed, but the astral and causal bodies are still held together by unfulfilled desires and unresolved karma. The individualized soul then, wearing these two bodies as garments, reincarnates again and again into new physical forms, until all desires are eventually conquered through spiritual activities like meditation, and liberation achieved.

It is said that the Soul (Purusha) is encased in five sheaths or koshas. These koshas are of course not physical things, but spiritual manifestations. The five koshas, beginning from the one closest to soul are as follows:

The Anandamaya Kosha - this is composed of the four ideas mentioned above, and is the arena which feels or enjoys, and is the seat of supreme bliss or ananda.

The Jnanamaya Kosha - This sheath manifests Intelligence, and determines what truth is. It is the seat of knowledge or jnana.

The Manomaya Kosha - This sheath represents the mind, and is composed of the organs of the senses, through which the mind knows the outside world.

The Pranamaya Kosha - This is the body of energy and life force (prana - there is yet no English word to describe what prana is). It is composed of the organs of action.

The Annamaya Kosha - This is the grossest of all the sheaths. It is composed of the Atom's outer coating which becomes nourishment (Anna). It is this sheath that supports the visible world.

The distribution of the five sheaths among the three bodies is as follows:

The physical body is covered by the last sheath, the Annamaya Kosha. The Astral Body is covered by the Jnanamaya, Manomaya and Pranamaya khosas. The causal body is covered by the bliss kosha - the Anandamaya Kosha. As a man develops spiritually, each of these koshas are eradicated one by one, starting with the lowest kosha, the Annamaya kosha. If a man meets death after he has effectively destroyed the Annamaya kosha, then he would most likely reincarnate in a planet where most of its inhabitants will have only the four of the higher koshas instead of the five.

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