Passage 7

Tap any word for its meaning.

In plain words

You may think over for yourselves how much you misuse the body, which is the seat of such a God. They misuse the place that is their own dwelling. They lead it onto evil ways. They fall prey to evil habits. Having done all this to it, if they want to see divinity, how is that possible? The head itself is the world of the gods. Because sound, form, taste, smell and the rest are in that head itself. Yesterday I told you of five: ‘Klīṃ kṛṣṇāya govindāya gopī janavallabhāya svāhā.’ What is in these five? Klīṃ: that is the earth. Kṛṣṇāya: that is water. Govindāya: that is fire; Gopī janavallabhāya, air. Svāhā, space. This world is indeed made up of these five elements, so if you ask where God is, He is all over the world as the embodiment of the five elements. “Antarbahiśca tatsarvaṃ vyāpya nārāyaṇa sthitaḥ”: the principle of God fills everything within and without, everywhere. Divinity is indeed present everywhere.

The Five Elements and the Five Sheaths

The principle of these five elements is itself the principle of man's life. We must understand the principle of these five elements well. These five elements are joined with the five sheaths; they are the annamaya kośa, the prāṇamaya kośa, the manomaya kośa, the ānandamaya kośa and the vijñānamaya kośa. These five are in the one body itself. How sacred is the vijñānamaya kośa in man! For Vijñāna we need not read books specially. We need not take refuge with any elders. We need not hear any teachings. Prajñāna is in us as that sheath. When we experience this prajñānamaya kośa, the ānandamaya kośa comes to us quite naturally. So man is always thirsting for Ānanda. He floats and plays in the ocean of Ānanda. He was born in the ocean of Ānanda itself. So our birth, our dwelling and our death all take place in Ānanda itself. Birth, death and nididhyāsa all take place in Ānanda itself.