The Physical Layer – How You Create It

So, please sit up with your spine straight in line with your neck and head. We will start the process on the first layer. Let us now work on the first layer that is the annamaya kosha. The layer that is the physical layer - the body which you are carrying now, the body made of flesh and bones and blood.

Annamaya kosha is the material part of Creation. Whether it is a tree or a rock or man, all these have the annamaya kosha in addition to having different degrees of consciousness. This kosha is the gross manifestation of energy as matter, in different proportions and strengths. It is the first layer of skin, muscle tissue, bones and organs. It is called the gross body, the tangible part of yourself that you can mostly see, touch, and feel.

You have actually created this body of yours out of so many engrams, or samskaras, or engraved memories, belonging to past lives. The base material out of which you created this body is your engraved memories or samskaras. Engraved memory means the memory out of which you do all the actions, including your thinking. The engraved memories or samskaras are the base material out of which you have created this body. If you ask me whether I believe in a person having many births, I don't just believe, I know it is the truth. You go through many births. The samskaras which you collect in the many different births - out of that you create your body for this birth.

Two things you need to understand: all samskaras or engrams will have a certain power, a certain energy in them. There will be an energy and a certain love or hatred attached to it. Let me describe this engram concept very clearly so that you will understand what I am trying to convey. Let us take some engram: for example the engram to have a cup of coffee as soon as you get up in the morning. When you get up in the morning, you will have that urge to get up, go to the kitchen, pick up the coffee and drink. The picture of coffee and the experience of coffee - both these put together is what is called samskara. Now, we are trying to remove the picture and give the energy alone to you. If you remove the engraved memory completely, you will lose both the energy and the picture. But when you work on the annamaya kosha, the memory's energy will be there, but the pictures will disappear! The vasanas will be removed but the shakti or the power of the samskara will stay with you. Vasana refers to the object that created the samskara in the first place. It is like the seed. Shakti is the power of the samskara. Removing vasana but not the power of the samskara, is called Selfactualization. Understand: Self-realization can be achieved in two ways: by completely removing the samskara and the energy. This is the path of renunciation; or, by having the energy but not the vasana. This is the path of self-actualization.

Now, by working on the ānandamaya kosha*, you will be having the power but not the pictures.