Jaina Doctrine Of Karma: The Energy Bodies and Aura

We have stated earlier that the Tejas body is always attached to the soul and performs two important functions viz. management of the body systems and providing support and controls for the same. What is the structure of Tejas body and how these functions are performed is not clearly spelt out in Jaina books. A concept parallel to Tejas body was developed in India by Vedic Rishis, in the form of panch (five) kosha, and latter by western thinkers as energy bodies. We briefly review these concepts here and observe that there is considerable similarity between Tejas body and energy bodies.

Rishis discovered that a human being has five subtle bodies or kosha. These kosha are generally in under developed condition, but can be developed by yogic practices. In the developed state these koshas produce many abilities in the person. The five koshas are annamaya kosha, pranamaya kosha, manomaya kosha, vigyanmaya kosha and anandmaya kosha. A developed annamaya kosha promotes good health, long life and long lasting youth. A developed pranamaya kosha produces courage, velour, bravery, genius and splendors in the person. The personality becomes magnetic and the scope and power of personal influence is increased. Awakening of manomaya kosha enhances the wisdom, foresightedness and intelligence of a person and he is able to maintain balance and patience during ups and downs in life. A developed vigyanmaya kosha makes the person gentle, generous, open hearted, angel like. In the advanced stage of development a person acquires special abilities, like super natural powers, telepathy and clairvoyance. When the ananadmaya kosha is developed the thoughts and actions of a person reach a level where he continuously experiences bliss and peace of highest order. He is now above all worldly affairs and enjoys heavenly conditions in this very life.

The western thinkers have described the Human Energy Field or the Aura. According to them the Human Energy Field is a complex combination of overlapping energy patterns which define the unique spiritual, mental, emotional and physical makeup of an individual. According to one school of thought a five - layer energy body system describes the Human Energy Field. In this system the physical body is counted as an energy body since all matter is ultimately made up of energy. Also of importance is the fact that the higher subtle energy bodies overlap and interpenetrate the physical body. In much the same way as many different TV signals exist around us in the same space simultaneously and can be individually identified by a specific frequency, the overlapping subtle energy bodies (which are also defined by different frequencies) also penetrate into the same space as our physical body. The five energy bodies are:

1. The Physical Energy Body. The physical body is the densest form of energy that our soul uses to explore its environment and interact with other. By the densest form, it is meant that the vibration patterns of the physical body are of a frequency low enough to be seen by our eyes (they are within the spectrum of visible light), heard by our ears (about 30 to 15000 hertz), and experienced with the senses of touch, taste and smell which are within the "frequency compatibility" of our physical body.

2. The Etheric Energy Body. The etheric body is the first energy body having frequency above the physical body. It exists within the physical body, and extends outwards about an inch outside the skin of the physical body. Its purpose is to form an energy template or matrix for the development, maintenance and repair of the physical body. The etheric body contains a vibrational energy counterpart for each organ, blood vessel and bone found in the physical body. Indeed, the etheric body contains the energetic blueprint for the pathways that guide the location and development of every cell of the physical body. Our physical bodies exist only because of the vital (etheric) field behind them. This etheric field exists prior to, not a result of, the physical body.

   Since the etheric body is the physical body’s blueprint, the two are very closely related. The energetic vibrations of the etheric body determine the pattern for not only the physical tissues and organs, but also the state of health of those tissues and organs. If the vibrations are not clear and pure, this disharmony will be reflected in the physical body as disharmonious function - what we call disease. An illness can appear in the energy field weeks and months before it appears with physical body.

3. The Emotional (Astral) Energy Body. The emotional body contains the emotional patterns, feelings and vibrations that determine our personality, and also how we feel about ourselves and interact with others. If we are constantly angry, always feel helpless, or are consistently fearful, these patterns or vibrations get locked in our emotional energy field and become a part of our personality. This determines to a very large extent how we interact with others on personal, social, and cultural levels.

   The emotional body generally follows the shape of the physical and etheric bodies, but is somewhat more amorphous and fluid, and extends from one to about three inches outside the physical body. It contains energy "blobs" of all colors of the rainbow, depending on the specific feeling or emotion. Highly charged feelings such as love, hate, joy, and anger are associated with energy blobs that are bright and clear, while confused feelings are darker and muddier.

4. The Mental Energy Body. The mental body contains the structure and patterns of all the thought and belief systems that we consider as true. And there is very strong, connection between the mental and emotional bodies. Although a thought or idea can in itself be very powerful, our reactions to those thought carry even more energy, and different people will react differently to the same thought.

   The mental body usually appears as yellow light radiating around the entire body from head to toe, and extends from three to eight inches beyond the physical body. Within this area, individual thought form appear as small blobs of light of varying form and intensity.

5. The Spiritual (Causal) Energy Body. The spiritual body (i.e., all vibrational patterns is octaves higher than the mental body) contains all the information related to our experiences, and reflects our consciousness of all that has been learned and experienced. It contains our higher intentions, our sense of what is right and wrong ("conscience"), and our desires to increase our awareness of our purpose, place and mission for this lifetime.

The five energy bodies make up one’s Human Energy Field, or Aura. Its outer shape appears roughly egg shaped and extends out to perhaps 1 ½ to two feet beyond the physical body; however this shape can be extended even further or contracted close to the physical body depending on the situation the person is experiencing. For example when a person is feeling emotions of unconditional love, the Aura may extend to several feet and radiate bright hues of gold or white. But if the same person is feeling threatened physically or emotionally, the entire Aura may collapse to a much denser pattern within only a few inches of the body.