Meditation is taught as a tool to understand our true self. The Upanishads are part of the Vedas. According to the Anandavalli Upanishad, a person who wants to attain eternal happiness has to understand the five layers of meditation. Each successive layer is subtler than the previous. The innermost layer is the layer of bliss. In order to arrive at this layer, one has to go through the lower stages (layers) of realisation. The Upanishads call this the “Pancha Kosam” or the five layers. Like a banana, we keep removing the outer peel in order to reach the juicy centre. The first layer is called as “Anna mayam” or the layer made of food. This layer refers to our body which is strengthened by the nutrients obtained from food. This is the outermost layer. This is the layer which is visible to us. This is the layer we perceive, the layer we understand. Anything beyond this layer is incomprehensible to the common man. It is not easy to arrive at the next layer.
The second layer is called as “prana Mayam” or the layer of gas (life breath). There are five types of prana which together is the life force in our body. Pranayama and breathing exercises help us to realise this layer. We know that breath is not present in a dead body. Is it breath which is the source of life we call as the “soul”? We know that not all organisms breathe the way humans breathe. Some bacteria can even breathe iron. As bacteria are also living organisms, they too must have a soul. Therefore, it is clear that “life breath” is not the soul.
The Upanishad takes us beyond this layer to the layer of mind or “Mano Mayam”. We associate mind with the origin of thought. The mind is linked with the presence of intelligence. It is powered by something else which we call as the soul. As we delve deeper than the layer of mind, we reach the fourth layer called “Vignana”. The vignana is another name for the individual soul. Once we reach this layer we would have travelled quite deep and would have truly understood the true nature of our self. We have arrived quite close to the centre but this is still not the juicy crux. Beyond the layer of the individual soul is the core called “Ananda Maya”; the layer of bliss. Understanding this layer shows us the path to attain everlasting bliss.
The centre core of the above five layers of meditation is God. The individual souls can be compared to pearls and God to the strand of thread which supports the pearls in a necklace. He is the inner controller who controls and directs the souls. He is the bestower of bliss and hence termed anandamaya. What is bliss? Bliss is defined as the lack of desire. When we desire something, we start to feel sad when our desire is not satisfied. On the other hand, if we are devoid of desire, there is no room for dissatisfaction. Everlasting bliss is attained when we attain God. We desire only Him and turn away from material pleasures. This is the natural state of the individual soul. We exist to serve God. Service to God is the one desire which bestows upon us everlasting bliss by cutting the barbed wire which ties us down to material existence.
God as the fifth and central core of meditation represents God as our inner controller. We do not have to search for God outside since He exists within us. There are Vedic hymns which teach us that God exists within us. There is a beautiful hymn which compares the human body to a tree. On this tree reside two beautiful birds. One bird eats the fruits on the tree but, grows weaker. The other bird watches His friend eat the fruits and remains strong. The bird which eats the fruit is us, the individual soul called the jivatma. The other bird which stays strong is God who resides with each one of us in our body. The fruits represent the fruits of our action or karma. Even though God resides with us in our body, He is unaffected by the karmic fruits which manifest on our body tree. He sits on this tree as our witness. He stays with each one of us patiently waiting for that moment when we may turn our attention away from the fruits and direct it upon Him and realise that He is our true friend. He causes the fruits to appear on the tree according to the deeds performed by us and makes us enjoy the fruits of our action. God is our soul. He is hence called as the Supreme Soul, Paramatma.
We can see that we the soul bear our body. It is us who controls our body. From within our body, we give our body the power to move, eat, sleep etc. The moment we leave our body, the body falls down because it is no longer supported by us. Like a tent which lacks the tent pole, the body without the soul falls down. Thus, we can see that the definition of the body-soul relationship illustrate the soul as the controller and the body as the object which is controlled. This same relationship exists between us and God. He controls us. He supports us. Without Him we can never exist. We are the object which is controlled and supported by Him. In this sense, we are termed as His body. The word body in this sense doesn’t refer to a body with eyes, nose, legs, hands etc but it refers to an object which is under the control of someone else. We the individual souls belong to God. We are under His control and we exist to serve Him. Realizing the true purpose of our existence bestows everlasting bliss upon us.