The Four Bodies

The dehas

Every jeeva, except Naarayana and Lakshmi devi, has four bodies (dehas), swaroopa deha, linga deha, aniruddha deha and sthoola deha. The Lord is present in these four bodies as Vishwa, Hayagreeva, Mulesha, Achyutha, Anantha, Govinda and Hamsa. The all-pervasive Lord sets in motion the six stages* of ‘life’ in all jeevas which possess the four dehas. Bramha, Vayu, Saraswathi and Bharathi, though in possession of four dehas, do not experience these, they do not experience birth and death. Their progression towards the end of their allotted lifespan is to be considered as ‘ageing’.

*conception (embryo), birth (vaginal), growth, old age, decay, death

The Bhagawad-rupas within the four dehas are:

The sthoola deha, also called pancha bhootha* deha is the physical body, and is the outermost. Hari is present within the jeeva’s sthoola deha as the abhimani devathe of sense organs etc. enabling the jeeva to experience the sensory world. The Lord is present in the sthoola sharira of males as Vaasudeva and Aniruddha and as Sankarshana and Pradyumna in the sthoola sharira of females.

*made of five elements, water, earth, fire, space, ether

The sthoola deha is tangible and perishable. When a person dies, the sthoola deha decomposes, but the other intangible dehas continue to exist, along with the gunas and kaarmic baggage of the jeeva.

The aniruddha deha (sookshma deha), granted to the jeeva by Aniruddha-rupi paramaatma, lies below the sthoola deha and envelopes the linga deha. This deha is essential for the jeeva to experience Swarga and Naraka, and the fruits of one’s good/ bad deeds. The punya of donations made, rituals performed, people fed, as part of the rites that follow a person’s death are meant to be enjoyed by this aniruddha deha.

The linga-deha, also called sookshma deha, is the subtle body which envelopes the swaroopa-deha, like the husk covers the grain. The linga deha is a constant companion of the eternal swaroopa deha. The jeeva requires a sthoola deha to perform saadhane to rid itself off the linga deha. Therefore the sthoola deha is also referred to as saadhana sharira. The jeeva has to shed his/her linga deha to experience moksha or eternal bliss.

The various jeevas which have been granted moksha (mukta-jeevas), reside in Satya loka, the abode of Bramha, till the end of the cycle of creation. Along with Bramha and other devathes, such jeevas shed their linga-dehas after a dip in the Viraja* river and enter Vaikunta in their swaroopa deha.

*From the sweat of Vaasudeva sprang forth the river Viraja (another form of Ramaa Devi) which separates the material worlds from the dimension of timelessness

The swaroopa deha is the innermost entity. If one were to split a single strand of hair of a horse’s tail, into hundred, and then the one hundredth into another hundred, one could imagine that to be the size of the swaroopa-deha of a jeeva. During the normal course of the cycle of birth and death, one remains unaware of one’s swaroopa deha. The swaroopa deha is the original form of the jeeva, which may be human, animal, plant, tree, bird, or any other being (blue-bodies with four arms etc.).

While Bramha, Saraswathi, Vayu and Bharathi are present in the linga-deha of a jeeva, only Hari and Vayu are present in the swaroopa-deha. The swaroopa deha is enveloped by three layers (three gunas). The presiding deities (forms of Vishnu) of the satva layer* is Vishwa, the rajo layer** are Taijas and Praagnya, the tamo layer*** is Turya.

*corresponds with mind

**corresponds with the 10 indriyas, Taijas for Gnaanendriya and Praagnya for karmendriyas.

***corresponds with the 5 elements and 5 primordial senses

Every jeeva has three gunas or attributes, satva, rajo and tamo guna. Depending on the predominance of the guna, the jeevas may be classified as Sathvik, Rajasik and Taamasic. Accordingly they have one of the three yogyathes, mukthi-yoga, nitya-samsaara yoga or tamo-yoga (andha-taamisra). The first and the last category of jeevas experience linga-bhanga * at the last stage of their existence in the material realms. The mukthi-yogis enter Vaikunta to experience eternal bliss, in their swaroopa dehas, while the tamo-yogis are condemned to eternal damnation. The nitya-samsaaris, never shedding their linga dehas, continue to be born and die, again and again, and again...while experiencing a mix of joy and distress.

*shedding of the linga-deha and becoming aware of their true nature