The Yogic, Tantric and other systems of Hinduism, VajrayanaBuddhism, as well as Chinese Taoist alchemy contain theories of subtle physiology with focal points connected by a series of channels that convey subtle breath. These invisible channels and points are understood to determine the characteristics of the visible physical form. By understanding and mastering the subtlest levels of reality one gains mastery over the physical realm. Through breathing and other exercises, the practitioner aims to manipulate and direct the flow of subtle breath, to achieve supernormal powers and attain higher states of consciousness, immortality, or liberation.
Hinduism
Early
Early concepts of the subtle body appeared in the Upanishads, including the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad and the Katha Upanishad. The Taittiriya Upanishad describes the theory of five koshas or sheaths, though these are not to be thought of as concentric layers, but interpenetrating at successive levels of subtlety:
The anna-maya,
The prana-maya,
The mano-maya,
The vijñana-maya
The ananda-maya.
Subtle internal anatomy included a central channel. In later Vedic texts called samhitas and brahmanas one also finds a theory of five "winds" or "breaths" :
Prāṇa, associated with inhalation
Apāna, associated with exhalation
Uḍāna, associated with distribution of breath within the body
Samāna, associated with digestion
Vyāna, associated with excretion of waste
Later
A millennium later, these concepts were adapted and refined by various spiritual traditions. The similar concept of the is seen as the vehicle of consciousness in later Samkhya, Vedanta, and Yoga, and is propelled by past-life tendencies, or bhavas. Linga can be translated as "characteristic mark" or "impermanence" and the Vedanta term sarira as "form" or "mold". Karana or "instrument" is a synonymous term. In the Classical Samkhya system of Isvarakrsna, the Lińga is the characteristic mark of the transmigrating entity. It consists of twenty-five tattvas from eternal consciousness down to the five organs of sense, five of activity and the five subtle elements that are the objects of sense The Samkhyakarika says: The classical Vedanta tradition developed the theory of the five bodies into the theory of the koshas "sheaths" or "coverings" which surround and obscure the self. In classical Vedanta these are seen as obstacles to realization and traditions like Shankara's Advaita Vedanta had little interest in working with the subtle body.
Tantra
In Tantra traditions meanwhile, the subtle body was seen in a more positive light, offering potential for yogic practices which could lead to liberation. Tantric traditions contain the most complex theories of the subtle body, with sophisticated descriptions of energy nadis and chakras, points of focus where nadis meet. The main channels, shared by both Hindu and Buddhist systems, are the central, left and right. Further subsidiary channels are said to radiate outwards from the chakras, where the main channels meet. Chakra systems vary with the tantra; the Netra Tantra describes six chakras, the Kaulajñana-nirnaya describes eight, and the Kubjikamata Tantra describes seven.
Modern
The modern Indian spiritual teacherMeher Baba stated that the subtle body "is the vehicle of desires and vital forces". He held that the subtle body is one of three bodies with which the soul must cease to identify in order to realize God.
Buddhism
In Buddhist Tantra, the subtle body is termed the ‘innate body’ or the ‘uncommon means body’. It is also called sūkṣma śarīra, rendered in Tibetan as traway-lu. The subtle body consists of thousands of subtle energy channels, which are conduits for energies or "winds" and converge at chakras. According to Dagsay Tulku Rinpoche, there are three main channels, central, left and right, which run from the point between the eyebrows up to the crown chakra, and down through all seven chakras to a point two inches below the navel. Buddhist tantras generally describe four or five chakras in the shape of a lotus with varying petals. For example, the Hevajra Tantra states:
In the Center of Creation a sixty-four petal lotus. In the Center of Essential Nature an eight petal lotus. In the Center of Enjoyment a sixteen petal lotus. In the Center of Great Bliss a thirty-two petal lotus.
In contrast, the historically later Kalachakra tantra describes six chakras. In Vajrayana Buddhism, liberation is achieved through subtle body processes during Completion Stage practices such as the Six Yogas of Naropa.
Other traditions
Other spiritual traditions teach about a mystical or divine body, such as "the most sacred body" and "true and genuine body" in Sufism, the meridian system in Chinese religion, and "the immortal body" in Hermeticism.
In the 19th century, H. P. Blavatsky founded the esoteric religious system of Theosophy, which attempted to restate Hindu and Buddhist philosophy for the Western world. She adopted the phrase "subtle body" as the English equivalent of the Vedantic sūkṣmaśarīra, which in Adi Shankara's writings was one of three bodies. Geoffrey Samuel notes that theosophical use of these terms by Blavatsky and later authors, especially C. W. Leadbeater, Annie Besant and Rudolf Steiner, has made them "problematic" to modern scholars, since the Theosophists adapted the terms as they expanded their ideas based on "psychic and clairvoyant insights", changing their meaning from what they had in their original context in India.
Post-theosophists
The later theosophical arrangement was taken up by Alice Bailey, and from there found its way into the New Age worldview and the human aura. Max Heindel divided the subtle body into the Vital Body made of Ether; the Desire body, related to the Astral plane; and the Mental body. Samael Aun Weor wrote extensively on the subtle bodies, aligning them with the kabbalistic tree of life. Barbara Brennan's account of the subtle bodies in her books Hands of Light and Light Emerging refers to the subtle bodies as "layers" in the "Human Energy Field" or aura.
Fourth Way
Subtle bodies are found in the "Fourth Way" teachings of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky, which claim that one can create a subtle body, and hence achieve post-mortem immortality, through spiritual or yogic exercises. The "soul" in these systems is not something one is born with, but developed through esoteric practice to acquire complete understanding and to perfect the self. According to the historian Bernice Rosenthal, "In Gurdjieff's cosmology our nature is tripartite and is composed of the physical, emotional and mental bodies; in each person one of these three bodies ultimately achieves dominance." The ultimate task of the fourth way teachings is to harmoniously develop the four bodies into a single way.
Aleister Crowley
The occultist Aleister Crowley's system of magick envisaged "a subtle body called the Body of Light; this one develops and controls; it gains new powers as one progresses".
