Subtle body

The subtle body in Indian mysticism, from a Yoga

manuscript in Braj Bhasa language, 1899. A row of
chakras is depicted from the base of the spine up to
the crown of the head.

A subtle body is one of a series of psycho-

spiritual constituents of living beings,
according to various esoteric, occult, and
mystical teachings. According to such
beliefs each subtle body corresponds to a
subtle plane of existence, in a hierarchy or
great chain of being that culminates in the
physical form.

The subtle body consists of focal points,

often called chakras, connected by
channels, often called nadis, that convey
subtle breath (with names such as prana
or vayu). These are understood to
determine the characteristics of the
physical body. Through breathing and
other exercises, a practitioner may direct
the subtle breath to achieve supernormal
powers, immortality, or liberation.

The subtle body (Sanskrit: sūkṣma śarīra)

is important in Indian religions such as
Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, mainly
in the forms which focus on Tantra and
Yoga. Other spiritual traditions teach about
a mystical or divine body.
Asian religions
The Yogic, Tantric and other systems of
Hinduism, Vajrayana Buddhism, as well as
Chinese Taoist alchemy contain theories
of subtle physiology with focal points
(chakras, acupuncture points) connected
by a series of channels (nadis, meridians)
that convey subtle breath (prana, vayu, ch'i,
ki, lung). 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
(siddhis) and attain higher states of
consciousness, immortality, or
liberation.[1][2]

Hinduism E…
An illustration of a subtle body system of seven
chakras connected by three major nadi channels, as
commonly adopted by contemporary yoga

Early E…

Early concepts of the subtle body

(Sanskrit: sūkṣma śarīra) appeared in the
Upanishads, including the Brhadaranyaka
Upanishad and the Katha Upanishad.[3]
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:[4][5]

The anna-maya ("food body", physical

body, the grossest level),
The prana-maya (body made of vital
breath or prana),
The mano-maya (body made of mind),
The vijñana-maya (body made of
consciousness)
 The ananda-maya (bliss body, the
subtlest level).

Subtle internal anatomy included a central

channel (nadi).[4] In later Vedic texts called
samhitas and brahmanas one also finds a
theory of five "winds" or "breaths" (vayus,
pranas):[4]

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 E…

A millennium later, these concepts were

adapted and refined by various spiritual
traditions. The similar concept of the Liṅga
Śarīra is seen as the vehicle of
consciousness in later Samkhya, Vedanta,
and Yoga, and is propelled by past-life
tendencies, or bhavas.[6] Linga can be
translated as "characteristic mark" or
"impermanence" and the Vedanta term
sarira as "form" or "mold".[7] Karana or
"instrument" is a synonymous term. In the
Classical Samkhya system of Isvarakrsna
(ca. 4th century CE), 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
(buddindriya or jñānendriya, and
karmendriya respectively) and the five
subtle elements that are the objects of
sense (tanmatras) The Samkhyakarika
says:[8]
The subtle body (linga),
previously arisen, unconfined,
constant, inclusive of the great
one (mahat) etc, through the
subtle elements, not having
enjoyment, transmigrates,
(because of ) being endowed
with bhavas ("conditions" or
"dispositions"). As a picture
(does) not (exist) without a
support, or as a shadow (does)
not (exist) without a post and so
forth; so too the instrument
 (linga or karana) does not exist
without that which is specific
(i.e. a subtle body).

— Samkhyakarika, 60-81[8]

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
(atman). 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.[9]

Tantra E…

In Tantra traditions meanwhile (Shaiva

Kaula, Kashmir Shaivism and Buddhist
Vajrayana), the subtle body was seen in a
more positive light, offering potential for
yogic practices which could lead to
liberation.[10] Tantric traditions contain the
most complex theories of the subtle body,
with sophisticated descriptions of energy
nadis (literally "stream or river", channels
through which vayu and prana flows) and
chakras, points of focus where nadis
meet.[11]

The main channels, shared by both Hindu

and Buddhist systems, are the central (in
Hindu systems: sushumna; in Buddhist:
avadhuti), left and right (in Hindu systems:
ida and pingala; Buddhist: lalana and
rasana).[12] Further subsidiary channels are
said to radiate outwards from the chakras,
where the main channels meet.[13]

Chakra systems vary with the tantra; the

Netra Tantra describes six chakras, the
Kaulajñana-nirnaya describes eight, and
the Kubjikamata Tantra describes seven
(the most widely known set).[14][15]

Modern E…

The modern Indian spiritual teacher Meher

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.[16]

Buddhism E…
A Tibetan illustration of the subtle body showing the
central channel and two side channels connecting
five chakras

In Buddhist Tantra, the subtle body is

termed the ‘innate body’ (nija-deha) or the
‘uncommon means body’ (asadhdrana-
upayadeha).[17] It is also called sūkṣma
śarīra, rendered in Tibetan as traway-lu
(transliterated phra ba’i lus).[18]

The subtle body consists of thousands of

subtle energy channels (nadis), which are
conduits for energies or "winds" (lung or
prana) and converge at chakras.[17]
According to Dagsay Tulku Rinpoche, there
are three main channels (nadis), 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.[19]
Buddhist tantras generally describe four or
five chakras in the shape of a lotus with
varying petals. For example, the Hevajra
Tantra (8th century) states:

In the Center [i.e. chakra] of

Creation [at the sexual organ] a
sixty-four petal lotus. In the
Center of Essential Nature [at
the heart] an eight petal lotus.
In the Center of Enjoyment [at
the throat] a sixteen petal lotus.
In the Center of Great Bliss [at
 the top of the head] a thirty-two
petal lotus.[14]

In contrast, the historically later

Kalachakra tantra describes six
chakras.[14]

In Vajrayana Buddhism, liberation is

achieved through subtle body processes
during Completion Stage practices such as
the Six Yogas of Naropa.[20]

Other traditions E…
Other spiritual traditions teach about a
mystical or divine body, such as "the most
sacred body" (wujud al-aqdas) and "true
and genuine body" (jism asli haqiqi) in
Sufism, the meridian system in Chinese
religion, and "the immortal body" (soma
athanaton) in Hermeticism.[21]

Western esotericism
The Subtle body and the cosmic man, Nepal 1600s

Theosophy E…
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.[22] 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 (physical, subtle, and causal).
Geoffrey Samuel notes that theosophical
use of these terms by Blavatsky and later
authors, especially C. W. Leadbeater, Annie
Besant and Rudolf Steiner (who went on to
found Anthroposophy), has made them
"problematic"[22] 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.[22] [22]

Post-theosophists E…

The later theosophical arrangement was

taken up by Alice Bailey, and from there
found its way into the New Age
worldview[23] and the human aura.[24]
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.[25]

Samael Aun Weor wrote extensively on the

subtle bodies (Astral, Mental, and Causal),
aligning them with the kabbalistic tree of
life.[26]

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.[27]
Fourth Way E…

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 (planetary),
emotional (astral) and mental (spiritual)
bodies; in each person one of these three
bodies ultimately achieves dominance."[28]
The ultimate task of the fourth way
teachings is to harmoniously develop the
four bodies into a single way.[28]

Aleister Crowley E…

The occultist Aleister Crowley's system of

magick envisaged "a subtle body
(instrument is a better term) called the
Body of Light; this one develops and
controls; it gains new powers as one
progresses".[29]

References
1. Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. 171–
184.
2. Pregadio, Fabrizio (2012). The Way of
the Golden Elixir: A Historical
Overview of Taoist Alchemy (PDF, 60
pp., free download). Golden Elixir
Press.
3. Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. 173-
174.
 4. Samuel 2013, p. 33.
5. Mallinson & Singleton 2017, p. 184.
. Larson 2005, p. 242.
7. Purucker, Gottfried. The Occult
Glossary
. Larson 2005, p. 268.
9. Samuel 2013, pp. 34, 37.
10. Samuel 2013, p. 34.
11. Samuel 2013, p. 38-39.
12. Samuel 2013, p. 39.
13. Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. 172-
174.
14. Samuel 2013, p. 40.
15. Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. 175-
178.
1 . Baba, Meher (1967). Discourses,
volume 2. San Francisco: Sufism
Reoriented. pp. 144–145. ISBN 978-
1880619094.
17. Wayman, Alex (1977). Yoga of the
Guhyasamajatantra: The arcane lore
of forty verses : a Buddhist Tantra
commentary. Motilal Banarsidass.
p. 65.
1 . Miller, Lama Willa B. "Reviews:
Investigating the Subtle Body" .
Archived from the original on 19
March 2018. Retrieved 18 March
2018.
19. Dagsay Tulku Rinpoche (2002). The
Practice of Tibetan Meditation:
Exercises, Visualizations, and
Mantras for Health and Well-being.
Inner Traditions / Bear & Co. p. 80.
ISBN 978-0892819034.
20. Samuel 2013, p. 38.
21. White.
22. Samuel 2013, pp. 1-3.
23. Johnston, Jay (2002). "The
"Theosophic Glance": Fluid
Ontologies, Subtle Bodies and
Intuitive Vision" . Australian Religion
Studies Review. 15 (2): 101–117.
24. Hammer, Olav (2001). Claiming
Knowledge: Strategies of
Epistemology from Theosophy to the
New Age. Brill. p. 55.
ISBN 900413638X.
25. Heindel, Max (1911). The Rosicrucian
Mysteries . p. Chapter IV, The
Constitution of Man: Vital Body -
 Desire Body - Mind. ISBN 0-911274-
86-3.
2 . Samael Aun Weor. "Types of Spiritual
Schools" . Archived from the original
on 31 May 2007.
27. Dale, Cyndi. "Energetic Anatomy: A
Complete Guide to the Human Energy
Fields and Etheric Bodies" .
Conscious Lifestyle magazine.
Retrieved 9 August 2019.
2 . Rosenthal, Bernice (1997). The Occult
in Russian and Soviet Culture .
Cornell University Press. p. 361 .
 ISBN 978-0-8014-8331-8.
OCLC 35990156 .
29. Aleister Crowley Magick (Book 4),
chapter 81.

Sources
Larson, Gerald James (2005). Classical
Samkhya : an interpretation of its history
and meaning. Motilal Banarsidass.
ISBN 978-81-208-0503-3.
OCLC 637247445 .
Mallinson, James & Singleton, Mark
(2017). Roots of Yoga. Penguin Books.
 ISBN 978-0-241-25304-5.
OCLC 928480104 .
Samuel, Geoffrey (2013). Religion and
the subtle body in Asia and the West :
between mind and body. Routledge.
ISBN 978-0-415-60811-4.
OCLC 690084604 .

Further reading
Alfass, Mirra (The Mother) Mother's Agenda
Besant, Annie, Man and His Bodies
Brennan, Barbara Ann, Hands of Light : A
Guide to Healing Through the Human Energy
Field, Bantam Books, 1987
—, Light Emerging: The Journey of Personal
Healing, Bantam Books, 1993
Eliade, Mircea, Yoga: Immortality and
Freedom; transl. by W.R. Trask, Princeton
University Press, 1969
C. W. Leadbeater, Man, Visible and Invisible
Sheila Ostrander and Lynn Schroeder Psychic
Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain,
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall,
1970.
Poortman, J. J. Vehicles of Consciousness;
The Concept of Hylic Pluralism (Ochema), vol
I-IV, The Theosophical Society in Netherlands,
1978
Powell, Arthur E. The Astral Body and other
Astral Phenomena
—, The Causal Body and the Ego
—, The Etheric Double
—, The Mental Body
Samael Aun Weor, The Perfect Matrimony or
The Door to Enter into Initiation. Thelema
Press. (1950) 2003.
Samael Aun Weor, The Esoteric Course of
Alchemical Kabbalah . Thelema Press.
(1969) 2007.
Steiner, Rudolf, Theosophy: An introduction to
the supersensible knowledge of the world
and the destination of man. London: Rudolf
Steiner Press. (1904) 1970
—, Occult science – An Outline. Trans.
George and Mary Adams. London: Rudolf
Steiner Press, 1909, 1969
Heindel, Max, The Rosicrucian Mysteries
(Chapter IV: The Constitution of Man: Vital
Body - Desire Body - Mind ), 1911, ISBN 0-
911274-86-3
Crowley, Aleister (1997). Magick (Book 4) 2nd
ed. York Beach, Maine. : Samuel Weiser.
—, (1982). Magick Without Tears. Phoenix,
AZ : Falcon Press
Thelemapedia. (2004). Body of Light .
White, John. Enlightenment and the Body of
Light in What Is Enlightenment? magazine.
Oschman, James L. Energy Medicine: The
Scientific Basis.
Levin, Michal. Meditation, Path to the
Deepest Self, Dorling Kindersley, 2002.
ISBN 978-0789483331
Levin, Michal. Spiritual Intelligence:
Awakening the Power of Your Spirituality and
Intuition. Hodder & Stoughton, 2000.
ISBN 978-0340733943
Paramahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of
a Yogi , Los Angeles, CA: Self-Realization
Fellowship, 1946, Chapter 43.
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