The ānanda-maya: achieving the perfectional stage

The last stage of evolution, the ānanda-maya stage, is where one realizes his eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord and attains the platform of eternal spiritual bliss. This is the ultimate goal.

« Vedānta-sūtra: The Govinda-bhāṣya of Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa

The anna-maya, prāṇa-maya, mano-maya, and vijñāna-maya

The three chapters of the Taittirīya Upanisad are called the Śikṣā-vallī, the Ānanda-vallī, and the Bhṛgu-vallī. The first transmits spiritual knowledge in the context of the education of students in the Vedic gurukulas. The second is centered around the description of the anna-maya, prāṇa-maya, mano-maya, vijñāna-maya, and ānanda-maya, discussing the evolution of consciousness of the conditioned soul, going from being absorbed into the basic needs of the body, all the way up to the platform of pure devotional service. The final chapter, the Bhṛgu-vallī, explains the contents of the second chapter in the context of a conversation between Varuṇa and his son, Bhṛgu.

We can see thus that the description of the anna-maya, prāṇa-maya, mano-maya, and vijñāna-maya is the main topic of this Upaniṣad. They are simultaneously manifestations of the Lord present inside the body and stages of consciousness of the conditioned soul. This passage thus conducts us through these different stages of existence in the direction of the ultimate goal.

The passage starts with a description of Brahman and then of the material elements, similar to the description of creation connected with the universal form of the Lord we find in the 2nd canto of Srimad Bhagavatam: "From that Self (Brahman) sprang ākāśa (ether); from ākāśa sprang air; from air, fire; from fire, water; from water, earth. From earth sprang plants; from plants came food; from food arose man."

This description, however, is not given as a simple illustration of the process of creation, but it has the function of connecting it with the Supreme Brahman who is behind it: "The liberated soul, who knows this Brahman, who is hidden inside the cave of the heart, enjoys the fulfillment of all his desires in the company of the Supreme Lord."

With this, Brahman is established as the creator of everything. From Brahman came ether, and from ether the different material elements, culminating with the element earth, which in turn leads to a sequence of manifestations, culminating with food, which is the source of subsistence. Food leads to the production of semen, from which all human beings are created. Food is thus the support for the human being.

What exactly is the anna-maya? The word anna means food, and maya means a permutation of the energy of the Lord. Like everything else, food comes from the energy of the Lord. In a lower stage of existence, the consciousness of a living entity is centered on just getting enough food and growing one's body. This is the consciousness of a very small child or lower beings, like lower animals, plants, etc. At this stage, the soul is completely covered by ignorance, and there is no higher aspiration; one feels satisfied by just eating. This is the anna-maya stage of consciousness, based on just anna, food.

The next verses describe the next stage of consciousness, prāṇa-maya: "Inside this anna-maya person, which consists of the essence of food, is the other inner Self, consisting of prāṇa. This is the prāṇa-maya person, which pervades the body. It also has a human shape, imitating the gross form of the anna-maya. Prāṇa (the vital air) is its head. Vyāna (the upward breath) is its right side. Apāna (the downward breath) is its left side. Ākāśa (Brahman) is its Self. Earth is the foundation."

The verse describes that there is something more subtle than the gross body composed of food: prāna, the vital air. All living beings are dependent on the vital air, or prāna, to live. As long as the vital air remains inside the body, one can remain alive. However, as soon as it leaves, the body dies, and the soul moves to another body. "Prāṇa" is also a name for the Supreme Brahman. In this way, the Supreme Lord is the maintainer of both the prāṇa-maya and the anna-maya. Everything is composed of His energy.

While the anna-maya consciousness is centered on the body's most basic need, eating, the prāṇa-maya consciousness is higher, centered on other aspects of material life. It consists of becoming conscious of the idea of maintaining one's life, finding shelter, defending against others, and so on. At this stage, the consciousness is focused on collecting different resources that one needs to remain alive. One can observe this stage in higher animals like birds and mammals, which build nests, accumulate food for the winter, defend themselves, and so on. This animalistic stage of existence is, of course, also found in human beings who are absorbed in material consciousness.

The next passage describes the mano-maya, the next stage of consciousness. The stage of mano-maya is still materialistic but superior to the other two. While on the stage of prāṇa-maya, one is concerned about maintaining his body; in the mano-maya stage, one becomes concerned about the activities of the mind. In this stage, obtaining knowledge and reasoning about different topics becomes the center of one's activities. In this stage, one becomes a philosopher or someone interested in finer knowledge. At a higher stage, one starts to study the Vedas, beginning with the Atharva-veda and other passages that deal with material subjects, and gradually progressing to the Yajur-veda, Ṛg-veda, and Sāma-veda, heard from Brāhmanas.

The next stage is the vijñāna-maya, the stage where spiritual consciousness finally becomes prominent, and one starts seeing oneself as a soul. This vijñāna-maya stage of consciousness is described as having a human form, composed of faith, proper conduct, eternity, and connection with the Lord. These are characteristics of the soul, and one who reaches the stage of vijñāna-maya develops these qualities. Once we attain the stage of vijñāna-maya, we gain the power to continue evolving our spiritual realization and gradually regain, by the mercy of the Lord, our original transcendental nature.

We can see that material civilization is based primarily on the first two stages, anna-maya and prāna-maya, with most people just working to satisfy the basic needs of the body. Intelligent people often reach the mano-maya stage, becoming intellectuals. The fourth stage, vijñāna-maya, is reached when one comes to the platform of spiritual understanding (vijñāna). This is the stage where one understands he is not the body or the mind, but the soul. In this stage, one understands the temporality of this world and starts looking for what is eternal. In the Bhagavad-gītā, Krsna gives us an idea of how rare this stage is: manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye. Out of many thousands of ordinary people, maybe one will endeavor for perfection. When of comes to the perfection of this stage, one reaches the beginning of the transcendental platform, the stage of liberation.

However, what is beyond the vijñāna-maya stage? One may endeavor for perfection, but what perfection is? How can it be found? This leads to the first passage quoted by Srila Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa in his commentary, which is a fragment from verse 2.5.1:

tasmād vā etasmād vijñānamayāt

anyo’ntara ātmā’nandamayaḥ, tenaiṣa pūrṇaḥ

sa vā eṣa puruṣavidha eva, tasya puruṣavidhatām

anv ayam puruṣavidhaḥ, tasya priyam eva śiraḥ

modo dakṣiṇaḥ pakṣaḥ

pramoda uttaraḥ pakṣaḥ, ānanda ātmā, brahma puccham pratiṣṭhā

"The vijñāna-maya purusha is pervaded by another self, the ānanda-maya. The ānanda-maya has the form of a human, like the previous puruṣa. His head is pleasure (priya), his right side is joy (moda), his left side is delight (pramoda), his identity is bliss (ānanda), and his foundation is Brahman (the Lord Himself)."

The ānanda-maya

The last stage of evolution, the ānanda-maya stage, is where one realizes his eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord and attains the platform of eternal spiritual bliss. Both the Supreme Brahman and the fragmental spirit soul are blissful by nature. Both are spiritual, by nature, full of knowledge, eternity, and bliss. The difference is that the Supreme Brahman never falls into illusion, while the infinitesimal jīva sometimes does. However, when a soul recovers one's original consciousness, one's life of spiritual enjoyment is revived. Thus, the ānandamaya stage is reached when one comes in contact with the ānanda-maya Person.

Who is the ānanda-maya? The verse from the Taittirīya Upanisad above-mentioned tells us that the ānandamaya is Brahman. One could, however, argue that the Brahman mentioned in the verse is not the Supreme Lord, but the living being himself, arguing that the verse refers to the ānanda-maya as a person, and therefore it must refer to the conditioned soul residing inside the material body, arguing that the Supreme Brahman has no form. If this version is accepted, the next conclusion would be that we are all God we can find spiritual bliss by just connecting with ourselves.

To this, Vyāsadeva answers: ānanda-mayo’bhyāsāt. The ānanda-maya is the Supreme Lord; this is established by repetition.

How can we be sure that the ānanda-maya is the Supreme Lord and not the individual soul? The word ānanda-maya is repeatedly used to describe the Supreme Brahman. After the passage about the ānanda-maya we just studied, the Taittirīya Upanisad (2.6.1) mentions:

asann eva sa bhavati, asad brahmeti veda cet

asti brahmeti ced veda, santam enam tato vidur iti

"If one thinks that Brahman (the ānanda-maya puruṣa) doesn't exist, he remains in illusion, identifying with the body, life after life in the cycle of birth and death. One who sees Brahman as existing revives his eternal spiritual nature and becomes peaceful."

In this passage, the word Brahman is repeated (asad brahmeti veda cet, asti brahmeti ced veda). This repetition is called abhyasa. When Vyasadeva says "ānanda-mayo’bhyāsāt", the word "bhyāsāt" refers to this type of repetition. The meaning is that Brahman is established as the ānanda-maya because of this abhyasa, or repetition.

Apart from the repetition in this particular verse, the idea that the Supreme Lord is full of bliss is repeated throughout the Vedic literature. You can find a huge collection of quotes corroborating this point in the appendix of the 11th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam from the BBT (available in the printed edition), entitled ‘The Absolute Nature of the Supreme Lord’. This sutra, ānanda-mayo’bhyāsāt, thus indicates that the Lord is the ānanda-maya not only due to repetition in this particular passage of the Taittirīya Upanisad but also by repetition in the whole Vedic literature.

Another way that it can be proved that the ānanda-maya is the Lord, is that in the verses of the Taittirīya Upanisad we studied here (beginning with the verse "annad vai prajah prajayante", All creatures that dwell on earth are produced from food) describe the levels of anna-maya, prāna-maya, mano-maya, and vijñāna-maya. Each of these levels of consciousness is progressively higher than the predecessor, culminating with the highest of all, the ānanda-maya level.

In one sense, the anna-maya is the body, the prāṇa-maya the vital air, the mano-maya the mind, and the vijñāna-maya is understanding. These are four layers of our being, and our consciousness may be focused on any of them. However, in a higher sense, they are all manifestations of the Supreme Lord, since they are all manifestations of His energy. This is a concept similar to the idea of Virāṭ-rūpa offered in the second canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. In one sense, the universe is a material creation, but in another, it is a form of the Lord, since it is created from his energy.

The description is thus given so one can gradually progress through the different stages, but the goal is to attain the stage of ānanda-maya, which is the original position of the soul. The first three stages, anna-maya, prāṇa-maya, and mano-maya, are still under the realm of illusion, and even the stage of vijñāna-maya is not complete, since after this stage, there is liberation, but still no realization of one's eternal relationship with the Lord.

This is corroborated on SB 10.87.17, where the personified Vedas say:

puruṣa-vidho ’nvayo ’tra caramo ’nna-mayādiṣu yaḥ

sad-asataḥ paraṁ tvam atha yad eṣv avaśeṣam ṛtam

"Among the manifestations known as anna-maya and so forth, You are the ultimate one, entering within the material coverings along with the living entity and assuming the same forms as those he takes. Distinct from the gross and subtle material manifestations, You are the reality underlying them all."

Srila Prabhupada comments on this point in detail in the Krsna Book (chapter 87):

"If by the evolutionary process of philosophical life one happens to reach the platform of intellectual life and understands that he is not this material body but a spiritual soul, he is situated in the vijñāna-maya stage. Then, by evolution in spiritual life, he comes to the understanding of the Supreme Lord, or the Supreme Soul. When one develops his relationship with Him and executes devotional service, that stage of life is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the ānanda-maya stage. Ānanda-maya is the blissful life of knowledge and eternity. As it is said in the Vedānta-sūtra, ānanda-mayo ’bhyāsāt. The Supreme Brahman and the subordinate Brahman, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entities, are both joyful by nature. As long as the living entities are situated in the lower four stages of life – anna-maya, prāṇa-maya, mano-maya and vijñāna-maya – they are considered to be in the material condition of life, but as soon as one reaches the stage of ānanda-maya, he is a liberated soul. This ānanda-maya stage is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā as the brahma-bhūta stage. There it is said that in the brahma-bhūta stage of life there is no anxiety and no hankering. This stage begins when one is equally disposed toward all living entities, and it then expands to the stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, in which one always hankers to render service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This hankering for advancement in devotional service is not the same as hankering for sense gratification in material existence. In other words, hankering remains in spiritual life, but it becomes purified. Similarly, when our senses are purified, they are freed from all material stages, namely anna-maya, prāṇa-maya, mano-maya and vijñāna-maya, and they become situated in the highest stage – ānanda-maya, or blissful life in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The Māyāvādī philosophers consider ānanda-maya to be the state of being merged in the Supreme. To them, ānanda-maya means that the Supersoul and the individual soul become one. But the real fact is that oneness does not mean merging into the Supreme and losing one’s own individual existence. Merging into the spiritual existence is the living entity’s realization of qualitative oneness with the Supreme Lord in His aspects of eternity and knowledge. But the actual ānanda-maya (blissful) stage is attained when one is engaged in devotional service. That is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā: mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām. Here Lord Kṛṣṇa states that the brahma-bhūta ānanda-maya stage is complete only when there is an exchange of love between the Supreme and the subordinate living entities. Unless one comes to this ānanda-maya stage, his breathing is like the breathing of a bellows in a blacksmith’s shop, his duration of life is like that of a tree, and he is no better than the lower animals like the camels, hogs and dogs."

Listening to these arguments, one could hold to the belief that this interpretation must be incorrect, because it is illogical that the Supreme Brahman can have a form, but this is easily dismissed. Even if one can't conceive the spiritual form of the Lord, there is still another form we can perceive with our own eyes:

prthivi sariram

"The material universe is the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead." (Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad (3.7.3)

As explained in the Srimad Bhagavatam, starting from the first chapter of the 2nd canto, the understanding of the form of the Lord starts by understanding the Virāṭ-rūpa, the universal form, where one sees the universe itself as a form of the Lord. Gradually, one can then progress to the understanding of the localized aspect, Paramātmā, and later finally come to the highest understanding, the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His original form.

This topic of the ānanda-maya will be discussed again later in the Vedanta-sutra, in the passage starting from sutra 3.3.13. Prabhupada also speaks about it in his purport to Bg 13.5:

"As stated before, kṣetra is the field of activities, and there are two kinds of kṣetra-jña: the individual living entity and the supreme living entity. As stated in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad (2.5), brahma pucchaṁ pratiṣṭhā. There is a manifestation of the Supreme Lord’s energy known as anna-maya, dependence upon food for existence. This is a materialistic realization of the Supreme. Then, in prāṇa-maya, after realizing the Supreme Absolute Truth in food, one can realize the Absolute Truth in the living symptoms or life forms. In jñāna-maya, realization extends beyond the living symptoms to the point of thinking, feeling and willing. Then there is Brahman realization, called vijñāna-maya, in which the living entity’s mind and life symptoms are distinguished from the living entity himself. The next and supreme stage is ānanda-maya, realization of the all-blissful nature. Thus there are five stages of Brahman realization, which are called brahma puccham. Out of these, the first three – anna-maya, prāṇa-maya and jñāna-maya – involve the fields of activities of the living entities. Transcendental to all these fields of activities is the Supreme Lord, who is called ānanda-maya. The Vedānta-sūtra also describes the Supreme by saying, ānanda-mayo ’bhyāsāt: the Supreme Personality of Godhead is by nature full of joy. To enjoy His transcendental bliss, He expands into vijñāna-maya, prāṇa-maya, jñāna-maya and anna-maya. In the field of activities the living entity is considered to be the enjoyer, and different from him is the ānanda-maya. That means that if the living entity decides to enjoy in dovetailing himself with the ānanda-maya, then he becomes perfect. This is the real picture of the Supreme Lord as the supreme knower of the field, the living entity as the subordinate knower, and the nature of the field of activities. One has to search for this truth in the Vedānta-sūtra, or Brahma-sūtra."

Questions are raised

At this point, one could object that these different levels of consciousness, starting with anna-maya, describe the life of the conditioned souls who are entrapped under the influence of Maya. How then can the stage of blissfulness (ānanda-maya) be made the chief of these stages of suffering?

Sri Baladeva answers that there is no fault in this. The all-blissful Supreme Lord is present in the hearts of all, and the four stages are manifestations of the energy of the Lord, therefore, it's perfectly appropriate to mention them together. The Lord is present everywhere in His creation, therefore, there is nothing that is not related to the Lord.

The material world is not false, but conditioned life is a fruit of the misunderstanding of seeing the world as separated from the Lord. As Krsna Himself explained to Lord Brahma at the beginning of creation:

ṛte ’rthaṁ yat pratīyeta, na pratīyeta cātmani

tad vidyād ātmano māyāṁ, yathābhāso yathā tamaḥ

"O Brahmā, whatever appears to be of any value, if it is without relation to Me, has no reality. Know it as My illusory energy, that reflection which appears to be in darkness." (SB 2.9.34)

Prabhupada comments in his purport of the same verse:

"In the previous verse it has already been concluded that in any stage of the cosmic manifestation — its appearance, its sustenance, its growth, its interactions of different energies, its deterioration and its disappearance — all has its basic relation with the existence of the Personality of Godhead. And as such, whenever there is forgetfulness of this prime relation with the Lord, and whenever things are accepted as real without being related to the Lord, that conception is called a product of the illusory energy of the Lord. Because nothing can exist without the Lord, it should be known that the illusory energy is also an energy of the Lord. The right conclusion of dovetailing everything in relationship with the Lord is called yoga-māyā, or the energy of union, and the wrong conception of detaching a thing from its relationship with the Lord is called the Lord’s daivī māyā, or mahā-māyā. Both the māyās also have connections with the Lord because nothing can exist without being related to Him. As such, the wrong conception of detaching relationships from the Lord is not false, but illusory."

If the Lord is transcendental, why do the scriptures indicate the Lord by explaining some apparent material topic? In the Taittirīya Upaniṣad, the ānanda-maya is explained only after the description of the anna-maya, prāṇa-maya, etc., while in the Srimad Bhagavatam, the pastimes of the Lord are described only after the description of the universal form. Why is it so?

The answer is that the Vedas explain in this way to make a difficult topic intelligible for the common man. Just like one may point out the star arundhatī, which is very small and difficult to see by first pointing out a larger star close to it, the Vedas first describe something of this material world we can easily understand, and from this viewpoint describe the transcendental Lord.

Following this answer, another question could be raised: Is it not then that the Vedas describe mostly such "reference points", instead of describing the Supreme Brahman directly?

The answer is that Brahman is directly described everywhere in the Vedic literature because Brahman is the conclusion of the Vedas, and all other topics described are dovetailed with this ultimate conclusion. For example, when the Srimad Bhagavatam describes the Virāṭ-rūpa, the universal form, it doesn't present it as just some kind of curiosity or novelty, but as a process of meditation that helps one to understand that the Lord has a form. From this meditation in the universal form, one may thus be gradually elevated to meditation in the personal form of the Lord. Similarly, when the Srimad Bhagavatam describes the material creation performed by Brahma or the activities of the Prajāpatis or Indra, the real purpose is to describe the Supreme Lord. Therefore, the Lord is actually the only subject.

This applies not only to the Srimad Bhagavatam but also to the Upanisads and other books. For example, after describing the ānanda-maya, the Taittirīya Upaniṣad continues with a description of the Supreme Brahman being the original creator, maintainer, and destroyer of the material universes, as well as explaining that the anna-maya, prāna-maya, mano-maya, and vijñāna-maya are all Brahman and that the ānanda-maya is the final aspect of the Absolute Truth. In this way, we can see that the whole passage is centered around the Supreme Lord. Even the description of the anna-maya, prāna-maya, mano-maya, and vijñāna-maya, which may appear to be the description of a mundane subject at first, is revealed to be a description of the Supreme Lord and nothing else. The passage goes like this:

"Doesn't a wise man go to the spiritual world after leaving this world? Doesn't a wise man associate with the blissful Lord in that world after leaving this world?

The Lord desired, "May I become many! May I produce offspring!" After deliberating in this way, He created the material universes and whatever exists. Having created the universes, He entered into each of them. Having entered, he became the conscious and unconscious entities, the definable and undefinable, the shelter and the sheltered, the knowledge and ignorance, truth and falsehood. The sages who see things as they are declare that whatever exists is the Lord.

In the beginning, the creation was non-existent. It was not yet defined by forms and names. From this unmanifest was born whatever exists. The Lord created it, therefore, He is called ātmā. When one understands the Personality of Godhead, the reservoir of pleasure, Kṛṣṇa, he truly becomes transcendentally blissful. A living entity becomes established in spiritual, blissful life when he fully understands that his happiness depends on spiritual self-realization, which is the basic principle of ānanda (bliss), and when he is eternally situated in the service of the Lord, who has no other lord above Him.

By understanding the Personality of Godhead, the reservoir of pleasure, Kṛṣṇa, one becomes truly transcendentally blissful. For one who deviates from it, however, taking shelter in the false ego, there is great fear. This fear exists only for the one who thinks himself wise, and not for the true sage.

From fear of Him, the wind blows. From fear of Him, the Sun rises. From fear of Him, Agni, Indra, and even Yamaraja perform their duties.

Now, hear from me about the definition of ānanda, bliss. Take a noble young man who is well versed in the Vedas, very intelligent, handsome, and strong. Let the world be full of wealth for him. That is the measure of human bliss.

If we multiply this limit of human bliss a hundred times, it equals the bliss of a manuṣya-gandharva. If we multiply the bliss of a manuṣya-gandharva one hundred times, it equals the pleasure of a deva-gandharva, and if we multiply that one hundred times, it equals the bliss of the ancestors living in Pitṛloka. If we go further and multiply this standard of bliss of the Pitṛs one hundred times, we come to the standard of bliss of a lower demigod born in Svargaloka. Each one of these different standards of bliss is matched by a self-realized soul who has no material desires.

If we multiply the bliss of the lower demigods by one hundred, we reach the standard of bliss of the sacrificial demigods, and one hundred times that is the bliss of the principal demigods. If we again multiply this one hundred times, we reach the standard of bliss of Indra. Each one of these different standards of bliss is matched by a self-realized soul who has no material desires.

If we multiply the bliss of Indra a hundred times, we reach the standard of bliss of Bṛhaspati, and if we multiply his bliss by one hundred, it equals the bliss of Brahma. If we multiply it by one hundred times, it becomes equal to the bliss of the Supreme Brahman. This same bliss is enjoyed by a liberated soul.

He who knows this Brahman in man (as Paramātmā) and in the Sun (as Surya-Narayana) and sees both as one, reaches this Supreme Brahman, the ananda-maya, who is also the foundation of the anna-maya, prāṇa-maya, mano-maya, and vijñāna-maya.

He who knows the bliss of that Supreme Lord, the ananda-maya, whom the mind fails to find, and words fail to describe, fears nothing. Material thoughts don't affect him. He doesn't rejoice with the good or lament for the evil. He finds equanimity in both. He becomes free from both good and bad karma and attains the supreme destination. This is the secret teaching."

Later in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad, these teachings are confirmed in the dialogue of Varuṇa and his son Bṛghu. Varuṇa concludes his teachings by confirming that he spoke a true description of the Supreme Personality of Godhead:

"The Lord in the heart (Paramātmā) is the same Lord present in the Sun (Surya-Narayana). He who meditates on Him while departing from this world attains the supreme destination. He attains the ātmā of the anna-maya puruṣa, the ātmā of the prāṇa-maya puruṣa, the ātmā of the mano-maya puruṣa, the ātmā of the vijñāna-maya puruṣa, He attains the Supreme Lord, the ananda-maya puruṣa. Becoming completely free, he wanders this world happily glorifying the Lord."

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