Page 116 - Wisdom Unfurled

The same can be looked from the kosa or sheath point of view, the subtle body or the astral being composed of the prana maya ( the etheric-energetic), manomaya (psychological ), andvijnana maya (higher mental, intuitive and aspirational) kosas. The astral body gives an indication of the psychic or internal condition of the person and it is said to be transmigrating along with the soul when the physical dies. It also goes away when the individual gets rid of the karmas-impressions of actions, vasanas-traces of impressions or predispositions which induce one to indulge in actions repeatedly for deriving enjoyment said to reside in the ananda maya kosa and trishnas-cravings or intense desires, absolutely. In a sense it may also be called akarana sarira as the other formations occur once it is formed. It is regarded as a conglomerate of manas, subtle senses, ahamkar and buddhi. The astral can be atomic or all pervading. We can associate the astral with the domain of plan for action, the planning being in tune with the purpose behind the existence or the goal of life itself. Ordinarily man is lacking in goal clarity very much and that is the cause of a great deal of confused activity on his part, searching vainly for lasting happiness from sources in the external world which are really incapable of granting the same, accumulating pain and misery in the bargain and repeating the endeavour through endless cycles of birth and death.
It is necessary that one recognizes clearly the real purpose of existence and makes his astral in tune with the causal; the physical falls in tune automatically when the causal and the astral are aligned. This triune alignment makes for a peaceful, happy and harmonious existence. It may be noted that the individual causal or the individual will should be aligned with the Mahakaran (supreme or divine purpose) or the divine will for the ultimate transcendence of birth itself (Ref. Astral body, Karan sarir. BP V1). With all the above mentioned bodies from the grossest to the finest, man is in existence as a true copy of the entire manifestation of God. The Master represents this as a series of twenty three concentric circles having Zero or God as their Centre.
Man has emerged from Reality and has brought the essence with him. It is his ultimate purpose to have union with the Reality and realize his true nature. This is possible only when he keeps pace with Divinity and links it with the line of humanity. As seen earlier, Humanity is akin to Divinity at the source and assumed grosser form due to the jerks caused by the actions and counter- actions in the process of evolution. The line of humanity is essentially parallel to the line of divinity, though the former took a different turn and formed curvatures moving away as it were from the line of divinity. This is due mainly to the formation of the idea of separateness and subsequent development of ‘I’-ness and ‘mine’-ness feelings, The cause of this distorted perception is due to the choice of the soul keen on participating in the play of