The Golden and Blissful Sheaths: Understanding Hiranyamaya and Beyond

Question

Sister, you described the different koshas — Annamaya, Pranamaya, Manomaya, and Jnanamaya. But between the Jnanamaya and Vijnanamaya, you mentioned something — what was that?

Answer

Yes — after the Vijnanamaya Kosha comes the Hiranyamaya Kosha.
The Hiranyamaya Kosha is the seat of the soul, the stage of Self-realization.
Hiranya means the golden, the radiant — so the Hiranyamaya Kosha signifies the state of attaining the Self.

And beyond that lies the Anandamaya Kosha — the sheath of bliss.
What does that mean? When the Self is realized, you become established in the very nature of the soul — Sat-Chit-Ananda — existence, consciousness, and bliss. You abide in that pure blissful awareness.

Now, today’s topic was about Pampa Sarovar. The reason it’s discussed is because we have not yet reached the Hiranyamaya stage.
Right now, we are mostly living in the Manomaya Kosha — the sheath of the mind.
From there, we have to move toward the Vijnanamaya Kosha — the sheath of wisdom.

That’s why the story says: “Follow the path along the banks of Pampa Sarovar; there you will meet Sugriva.”
Its meaning is that within us lies a store of knowledge — within our Vijnanamaya Kosha — but it is asleep.
We must reach that inner knowledge and awaken it.

To express this idea, the Ramayana gives such a detailed description of Pampa Sarovar — because this lake represents our inner purity, the Vijnanamaya Kosha.
The water of that lake is crystal-clear — meaning the consciousness of this sheath is completely pure and spotless, untouched by any impurity.