Plan 66. Plan of bliss (ananda loka)
Consciousness is described as truth, being and bliss - Sachchidananda. Ananda is the highest truth, the essence of being. In the process of creation, the "I" is gradually covered with five shells.
Of these, the first and most subtle is anandamaya kosha, the body of pure being, pure experience of consciousness. This is the body of bliss, in the center of which resides the Cosmic Consciousness. During the period corresponding to the creation, it acts as an individual consciousness.
The next is the level of ego and intelligence. This sheath is called vijnanamaya kosha. The word vijnana is made up of ee ("beyond") and jnana ("knowledge"). Maya means "compacted" and kosha means "sheath" or body. This body, associated with the knowledge of what is beyond, is the ego (which perceives itself as a separate reality) and the intellect (which evaluates all phenomena).
The third sheath is the sensory mind, manomaya-kosha (manas means "mind"). In his work, he relies on the perceptions coming from the five senses: ears, skin, eyes, tongue and nose. At this level, the perception of the material world - the world of desires.
Then comes the fourth sheath - pranamaya-kosha, the pranic body, consisting of prana - the life force acting through the five organs of action (here the only experience remains - bliss. It is not easy to get this experience without having wisdom and without going through the path of self-realization. The only alternative is gradual ascension from plane to plane with attention focused on the Dharma, and the bites of insidious snakes must be avoided) and the internal systems of the body - such as the cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous, and others. Through these organs and systems, karmas (actions) are carried out.
The fifth, grossest sheath is annamaya kosha. The word anna means "grain", and in a broad sense it is all the food from which the physical body of a person is built, his muscles, bones, skin, blood, semen and other parts.
The evolution of the individual "I" is carried out in reverse order. The player starts from the annamaya kosha and, crossing the other four sheaths, is finally established in the body of bliss. Ananda is the main characteristic of consciousness. This quality is different from enjoyment, happiness, joy or delight, which can be explained and appreciated by the intellect. All these are only relative states. Buddhi leads to jnana, knowledge that lifts a person to the plane of bliss. Ananda is the original experience: all others are only derivatives of it. It is beyond ordinary feelings and constantly resides in the heart of every player. It is impossible to learn about this state from someone else, even if he has experienced it: for this you need your own experience. A deaf-mute will not be able to explain to you in words what the taste of candy is like - only movements or gestures can help. Ananda cannot be explained or expressed in words: it is known in inner experience, and in no other way.
In Uranta-loka, the sense of a separate "I" disappears. Staying in prakriti loka, the player gains knowledge of the inner unity of all sense objects. The sensually perceived world becomes one, just as all feelings and experiences, based ultimately on the perception of this world, merge together.