Resurrecting the Ancient Knowledge of the Various Planes and Parts of the Being

In the Kena Upanishad, the powers of the physical plane, the vital plane and the mental plane all believe they are predominant and can wield their power to achieve whatever they want. These powers are embodied in the form of Agni on the physical plane, Vayu on the vital plane and Indra on the mental plane. The Upanishad confronts these powers with a power they cannot recognise. They try to use their native force against this power, but they all fail. They were able to approach the Ete
al, with the mental power coming closest to that realisation. It is interesting to note that the Rishi of the Upanishad here recognises different planes and powers of the being and distinguishes them by their native force of action. [Sri Aurobindo, The Upanishads, Kena Upanishad]

In the Taittiriya Upanishad, there is a very clear outline of the planes that make up the human existence. The seeker systematically enhances his understanding as he first realises the physical plane as the Divine. This is an incomplete knowledge. He continues and recognises the vital plane. This too is not the final answer. He then recognises the mental plane and thereafter, the knowledge plane. Eventually he comes to recognise the plane of bliss, Ananda, which is an aspect of the triune nature of the Supreme, Sat-Chit-Ananda. [Sri Aurobindo, The Upanishads, Taittiriya Upanishad, Bhriguvalli]

The Brahmanandavalli makes this distinction even more clear: “Now there is a second and inner Self which is other than this that is of the substance of food; and it is made of the vital stuff called Prana. And the Self of Prana filleth the self of food. Now the Self of Prana is made in the image of a man…” It continues with a further elucidation of the ‘second and inner Self’ made of Mind. The recitation continues with the acknowledgement that there is yet a further inner Self made of Knowledge. And yet, this is not complete either, as there is the Self of Ananda, the bliss of existence. [Sri Aurobindo, The Upanishads, Taittiriya Upanishad, Brahmanandavalli]

Other Upanishads describe in depth the various elements that make up the human being. Much of this knowledge has been obscured under the pressure of the rise of the materialism of the West which has hypnotised the world in recent times. This has led further to the type of confusion that Sri Aurobindo describes about the existence, role and significance of the soul in evolution and its primacy compared to the exte
al being of mind, life and body.

Sri Aurobindo writes: “People do not understand what I mean by the psychic being, because the word psychic has been used in English to mean anything of the inner mental, inner vital or inner physical or anything abnormal or occult or even the more subtle movements of the outer being, all in a jumble; also occult phenomena are often called psychic. The distinction between these different parts of the being is unknown. Even in India the old knowledge of the Upanishads in which they are distinguished has been lost. The Jivatman, the psychic being (Purusha Antaratman), the Manomaya Purusha, the Pranamaya Purusha are all confused together.”

reference: Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, The Psychic Being — Soul: Its Nature, MIssion and Evolution, Section 1 Meaning and Nature of the Psychic Being, pp. 4-5