________________
[ 338 ]
is shining. This is followed by a higher course of development, which brings into existence the inmost sheath of his existence namely the Anandamayakośa. The Ānandamayakośa is beyond the Vijñānamayakośa and it presents the joy and felicity of the pure divine consciousness. There are different stages in the Anandamayakośa. All the stages have to be gone through. The. Anandamayakośa represents the Divine Life as distinguished from the spiritual life. It thus appears that moral life is followed by spiritual life and spiritual life is followed by Divine Life.
In the general evolution of human existence, we find that we start with the Inorganic (FET) and we proceed to the Organic or SF# 1 These two constitute the well known 84. lacs of beings before the advent of man. Upto the time there was a natural evolution, and there was no question of karma. The Prānamayakośa is followed by the Manomayakośa and this is related to the advent of man with the human body. The ego comes in. The evolution of Prakrti disappears apparently and man goes on with his life of karma.
What we have said in the foregoing pages in connection with karma pertains to this period and not to the earlier period of Annamaya and Prā pamaya and not even to the later period of Vijñānamaya and Anandamaya: Karma is confined only to the Manomayakośa and it continues so long as the egocentric complex remains in the human mind. This is mundane existence and the field of this existence is the entire world-higher, lower and the intermediate. When we pass beyond the Manomaya-the entire scene disappears. We have nothing to do with the entire world, which is the effect of karma. We have before us the higher world of consciousness represented by the Vijñānamaya and this is followed by the Anandamaya stage in a man correspondent to the state of Divine Bliss in the outer world..
Beyond that is the Supreme Divine Himself. We thus find that the Ātmā which was clothed in inorganic unconscious material goes on developing under the law of evolution, until it comes upto the stage of man or Manomiayakośa. Human will then preponderates and there is the force of karma working. This
