Editing Subtle body (section)

{{Short description|Quasi material aspect of the human body}}
{{other uses}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2017}} 
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
[[File:Sapta Chakra, 1899 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|The subtle body in Indian mysticism, from a [[yoga]] manuscript in [[Braj Bhasa]] language, 1899. A row of [[chakra]]s is depicted from the base of the spine up to the crown of the head.]]

A '''subtle body''' is a "quasi material"{{sfn|Samuel|Johnston|2013}} aspect of the human body, being neither solely physical nor solely spiritual, according to various [[Western esotericism|esoteric]], [[occultism|occult]], and [[mysticism|mystical]] teachings. This contrasts with the [[mind–body dualism]] that has dominated Western thought. The subtle body is important in the [[Taoism]] of China and [[Indian religions|Dharmic religion]]s such as [[Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]], and [[Jainism]], mainly in the branches which focus on [[tantra]] and [[yoga]], where it is known as the ''Sūkṣma-śarīra'' ({{langx|sa|सूक्ष्म शरीर}}). However, while mostly associated with Asian cultures, non-dualistic approaches to the mind and body are found in many parts of the world.{{sfn|Samuel|Johnston|2013}}

Subtle body concepts and practices can be identified as early as 2nd century BCE in [[Taoist]] texts found in the [[Mawangdui]] tombs.{{sfn|Samuel|Johnston|2013}} It was "evidently present"{{sfn|Samuel|Johnston|2013}} in Indian thought as early as the 4th to 1st century BCE when the [[Taittiriya Upanishad]] described the  [[Panchakosha]]s, a series of five interpenetrating sheaths of the body.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017}} A fully formed subtle body theory did not develop in India until the [[tantra|tantric]] movement that affected all its religions in the Middle Ages.{{sfn|Samuel|Johnston|2013}} In [[Indo-Tibetan Buddhism]], the correlation of the subtle body to the physical body is viewed differently according to school, lineage and scholar, but for [[completion stage]] in yoga, it is visualised within the body.<ref name="Shrīmālā | Tibetan Medicine, Buddhism & Astrology | London 2020">{{cite web | title=Tibetan Medicine and the Subtle Anatomy - Tibetan Medicine, Buddhism & Astrology - London | website=Shrīmālā {{!}} Tibetan Medicine, Buddhism & Astrology {{!}} London | date=11 January 2020 | url=https://www.shrimala.com/blog/tibetan-medicine-and-the-subtle-anatomy | access-date=2 April 2021}}</ref> The subtle body consists of focal points, often called [[chakra]]s, connected by channels, often called [[Nadi (yoga)|nadis]], that convey subtle breath, often called [[prana]]. Through breathing and other exercises, a practitioner may direct the subtle breath to achieve [[Siddhi|supernormal powers]], [[immortality]], or [[Moksha|liberation]].

Subtle body in the Western tradition is called the ''[[body of light]]''. The concept derives from the philosophy of [[Plato]]: the word 'astral' means 'of the stars'; thus the [[Astral plane#History|astral plane]]  consists of the [[Seven Heavens]] of the [[classical planet]]s. [[Neoplatonism|Neoplatonists]] Porphyry and Proclus elaborated on Plato's description of the starry nature of the human psyche. Throughout the [[Renaissance]], philosophers and alchemists, healers including [[Paracelsus]] and his students, and [[natural science|natural scientists]] such as [[John Dee]], continued to discuss the nature of the astral world intermediate between earth and the divine. The concept of the astral body or body of light was adopted by 19th and 20th-century [[ceremonial magic]]ians.

The [[Theosophy]] movement was the first to translate the Sanskrit term as 'subtle body', although their use of the term is quite different from Indic usage as they synthesize Western and Eastern traditions. This makes the term problematic for modern scholars, especially as the Theosophist view often influences [[New Age]] and [[holistic medicine]] perspectives.{{sfn|Samuel|Johnston|2013}} Western scientists have started to explore the subtle body concept in research on meditation.<ref name="Loizzo 2016"/>