Editing Subtle body (section)

=== Hinduism ===
[[File:SahajaSubtleSystem.svg|thumb|An illustration of a subtle body system of seven [[chakra]]s connected by three major [[Nadi (yoga)|nadi]] channels, as commonly adopted by contemporary yoga]]
{{Further|Three Bodies Doctrine|Kosha|Chakra|Nadi (yoga)}}

==== Early ====
Early concepts of the subtle body ([[Sanskrit]]: ''sūkṣma śarīra'') appeared in the [[Upanishads]], including the ''[[Brhadaranyaka Upanishad]]'' and the ''[[Katha Upanishad]]''.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=173-174}} The ''[[Taittiriya Upanishad]]'' describes the theory of five [[kosha]]s or sheaths, though these are not to be thought of as concentric layers, but interpenetrating at successive levels of subtlety:{{sfn|Samuel|2013|p=33}}{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|p=184}}

* The ''anna-maya'' ("food body", physical body, the grossest level),
* The ''prana-maya'' (body made of vital breath or [[prana]]), 
* The ''mano-maya'' (body made of mind), 
* The ''[[Vijñāna|vijñana]]-maya'' (body made of consciousness)
* The ''ananda-maya'' (bliss body, the subtlest level).

Subtle internal anatomy included a central channel ([[Nadi (yoga)|nadi]]).{{sfn|Samuel|2013|p=33}} Later Vedic texts called [[samhita]]s and [[brahmana]]s contain a theory of five "winds" or "breaths" (''vayus, [[prana]]s''):{{sfn|Samuel|2013|p=33}}

* ''Prāṇa'', associated with inhalation
* ''Uḍāna'', associated with exhalation
* ''Vyāna'', associated with distribution of breath within the body
* ''Samāna'', associated with digestion
* ''Apāna'', associated with excretion of waste

==== Later ====
A millennium later, these concepts were adapted and refined by various spiritual traditions. The similar concept of the {{IAST|Liṅga Śarīra}} is seen as the vehicle of consciousness in later [[Samkhya]], [[Vedanta]], and [[Yoga]], and is propelled by past-life tendencies, or ''[[bhava]]s''.{{sfn|Larson|2005|p=242}} Linga can be translated as "characteristic mark" or "impermanence" and the Vedanta term [[Sarira (Vedanta)|sarira]] as "form" or "mould".<ref>Purucker, Gottfried. ''The Occult Glossary''</ref> ''Karana'' or "instrument" is a synonymous term. In the Classical Samkhya system of [[Isvarakrsna]] (ca. 4th century CE), the ''Lińga'' is the characteristic mark of the transmigrating entity. It consists of twenty-five [[tattva]]s from eternal consciousness down to the five organs of sense, five of activity (''buddindriya'' or ''jñānendriya'', and  ''karmendriya'' respectively) and the five subtle elements that are the objects of sense (''[[tanmatras]]'') The ''Samkhyakarika'' says:{{sfn|Larson|2005|p=268}}

{{Blockquote|The subtle body (''linga''), previously arisen, unconfined, constant, inclusive of the great one (''mahat'') etc, through the subtle elements, not having enjoyment, transmigrates, (because of) being endowed with ''bhavas'' ("conditions" or "dispositions").

As a picture (does) not (exist) without a support, or as a shadow (does) not (exist) without a post and so forth; so too the instrument (''linga'' or ''karana'') does not exist without that which is specific (i.e., a subtle body).|''Samkhyakarika'', 60–81{{sfn|Larson|2005|p=268}}}}

The classical [[Vedanta]] tradition developed the theory of the five bodies into the theory of the [[kosha]]s "sheaths" or "coverings" which surround and obscure the self ([[Ātman (Hinduism)|atman]]). In classical Vedanta these are seen as obstacles to realization and traditions like Shankara's [[Advaita Vedanta]] had little interest in working with the subtle body.{{sfn|Samuel|2013|pp=34, 37}}

==== Tantra ====
In [[Tantra]] traditions meanwhile ([[Shaivism|Shaiva]] [[Kaula (Hinduism)|Kaula]], [[Kashmir Shaivism]] and Buddhist [[Vajrayana]]), the subtle body was seen in a more positive light, offering potential for yogic practices which could lead to liberation.{{sfn|Samuel|2013|p=34}} Tantric traditions contain the most complex theories of the subtle body, with sophisticated descriptions of energy [[Nadi (yoga)|nadis]] (literally "stream or river", channels through which ''vayu'' and ''prana'' flows) and [[chakra]]s, points of focus where nadis meet.{{sfn|Samuel|2013|pp=38–39}}

The main channels, shared by both Hindu and Buddhist systems, but visualised entirely differently, are the central (in Hindu systems: ''[[sushumna]]''; in Buddhist: ''avadhuti''), left and right (in Hindu systems: ''ida'' and ''pingala''; Buddhist: ''lalana'' and ''rasana'').{{sfn|Samuel|2013|p=39}} Further subsidiary channels are said to radiate outwards from the chakras, where the main channels meet.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=172–174}}

Chakra systems vary with the tantra; the ''[[Netra Tantra]]'' describes six chakras, the ''Kaulajñana-nirnaya'' describes eight, and the ''Kubjikamata Tantra'' describes seven (the most widely known set).{{sfn|Samuel|2013|p=40}}{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=175–178}}

In the [[Dzogchen]] tradition of [[Tibetan Buddhism]], the subtle body takes a different form. More specifically, the tradition points to four areas of particularly concentration of [[Energy (esotericism)|bodily energy]] – viz. the heart (''tsitta''), where the enlightened energy resides; the "luminous channels" (''‘od rtsa''), through which the energy flows; the skull (''dung khang''), where it spreads before finally being released through the fourth hot-spot, namely the eyes (''tsakshu'' / ''briguta'').<ref name="Geisshuesler"/>{{rp|63}} Flavio Geisshuesler, who has studied the functioning of the Dzogchen subtle body in the context of the practice of [[sky-gazing (Dzogchen)|sky-gazing]], argues that many of the specific motifs that appear in the tradition's conception of the body are of pre-Buddhist origin. More specifically, he notes that the Dzogchen body's motifs of "deer-hearts, silk-channels, buffalo-horns, or far-reaching lassos [...] reproduce the terminology of the hunting of animalistic vitality as if internalizing the quest for precious substances."<ref name="Geisshuesler">{{cite book | last=Geisshuesler | first=Flavio | title=Tibetan Sky-Gazing Meditation and the Pre-History of Great Perfection Buddhism | date=2024 | location=London | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing | isbn=978-1-350-42881-2 | url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/tibetan-skygazing-meditation-and-the-prehistory-of-great-perfection-buddhism-9781350428812/ | page=5}}</ref>

==== Modern ====

The modern Indian spiritual teacher [[Meher Baba]] stated that the subtle body "is the vehicle of desires and vital forces". He held that the subtle body is one of three bodies with which the soul must cease to identify with in order to realize God.<ref>{{cite book |author=Baba, Meher |author-link=Meher Baba |year=1967 |title=Discourses, volume 2 |location=San Francisco |publisher=Sufism Reoriented |pages=144–145 |isbn=978-1880619094}}</ref>