Know Your Mind: 7 Layers of Consciousness That Yoga and Neuroscience Both Confirm

This article examines the yogic and Vedantic frameworks for understanding the human mind — specifically the Pancha Kosha model (five sheaths of consciousness) and the Antahkarana model (the fourfold inner instrument of Manas, Buddhi, Chitta, and Ahamkara) — in dialogue with current neuroscience of consciousness, attention, memory, and self-referential processing. The five Koshas are examined: Annamaya (physical body), Pranamaya (vital energy body), Manomaya (mental body), Vijnanamaya (discriminative intelligence), and Anandamaya (bliss body). The neurological correlates of each layer are identified where current research supports them. The default mode network's role in self-referential processing is mapped to Ahamkara (ego-sense). Working memory and executive function are mapped to Buddhi (discriminative intelligence). The subconscious storage of experience is mapped to Chitta (memory-store). The article documents the convergence between these ancient phenomenological maps of consciousness and the structures and functions that modern neuroscience has identified through objective measurement.