Ōkan Uta-no-Tam (Great Cosmic Spirit)
→ (Movement of Nothingness) Lawful Activity
- Law of cosmic creation, generation, and nurturing
- Law of the four seasons, revolution, and rotation
→ (Activity of Somethingness) Phenomenal Activity
- Manifestation of the sun, moon, and stars
- Manifestation of all things
"Kigi Hiden P50"
- Ara-no-Tam (Rough Spirit): Courage, construction, destruction. (Physical) life. Rational energy.
- Nigi-no-Tam (Harmonious Spirit): Control, propulsion. Blood, internal organs.
- Sachi-no-Tam (Blessed Spirit): Harmony, construction, compassion. Emotional energy. Nervous system.
- Kushi-no-Tam (Strange Spirit): Justice, hope, thought. Bones and muscles.
"Gendō no Gendai-teki Kai-i (Modern Interpretation of Shinto) by Yamino Kioo, P137"
- Environmental aspects are related to Ara-no-Tam.
- Physical aspects are related to Nigi-no-Tam.
- Psychological aspects are related to Sachi-no-Tam.
- Spiritual aspects are related to Kushi-no-Tam.
"Gendō no Gendai-teki Kai-i (Modern Interpretation of Shinto) by Yamino Kioo, P272"
Naohi (One Spirit) is divided into two movements:
→ Movement of Nothingness
→ Kushi-no-Tam: The function of life, the source of life.
→ Sachi-no-Tam: Harmony and change, emotions, beauty.
→ Movement of Somethingness
→ Nigi-no-Tam: Energy, internal organs, functions related to hormones. Also corresponds to what is called a ghost (Nurumi-no-Tam).
→ Ara-no-Tam: Energy for the external actions of the body. Nerves, muscles, bones, etc.
"Gendō no Gendai-teki Kai-i (Modern Interpretation of Shinto) by Yamino Kioo, P386"
These can also be seen as similar to the five Koshas of yoga, but they also have a mental aspect, and it is likely that both aspects exist. The classification of the four spirits from a mental perspective is as follows:
- Ara-no-Tam: A rigid and hardened mental function, a revolutionary consciousness, a destructive consciousness, intuition, and expressive desire.
- Nigi-no-Tam: A flexible mind. A lazy mind that seeks stagnation. Emotional feelings. A desire for propulsion.
- Sachi-no-Tam: Perception, desire, love, awareness of harmony, and emotions that seek exploration.
- Kushi-no-Tam: A mind that seeks mystery, a creative consciousness of thought and contemplation, a calm and comprehensive intuition, and a driving force.
"Kigi Hiden P54"
The same author's "Shinto Nyūmon 2" (P225) includes a diagram, and the order from the aspect closest to the body is as follows:
- Aratamama- Nigitamama
- Sachitamama
- Kushitamama
- Naohinomama
I believe the author may have included a correspondence (interpretation) between these and the five Koshas (sheaths) of Yoga in another of their works, but I could not find such a description in the author's book that I currently have.
As a reference, a quote from a paper by a different professor is included on page 128 of the book.
- Aratamama: Constitutes the physical body.
- Nigitamama: Etheric body, astral body.
These two constitute the living physical body.
- Sachitamama and Kushitamama: Causal body, consciousness.
- Kushitamama and Naohinomama: Spirit.
According to this, Kushitamama appears twice.
The fact that the paper is quoted suggests that the correspondence between Shinto's Four Spirits and Yoga's five Koshas is not a widely accepted theory but rather the author's personal interpretation. Moreover, the interpretation of the Four Spirits varies depending on the Shinto sect, so there may not be a universally accepted theory.
I will add my own personal interpretation based on the descriptions of each. (Of course, this is not a widely accepted theory.)
- Aratamama:
Yoga's Annamaya Kosha (food sheath).
- Nigitamama:
Yoga's Pranamaya Kosha (life force sheath).
- Sachitamama:
Yoga's Manomaya Kosha (mind sheath).
Yoga's Vijnanamaya Kosha (intellect sheath).
- Kushitamama:
Yoga's Anandamaya Kosha (bliss sheath).
- Naohinomama:
Yoga (or Vedanta's) Atman (true self).
If we simply assign each of the five Koshas, it does not make sense. Therefore, considering a certain degree of similarity, this correspondence is possible. Of course, the definitions differ depending on the school, but if we roughly consider them to be quite similar, it may be easier to grasp the overall picture.
It seems that there are established theories about this kind of topic, but the details differ even within the same school, making it difficult to interpret.
One reason for this is that the Four Spirits not only represent a classification of gross and subtle matter but also contain qualitative differences. The classification of gross and subtle, as shown in the figure, is indeed correct, but in addition to that, the fact that each corresponds to a quality from a spiritual perspective makes it difficult to understand because of the mixture of quality and gross/subtle.
While there seems to be a widely accepted theory about which element corresponds to which, the classification into spirit and matter is as follows:
Purusha corresponds to Naohinomama, and Prakriti corresponds to the Four Spirits. "Yoga and Shinto," p. 363.
Purusha is pure consciousness in the Samkhya school of Yoga, and its counterpart is Prakriti, which is pure matter. Therefore, Purusha is also translated as "god," but in Sanskrit, it means "person." Both spirit (god) and matter are always together, and both Yoga and Shinto have similar ideological systems.
Furthermore, the author describes the correspondence with modern spiritualism, theosophy, or spiritual concepts.
- Aratamama:
Physical body, etheric body.
- Nigitamama:
Astral body, mental body. Etheric body. Semi-material spiritual body.
- Sachitamama and Kushitamama:
Causal body, spirit. Conscious spiritual body. Not belonging to the material realm.
"Yoga and Shinto," p. 516.
Whether the causal body (Karana) is considered material varies slightly depending on the school. Honzan Hoshi considers Karana to be material, but here it is described as not being material. Since Prakriti is considered material in Yoga, if Prakriti encompasses the Four Spirits, then Sachitamama and Kushitamama should also be material, but this is a subtle area and may be difficult to understand. I interpret the causal body according to Honzan Hoshi's interpretation as being material.
By looking at the correspondence between Yoga's five Koshas, the Samkhya school's Purusha and Prakriti in the Yoga Sutras, and the Four Spirits and spiritual concepts, it can be seen that the ideology of the Four Spirits is not so different and has many common points with them.