In 1933, on his way to Colombo, Sri Lanka, Vijnanananda stopped for a few days at the Madras Math. One day while he was removing his coat, sweater, shirt, and T-shirt, the young monks were watching him with great curiosity. One young monk commented: “Maharaj, Sri Ramakrishna compared the ego to an onion. If anyone removes the layers of an onion one after another, there will be nothing left. We see you are also removing your clothing like that.” The swami said with a smile, “Five sheaths are within the body, and I put seven or eight more coverings over that, otherwise people will see my Atman.” All laughed.
Once Vijnanananda asked a disciple, “Have you ever seen a bhut [ghost]?” When the disciple replied, “No,” the swami said: “There are five ghosts in your body. Do not fear. Chant the name of Rama; all the ghosts will run away. Where Rama’s name is chanted, no ghosts can live.” Bhut means ghost and also element. The swami made a pun by saying panchabhut, i.e., five elements — space, air, fire, water, earth — that constitute the human body, as well as everything else in this universe. (Source: God Lived with Them)