If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person. If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.
Our soul is not made of any matter, it is unearthly (anilam) and eternal (amritum). It is known by many names Jiva (Rig Veda), Jivatma, GopaIndra, Patanga, and Deva. The soul, when out of our body is normally known atma, and when in the body it is called jivatma. It is called Gopa, because it controls the action of the senses. Since the soul changes bodies it is called Patanga, Vatsa because it is very precious to us. It is addressed as amrit, because it is everlasting, and it does not change its shape and it does not die. It is also known as drashtra because through it that one’s eyes can see. Everything is realized or deeply looked into through it. This soul is also called Pakshi or bird as it can take birth in all regions, upper, middle and lower ones. It is called Saraswati since it moves from body to another body as wisdom. Yajur Veda.
Many of us do not understand our soul. We use the word soulless indiscriminately. It is us who is the harsh one, our soul is pure forever. It is subtler than our hair and is invisible. It is the most pervading divinity and is the only object of our love and adoration. Atharveda.
What is the relationship between our body and soul?
Our human body is composed of five gross elements, earth, water, fire, air and ether. Activity starts only when the soul enters our body, it’s called sharira. The soul is the shariri (governor of the body), and our body (sharira), is the governed one. When at the time of death, the soul leaves the body, our body becomes lifeless. Our breath is also inanimate without the soul. Our senses cannot experience smell, taste, see, feel, or heat, pleasure or pain. They are under the control of the individual soul. When we use the sword as a weapon of murder, we are punished and not the sword. Our soul is not a witness, but a doer of actions and it bears the consequences.
What are the attributes of our soul? Possession, hatred of pain and other evils, knowledge, discernment, anguish and memory, breath are the qualities of our individual soul. These qualities are manifest in our body as long as the soul is resident. It is like there is no light, if there is not the sun or a lamp. We can only understand our soul through these traits. Nyaya and Vaisheshika schools of thought.
Our soul is eternal. It is never born nor does it die. Samuel Taylor Coleridge,
“Life is real, life is earnest, and the grave is not its goal. Dust thou art, to dust returneth was not spoken of the Soul.”
God encompasses everything, including the soul. By purifying ourselves through prayers, and the acts of love, serve and give, we become one with the supreme soul.
Aim Hrim Klim
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