By

Achala Bhakthan

What is Soul?

Can it be seen or felt?  Is it tangible?  Is it a separate entity?  Is it within us or outside of us? Does it have an existence?  If so, is it permanent?  What is its characteristics or structure?

 Unless we analyse the issue on the above lines, we cannot explain or understand the term Soul.  Anything to be well understood, we must go from known facts to unknown realm.  We can see our body, and nothing beyond it because the other parts are all within the body.  The human structure is made up of Body, Mind and Intellect, the last two are abstract and are complementary.  The function of the body is movement and it is visible.  The Mind is the seat of emotions, feelings etc. and it is not seen and the Intellect is the discriminating element, which is again unseen by us.  These three together make the human structure, which is impermanent, i.e. which has a beginning and end and which is subject to degeneration during the course of the life time.  Is this the Soul?  No, because all of us know the human structure is lifeless and it functions only through an energy which has necessarily to be other than the human structure, since the human structure functions with the help of the Soul, say (for brevity sake) an Energy independent of the human structure. What is this energy and its source which makes the human structure function? 

To answer this question, we must analyse through the help of an anology -the Electricity.  Electricity is, all of know, not visible nor has any form?  But we all get the effect of electricity when it passes through electrical apparatus like Bulb, Tube, Fan, Refrigerator, Air Conditioner, Electric Heater/Oven etc. When it functions through the Bulk and Tube, we get light, through Fan we get air, Refrigerator keeps things cool, Air Conditioner gives us cool air, Electric Heater/oven gives us heat.  Now what is the nature of Electricity?  Is it Heat, Cold, Air, Light?  It cannot be all.  No. Isn't it?  The Electricity is an energy, which activates different apparatus and brings out the characteristics of the apparatus depending on their structure and at the same time is independent of all these appratus.  Bulb is made to emit light with the help of the filament structure inside it and with the passing of the energy called Electricity through it. Similarly all the above apparatus give us different effects depending on their structure.  Therefore, Electricity is now proved to be an Energy enabling different elements to function according to their structural set up and is separate from all these appratus.  This Electricity cannot be seen but can be felt – Shock.  Thus, Electricity (Energy) is different and apart from these apparatus.

Similarly, Soul is the Energy which enables the human structure (nay all living beings) function depending on the characteristics of the human structure.  The Human structure, as we have seen, comprises of Body, Mind and Intellect with different functions.  These elements get the Energy (from some unknown source) and brings out different effects depending on the basic structure called Vasana – the rudimentary unfulfilled desires  -  which reacts with this Energy and produces results according to its nature.  The Human Body functions at the influence of three layers in us – Satwa, Rajas and Thamas.  These three layers are the deciding factors of our nature and are called Gunaas.  Satwa Guna makes you think and act in a very calm and quite stature and leads to think and do the right things as prescribed by natural laws.  Rajo Guna makes you act with selfish attitude and it is full of heat and action. Tamo Guna is the dullest expressions resulting in lazy, lethargic, haphazard way of reaction.  When the Life energy passes through any of these three layers, the result will be same as the nature of the layer.  Hence, the difference in human behaviour.  Thus, like Electricity passing through various apparatus, the Life Energy passes through the human instrument.  If the filament in a bulb/tube is stong the electricity produces more light.  So also depending on the quality of the human layer, the Energy produces results.  This Energy projecting through the Human structure is called SOUL.

Now the question is :  Is this SOUL universal or individual? To answer this question, we have to look into the anology of Ghatakasa theory propounded by Aadi Sankaracharya.  What happens when an earthern pot is made?  We see a limited space inside the pot and a vast space outside of it.  Do you consider this as individual akasa and universal akasa separately?  Let us look at the structure of pot.  The pot is made of clay.  There is already the Aakasa (space) existing.  You limit the space when you project the walls of the pot in the open space.  Does the space enter the pot?  No.  The fact is that we are limiting the open space with the walls of the pot and it separates the vast space into limited space inside the pot and the balance outside.  Break the wall of the pot.  What happens?  Does the limited space inside the pot merge with the outer space.  That is not the case.  The limitation goes away and the space inside the pot and outside are now one and the same.  It was one and the same earlier during limatation and it is one and the same when the limitation goes. We misunderstand this situation as space entering into the pot when pot is made and merging with the opern space when pot is broken.  This is due to illusion called Maya.   The charecteristic of Maya is to project something, which does not exist.  It is the limitation of our knowledge that makes us view it differently.  Thus, the space being same, remaining in fullness before and after the pot is made and it is the illusion that makes us feel limited space inside pot and vast space outside pot.  So also the SOUL is existing in fullness ever and the limitations of our knowledge through Maya (Ignorance) makes us feel that there are individualized Souls and the Supreme Soul.  Let me hasten to add one thing.  Once the human limitation is superimposed on the Soul, it reflects as per the quality of the layers in us and this creates an illusionary limitation to the expression of Soul.  Seemingly, therefore, we consider the Soul as individualized due to our ignorance. 

Another question is :  Is the SOUL temporary like the human structure or permanent?  As in the Ghatakasa theory, when the limitation by building pot in space starts, the pot exists and when the pot is broken, the limitations disappear.  Nothing happens to the space.  Similarly, when the SOUL is enveloped by the body structure through births and deaths, the human structure comes into existence and when death takes place it disappears, but the SOUL still exists.  Therefore, Soul is ever existent, permanent and it has neither beginning nor end.

This SOUL is called the AATMAN, meaning the Energy that gives us Life, that activates our human structure.  Just to make things clear while explaining, we say Jeevatman and Paramaatman.  These two terms refer to Universal Soul and Individualised Soul.  Individualised soul is that which energises the limited Human structure and Universal Soul is the ever-existing Soul from which the individuals draw energy. Thus the terms Jeevaatma and Pramaatma are only words coined to explain the two different ways to understand the SOUL.   The SOUL is in its fullness before limitations and after limitations, which is expressed as:

            POORNAMADHAH: POORNAMIDHAM

            POORNAATH POORNAM UDHACHYATHE

            POORNASYA POORNAMAADHAAYA

            POORNAMEVA AVASISYATHE

When you draw some quantity from the fullness, the quantity drawn is in fullness and the source from where you drew also remains in fullness and what is left as balance also is remaining in fullness.  This is the charecteristic of SOUL, AATMAN, GOD or whatever name you call it.  I would like to expand the word SOUL as the

                       S ource

                              O f

                              U niversal

                              L ife

Due to the limitations of language, it is difficult to explain an abstract thing more clearly.  One should try to analyse the issue in the above lines and experience the truth himself.  Our Rishis have realized and have given us the truth through the Vedas.  Vedas are nothing but the revelations by these Seers and not mere stories built up on imagination.  They have to be taken for granted or put to test before arguing against.  Faith will alone enable us to analyse these facts and realize the truth ourselves.  If I say Jileppi is sweet, how do you believe it.  You have tasted it yourself and found that it is sweet. This knowledge came to you by subjecting my saying to test by yourself.  But how do you establish the taste as sweet?  You have already experienced it before. Isn't it?   Still when you ate a sweetmeat how did you know that the taste is sweet?  Your mother told you that the feeling you have when you eat Jileppi is sweet.  Unless some one tells us we cannot identify things by ourselves for the first time. Similarly, one has to contemplate on the saying of our Seers through the method shown by them to arrive at conclusions, which can never be other than what they said through their own revelations. We should not engage ourselves in acrobatism of words, since words have limitations and different individuals according to the level of their knowledge and capacity understand them differently.

                  Source Of Universal Life