Guest guest Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 Who am I? Body is different and a soul is different. The combination of both becomes a living soul [jivit atma]. A living soul means an invisible power working inside a body. Otherwise, neither a soul can work nor the body. This is compared with a motor car and a driver. Just as in a motor car, until and unless there is a driver in it, the motor does not move. If there is no driver, the motor does not move. [A brother said 'it is a wind'] which means a soul is not wind. Earth, water, air, fire and ether are the five different elements, which constitute this body. Even after a soul departs from the body, the five elements remain in the body. It is burnt or buried in the soil. It is a non-living element. But how is a soul different from the body? A soul is a very minute point of light, consisting of mind and intellect, which is described in Gita as 'anaurniyasamanusmaret yaru', which means that it is smaller that an atom. It is an atom but luminous. That luminous atom consisting of mind and intellect contains sanskars [resolves] of many births. The combination of mind and intellect is called a 'soul'. There are references of this even in the slokas [hymns] of Vedas [Hindu scriptures] such as 'Manarev Atma'. Mind is called as a soul. When a person leaves the body, then it is not said that the soul has left, but the mind and intellect remain [in the body]. Everything is present, but the power of mind and intellect has left, which means that the soul has left. Therefore, the power of mind and intellect is renamed in a simple manner as a 'soul'. The mind and intellect posses the resolves [sanskars] of this births and past births. Sanskars mean the influence of good and bad deeds that remain in a soul. Suppose that there is a child born in a butcher's family where cows have been butchered since its childhood. When that child grows up and he is told that butchering a cow is a big sin, then this concept does not fit into his mind. His resolves [or habits] become very strong. In this manner sanskars are the third component. So a soul is the combination of mind, intellect and sanskars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 The soul, the real identity is other than the 5 koshas, see tattva bodha by Sri Shankara for further details Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 Hare Krishna and all glories to Srila Prabhupada. The soul (or atma) is an individual living entity that has existed since time immemorial, and will continue to exist for eternity. Now, the real dharma of the soul is to worship and serve Lord Krishna. When the soul forgets this duty, for want of material enjoyment, the soul gets associated with a material body. The material body has 3 components. The gross body is visible to us; the subtle body is composed of intelligence, mind and ego. Some also include a 3rd body - the causal body, or that in which the karmas of the soul are stored. Hope it helps /images/graemlins/smile.gif Hare Krishna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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