Letter # 34 “The Soul.”
The Sufi, Hazrat Inayat Khan, writes, “The spirit-world is incomprehensible to the mind which is only acquainted with laws of the physical world … divine being may be found in every soul.” P179.
We know what the body is and what the mind is, but what is the “soul”? Krishna describes some qualities of the soul: “Some look on the soul as amazing, some described him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all.” BG 2:29.
Man is given choices. You have a choice of whether or not to accept the idea of the soul. Since science cannot establish the existence of a soul, we tend to think of life and consciousness as arising from combinations and re-combinations of molecules, energy, and time. According to this concept, the life and death processes are a “recycling” of these elements. This is not a new idea. Thousands of years ago, Krishna confronted his disciple, Arjuna, with two ideas. One idea is to think of life as we do nowadays: “If, however, you think that the soul [or symptom of life] will always be born and die forever, you still have no reason to lament, O mighty-armed.” BG 2:26 “All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when annihilated. So what need is there for lamentation?” BG 2:28.
The second idea that Krishna proposes is to believe in the notion of a permanent soul: “The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by wind. This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can neither be burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same. It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this you should not grieve for the body” BG 2:23-25.
It is this second scheme that gives room for the idea of reincarnation. It forms a basis for understanding many ideas; even in appreciating the Biblical scripture where Jesus’ makes the statement that John the Baptist was Elijah in his previous life. “Jesus replied, ‘To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him …’” Matthew 17:11-12.
So if the soul continually re-incarnates then when does the transmigration end? Guru Nanak answers, “Avar sianap sagli chad …” which verse is translated in full as “Leave all cleverness and attach yourself to the service of a True Devotee. Then there will be no more transmigration of the soul.” SS Asht 7-8.
God Bless; Allah Hu Akbar; May The Forces Of The Universe Bring You Harmony; Hare Krishna; Radha-Swami; and Nanak Naam Chardi Kala Tere Bhane Sarbat Dha Bhalla.
I wish to express my gratitude for your comments, which inspire me to carry on writing. Please forgive my fallibilities in presenting this material. Also, feel free to send this message on to someone that you might think would like to receive it. If you do send it on, my only request of you is that you send it as it is, in its entirety, and to not alter or modify any of the text, references or authorship information. Thus you will help to give credit or liability to where they are properly due.
Jas Bhopal
Copyright© 2008"
“Practicing goodwill makes for a good life."
Tel: 604 273 6641 (also for fax on request)
http://jasbhopal.com/
References: "The Holy Bible" Online version; "The Koran" as translated by SV Mir Ahmed Ali 2005 ISBN 0-9761870-0-0); "The Bhagavad Gita As it Is" as translated by Srila Prabhupada ISBN 0-89213-268-X; The Srimad Bhagavatum as translated by Srila Prabhupada ISBN0-89213-259-0; "I Am That. Talks With Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj” ISBN 0-89386-022-0; The Dhammapada ISBN-10:1-84483-344-5; The Sacred Sukhmani ISBN 81-7205-098-4; Wikipedia.
We know what the body is and what the mind is, but what is the “soul”? Krishna describes some qualities of the soul: “Some look on the soul as amazing, some described him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all.” BG 2:29.
Man is given choices. You have a choice of whether or not to accept the idea of the soul. Since science cannot establish the existence of a soul, we tend to think of life and consciousness as arising from combinations and re-combinations of molecules, energy, and time. According to this concept, the life and death processes are a “recycling” of these elements. This is not a new idea. Thousands of years ago, Krishna confronted his disciple, Arjuna, with two ideas. One idea is to think of life as we do nowadays: “If, however, you think that the soul [or symptom of life] will always be born and die forever, you still have no reason to lament, O mighty-armed.” BG 2:26 “All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when annihilated. So what need is there for lamentation?” BG 2:28.
The second idea that Krishna proposes is to believe in the notion of a permanent soul: “The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by wind. This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can neither be burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same. It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this you should not grieve for the body” BG 2:23-25.
It is this second scheme that gives room for the idea of reincarnation. It forms a basis for understanding many ideas; even in appreciating the Biblical scripture where Jesus’ makes the statement that John the Baptist was Elijah in his previous life. “Jesus replied, ‘To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him …’” Matthew 17:11-12.
So if the soul continually re-incarnates then when does the transmigration end? Guru Nanak answers, “Avar sianap sagli chad …” which verse is translated in full as “Leave all cleverness and attach yourself to the service of a True Devotee. Then there will be no more transmigration of the soul.” SS Asht 7-8.
God Bless; Allah Hu Akbar; May The Forces Of The Universe Bring You Harmony; Hare Krishna; Radha-Swami; and Nanak Naam Chardi Kala Tere Bhane Sarbat Dha Bhalla.
I wish to express my gratitude for your comments, which inspire me to carry on writing. Please forgive my fallibilities in presenting this material. Also, feel free to send this message on to someone that you might think would like to receive it. If you do send it on, my only request of you is that you send it as it is, in its entirety, and to not alter or modify any of the text, references or authorship information. Thus you will help to give credit or liability to where they are properly due.
Jas Bhopal
Copyright© 2008"
“Practicing goodwill makes for a good life."
Tel: 604 273 6641 (also for fax on request)
http://jasbhopal.com/
References: "The Holy Bible" Online version; "The Koran" as translated by SV Mir Ahmed Ali 2005 ISBN 0-9761870-0-0); "The Bhagavad Gita As it Is" as translated by Srila Prabhupada ISBN 0-89213-268-X; The Srimad Bhagavatum as translated by Srila Prabhupada ISBN0-89213-259-0; "I Am That. Talks With Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj” ISBN 0-89386-022-0; The Dhammapada ISBN-10:1-84483-344-5; The Sacred Sukhmani ISBN 81-7205-098-4; Wikipedia.
posted by Dr. Jas Bhopal @ 7:42 AM
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1 Comments:
A reader quoted Guru Nanak: "Avar sianap sagli chad tis jan ki too seva lag. Avan javan na hove tera, tis jan ke poojo sad bera," which means: "With a Satguru there is everything, without a Satguru there is nothing."
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