The Soul Reality, the Life and death and the Reincarnation

We, the living people of the world including those who have left us for their heavenly abode since ages have resolved many mysteries of the universe and made many discoveries about the visible and invisible physical world. The many theories and concepts which were believed to be true at one time, have been found to be untrue later. Earlier man believed that the earth is a flat and stationary object and the sun revolves around it. Now, it has been proved that in reality, the earth is spherical in shape revolving on its own axis and simultaneously orbiting the sun. The change of seasons and phenomenon of day and nights are the results of these movements. However, the most intriguing mystery of life and death remains unresolved. The answers to the many questions like what happens to a person when he/she dies, is the death an end of everything, is there existence of the person beyond death, from where a new life arrives at the time of birth, what is there inside the body because of which we are alive etc. etc. still remain the biggest mysteries. The answers to these questions seem to be beyond the realm of science but many masters, sages and yogis have dedicated their entire lives in solving these mysteries and have claimed that they could really explore the truth. As per them, there is an eternal entity residing inside the body which leaves it at the time of death and has its existence beyond death too. They call it the ‘Soul’ or ‘Atma’ (in Hindi). As per these masters, there is another Super Soul or the Spirit which is the cause of all the causes and the entire universe. Everything has emerged from the Spirit and at the dissolution of the universe; everything will merge into the Spirit. Many call the Spirit as God, Lord, Ishwar or Paramatma (in Hindi) or the Creator. The saints say that the Spirit is formless, omniscience (all knowing), omnipotence (all powerful), omnipresence (present everywhere) and ever existing. The soul has also emerged from the Spirit, having got separated from it and therefore possesses many attributes of the Spirit. The soul also ever exists but has limited itself due to the veil of ignorance (Maya in Hindi) and therefore does not possess other attributes like being omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. However, the master proclaim that the soul can also assume these divine powers like the Spirit by purifying self with the practice of yoga, concentration, meditation and lifting the veil of ignorance.

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The Indian spirituality offers the foremost secret knowledge about the soul, the Spirit and the world. The Indian Vedas, Upanishads and the essence of all the studies, the Shrimadbhagwad Gita all have narrated the entire knowledge about the mysteries of life and death, soul and Spirit and the evolution and the dissolution of the universe. In the ShrimadBhagwad Gita, the Lord Krishna Himself lifts the veil of ignorance and enlightens the mankind through his dialogue with His disciple and friend Arjuna. Lord Krishna says in the Gita that He descends to this earth in every age to establish virtues, destroy the evil, save good and protect the Dharma. In the Gita verse (shloka) 7 and 8 of chapter 4, the Lord says;

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत । 

अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥४-७॥ 

परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् । 

धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ॥४-८॥

Yada yada hi dharmasya glanirbhavati bharata

Abhythanamadharmasya tadatmanam srijamyaham

Paritranaya sadhunang vinashay cha dushkritam

Dharmasangsthapanarthay sambhabami yuge yuge

Meaning:

Whenever there is decay of righteousness, O Bharata,

And there is exaltation of unrighteousness, then I Myself come forth;

For the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil-doers, 

For the sake of firmly establishing righteousness, I am born from age to age.

Now, on the nature of the soul, the Gita verse 20 of chapter 2 given below, the Lord Krishna enlightens the world about its eternity.

न जायते म्रियते वा कदाचि, न्नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूयः।
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो, न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे।।2.20।।

Meaning:

There is neither birth nor death for the soul at any time. The soul has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. The soul is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. The soul is not slain when the body is slain. 

As per this ancient wisdom, the soul is a minuscule part of the infinite and eternal Supreme Spirit. The soul does not undergo any change like the body and it is a constant witness and observer of the drama of life enacted though the person’s body and mind complex. Like the Spirit, the soul is also formless, eternal and ever existing. When a baby is conceived in the mother’s womb, the formless soul enters the sperm-ovum conjoined entity, gives it the consciousness and grows as a tiny baby. It takes birth after the completion of gestation period and continues to grow to a child, from child to a youth, to an aged person, to an old person and leaves the body at the time of death. The body is constantly changing but the soul remains changeless. The soul remains the same in an old man’s body and as in a child’s body. At the death, the body is cremated but the nothing happens to the soul. The soul again enters and incarnate in a new body and the cycle of the birth and death continues perpetually as a consequence of the past Karmas (acts) abiding to the cause and effect theory. As per the Gita, it is the person’s past accumulated Karmas which are responsible for his/her present state in the life and the present karmas are going to determine the course of the next life. However, one can achieve the liberation from the cycle of birth and death by purifying the self with the practice of yoga, concentration, meditation and devotion to the Supreme Lord. The Shrimadbhagwad Gita is the best guide gifted to the mankind by the Lord Krishna to achieve emancipation. 

PIC: krishna.org

The soul reality is that neither it dies and nor it takes birth. It is eternal and ever existing, essentially a tiny part of the Supreme Spirit. It is in fact on its journey to merge with the source, the Spirit. The Life and death comes to body and it is the material complex enlivens by the presence of the soul and dies with the escape of the soul from the body. The soul does reincarnate in different bodies at different times but remains the same, the ever changeless entity like the Spirit.