Can you explain whether we are body or soul or both?

Can you explain whether we are body or soul or both?

A male devotee Name hidden) asked like this:

Jai shri krishna, don’t tell my name, i want to know, as we all know, we are in this world, “Soul connected with body” we are not only soul, and we are not only body…. Can you please explain it? Shri nathji seda sehea thanks.

REPLY:

Your question shows that you yourself are in a confused state.  I do not know why you have written that we are both body and soul.

Actually, “I” means soul, ie, athma.  The soul is the person.  He is travelling in a vehicle for a certain number of years and he will dispose that vehicle and board another vehicle.  That vehicle is our body.  Yes, our body is a temporary vehicle for us.  Do you understand this?

You are travelling by ‘Air Asia’ flight to Malaysia today.  How will you tell your friend in malaysia?

“Hello dear,  “I” am coming to your house today through “AIR ASIA” evening flight”

Will you say “Hello dear,  “Air Asia” is coming to your house today”

So, this body is nothing but a mortal vehicle.  If you have to do business in malaysia, you need a flight or ship to travel.  Similarly, the athma has no need to do any business.  Its only business is to serve his master Lord Krishna.

However, we came to this material world because we (athma) wanted to come here.  We were contaminated with jealousy on Lord Krishna and we too wanted to enjoy like Lord Krishna.  We thought:  “Why Lord alone should enjoy thousands of gopis and be served by so many devotees?  How it will be if I too enjoy like this and others do service to me?”

Thus, a contamination started in our thoughts.  It is the fact that we can enter and live in Goloka ONLY WHEN & ONLY TILL WE ARE PURE. If we show even a trace of contamination in our thoughts, we are sent back to material planets like earth.

So, Krishna decided : “this devotee has developed jealousy on others;  so  let him be under the control of our external potency maya for some time. Let him face the consequences of jealousy by being in the material world.  When he realizes his mistake again, I will take him again”.

So, He gave us an opportunity to come to earth and understand the real nature of material enjoyments that actually end in pains, and then come back to Goloka after realizing that material pleasures are temporary.

So, we are here.  And, we are ignorantly thinking that these material pleasures are permanent for us.  The fact is that a person can enjoy this material world only UPTO 100 YEARS MAXIMUM.

So, we (athma) who was living with an eternal spiritual body was sent to earth to take a temporary material body.  With this short lived body, we are doing all the nonsense. Man kills other bodies (not persons); he pretends; he cheats others; he earns and saves the wealth that will support many generations; he develops  jealousy here also; he enjoys opposite sex uncontrollably.

Only because we are thinking that WE ARE THIS BODY, we are attracted by the temporary attraction of the bodies of opposite sex.  There is no gender for us, ie, soul/ athma. Both males and females are the same in the state of athma.  If  it  takes male body, it is identified with male and if it takes female body, it is identified with female body.  Thats all.

Thus, the people are doing all the atrocities thinking that they are going to stay here for ever.  All these problems are because we are thinking that we are these bodies.  If we realise that we are athma, not body, then, we will not be attracted by lust, cheating mind, attacking and killing mindset, etc.   So, the whole world will be peaceful.

That is why, Srila Prabhupada wrote to the then Prime Minister of India to make the study of scriptures as compulsory in schools.  Srila Prabhupada wrote that if everyone realizes their real nature and their prime duty of serving Lord, then, the whole country will be peaceful and spiritual.   But, unfortunately, our present leaders are not in a position to consider those suggestions by him because, they are very busy in creating a society that is running towards flesh, money, etc.

So, hereafter, do not think that we are either soul or body or both.

We are absolutely souls.  Body is our vehicle.  This is final and if you do not realize this fact, you can’t advance even a bit in devotion.  So, accept what I have replied that has been stated by all the scriptures  and acharyas.  No scripture say that we are body.  So, it is final.

Hope you are clear now.

Author: RAJAN

RAJAN from Tamil Nadu, India, a Life Patron and an Initiated Devotee being in ISKCON for nearly three decades, serves anonymously to avoid Prominence and crowd as an insignificant, Humble and Neutral Servant for all the devotees of Krishna! He promotes Social media forums and this blog-website as e-satsangha (e-forums) blessed with Lakhs of followers, to give Spiritual Solutions for all the Material Problems of the devotees since 2011! He writes friendly and practical tips to practice devotion (i) without hurting the followers of other paths, (ii) without affecting the personal and career life, and (iii) without the blind, superstitious and ritualistic approach! He dedicates all the glories and credits to his Guru and Krishna.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.