Do both body & soul feel the Pains of Karma, birth and death?
A woman devotee asked like this:
“In Shrimad Bhagwat all about sufferings a sinful soul has to bear is mentioned but my que is dat d soul (jivaatma) is a part of almighty and after death d soul merge into almighty as it is unborn & d body get burned then whose gonna bear all those sufferings which is mentioned in Shrimad Bhagwat Ji……”
REPLY:
It is not true that the both body & soul feel the Pains of Karma, birth and death.
See, Athma (Soul) does not carry the karmic records done in this and previous births because athma is always pure as it can not be affected in any way as said by Krishna in the second chapter of Bhagavad Gita.
2-23:
The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.
2-24:
This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.
So, the soul is not affected by anything.
(Does Athma have gender as males and females act differently? READ HERE!)
Actually, our karmic records are stored in our sukshma (Subtle) body that carries the athma when it leaves the body.
Sukshma body is the combination of Mind, Buddhi (Intelligence) and Ahankar (false ego).
Whatever we think, do and come across are stored in the mind; All the activities of Intelligence and ego are also carried with the mind as sukshma body when the soul leaves the body.
Athma is carried to a suitable body that is decided by this sukshma body components because they have the storage of the desires of the person who died.
So, athma never feels any pains or pleasures until it is taking the bodies.
Athma gets its real pleasure when it is free after purification and when it associates with its master Krishna.
(Nature Of Athma (Soul): Can the athma (Soul) feel, see, speak and work? READ HERE!)
So, Sukshma body is the actual reason for all our pains birth after birth.
Since athma is conditioned within this sukshma body, it is in the state of bewilderness.
That soul will get its sufferings when it accepts another body. Only when there is a body, a soul can take efforts either to go back to Lord or to take next birth.
If you purify your soul (yourself) within this birth itself by developing a mental detachment from this material world and following Krishna Consciousness sincerely, your doors will be open at Vaikunta planets and you can serve Krishna there eternally.
If you chant Hare Krishna with a detached mind, it is capable of taking you to Krishna’s abode. In case there are some short comings, atleast a good human birth in a wealthy or good brahmana family is guaranteed next.
(How athma loses its real bliss and how to regain its bliss? READ HERE!)
If a person leads a demonic life in this birth without following any of the regulative principles, he will take an animal body.
So, taking another birth itself is painful. For the body, not the soul. Right from birth to death, four pains are faced by every living being – (i) Birth, (ii) Disease, (iii) Old Age and (iv) Death.
Remember, whatever pain we face in this birth, is the outcome of our activities of our previous birth(s). If a girl is cheated by a boy in this birth, as per the Laws of Karma, she would have taken birth as a boy in her previous birth and have cheated girls. So, he came as a girl and is cheated by many.
So, we only are the cause for all our pains.
This applies even for the animals. You can see dogs that are mating on the streets are pelted with the stones by the people. Those dogs had taken birth as humans in their previous birth and had uncontrolled illicit contacts. As they liked to enjoy uncontrollably, they were given a dog’s body and allowed to enjoy uncontrollably and also to receive pelting of stones by the people.
(Do animals have soul (athma) as meat eaters say animals have no soul? READ HERE!)
So, there is no doubt that the birth in this material world is nothing but a painful experience. Krishna Himself says about this world as “Dhukkalayam… Asasvatham”
So, now it is clear among the Body and Soul – Which feels the Pains of Karma, birth and death. Athma does not have any pains. However, as it takes a body in this material world, it also feels as if it is having pains. But, in reality, athma (we) is pure, spiritual and eternal. Only when it happens to take bodies, the body feels pain.
So, the brief reply is: Soul (athma), in its original state has no pains and remains blissful. Only the body feels the pains. But, if the athma gets bewildered, it(he) also feels as if it(he) is facing the pains. That’s all. It is not the real pain for athma.
So, try for birthless state. Chant Hare Krishna, develop material detachment, attach to Krishna and Be Happy and Blissful.
That is our true state, Not a life in the material worlds.
Hope you are now clear about whether both the body & soul feel the Pains of Karma, birth and death.
(HOW THE ATHMA (SOUL) CHANGES THE BODIES? – MECHANISM! READ HERE!)