The nature of the soul

The eternal nature (nitya-dharma) of the soul (jiva ) is loving servitorship to the All Attractive Lord (in sanskrit Sri Krishna).
When she is not engaged as such, she is in the outer world - maya, an illusory reality, The fall of the jiva from the space between the material and spiritual worlds known as tatastha does not take place within the context of material time , than the buffer zone - tatastha is outside of the material world.

kRSNa bhUli seI jIva anAdi-bahirmukha
ataeva mAyA tAre deya saMsAra-duHkha

Caitanya-caritAmRta, (Madhya 20.117)

The jivas who are unaware (not consciouss) of Krishna have been preoccupied with the external potency (maya) since time without beginning . Consequently,
Krishna’s illusory potency (maya) gives them misery
in the form of material existence.

In this conection, it is stated in the BRhad-AraNyaka UpaniSad (4.3.9)

tasya vA etasya puruSasya dve eva sthAne / bhavata idaN ca paraloka-sthAnaN ca
sandhyaM tRtIyaM svapna-sthAnaM / tasmin sandhye sthAne tiSThann ete ubhe
sthAne pazyatIdaN ca paraloka-sthAnaN ca

There are two positions about which the jIva-puruSa should inquire – the inanimate material world, and the spiritual world. The jIva is situated in a third position , which is a dreamlike condition (svapna-sthAna), and is the juncture (taTastha) between the other two. Being situated at the place where the two worlds meet , he sees both the jaDa-jagat (inert world) and the cid-jagat (spiritual world).


Although the jiva is infinitesimal, his dharma is full and nitya (eternal).
Minuteness is only a trait by which he is identified.
From the moment of jiva's diversion and her entry into maya, his nitya-dharma becomes perverted. Therefore, by the association of maya, the jiva
develops nisarga, an acquired nature , which thus facilitates the display of his temporary function and disposition known as naimittika-dharma .

The nitya-dharma (eternal function) is one,indivisible, and faultless in all different situations; but the naimittika-dharma (temporary function) assumes many different
forms when seen in diverse circumstances, and when it is described in various ways by men of divergent opinions.”

Like sparks emanating from an undivided fire, the jivas
emanate from Bhagavan, who is the embodiment of immutable consciousness
(consciuosness is the place of attachment,
attachment means attraction
attraction means love;
consciuousness is love) .


As long as jiva fails to contact the real object of his spiritual function (dharma-vishaya), the infinitesimal, conscious jiva is incapable of exhibiting the natural development of that function - loving servitorship . In reality, it is only when the jiva is in connection with her object of love that the identity of its dharma becomes apparent.

In this connection, as recorded in Caitanya-caritamrita (Madhya 20.108-109) Sri Krishna Caitanya said:

jīvera 'svarūpa' haya — kṛṣṇera 'nitya-dāsa'
kṛṣṇera 'taṭasthā-śakti' 'bhedābheda-prakāśa'
sūryāḿśa-kiraṇa, yaiche agni-jvālā-caya
svābhāvika kṛṣṇera tina-prakāra 'śakti' haya

The constitutional nature of the jiva is to be an eternal (loving) servant of Sri Krishna.
He is the marginal potency of Krishna, and is a manifestation
simultaneously one with Him, and different from Him.
The soul is like a particle - aḿśa of the energetic efulgence - kiraṇa, which is like the marginal energy taṭasthā-śakti of Lord Vishnu. who is like the sun - sūrya.
The soul is also compared to a spark of fire - agni-jvālā-caya endowed with the potency of the complete fire - svābhāvika kṛṣṇera , to emphisize that every jiva is capable of displaying the full function of consciousness, namely divine love.

If a single spark has enough fuel, it can kindle a blazing fire that will incinerate the whole world.
Similarly, even a single jiva can bring about a great inundation of love by obtaining Sri Krishnacandra, who is the real object of love .

It makes little sense to me to say that the jiva turned away from God outside the realm of time. Why? Becasue this would still mean that its material existnace began at some time--the time the jiva appeared in the world, not at a time without beginning--anadi. Of all people you should know that.

Citta is like a spark from cit-shakti, a spark of spiritual existence, or consciousness, or attachment, or love.

Patanjali’s Yogash chitta vritti nirodhah
is translated like
Yoga is the cessation of the modifications
of the substance of the mind.

This is confusing. What is the substance of the mind?
What are the modifications of the mind?
When one starts to analyze it, one understands that the mind is material, whereas citta is spiritual.

I personally don`t like that translation, and I prefer
Yoga is the removal of the coverings of the (pure) consciousness – which is the soul.

That which is material like the mind is not cit but acit – unconscious,
and that is why the mind - mana, which is of the nature of acit cannot be the same as citta,
which is of the nature of cit-shakti - the spiritual potency of the Lord.

Citta is never modified, but is covered by the eight material elements:
earth (bhUmir) water (Apa) fire (anala) air (vayu) ether – space (Kham)
mana (mind) buddhi (intelligence) and (ca) certainly (eva) false ego (ahaM-kAra)

Mana, the mind, is described in Bhagavad-gita 7.4 as a material energy of Sri Krishna:

bhUmir Apo’nalo vAyuH / khaM mano buddhir eva ca
ahaMkAra itiyaM me / bhinnA prakRtir aSTadhA

This (Yam) material energy (prakRtir) of Mine (me)
has eight (aSTadhA) divisions (bhinnAH) as follows (iti)
earth (bhUmir) water (ApaH) fire (analaH) air (vayuH) ether – space (Kham)
manaH (mind) buddhiH (intelligence) and (ca) certainly (eva) false ego (ahaM-kAraH)

Three of these are called material subtle energies, namely mind (mana) intelligence (buddhi) and certainly (ca eva) the false ego (ahaMkAra).

These subtle machines have been attached to the soul as she came in the material illusory world.
The cause of it is that the soul would not remain for even for a fraction of second in a world, which is not coresponding to the true nature of the soul, being material.

What is the the mind, and what is its function?

The mind is a subtle machine described as a “container”, in which flow all the informations collected through the sense organs, by the interface called brain, which sends them in the informational field called mind

These informational field called mind, comprises three functions : thinking, feeling and Willing.

First function of the mind is thinking.

Thinking means compare. The informations which flow in the mind are stored and those informations which give pleasure to the senses, including the mind, are accepted and stored in the libraries with accepted informations.
All the other informations are stored in the mental libraries with rejected informations, kind of garbage.

Through the false ego, the soul develops attachment, identifying herself with the accepted informations.

That means that the pure, loving nature of the soul is distorted being directed towards the objects of the material world, or the pure love is distorted, being projected on material objects.

This pure loving nature of the soul is called citta, namely pure consciousness or attachment.

In her pure state, but only in the presence of the real object of love – the Lord , the soul’s consciousness is called God consciousness, or Krishna consciousness,
or attachement for Krishna, or love for Krishna.
In her impure state, the soul’s consciousness is called maya-consciousness, or “love” for that which is, as it would be not, namely illusory, or attachement for objects that appear and disappear in the wave of material time. The distorted love is known as lust.

It may happen that during one’s “development”, different types of lust arise and disappear or it takes place the so called shift of consciousness, or shift attraction, or “love”.
This happens, due to new and continuous information supplied by one's changing the informational environment.

By the continuous association with the spiritual persons it takes place an extraordinary shift of consciousness, namely the shift towards God consciousness or love of God.

The process of shifting one’s consciousness towards the Lord takes place through the purification of the mind.
To purify the mind one must purify one’s senses, because they are the carrier of the informations.
To purify the senses means one have to purify the objects of the senses, namely one’s environment.

That means, one must surround himself with objects that point on the spiritual world and the son of the spiritual world,
the Lord, and at the same time one must reject al the objects that make one to be attached to the temporary world.
In this connection one should live in reclusion, as the real saints use to live.

The second function of the mind is feeling

This is expressed through the attraction or repulsion the soul feels on the level of the material senses, with which she identifies, through the false ego.
The attraction or repulsion is projected on the material objects of the senses.

The third function of the mind is Willig.

Because of the feelings of attraction or repulsion, on the level of the material senses, the mind makes continuously plans, how to obtain the object of attraction or how to avoid and eventually destroy the object of repulsion.
The mind is always busy in making plans for maximizing the pleasures of the senses, due to one’s new acquired consciousness, or attraction, or force of distorted love.


apareyam itas tv anyAM / prakRtiM viddhi me parAm
jiva-bhUtAH mahA-bAho / yayedaM dhAryate jagat

Oh, most powerful - mahA-bAho (Arjuna) understand – viddhi,
that this (material energy described previously) – iyam is inferior – aparA
but – tu beyond this – itaM there is another – anyAm energy – prakRtim
superior – parAm of Mine – me which are the souls - jiva (meaning all) living

Manas (mind), Buddhi (intelligece) and Ahamkar (false ego) are collectively called antahkarana, (antah-internal, karana-senses).

The real ego

The soul is the real ego, in sanskrit – ahaM.
The substance the soul is made of, is the divine love.
Love is by its own nature spiritual.
The implication is that the soul is spiritual.
Because the soul is spiritual by nature, she does not belong to this material world.

Love is the place of attachement.
Consciousness is the place of attachement.
Consciousness means love.

In this World one one can find a perverted form of the pure love, namely directed towards the temporary forms of this material world.
The love, (the attachment) belongs to this world.

The form of expression of pure love, the spiritual love, is the divine, (devotional) service.
The form of expression of mundane love is the material service impelled by material motivations.

Love means devotion. This is the beginning of the drama in the material world, but on the spiritual plane, it is the beginning of the spiritual realizations.

To devote oneself one needs trust or faith.
The scientific (experimental) process to develop faith (shraddha) up to its blossoming into pure love (premA) is called sadhana bhakti.


The ego is the self, or the real “I”, or the real identification. The real I is called aham.
The false I is called aham-kara. See previous verses from Bhagavad-gita.

The question is, what is the false ego (the false I)?
The vedic literature explains that when the soul, which is spiritual, comes in a world which is material, she cannot live here, because of her incompatibility with that nature, alien to her own. That is why the soul is provided by maya (the material illusory energy) with some coverings or suits, and the first suit, tight on the soul is the false ego – aham-kara, whose function is to give the soul another identification.

Through this subtle machine, the soul identifies herself with other coverings or suits she receives from the material (illusory) energy.
The more the soul dives in the whirlpool of material world the more she will identify with her home, family, car, the city, the land, the association, the party… When the car got scratched, she says “aua!” because she identifies herself even with a tin (steelplate) car.
On a subtler level the soul identifies with the mind and intelligence, being proud of the acquired ideas, and discrimination power.

Statement:

One day the realisation will dawn that the being who is aware as the real "I" in you is the SELF. He is the seeing/seer/seen.
These divisions as so called tattwas is for understanding and realising the ONE indescribale truth alone.



Answer:

In my opinion you mistake the soul (jiva) for the Lord (bhagavan).
This is in essence a demoniac mentality. Big demons of yore thought it in this way. There philosophy was that by tapas, the acquisition of mistic powers will make them “The Supreme Controller” – the Lord, as for example Hiranyakasypu.

The soul is never the Lord, but an energy of the Lord.

This tattva is described in many places in the Vedic literature.

yathAgneH kSudrA visphuliNgA vyuccaranti
evam evAsmad AtmanaH sarvANi bhUtAni vyuccaranti

BRhad-AraNyaka UpaniSad (2.1.20)

“Innumerable jivas (souls) - sarvANi bhUtAni emanate (vyuccaranti) from the Suprem Soul (Atman), like tiny (kSudrA) sparks (visphuliNgA) from a fire (AgneH).”

BRhad-AraNyaka UpaniSad (2.1.20)

tasya vA etasya puruSasya dve eva sthAne /
bhavata idaN ca paraloka-sthAnaN ca
sandhyaM tRtIyaM svapna-sthAnaM / tasmin (in that) sandhye sthAne tiSThan ete ubhe
sthAne pazyatIdaN ca paraloka-sthAnaN ca

BRhad-AraNyaka UpaniSad (4.3.9)

There are two (dwe) positions (sthAne) which (etasya) the jIva-puruSa (puruSasya ) can attain (bhavata) – this (material world) -idaN, and the spiritual location (ca paraloka-sthAnaN). There is a third position (tRtIyaM), which is a dreamlike condition (svapna-sthAna), and is the juncture - between the other two (sandhyaM). Residing (tiSThan) at the place (sthAne) where the two worlds meet (sandhye), they sees (ete pazyati) both (ubhe) this jaDa-jagat (idan) and the cid-jagat (paraloka-sthAnaN).

This zloka describes the marginal nature of jIva-zakti, meaning that the primordial residence of the souls is between the material and spiritual world, known as the Viraja river or the causal ocean kAraNa-jala.

Again, it is said in BRhad-AraNyaka UpaniSad (4.3.1:

tad yathA mahA-matsya ubhe kule ‘nusaNcarati
pUrvaN cAparaN caivam evAyaM puruSa etAv ubhAv antAv
anu saNcarati svapnAntaH ca buddhANtaN ca

Just as (tad yatha) a large fish (mahA-matsya) goes to both banks (of a river) - ubhe kule, so the jIva-purush (evAyaM puruSa), being situated (pUrvaN) at the western (cAparaN) als auch (caivam) between (antav) - the inert and conscious worlds-, also gradually (etAv) wander to both banks (ubhAv), the place of dreaming (svapnAntaH )and the place of wakefulness (buddhANtaN).

But the Lord is the controller of maya, and jiva falls under the control of maya, by false identification due to ahaMkara - the false ego.

Therefore, it is said in the ZvetaZvatara Upanisad (4.9-10):
asmAn mAyi sRjate viZvam etat
tasmIMz cAnyo mAyayA sanniruddhaH
mAyAn tu prakRtiM vidyAn mAyinan tu mahezvaram
tasyAvaya-bhUtais tu vyAptaM sarvam idaM jagat

The Lord has created the entire world wherein the jIvas are bound in the illusion of material identification. It should be understood that mAyA is His material (energy) prakRti, and He is Mahezvara, the controller of mAyA. This entire world is pervaded by His limbs.

Question

... you have many qualities like you are strong, beautiful, you are General Manager etc etc. But are you all those qualities?


My answer is that these are the qualities of the material body.
I am not the material body,
but through the false ego I am bewitched to identify myself with the acquired material nature.

Questions:

I suggest you may enquire yourself whether you are a personality or you are that truth which has assumed some personality?
What were you before you assumed a spermic body?

Answer:
I am a personality, I am a true personality, even if it might be possible that I don’t really know who I am.
The nature of the soul is to have personality. The part of the spiritual world called Vaikuntha is replete with personalities, but:

durApA hy alpa-tapasaH / sevA vaikuNTha-vartmasu
yatropagIyate nitya / deva-devo janArdanaH (S.B. 3.7.20)

For the one whose austerity is meagre - alpa-tapasaH, the devotional service in the abode of the Lord - sevA vaikuNTha is certainly rarely obtainable - durApA hy, for those on that path – vartmasu. Whereas – yatra the devas always glorify - yatropagIyate nitya deva, the Lord – devo, the controller of the living entities - jana-ardanaH.


narAH sUrya-prabhAs tatra / zitAMzu-sama-darzanAH
tejasA durNirikSyAz ca / devAnAm api yAdava

Lord BrahmA said: My four sons Sanaka, SanAtana, Sanandana and Sanat-kumAra, who were born from my mind, are your predecessors.
Sometimes they travel throughout all the worlds (material and spiritual) without any definite desire. (SB 3.15.12)


ta ekada bhagavato /vaikuNThasyAmalAtmanaH
yayur vaikuNTha-nilayaM / sarva-loka-namaskRtam (SB 3.15.13)

Once upon a time – ekada, being freed from all material contamination – AmalAtmanaH they – te entered – yayur the abode named VaikuNTha - vaikuNTha-nilayaM, of that Supreme Lord – bhagavato, who dwells in VaikuNTha – vaikuNThasyA, and is worshiped by the residents of all the planets - sarva-loka-namaskRtam.

From this recount of Lord BrahmA one can see that they didn’t merge with Brahman, as per advaita-vada but they entered VaikuNTha, and they kept their pure, spiritualized bodies.

vasanti yatra puruSAH / sarve vaikuNTha-mUrtayaH
ye ’nimitta-nimittena / dharmeNArAdhayan harim (SB 3.15.14)

All persons - puruSAH sarve that live there - vasanti yatra, have the form (similar) of the Lord of vaikuNTha - vaikuNTha-mUrtayaH. They worship – Adhayan the Suprem Lord – harim, due to- nimittena their own true, innate, propensity (bhakti) – dharmeNA, without any desire for sense gratification – animitta.

Also from the story of Ajamila recounted in the six Canto from Srimad BhAgavatam one can see that the All Attractive has messengers (personalities of the spiritual world),
that he sends to bring to Him, in the spiritual world those persons that are qualified for the personal liberation:

ajAmilo 'py athAkarNya / dUtAnAM yama-kRSNayoH
dharmaM bhAgavataM zuddhaM / trai-vedyaM ca guNAzrayam
bhaktimAn bhagavaty Azu / mAhAtmya-zravaNAd dhareH
anutApo mahAn AsIt / smarato 'zubham AtmanaH

Srimad BhAgavatam 6.2.24-25

After hearing athAkarNya (the discourses between) the order carriers - dUtAnAM,
of the King of Discipline (punisher of the dead) - yama and those of the The All Attractive (Supreme Lord) - kRSNayoH,
regarding the pure duty dharmaM zuddhaM (of the soul AtmanaH)
related to the Lord bhAgavataM
and the material prescribed duties ca guNAzrayam according the three Vedas - trai-vedyaM
a devotee of the Lord - bhaktimAn bhagavaty immediately - Azu
glorifies and hears about the Lord - mAhAtmya-zravaNAdhareH
Ajamila very greatly regreted - anutApo mahAn
remembering smarato the inauspicious activities - azubham done by himself - AsIt AtmanaH.

A similar story where the messengers of the Supreme Lord came in the material world is recounted in the case Dhruva Maharaja, see Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 4 Chapter 12.

In the spiritual world there is no idea that would make the spiritual living entities to reject Krishna as the supreme enjoyer.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says:
MahA-ViSNu, who is an avatara of SankarSaNa,
situates Himself in the jIva-Sakti, and in His ParamAtmA svarUpa,
He manifests the jIvas who have the potential to be involved in
the material world. These jivas are susceptible to the influence of
mAyA, and unless they attain the shelter of the hlAdini-Sakti of the
cit-Sakti by BhagavAn’s mercy, the possibility of their being defeated
by mAyA remains.

So there is no illusion that would make the spiritual living entities in Goloka to forget his Krishna Consciousness, and more than that, they are under the shelter of the spiritual loving potency of Sri Krishna , hladini shakti.

This is also explained by Srila Jiva Gosvami right in the begining of his Bhakti Sandharba: paramaatma vaibhava ganane ca tatasta shakti rupanam apianadi paratattva jnana sansaga abhava maya tat vaimukya labda cidraga avrita sad svarupa jnananam.
"Jiva is a manifestation of the vaibhava (oppulence) of the paramaatma which is situated in jiva shakti, (outside of Goloka, namely in tatasta shakti, the marginal energy not the internal, antaranga energy)."

Cit eka rasanam, means that jiva is conscious by nature but jiva's paratattva jnana, the knowledge of the Supreme is sansaga abhava. Here Srila Jiva Gosvami uses the vaisheshika darshana of kanada rishi to define the position of the jiva.
He uses the category abhava which means non existence in connection to sansaga, which means coexistence.
In the vaisheshika philosophy the non-existence, abhava, is of two types:
1. anya-anya abhava : mutual non-existence, used to identify an object as different from another (a pencil is not to be found in a bapaer-sheet and vice-versa)
2. sansaga abhava : the non-existence of co-existence
The sansaga abhava is of three types:

1. praga sansaga abhava – antecedent non-existence of co-existence;
An imperfect material example: a notepad and a biography.
There was an antecedent non-existence of their co-existence before the biography was written in the notepad.
When the biography was written in the notepad the non-existence of their co-existence came to an end, and the destruction of this non-existence of their co-existence is considered eternal, which means their coexistence is eternal.

2. pradvangsa sansaga abhava – non-existence of co-existence brought up by destruction.
An imperfect material example: A pot which is made of clay is destroyed. In this way the non-existence of their co-existence is eternal.

3. atyanta sansaga abhava – the absolute non-existence of co-existence, has no beginning and no end.

The paratattva jnana of the jiva-shakti is sansaga abhava, which means, there is a non-existence of co-existence between the living entity and his krishna consciousness.

If it would be atyanta sansaga abhava, it would mean that jiva was never krishna conscious and would never be.

If it would be pradvangsa sansaga abhava it would mean that jiva
- was krishna conscious
- his krishna consciousness was destroyed
- for the rest of his existence jiva will never be krishna conscious or
jiva was in Goloka, he felt from Goloka and will never come back.
But Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavat-gita that the jivas that come to him will never come back in the material world, which means that krishna consciousness of the jiva once it is attained will be eternal, so this also means that Srila Jiva Gosvamipada wanted to say that the non-existence of the krishna consciousness of jiva is praga sansaga abhava:
- there was an antecedent non-existence of krishna consciousness of the jiva
- the non existence of his krishna consciousness will come to an end
- the end of the non-existence of his krishna consciousness will be eternal

“Innumerable jivas appear from Sri Baladeva Prabhu to serve Vrindaavana-vihaari Sri Krisha as His eternal associates in Goloka Vrindaavana,
and others appear from Sri Sankarshan to serve the Lord of Vaikuntha, Sri Naraayan, in the spiritual sky.

Eternally relishing rasa, engaged in the service of their worshipable Lord, they always remain fixed in their constitutional position.
They always strive to please Bhagavän, and are always attentive to Him.
Having attained the strength of cit-shakti, they are always strong.
They have no connection with the material energy.
In fact, they do not know if there is a bewildering energy called maya or not.
Since they reside in the spiritual world, maya is very far away from them and does not affect them at all.
Always absorbed in the bliss of serving their worshipable Lord, they are eternally liberated and are free from material happiness and distress. Their life is love alone, and they are not even conscious of misery, death or fear.

“There are also innumerable, atomic, conscious jivas who emanate as rays in Karano-dakashayi Vishnu’s glance upon His maya-shakti.
Since these jivas are situated next to maya, they perceive her wonderful workings. Although they have all the qualities of the eternal liberated jivas that I have already described, because of their minute andmarginal nature, they sometimes look to the spiritual world, and sometimes to the material world. In this marginal condition, the jiva is very weak because at that time he has not attained spiritual strength from the mercy of the object of his worship (seva-vastu).

Among these unlimited jivas, those who want to enjoy maya become
engrossed in mundane sense gratification and enter the state of baddha (bound) jivas.
On the other hand, the jivas who perform worship of Bhagavän receive spiritual shakti (cid-bala - strength of knowledge) by His mercy, and enter the spiritual world.
Baba! It is our great misfortune that we have forgotten our service to Sri Krishna, and have become bound in the shackles of maya. Only because we have forgotten our constitutional position, are we in this deplorable condition.”

Vrajanatha: Prabhu, I understand that this marginal position is situated in taTastha-svabhava, or junction, of the spiritual and material worlds. Why is it that some jivas go from there to the material world, while others go to the spiritual world?
Babaji: Krishna’s qualities are also present in the jivas, but only in a minute quantity.
Krishna is supremely independent, so the desire to be independent is eternally present in the jivas as well. When the jiva uses his independence correctly, he remains disposed towards Krishna, but when he misuses it, he becomes vimukha (indifferent) to Him.
It is just this indifference that gives rise to the desire in the jiva’s heart to enjoy maya. Because of the desire to enjoy maya, he develops the false ego, he receives at his entrance in the material universe, by which he can enjoy material sense gratification, and then the five types of ignorance
– tamah (not knowing anything about the spirit soul),
- moha (the illusion of the bodily concept of life),
- maha-moha (madness for material enjoyment),
- tamisra (forgetfulness of one’s constitutional position due to anger
or envy) and
- andha-tamisra (considering death to be the ultimate end)
cover his pure, atomic nature. Our liberation or subjugation simply depends on whether we use our minute independence properly, or misuse it.


From Jaiva Dharma
Chapter 16 Prameya: Jivas Possessed by Maya