Discover Your True Self – You are Not a Body but a Soul

“We are here to awaken to the reality of our true identity – that we are sparks of the Eternal Imperishable Spirit, who is the source of all Creation and the very essence of our being.”
– Shriram Sharma Acharya

You are a Soul Infinite, Immortal and Perfect

Nearly 2,500 years ago, the great sages of the Upanishads proclaimed “Know thy own soul, for only then can you know God.” In other words, the path to God lies not through the outer world of matter but through our inner world of spirit.

To become aware of our soul as apart from our body is the first step towards realizing God. For God is the infinite ocean of consciousness (see our article: Who is God?) and our souls are like individual waves on its surface. If we know the wave then we have known the ocean too.

“All spiritual progress is the growth of half-knowledge into clear illumination. In our inspired moments we have the feeling that there is a greater reality within us, though we cannot tell what it is.”– Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

And so the sages proclaimed that we must each discover for ourselves that we are essentially the spirit.

It is only when we have realized the true nature of our soul, that despair will vanish and hope will come; fear and ignorance will vanish and joy will come; infinite power, strength and purity will come, and along with it everything that is excellent will come.

What then is the nature of our soul?

The Nature of the Soul

The Sanskrit word for the soul is Atman, which means the “breath of life”. The soul is the differentiating element which separates dead and dull matter from life. The soul is what exists when the body dies.

We place before you some key conclusions that have been reached about the characteristics of the soul. As always it is important to note that these conclusions are not mere idle theories or speculation but they are the greatest of truths, perceived directly by countless teachers and prophets in the highest states of super-consciousness. Presented below are rational arguments in support of what has already been witnessed.

The Soul is Not Bound by the Laws of the Material Universe

“This Universe is a meeting point of that which is eternal and that which is manifested in time.”
– Svetasvatara Upanishad

We often we make the mistake of assuming that the material Universe is all that exists, and nothing else prevails besides it. But it is only part of the picture. The world that we live in is actually a meeting point of two universes: one of matter and the other of consciousness. And while our bodies are a part of the former, our souls belong to the latter.

The material universe which governs our physical bodies originated in a big bang some 14 billion years ago. The big bang gave birth to matter, space and time, and the entire universe works under their laws.

The laws of matter govern our motion. For example: no object can travel faster than the speed of light. The laws of space confine our existence to the 3-dimensions and also localize us i.e. we are only present in one place at a given time (the exception being subatomic particles). The laws of time govern the cycles of birth and death. Each body of matter is born, exists for a finite amount of time and dies. From the sun, to the moon, to the physical bodies of plants, animals and man, in fact the entire Universe itself, is bound by the cycle of time.

But our souls are not a part of any of this. They belong to the universe of consciousness. In our earlier article, Why Has Science Not Found God?, we had discussed how God is the primal absolute force, the Supreme Consciousness whose existence precedes the birth of the material Universe itself. Since the godly force of consciousness came before matter, space and time, it is unaffected by their laws.

Our souls being a part of this immense ocean of consciousness therefore remain unbounded by the conditions of matter. Their very essence is freedom.

The Soul is Divine

“Consciousness is not subject to the strictures of quantum physics because it is neither matter, nor is it restricted by space or time.”
– Glen Kezwer, Scientist

Our souls are subsets of God himself. Just as the sum-total of all cells in an organism is one person, so is each soul like one cell of consciousness and the sum total of all such cells is God – the Supreme Soul – the Universal Consciousness. Therefore the limitless attributes of God including goodness, purity and perfection are already present in our souls. Divinity thus is our real nature.

The Soul Is Formless, Eternal, Immortal and Infinite

“The Universe is founded in consciousness and guided by it. The final reality is Universal Consciousness (God). This Supreme Consciousness is omnipresent. Its evolutionary powers pervade the entire universe. All processes of nature are governed by it.”
– Aitareya Upanishad

Since consciousness preceded the formation of space, it does not obey the laws of space, and therefore it cannot be restricted by space. Like the air we breathe, the subtle force of consciousness is present everywhere. In other words it is omnipresent; it permeates everything. Moreover since space cannot confine consciousness, that is to say, it cannot trap consciousness in a particular spot or keep it within certain boundaries, consciousness is formless. It has no shape.

Now we also know that time too cannot affect consciousness because the ocean of consciousness existed before time even began. Thus consciousness is eternal and immortal because in the subtle realms where it exists time holds no meaning. The primal force of consciousness has always existed – it was never born and it will never die it.

The above two points lead us to an even grander conclusion. That which cannot be confined by space or limited by time must necessarily be infinite. Therefore this vast ocean of consciousness, which we call God, is omnipresent, formless, eternal, immortal and infinite.

What’s more, if something is infinite, it cannot be divided into separate individual parts, otherwise it will cease to be infinite and become the finite. Therefore just as a wave cannot be separated from the ocean, our souls too are an indivisible and integral part of God and are necessarily, omnipresent, formless, eternal, immortal and infinite.

Hence, the Upanishads declare Tat twam asi – “You are That One”. That immanent one (God), is the same that is in the human soul. Not only that but you are Him – you are that one principle that has been manifesting itself as this variety of Creation.

And so, we echo the immortal words of Swami Vivekananda “Realize your true nature. That is all there is to do. Know yourself as you are — the infinite spirit. You are souls pure, eternal and perfect. The might of the universe is in you. “Why weepest thou, my friend? There is neither birth nor death for thee. Why weepest thou? There is neither disease nor misery for thee, but thou art like the infinite sky, clouds of various colours come over it, play for a moment, and then vanish. But it is the same eternal blue.

So stand up and assert the divinity within you. Proclaim the God within you do not deny!”

Now while the sages may have witnessed their souls, how can normal people like us, believe that the soul actually exists? Is there any proof? Find out in our earlier post!

“Only those of tranquil minds, and none else, can attain abiding joy, by realizing within their souls the Being who manifests one essence in a multiplicity of forms.”
– Rabindranath Tagore

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