Truth of Life – Part 2

In continuation to – Truth of Life – Part 1

Swamiji Says, we are the “Soul” or “Ätman”. Swamiji explains further and tells that our existence has primarily three components viz. External Body, Memory, & Soul. What we can feel and experience are ‘the Body’ and ‘the Memory’ but it’s actually ‘the Soul’ that we are. Our Soul is the purest form of self and the other two are just the temporary covers the soul embraces to come in this world till it is liberated. All these ages, the unliberated souls have not been able to identify their true selves and hence have to wander in this universe through the cycle of birth and death.

Is our birth the “Beginning” and death “The End”?

No!….its only the body that is born and perishes, the soul or Atman, does not die. We neither have a beginning nor an end. We remain in the universe in some form or the other. A person who attains self-realisation does not come back and gets merged in the Absolute. That’s when the soul is liberated, freed from the shackles of Karma and merges with God.

If not, then why are we required to be born again and again in this world?

We are made in the image of God. But due to our free will and our actions in life after life, we have forgotten the true nature of our self which is the soul (Atman). When we know God and realise pure and perfect nature of our soul, the difference between God and us gets reduced. That is in fact the goal of life and we can achieve that only by working through our body. A person who is wicked today and indulges in wrong doings, will also come to the right path, may be when he gets a jolt in his life in a certain birth. And…till the time we achieve our goal of perfection, we keep coming in this world again and again.

But, is there really some God?

Of course yes! There is God. You may call it by different names. Those who do not believe in it call it nature or an intelligent force working in this universe. Its just like asking if anyone of us have a father? The proof is our existence in this world.

What is the secret of life and death? What happens when a person is dead?

It seems that birth is the beginning of life and death the end. Yet it is difficult to distinguish one from the other, just like the evening time which seems to be the end of the day but is the beginning of the night. Man does not know what he was before this life, whether he had any existence and in which form, from where he has come and for what purpose, where he will go when the end of his life comes. He is in ignorance in life as well as death. Life is in existence not in the body alone. When we die, the components of our body mingle with the five tatwas and the real self viz. the soul is released. This soul takes another body, depending upon the past actions of life. In fact nothing gets destroyed in nature and only the form changes. When the soul separates from the body at the time of death, it becomes a separate entity. The actual nature of soul is pure and bliss. It seems miserable and impure because of illusions of this materialistic world. When by meditation and self-realisation, the real soul is understood, eternal rest or Moksha is achieved. The journey of life continues till the purpose of existence is not attained. Till all the desires are not destroyed, the soul has to come again and again in new forms in this world to fulfil the left over desires and results of karma.

Where is God? Why can’t we see him?

God is everywhere and in everything we see in this Universe. You can compare him with a seed from which a tree has grown. What we can see is the bark of the tree, the leaves, the flowers and the fruits. We cannot see the seed which is hidden from our eyes. But it does not mean that the seed is not there. This Universe has been created by Him; which we can see. One God has manifested Himself into many forms. Leaves, fruits, branches of the tree, everything is a manifestation of the seed. We cannot see Him because we want to see Him with our limited five senses. We cannot know Him because we want to know Him by our limited intelligence and intellect. We work with our conscious mind and reason in our limited sphere. But beyond the conscious mind, we have an unconscious and a superconscious mind. Superconscious state comes only when we attain Samadhi. All the knowledge beyond our reasons and our five senses come to us when we are in this Superconscious state. It is then when we experience God and know many answers to other important facts. We start towards the path of God only when we go beyond our reasoning power. Those who wish to see Him or experience Him without making any effort are trying to see the picture on a TV screen without putting up any Antenna.

Keep reading for more, or write back for any doubts you have, for any questions you need to be answered, because we all have questions that we need answers for!