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The whole process of spiritual self-realization involves not only understanding who we are, but also what our relationship is with the Supreme, beginning with the Super soul. Yoga is the system by which we regain our forgotten relationship with the Super soul, the localized expansion of the Supreme Being within our hearts.
As we had pointed out earlier in this chapter, one of the big questions among philosophers and scientists was how there could be such interaction between consciousness (the self) and the body. By what mechanism does consciousness interact so wonderfully with the body/machine and yet not be a part of the machine?
Before answering this we should point out that modern scientists have a fundamental problem they should answer in order to prove their theory that there is no separate self and that the body is nothing but a machine. For example, the embryo begins as a one-celled organism and then starts dividing. Over a period of nine months, billions and billions of cells come into existence. Almost all of the brain cells come into existence while we are in the womb. So this happens very quickly. So by what mechanism do these brain cells know with what to connect? How is it that one billion or more neurons, tiny little brain cells, manage to combine together in exactly the right sequence and connect with the right neuron in a perfect pattern, which if formed otherwise would leave the brain useless?
More importantly, what is it that makes all these individual brain cells create an integrated awareness? What creates the consciousness of "I am," or "I am thinking," or "I am desiring"? What brings it all together in one consciousness? If this body is only a machine, how could it have an ego? These are the questions to the problems which scientists must try to answer. Otherwise, they should set aside their unproven theories and research the Vedic version. At least then they would have a foundation upon which to base their experiments instead of relying on their continually changing speculations.
Science is always looking for something that unifies everything--the grand unified theory. They think that will be the origin from which everything else separates, including electromagnetism, gravity, and so on. Actually, a few scientists, quantum mathematicians especially, are beginning to realize that consciousness is not a mechanistic element. And if it is not mechanistic, it would mean that it is not material and, therefore, not subject to being created or destroyed as are other material elements. Thus, consciousness would also not be subject to evolutionary change and development as some philosophers, such as Darwin, have theorized. If such is the case, it would also indicate that consciousness exists both before and after the creation and annihilation of the material cosmic manifestation, what to speak of both before and after the birth and death of the material body.
The next question would be, "Where is the ultimate source and cause of consciousness?" If there is a powerful source, or a Supreme Consciousness, how do we find out about it since it would be unlimited compared to our own tiny power of consciousness? And if our own consciousness has desires and feelings and personality, then why would it be surprising if the Supreme Consciousness and source of everything, the Absolute, is also a person with a personality in the form of the Supreme Being and Supersoul? This Supreme Person, with super consciousness, would therefore be the source of everything else. The fact is the Vedic literature provides descriptions of this Supreme Being.
The Vedic texts establish that the substance in which everything is unified is called the Paramatma, Super or Universal Consciousness. Just as our individual consciousness unifies all our tasting, hearing, seeing, feeling, and willing into one collective experience, so the universal consciousness unifies and is aware of everything within the universe. It is this universal consciousness that exists within each of us which integrates the individual soul with the body.
To begin establishing what the integrating mechanism is, the Vedic literature explains that in addition to the conscious self that is existing within the body, there is also a higher principle of consciousness--Superconsciousness or Supersoul. So on one side you have the gross material body, including the brain and senses, along with the subtle body of mind, intelligence and false ego. On the other side you have the conscious self or spirit soul. Then what integrates the self and makes it so attuned to the gross and subtle body is that which is between them, known as the Supersoul.
So this Superconsciousness or Supersoul is able to unify the machinery of the body and the conscious self. Without the presence of the Supersoul, it is not possible. In other words, the conscious self is dependent on the Superself for it to have the power to use its body, brain, and intelligence. Otherwise, the soul is simply existing within the body without any means of interacting or expressing itself through the vehicle of the body. In this way, the Supersoul gives us the power to move our body or think with our brain or have a collective consciousness that extends throughout the body.
Another example is what is called inspiration. Many great achievements, either in science or the arts, come from what is called inspiration. Mozart once described how he created his music. He explained that sometimes he would walk along and suddenly from outside himself music would start coming into his ears and forming musical arrangements to which he would just listen. Also, in the sciences, a scientist may labor and struggle with his equations and formulas, but just cannot get it right. Then he goes off somewhere, and then out of the blue the answer comes.
Many great men who have given the world its greatest gifts in music, art, and science say that many of their achievements have come to them from some outside source--through inspiration. The Vedic literature explains that this is an example of the Supersoul, the principle of a higher universal consciousness which integrates and connects the conscious self to intelligence, the brain, and senses. Without the presence of the Supersoul, there would be no integration at all. This is the Vedic philosophy. And whether one accepts or rejects it, no one else, not even modern science, has any better explanation of these things.
The Vedic philosophy also establishes that consciousness is something non-mechanistic and irreducible, meaning that it does not come from chemicals, nor can it be broken down into subparts. The conscious self is an irreducible particle of spirit within the body. So if we accept that there is something in nature which is conscious, a particle of consciousness, and another particle which is super consciousness, which are both irreducible, we have a complete system for explaining consciousness. We have a system which explains the interaction between the self and the brain. We have an explanation for how the brain cells and bodily organs are actually organized together during the embryo's development under the direction of the higher consciousness, being designed rather than happening randomly. And we have an explanation for all the things science is trying to explain.
Once these Vedic explanations are understood, and once people become aware of the self by direct perception, which they can experience and verify for themselves through the higher Vedic science and yoga, people will ultimately come to the knowledge that the self has a very special relationship with the Super-self or Universal Consciousness. This is what is integrating everything within the body as well as the universe. This level of awareness has been achieved by many mystics and yogis for thousands of years. It is certainly nothing new. So through this Vedic process, we can actually begin to understand and then reach the stage of perfect realization of who we are and what our real relationship is with this world and the Absolute.
DESCRIPTION OF THE SUPERSOUL
According to the Vedic texts, the Supersoul is the plenary expansion of God, who is situated within the body. How we begin to understand and perceive the Supersoul is described in Bhagavad-gita by Sri Krishna: "I shall now explain the knowable, knowing which you will taste the eternal. This is beginningless, and it is subordinate to Me. It is called Brahman, the spirit, and it lies beyond the cause and effect of this material world. Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes and faces, and He hears everything. In this way the Supersoul exists. The Supersoul is the original source of all senses, yet He is without [material] senses. He is unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living beings. He transcends the modes of nature, and at the same time He is the master of all modes of material nature. The Supreme Truth exists both internally and externally, in the moving and nonmoving. He is beyond the power of the material senses to see or to know. Although far, far away, He is also near to all. Although the Supersoul appears to be divided, He is never divided. He is situated as one. Although He is the maintainer of every living entity, it is to be understood that He devours all and develops all. He is the source of light in all luminous objects. He is beyond the darkness of matter and is unmanifested. He is knowledge, He is the object of knowledge, and He is the goal of knowledge. He is situated in everyone's heart." (Bg.13.13-18)
"In this body there is another, a transcendental enjoyer who is the Lord, the supreme proprietor, who exists as the overseer and permitter, and who is known as the Supersoul. That Supersoul is perceived by some through meditation, by some through the cultivation of knowledge, and by others through working without fruitive desire. Again there are those who, although not conversant in spiritual knowledge, begin to worship the Supreme Person upon hearing about Him from others. Because of their tendency to hear from authorities, they also transcend the path of birth and death. One who sees the Supersoul accompanying the individual soul in all bodies and who understands that neither the soul nor the Supersoul is ever destroyed actually sees. One who sees the Supersoul in every living being and equal everywhere does not degrade himself by his mind. Thus he approaches the transcendental destination." (Bg.13.23,25-26,28-29)
The Supersoul is here explained to be eternal, completely spiritual, the source of everything, and expanded everywhere, yet dwelling within the hearts of everyone. He is the source of all light and knowledge and the goal of all knowledge. Although the Supersoul appears to be divided by expanding into the Paramatma form situated within the hearts of every living being, He is still existing as the one Absolute Truth. This is confirmed in the following verses: "Physical nature is known to be endlessly mutable. The universe is the cosmic form of the Supreme Lord, and I [Sri Krishna] am that Lord represented as the Supersoul, dwelling in the heart of every embodied being." (Bg.8.4)
"The one Supreme Lord is situated within all material bodies and within everyone's soul. Just as the moon is reflected in innumerable reservoirs of water, the Supreme Lord, although one, is present within everyone. Thus every material body is ultimately composed of the energy of the one Supreme Lord." (Bhag.11.18.32) "The Supreme Personality of Godhead has created many residential places like the bodies of human beings, animals, birds, saints, and demigods. In all these innumerable bodily forms, the Lord resides with the living beings as Paramatma. Thus He is known as the purushavatara." (Bhag.7.14.37)
"As the one sun appears reflected in countless jewels, so Govinda manifests Himself [as Paramatma] in the hearts of all living beings." (Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi.2.19) The material bodies of the living entity, although seeming to appear in different sizes and shapes, are nonetheless all made of the same basic ingredients, namely earth, air, water, etc. By understanding that within the body exists the spirit soul along with the Supersoul, there is no reason to disrespect anyone. Every living entity is spiritually part and parcel of the Supreme, and the Supreme is situated within the heart next to each of His spiritual parts and parcels. The difference is that the individual soul is situated within only one body and cannot understand what is going on in the bodies and minds of others. The Supersoul, however, is present in everyone's body and knows quite well what is happening in the minds and bodies of everyone.
How to perceive the Supersoul is through one of three ways: by perfection in meditation, by cultivation of knowledge, or by engaging in the process of yoga. Others can understand the Supersoul by hearing from spiritual authorities. In any case, if one attains such spiritual vision he will actually see things as they are and the transcendental destination then becomes achievable.
Further ways of recognizing how the Supersoul integrates the body and soul are described in the Taittiriya Upanishad (3.10.2). It is pointed out that one can perceive the Supersoul by the action of speech, as action in the hands, and walking in the feet and other bodily activities. This is further substantiated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.2.35) where it states: "The Personality of Godhead Lord Sri Krishna is in every living being along with the individual soul. And this fact is perceived and hypothesized in our acts of seeing and taking help from intelligence." Therefore, through the Vedic literature we can understand that the unifying factor between the desires of the self and the response of the brain and body to our desires can be recognized as the power of the Supersoul within.
The size, shape, and dress of the Supersoul, who is realized and seen by those sages who have reached the goal of knowledge through yoga, is also described in Srimad-Bhagavatam as follows: "Others conceive of the Personality of Godhead residing within the [human] body in the region of the heart and measuring only eight inches, with four hands carrying a lotus, a chakra, a conchshell and a club respectively. His mouth expresses His happiness. His eyes spread like the petals of a lotus, and His garments, yellowish like the saffron of the kadamba flower, are bedecked with valuable jewels. His ornaments are all made of gold, set with jewels, and He wears a glowing head-dress and earrings. His lotus feet are placed over the whorls of the lotus-like hearts of great mystics. On His chest is the Kaustubha jewel, engraved with a beautiful calf, and there are other jewels on His shoulders. His complete torso is garlanded with fresh flowers. He is well decorated with an ornamental wreath about His waist and rings studded with valuable jewels on His fingers. His leglets, His bangles, His oiled hair, curling with a bluish tint, and His beautiful smiling face are all very pleasing. The Lord's magnanimous pastimes and the glowing glancing of His smiling face are all indications of His extensive benedictions. One must therefore concentrate on this transcendental form of the Lord, as long as the mind can be fixed on Him by meditation." (Bhag.2.2.8- 12)
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SOUL AND SUPERSOUL
The relationship between the soul and the Supersoul is a very special one, although the materially conditioned beings within the cosmic manifestation are unaware of it. In the Vedic literature one can find descriptions which give detailed information as to what is that relationship. For example, the Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.11.6-7) states: "By chance, two birds have made a nest together in the same tree [of the material body]. The two birds are friends and are of similar nature. One of them, however, is eating the fruits of the tree, whereas the other, who does not eat the fruits, is in a superior position, due to His potency. The bird who does not eat the fruits of the tree is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who by His omniscience perfectly understands His own position and that of the conditioned living entity, represented by the eating bird. That living entity, on the other hand, does not understand himself or the Lord. He is covered by ignorance and is thus called eternally conditioned, whereas the Personality of Godhead, being full of perfect knowledge, is eternally liberated."
The Supersoul knows exactly what His position is as well as that of the living entity. But the living entity is not aware of the glories of his spiritual nature and, therefore, tries to attain happiness by tasting the sweet and bitter fruits of bodily pleasures. These sweet and bitter fruits cause the living entity to feel happiness as well as sorrow. But this anxiety can be put to an end if the soul looks toward the Supersoul, as explained in the Svetasvatara Upanishad (4.6-7): "Although the two birds are in the same tree, the eating bird is fully engrossed with anxiety and moroseness as the enjoyer of the fruits of the tree. But if in some way or other he turns his face to his friend who is the Lord and knows His glories--at once the suffering bird becomes free from all anxieties."
Similar descriptions are found in the Mundaka Upanishad (3.1.1-3) and Katha Upanishad (1.2.20). These descriptions point out that the living entity can get relief from all temporary pleasures and problems by looking toward his friend next to him, the Supersoul. The living entity is desiring different kinds of situations and is completely dependent on the Supersoul to empower him with the ability to perform actions with the body in hopes of achieving various desires. Therefore, the Bhagavad-gita states: "The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy." (Bg.18.61)
The Supersoul guides the individual souls, although He does not personally take part in fulfilling their desires. He arranges the fulfillment of such desires by the workings of material nature. The living entities are independent in the respect that they are free to desire whatever they want. Only the Supreme allows them to fulfill their desires, but the Supreme is never responsible for the actions and reactions of the situations, which may be desired by the living entities. In other words, as the living beings pursue their various desires by the power the Supersoul has given them, they must realize that this universe is governed by certain laws which the Supreme has established. If we perform activities that break those laws, particular reactions will automatically follow. The Lord is neutral to everyone and does not interfere with the desires of the living beings. We, therefore, cannot blame God for those reactions that we will have to endure which were caused by our own unlawful desires. And, as they say, ignorance of the law is no excuse.
Because of their various good or bad activities, the living entities get what they deserve and are carried by the material energy to either happiness or misery. A person may not remember all of his or her good or evil deeds, but the Supersoul can remember everything we have done either in this life or any other previous life. The Supreme, through previously established universal laws, thus causes material nature automatically to award or punish the living beings accordingly. Therefore, one Vedic hymn states: "The Lord engages the living entity in pious activities so he may be elevated. The Lord engages one in impious activities so he may go to hell. The living entity is completely dependent in one's distress and happiness. By the will of the Supreme one can go to heaven or hell as a cloud is driven by the air." A similar statement is also found in the Kaushitaki Upanishad (3.8). In this way, the Supreme guides the living beings according to their desires and witnesses all the activities that they perform.
Through all this enjoyment or suffering, the Supersoul is the individual soul's constant companion. As previously stated, if the living beings, after becoming exhausted from the continuous ups and downs of happiness and distress, look toward their friend the Supersoul, they can be relieved from all suffering. At that time, the Supersoul helps the conditioned soul by giving real intelligence for understanding one's ever-blissful, spiritual position. However, the ability for one to perceive the Supersoul depends on one's sincerity to advance spiritually: "O King Yudhisthira, the Supersoul in every body gives intelligence to the individual soul according to his capacity for understanding. Therefore, the Supersoul is the chief within the body. The Supersoul is manifested to the individual soul according to the individual's comparative development of knowledge, austerity, penance, and so on." (Bhag.7.14.38)
It has been said that for every step we take toward the Supreme, He takes ten steps toward us. We could actually experience His concern for us if we, by putting our sincerity into action, develop knowledge of our spiritual position by studying the Vedic literature and by purifying our consciousness through the practice of yoga. By such practices, we can understand the message the Supersoul is giving us when we feel discontent with our present situation. Every so often, we feel our conscience asking us, "Do you think you should be doing this? Have you really found what you're looking for? Are you satisfied yet?" This is simply the Supersoul within whom, if we were more aware, would give us a more direct message, such as the following: "Sometimes you think yourself a man, sometimes a chaste woman or sometimes a neutral eunuch. This is all because of the body, which is created by the illusory energy. This illusory energy is My potency, and actually both of us--you and I--are pure spiritual identities. Now just try to understand this. I am trying to explain our factual position. My dear friend, I, the Supersoul, and you, the individual soul, are not different in quality, for we are both spiritual. In fact, My dear friend, you are qualitatively not different from Me in your constitutional position. Just try to consider this subject. Those who are actually advanced scholars, who are in knowledge, do not find any qualitative difference between you and Me." (Bhag.4.28.61-62)
Here we find that the Supersoul is always encouraging us to look toward Him for guidance, and to understand our real identity as a spiritual being, beyond the temporary body and its trials and tribulations. The living being is qualitatively the same as the Supreme, but in quantity the Lord is infinite and the living entity is very small. Thus, the finite entity can be overcome and bewildered by the material energy and needs help from the omnipotent Supersoul in every situation.
"In this way, both swans live together in the heart. When the one swan is instructed by the other, he is situated in his constitutional position. This means he regains his original Krishna consciousness, which was lost because of his material attraction." (Bhag.4.28.64)
Hari Om and Hari bol
NB: The above article is an extract from "The Secret Teachings of the Vedas". By Stephen Knapp