Secrets of the Soul 6

nāsato vidyate bhāvo
nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ
ubhayor api dṛṣṭo ’ntas
tv anayos tattva-darśibhiḥ

“Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent there is no endurance and of the eternal there is no cessation. Seers have concluded this by studying the nature of both.” [Bhagavad-gita 2.16]

This is a very important sloka of Bhagavad-gita. We refer to it often, because it summarizes the difference between the material and spiritual natures. If we observe that something is changing, going through various transformations in time, then it must be material. Everything truly spiritual is eternal and unchanging, while the temporary material existence is in constant flux.

There is no endurance of the changing material body. That the body is changing every moment by the actions and reactions of different chemical reactions in its cells is confirmed by modern medical science; thus birth, growth and aging of the body take place. But the spirit soul exists permanently, remaining the same despite all changing circumstances of the body and mind. That is the difference between matter and spirit. By nature the body is ever-changing and the soul is eternal and unchanging. This conclusion is accepted by all classes of transcendentalists, both the impersonalists and personalists.

The constitutional nature of the spirit soul is eternal. That is accepted by all philosophers, both personalist and impersonalist. The difference is that the impersonalist hypothesizes that after liberation, the spirit soul merges with the Supreme Soul, becoming all-pervading without any individual existence. They give the analogy that the small amount of sky within a pitcher or pot mixes with the big sky when it is broken.

But any analogy holds true only if it accurately models the actual situation. Comparing the sky within the pot with the spirit soul is invalid, because the spirit soul is always an individual with his own identity. We remain the same individuals that we were in babyhood, childhood and adolescence, despite the changes of the material body. The spirit soul is always the same individual, even after the death of the material body; even after liberation, he remains the same person.

The Esoteric Teaching says that the soul is always an individual person. So he cannot mix with the totality of spirit, but keeps his individuality eternally. It gives the analogy of a green parrot entering a green tree. When the bird enters the tree, nobody can see where the bird is, because the leaves of the tree are green and the bird is also green. But that does not mean the bird has lost its individuality. Its individuality remains, but we do not have the power to observe it.

Just like when we see an airplane flying in the sky, if it goes too far away, it seems to us that the airplane has disappeared and merged with the sky. Actually, of course, it has not; its separate individual existence is still there. It is a limitation of our perception that we see it has merged with the sky. Similarly, in the daytime we can’t see any stars in the sky due to the dazzling effulgence of the sunshine. But that is just an artifact of our limited perception; it does not mean the stars have merged with the sky. At night we can see millions of stars, because in the absence of proximity to the sun, we can perceive their individuality.

Similarly, the impersonalists think that when the spirit soul attains liberation, he merges with the Supersoul; but this erroneous impression is due simply to the limitations of their spiritual perception. However, a student of the Esoteric Teaching can clearly perceive the eternal relationship between the soul and the Supersoul, whether the soul is in the conditioned or liberated stage of spiritual life. This is because one whose spiritual realization is perfect is never bewildered by the dazzling effulgence of the Supreme. The Vedas also confirm this conclusion:

pusann ekarse yama surya prajapatya
vyuha rasmin samuha
tejo yat te rupam kalyana-tamam
tat te pasyami yo ’sav asau purusah so ’ham asmi

“O my Lord, O primeval philosopher, maintainer of the universe, O regulating principle, destination of the pure devotees, well-wisher of the progenitors of mankind, please remove the effulgence of Your transcendental rays so that I can see Your form of bliss. You are the eternal Supreme Personality of Godhead, like unto the sun, as am I.” [Sri Isopanisad, Mantra 16]

The author of Isopanisad is petitioning the Lord that “Please withdraw Your effulgence so that I can see Your real face.” Just like we cannot see the sun globe perfectly, due to the dazzling sunshine. The sunshine is different from the sun globe, although they are related as cause and effect. But we perceive them as one due to the limitations of our vision. Similarly, our first impression of the Supreme, Brahman, is similar to the glaring sunshine. It is so bright that we think that liberated souls merge into it. But when we become further advanced, in addition to the individual soul, we will realize the Supersoul, and when still further advanced, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa.

vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam
brahmeti paramātmeti
bhagavān iti śabdyate

“Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramatma or Bhagavan.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.11]

The first level of realization is Brahman, the impersonal Absolute Truth; the second level realization is Paramatma, the Supersoul; and the highest, most complete realization is the personal form of God, Visnu or Kṛṣṇa.

This truth also has been established in the Visnu Purana. Visnur brahma-svarupena svayam eva vyavasthitah: Visnu and His abodes all have self-illuminated spiritual existence. Brahman’s real feature is Visnu, or the Supreme Brahman is Visnu. Svayam eva: that is His personal feature. The supreme spiritual conception is the self-effulgent Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gita:

na tad bhāsayate sūryo
na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ
yad gatvā na nivartante
tad dhāma paramaṁ mama

“That supreme abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by fire or electricity. Those who reach it never return to this material world.” [Bhagavad-gita 15.6]

The words existent and nonexistent in Bhagavad-gita 2.16 refer only to spirit and matter. That is the version of all seers of truth. This section of Bhagavad-gita is the beginning of the Esoteric Teaching, transcendental instructions by the Lord to the living entities who are bewildered by the influence of ignorance. Removal of this ignorance means reestablishment of the eternal relationship between the worshiper and the worshipable Lord, and the consequent realization of the difference between the living entities and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This difference is primarily quantitative: we are limited, but the Lord is not.

Therefore one can understand the nature of the Supreme by thorough study of oneself. The difference between oneself and the Supreme Being should be understood as the relationship between the part and the whole, the finite spirit soul and the infinite Spirit Whole. In the Vedic scripture Vedanta-sutra and its original commentary Srimad-Bhagavatam, the Supreme is described as the origin of all emanations. The emanations of the divine are categorized as superior and inferior energies, or spiritual and material natures. The living entity belongs to the superior spiritual nature. Although there is no fundamental qualitative difference between the energy and the energetic, the energetic is the Supreme and the emanated energy, or nature, is His subordinate creation.

The constitutional position of the living entities therefore is always to be subordinate to the Supreme Lord, as the master and the servant, or the teacher and the taught. Such clear knowledge is impossible to grasp under the spell of ignorance. To drive away such ignorance, the Lord gives the Esoteric Teaching in Vedic scriptures such as Bhagavad-gita, for the spiritual enlightenment of all beings for all time.

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