How is Soul defined in the East?

The majority of Eastern teachings (who follow Adi Shankara) believe that there is only one real Self. The concept of jiva-Atma in Sanskrit, or (individualized soul identifying oneself with body without realizing the true Self) is probably closer to the Christian concept of soul. There can-be or are more than one soul in Christianity. In the Eastern teaching, there is only one Atman (soul), which it the same as Brahman (God).

How is soul defined in Kriya Yoga?

Before creation existed there was Cosmic Consciousness: Spirit or God, the Absolute, ever-Existing, ever-Conscious, ever-new Bliss beyond form and manifestation. When creation came into being, Cosmic Consciousness “descended” into the physical universe where it manifests as Christ Consciousness: the omnipresent pure reflection of God’s intelligence and consciousness inherent and hidden within all creation.

When the Christ Consciousness descends into the physical body of man it becomes soul, or super consciousness: the ever-Existing, ever-Conscious, ever-new Bliss of God individualized by encasement in the body. When the soul becomes identified with the body, it manifests as ego, or mortal consciousness. Yoga teaches that the soul must climb back up the ladder of consciousness to Spirit. The soul is not slain when the body dies; and even when the soul returns to Spirit, it does not lose its identity, but will exist unto everlastingness.

"A soul, being invisible by nature, can be distinguished only by the presence of its body or bodies."

Hence, Yoga teaches that the abode of the soul of man’s life and divine consciousness is in the subtle spiritual centers in the brain: the Sahasrara, or thousand-petaled lotus at the top of the cerebrum,the seat of cosmic consciousness; Kutastha, at the point between the eyebrows, seat of Christ consciousness; and the medullary center (connected by polarity to the Kutastha), seat of super consciousness. Descending into the body (and body-consciousness) from these centers of highest spiritual perception, life and consciousness flow down the spine, passing through five astral spinal centers, chakras and branching outward into the physical organs of life, into sensory perception, and action.

To regain the blissful realization of its oneness with God, the soul of man must retrace its downward course, ascending by the sacred spinal route to its home in the higher cerebral centers of divine awareness.

What is the nature of the Soul in Sankhya philosophy? Sankhya fundamental idea is about Spirit and Nature or in Sanskrit Purusha and Prakriti.

Sankhya stops with the duality of existence, Nature and souls, soul as an individualized unit of Spirit. There are an infinite number of souls, which cannot die, and must therefore be separate from Nature. Nature in itself changes and manifests all these phenomena; the soul is inactive. It just is and Nature works out all these phenomena for the liberation of the soul; and the soul realizing that it is not Nature.

Every soul is omnipresent and cannot be limited, because all limitation comes either through time, space, or causation. The soul being entirely beyond these cannot have any limitation. To have limitation one must be in space, which means the body; and that which is body must be in Nature. If the soul had form, it would be identified with Nature; therefore the soul is formless, and that which is formless cannot be said to exist here, there, or anywhere. It must be omnipresent.

Just as Sankhya says, it requires some sentient Being with power, which makes the mind think and Nature work, because Nature in all its modifications, from gross matter up to Intelligence (Mahat in Sanskrit), is simply insentient.

The Vedantist (end of the Vedas) says, this sentient Being which is behind the whole universe is what we call God, and consequently this universe is not different from Him. It is He Himself who has become this universe. He not only is the efficient or instrumental cause of this universe, but also the material cause. Cause is never different from effect, the effect is but the cause reproduced in another form. We see that every day. Example: the ocean is the cause of the wave, but all is water.

So this Being is the cause of Nature. All the forms and phases of Vedanta, either dualistic, or qualified-monistic, or monistic, first take the position that God is not only the efficient or instrumental, but also the material cause of this universe, that everything which exists is He.

The second step in Vedanta is that these souls are also a part of God, one spark of that Infinite Fire. "As from a mass of fire millions of small particles fly, even so from this Ancient One have come all these souls."

What is meant by a part of the Infinite? The Infinite is indivisible; there cannot be parts of the Infinite. The Absolute cannot be divided. What is meant, therefore, by saying that all these sparks are from Him? The Advaitist, the non-dualistic Vedantist, solves the problem by maintaining that there is really no part; that each soul is really not a part of the Infinite, but actually it is the Infinite.

Then how can there be so many? All these souls are but reflections and not real, not the real "I" which is the God of this universe, the one undivided Being of the universe. And all these little different beings, men and animals etc. are but reflections, and not real. They are simply illusory reflections upon Nature.

There is but one Infinite Being in the universe, and that Being appears as you and me; but this appearance of divisions is after all a delusion. He has not been divided, but only appears to be divided. This apparent division is caused by looking at Him through the network of time, space, and causation. When we look at God through the network of time, space, and causation, we see Him as the material world. When we look at Him from a higher plane, we see Him as the One Infinite Being of the universe, and that Being we are also. Thou art Tat (that). Not parts of It, but the whole of It. "It is the Eternal Knower standing behind the whole phenomena; He Himself is the phenomena." He is both the subject and the object; He is the you and me.

How to know the Knower?

The Knower cannot know Himself; I see everything but cannot see myself. The Self, the Knower, the Lord of all, the Real Being, is the cause of all the vision that is in the universe, but it is impossible for Him to see Himself or know Himself, excepting through reflection.

We cannot see our own face except in a mirror, and so the Self cannot see Its own nature until It is reflected, and this whole universe therefore is the Self trying to realize Itself. The highest reflection of that Being is both subject and object. We now see why we instinctively worship everything, and how perfect men and women are instinctively worshipped as God in every country. That is why we worship Incarnations, such as Christ, Krishna or Buddha. They are the most perfect manifestations of the eternal Self. They are much higher than all the concepts we have. In the perfect man the circle becomes complete; the subject and the object become one. In him all delusions go away and in their place come the realization that he has always been that perfect Being.

What caused man to be in bondage? How was it possible for this perfect Being to degenerate into the imperfect? How was it possible that the free became bound? The Advaitist says, he was never bound, but was always free. So in our innermost being we are eternally perfect. Nothing ever changes our nature, or ever will. All these ideas that we are imperfect, a man, a woman,  a sinner, the mind we think ourselves to be, are all hallucinations; we never think, we never had a body; we never were imperfect. We are the blessed Lord of this universe, the one Almighty ruler of everything that is and ever will be, the one mighty ruler of these suns and stars and moons and earths and planets and all the little bits of our universe. We are the all and in all. When this knowledge comes all delusion immediately vanishes.

Delusion binds us when we take for real that which is unreal. Only that which never changes is Ultimately Real. However, as long as we see the world around us with our ego, we think our sense perceptions and the world around us to be real. Upon realizing the Truth all illusions will vanish, melt away. This is realization. Philosophy is no joke or talk, it has to be realized. This body will vanish, this earth and everything will vanish, this idea that I am the body or the mind will in time vanish, or if the Karma is ended it will disappear, never to come back. When we reach the state where we perceive that which we now see as real, as being unreal that which our sense perception currently cannot grasp as Real, we are free, a Jivanmukta or liberated soul, free even while living in this body. The aim and end in this life for the Jnana Yogi is to become this Jivanmukta or liberated soul, who can live in this world without being attached. He is the highest of human beings, the highest of all beings, for he has realized his identity with the Absolute, he has realized that he is one with God.

As long as we think we are even the least difference from God, we will experience fear, but when we realize that we are one with the One, all fear vanishes. Being That, we are always That. What then will become of the world? What good shall we do to the world? It has no existence in the past, present, or future. If we have known the Self as It is, if we know that there is nothing else but this Self, that everything else is but a dream, with no existence in reality, then this world with its poverties, its miseries, its wickedness, and its goodness will cease to disturb us.

If they do not exist, from whom and for what can we be disturbed? We must dare to be free, dare to go as far as our thoughts lead us, and dare live accordingly. This body is not who we are; it must go. Not being the body we may declare, "I am not the body, therefore my headache must be cured"; but where is the headache, it is in the body.  Let a thousand headaches and a thousand bodies come and go. What is that to me? I have neither birth nor death; I am Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute.

I am He, I am He. Who shall blame whom, who praise whom? Whom to seek, whom to avoid? I seek none, nor avoid any, for I am all, the universe. I praise myself, I blame myself, I suffer for myself, I am happy at my own will, I am free. This is the Jnani, the brave and daring. Let the whole universe tumble down; he smiles and says it never existed, it was all a hallucination, a dream. Where was it! Where has it gone? This state is experienced in Samadhi, in Oneness.

Before going into the practical part, let us ponder one more intellectual question. If we reason, that there is no purpose for us in this world until we comes to the realization, that there is just One Existence, and that everything else is nothing.  But how is it, that what is infinite, ever perfect, ever blessed, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute, has come under these delusions? It is a question that has been asked all the world over. Others may say, "How did sin come into this world?" This is a huge question, and the other is the most philosophic one, but the answer is the same.

The question has been asked in various ways, but in its lower forms it finds no solution, because the stories of apples and serpents and women do not give the explanation. In that state, the question is childish, and so is the answer. But the question has assumed very high proportions: "How did this illusion come?" The answer is, we cannot expect any answer to an impossible question. Why? We have first to define, what is perfection? Perfection is that which is beyond time, space, and causation, that is perfect. Then we ask how the perfect became imperfect. Another way of stating it, how did that which is beyond causation become caused?"

This question can only be asked within the limits of causation. As far as time and space and causation extend, so far can this question be asked. But beyond that we cannot go, because the question is illogical. Within time, space, and causation it can never be answered, and what answer may lie beyond these limits can only be known when we have transcended them; therefore the wise will let this question rest. When a man is ill, he devotes himself to curing his disease without insisting that he must first learn how he came to have it.

There is another form of this question, a little lower, but more practical and illustrative: What produced this delusion? Can any reality produce delusion? It certainly cannot. We see that one delusion produces another, and so on. It is delusion always that produces delusion. It is disease that produces disease, and not health that produces disease. The wave is of the same substance as the water; the effect is the cause in another form. The effect is delusion, and therefore the cause must be delusion.

We may ask what becomes of all these various forms of worship. They will remain; they are simply groping in the dark for light, and through this groping light will come. We have just seen that the Self cannot see itself. Our knowledge is within Maya (unreality), and beyond that is freedom. Within the Maya is slavery, it is all under law; beyond that there is no law. So far as the universe is concerned, existence is ruled by law, and beyond that is freedom. As long as we are in time, space, and causation, to say we are free is nonsense, because in that network all is under rigorous law, sequence, and consequence. Every thought that we think is caused, every feeling has been caused; to say that the will is free is sheer nonsense. It is only when the infinite existence comes, as it were; into Maya that it takes the form of will. Will is a portion of that being, caught in the network of Maya, and therefore "free will" is a misnomer. It means nothing, sheer nonsense. So is all this talk about freedom. There is no freedom in Maya or in the phenomenal world.

There is no freedom in this world until we go beyond Maya. That is the real freedom of the soul. Men, however sharp and intellectual, however clearly they see the force of the logic that nothing here can be free, are all compelled to think they are free; they cannot help it. No work can go on until we begin to say, we are free. It means that the freedom we talk about is the glimpse of the blue sky through the clouds and that the real freedom, the blue sky itself, is behind. True freedom cannot exist in the midst of this delusion, this hallucination, this nonsense of the world, this universe of the senses, body, and mind. All these dreams, without beginning or end, uncontrolled and uncontrollable, ill-adjusted, broken, inharmonious, form our idea of this universe. Within Maya, so far as this law of time, space and causation exists, there is no freedom; and all these various forms of worship are within this Maya. The idea of God and the ideas of brute and of man are within this Maya, and as such are equally hallucinations; all of them are dreams.

But we must take care not to argue like some men who say that the idea of God is a delusion, but the idea of this world is true. Both ideas stand or fall by the same logic. He alone has the right to be an atheist who denies this world, as well as the other. The same argument is for both. The same mass of delusion extends from God to the lowest animal, from a blade of grass to the Creator. They stand or fall by the same logic. The same person who sees falsity in the idea of God ought also to see it in the idea of his own body or his own mind.

When God vanishes, then also vanish the body and mind; and when both vanish, that which is the Real Existence remains forever. "There the eyes cannot go, nor the speech, nor the mind. We cannot see it, neither know it." And we now understand that so far as speech and thought and knowledge and intellect go, it is all within this Maya within bondage. Beyond that is Reality, where no thought, no mind, or speech can reach.

So far the topics are all intellectual, but now we come to the practice. The real work is in the practice. Are any practices necessary to realize this Oneness? They certainly are. It is not that we become this Infinite; we are already that. It is not that we are going to become God or perfect; we are already perfect; and whenever we think we are not, we are in delusion. This delusion which says that we are a certain man or women can be replaced by another delusion, and that is practice. Fire will eat fire, and we can use one delusion to conquer another delusion. One cloud will come and brush away another cloud, and then both will go away. What are these practices then? We must always bear in mind that we are not going to be free, but are free already. Every idea that we are bound is a delusion. Every idea that we are happy or unhappy is a tremendous delusion; another delusion is that we work and worship and struggle to be free.

There are people for whom it is sufficient knowledge to hear, "Thou art That" (you are that). With a flash this universe goes away and the real nature shines, but others have to struggle hard to get rid of this idea of bondage.

We may ask who is fit to become Jnana-Yogis? Those who are prepared to follow these steps: First, renunciation of all fruits of work and of all enjoyments in this life or another life. If we are the creator of this universe, whatever we desire we will have, because we will create it for ourselves. It is only a question of time. Some get it immediately; with others the past Samskaras (mental impressions) stand in the way of fulfilling their desires.

But what are we doing? We give first place to desires for enjoyment, either in this or another life. Deny that there is any life at all; because life is only another name for death. Deny that we are a living beings. Who cares for life? Life is one of these hallucinations, and death is its counterpart. Joy is one part of these hallucinations, and misery the other part, and so on. What have we to do with life or death ? These are all creations of the mind. This is called giving up desires of enjoyment either in this life or another.

Then comes controlling the mind, calming it so that it will not break into waves and have all sorts of desires, holding the mind steady, not allowing it to get into waves from external or internal causes, controlling the mind perfectly, just by the power of will. The Jnana-Yogi adopts philosophic reasoning, knowledge, and his own will, these are the instrumentalities he believes in. Next is forbearance, bearing all miseries without murmuring, without complaining. What is heat? What is cold? Let things come and go, what is that to me, I am not the body. It is hard to believe this in the West, but it is better to know that it is done. People need to be brave to think and act out their philosophy. "I am Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute; I am He, I am He."Cling to the highest form of spirituality. What is religion? To pray, "Give me this and that"? Foolish ideas of religion! Those who believe them have no true idea of God and soul. Ultimately, we need to go beyond all names and forms. Let the whole universe vanish, and stand alone. "I am Existence-Absolute, Knowledge-Absolute, Bliss-Absolute; I am He, I am He."

No doubt we recognize from these descriptions that there are different descriptions of the soul and Ultimate Reality. Thus we need to find a common link between the teachings.

We need to view the issue from a non dualistic and a dualistic perspective. Non-duality or Monism says:” Brahman (God) only exists and what we experience is only a reflection of Brahman, just as the Moon reflects the Sun. In non duality there exist not several fundamentally distinct principles, such as the Prakriti and the Purusha of the Sankhya Philosophy, but there exists only one all-embracing being. Advaita Vedanta taught by Sri Shankara is rigorous absolute, true spirituality. The teachings are not based on belief.

The different yogas postulate union with the Absolute and Self Realization.

What are the basic beliefs of the East?

Here are some of the key beliefs:

    Truth is eternal. ...

    Brahman is Truth and Reality. ...

    The Vedas are the ultimate authority. ...

    Everyone should strive to achieve dharma. ...

    Individual souls are immortal. ...

The goal of the individual soul is moksha, liberation

Its primary aim, like the quest of man, is freedom from the ills of life; and it conceives of God as one who creates the world, and is yet perfectly happy and free. The God is not a "person" in the sense in which the term is ordinarily used, as a living being in human or some other tangible form, like the creatures we see but rather as a personification of absolute reality or attributes of ideal life, Sat-chit-ananda real existence, characterized by goodness, intelligence and joy; and to the extent to which a we approaches this ideal, we come nearer unto God.