Soul and Self
Our Link with the Divine

Tarnindar Singh*

* B-304 "Salvador" Shastri Nagar, "Four Bungalows", Andheri, (W) Mumbai. 400053.

@ Sri Guru Granth Sahib = SGGS

The Soul in the human body is the life-imparting force. Without the Soul, the body dies. It is also called ‘Consciousness, Spirit, ‘Atma, Jyoti’ etc. Being a part of God, the Soul contains all the infinite qualities of God. It is True, Pure, Infinite, Indestructible, etc. It has all the attributes mentioned in the ‘Mul-mantra and Jaap sahib’. Other attributes used to described God are equally applicable to the Soul. Every person has the same Soul, hence every person is connected to God. As the mind becomes pure, focused and devoted to God, the qualities of the Soul are revealed. Conversely, as the mind becomes impure, the person displays fewer divine qualities. ‘Sabh mein jyot jyot hai soi, tis de chaanan sabh mae chaanan hoi’ @(SGGS: 663; Sohila) ‘Mann tu jyot sarup hai apnaa muul pachaan,
mann, har ji tere naal hai, gurmati rang mann’ (SGGS: 441) Implying, Oh mind! recollect your origin from the Soul, which is always with you. ‘Tann mey manuaa, mann meh saachaa, so saachaa, mil saache raachaa’ (SGGS: 686) Implying that the body contains the mind. And the mind contains the Soul. By reaching the Soul, a person becomes True/Pure. ‘Aatmaa baas devas, je ko jaane bheyo. Nanak taa kaa daas hai soi niranjan deo’. (SGGS: 469, Aasa-di-Vaar:12) Implying that few understand that the Soul is God’s swarup and that God is Pure/’niranjan’ ‘Aatam ram, ram hai atam. Har paiye sabad vichara hai’. (SGGS: 1030) ‘Aatam meh ram, ram meh aatam, cheenas gur beechaaraa’ (SGGS: 1153). Both these lines indicate the congruence of Soul and God. They also explain that to reach/recognize the Soul we need ‘knowledge’. ‘Aatam cheen, param-sukh paayie’ (SGGS: 375). ‘Aap pachhaane, so sabh gunn jaanne’ (SGGS: 1056): implying that on getting established in the Soul we get eternal happiness and all qualities. ‘Jan Nanak, bin aapaa cheenai, mitey na bhram kee kaayi... Kaahe re, ban khojan jaayi’ (SGGS: 684; AK : 437), implying that only by knowing the Soul, the moss of doubts is removed.

Reason for diversity: If every person has the same Soul, why does humanity exhibit such a wide variation in their behaviour as elaborated in:

‘Asankh jap, asankh bhava...’ (SGGS: 3, Japuji, 17) and ‘Kai kot hoe pujaari, kai kot aachaar beuhaari’ (SGGS: 275, Sukhmani, 10.1)? The mind envelops the Soul. Impurities of the mind distort/block the qualities of the Soul. As the mind becomes pure, more of the divine qualities are revealed. Different people have different minds, causing different types of distortion of the Soul. Since the mind includes after effects of past births, there is a vast ‘variety’ of minds among humans.

Example: Consider a lantern. The inner flame can be compared to the Soul. The glass of the lantern can be compared to the mind. Dirt/soot on the glass can be compared to the impurities in the mind. Due to this dirt, the light of the flame does not ‘come out’ with full force/power. Similarly, due to impurities in the mind, the divine qualities of the Soul are ‘hidden’. Each person can be compared to a lantern. While the power of the inner flame is the same, there is a wide variation in the dirt on the lantern-glass. This causes variation in the behaviour of different humans.

Example: Clouds in the sky block the sunlight. Some clouds are darker, causing a darker shadow on the earth. The sun can be compared to the Soul, which is common to all. Each cloud can be compared to the state-of-mind of each person. Darker the cloud, fewer divine qualities are exhibited in that person. In the case of a [true] Saint, there is no cloud blocking/distorting the sunlight/Soul.

SGGS addresses all humanity: Gurbani is meant for every person. Since there is a wide variety in the spiritual level and intellectual/emotional make-up of humans, Gurbani uses a variety of words/examples to communicate, essentially the same message. For example: enlightenment is also termed as ‘Truth’, divinity, immortality, Perfect, Purity, ‘anand, choutha-pad, unman’, etc.

A [true] Guru has a pure mind: A [true] Guru has a pure mind, hence there is no distortion. All the infinite qualities of the Soul are revealed. His mind is permanently purified, unlike ours, which oscillates between virtue and vice. A [true] Guru can perform miracles since He is completely connected to the Cosmic Consciousness. He can correctly ‘read’ any person/situation, and can ‘see’ the past/future. He enacts God’s Will without any distortion/interference. This explains why Guru Arjun and Guru Teg Bahadur accepted their martyrdom. Because they believed that:

‘Tera kiya mitha lage,

Har naam padhaarath Nanak mange’ (SGGS: 394), and

‘Hukame andar sabh ko, bahar hukam na koi’ (SGGS: 1, Japuji, 2)

Religion guides in purifying the mind: The only goal of religion is to purify the human mind so that the Indwelling qualities of the Soul are revealed. ‘Naam simran/Akaal ustat’ is the path indicated in the SGGS to achieve this goal. As the mind sincerely meditates on the qualities of God, it becomes pure. Gradually the inner divine qualities of the Soul are revealed. In the final stage the mind (and the ego) is totally annihilated and a person achieves complete and permanent communion with God. He then becomes a [true] Brahmgyani, Jeevanmukt or Khalsa.

Only a pure mind can lead to divinity: The SGGS stresses that purity of the mind is important. Cleanliness of the body alone cannot lead to salvation. Nor can the cleanliness of the body result in peace of mind. Similarly, disciplining the mind is essential for enlightenment. Disciplining the mind is more difficult than disciplining the body. This is the most important point for our further discussions especially, in connection with ‘Religious symbols - and their deeper significance’.

Example: Power of thought: Most Western cities are cleaner than Asian slums. People in USA live in relatively sanitized atmosphere and drink safe water. But the level of killer diseases like cancer and Aids, are as prevalent in the ‘clean’ cities of USA as in ‘filthy’ Indian shanties. We can conclude that impure/tense thoughts make one fall prey to dangerous diseases.

Many are the references from the SGGS stressing the importance of a pure mind :

‘Jo kichh kiyaa so mann kiyaa; mundhaa mundh ajaai (SGGS: 1369; Slok Kabir:101). Implying that all acts/sins are committed by the mind.

‘Mann dhovo sabad lag, har siu raho chit laaye’ (SGGS: 919, Anand:18), and

‘Bhariye mat papan ke sang, oho dhope naave ke rang’ (SGGS: 4). Implying that the dirty mind is to be washed with Gurbani/simran/shabad.

‘Mann mailae sabh kichh maila, tann dhote mann hachha naa hoi,

ihe jagat bharam bhulaya virlaa bujhe koi’ (SGGS: 558)

Implying that everything is impure if the mind is impure; and that very few realize this concept.

‘Suche eih na aakhiye, behan je pinda dhoe, suche saei Naanaka, jin mann vaseeya soe’ (SGGS: 472, Asa-di-Var:17). Implying, True is He who has experienced the presence of God in His mind. Merely cleaning the body does not make a person ‘Pure’.

‘Sach taa par jaaniye, jaa riday sachaa hoe, kuu(r)d ki mal utre, tann karay hachhaa dhoe.... Sach taa(n) par jaaniye, jaa aatam teerath kare nivaas’ (SGGS : 468, Aasa-di-Var:10). Implying that when the mind meets/merges with the Soul, only then a person becomes True.

‘Mann jeete jag jeet’ (SGGS: 6). Implying that to conquer the mind is to conquer the universe. And a [true] Guru/Saint has done this, therefore, He can control the universe. It is more difficult to control the mind than the body.

‘Mann bas aave Nanaka, je puran kirpaa hoi’ (SGGS: 39). Implying that ‘Naam’ cannot reside in an impure mind. Again, the importance of a pure mind.

‘Gurmukh mann jeeta houmae maar, gurmukh saach rakhiyaa urdhaar (SGGS: 946)

‘Naam simran’ with understanding, devotion and concentration is a path to purify the mind.

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