Hi Sonia,
Sonia said,
Quote:Actually, I am much more looking for a scientific explanation of the soul, than a philosophical debate.
The clearest definition I have found in my own searching is in Sri Aurobindo's writings. These are admittedly not easy to read, but I find they are ultimately helpful and rewarding. Below is a quotation from a series of books where excerpts have been extracted from letters he wrote to his students in which he answers these and other questions. In this particular instance he offers some definitions of the soul, even getting into specifics and nuances.
The chapter from which the passage below was taken may be of special interest to AKC members as there are roughly 150 pages devoted to the subject of "Planes and Parts of the Being" - a general subject quite frequently discussed here, and so the material may be found to have some utility in that regard.
If you find that you might have further interest in these writings in general, a very comprehensive compilation is available online at the below link. I usually recommend exploring titles and tables of contents there, as many issues and questions common to all seekers can be found in this material. Whether it becomes useful to anyone's individual quest must of course be determined personally.
Sri Aurobindo, in "Letters on Yoga", Part I, Section V, "Planes and Parts of the Being", pgs 282-284, Quote:The Jivatman, spark-soul and psychic being are three different forms of the same reality and they must not be mixed up together, as that confuses the clearness of the inner experience. The Jivatman or spirit, as it is usually called in English, is self-existent above the manifested or instrumental being – it is superior to birth and death, always the same, the individual Self or Atman. It is the eternal true being of the individual.
The soul is a spark of the Divine which is not seated above the manifested being, but comes down into the manifestation to support its evolution in the material world. It is at first an undifferentiated power of the Divine Consciousness containing all possibilities which have not yet taken form, but to which it is the function of evolution to give form. This spark is there in all living beings from the lowest to the highest.
The psychic being is formed by the soul in its evolution. It supports the mind, vital, body, grows by their experiences, carries the nature from life to life. It is the psychic or caitya purusha. At first it is veiled by mind, vital and body, but as it grows, it becomes capable of coming forward and dominating the mind, life and body; in the ordinary man it depends on them for expression and is not able to take them up and freely use them. The life of the being is animal or human and not divine. When the psychic being can by sadhana become dominant and freely use its instruments, then the impulse towards the Divine becomes complete and the transformation of mind, vital and body, not merely their liberation, becomes possible.
The Self or Atman being free and superior to birth and death, the experience of the Jivatman and its unity with the supreme or universal Self brings the sense of liberation, it is this which is necessary for the supreme spiritual deliverance: but for the transformation of the life and nature the awakening of the psychic being and its rule over the nature are indispensable. The psychic being realises its oneness with the true being, the Jivatman, but it does not change into it. (...) The Jivatman is already one with the Divine in reality, but what is needed is that the rest of the consciousness should realize it.
The aspiration of the psychic being is for the opening of the whole lower nature, mind, vital, body to the Divine, for the love and union with the Divine, for its presence and power within the heart, for the transformation of the mind, life and body by the descent of the higher consciousness into this instrumental being and nature.
Both aspirations are essential and indispensable for the fullness of this yoga. When the psychic imposes its aspiration on the mind, vital and body, then they too aspire and this is what was felt as the aspiration from the level of the lower being. The aspiration felt above is that of the Jivatman for the higher consciousness with its realisation of the One to manifest in the being. Therefore both aspirations help each other. The seeking of the lower being is necessarily at first intermittent and oppressed by the ordinary consciousness. It has, by sadhana, to become clear, constant, strong and enduring.
The sense of peace, purity and calm is brought about by the union of the lower with the higher consciousness. It is usually either intermittent or else remains in a deeper consciousness, veiled often by the storms and agitations of the surface; it is seldom permanent at first, but it can become permanent by increased frequency and endurance of the calm and peace and finally by the full descent of the eternal peace and calm and silence of the higher consciousness into the lower nature.
sadhana (sah'-dah-nah) basically means "practice"
- u
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What is the Soul? (Read 3810 times)
