Have you seen your soul?

I would like to reflect on some thoughts that came this morning. After finishing my morning worship I sat on the balcony observing the sunrise over the Tuscany hills. This time of year is beautiful as a vibrant green returns to the trees and peacocks run around in excitement. Noticing that the fresh new leaves were gently swaying in the breeze I pondered a challenge recently received. "Have you seen the soul? Prove that there is such a thing." Good challenge. I Responded with the basic philosophy of Bhagavad Gita as it is and the man was satisfied, yet still I felt as though I could have explained clearer.

Now, we know that air exists and when moving is called wind, but have we actually seen this air or wind? As the leaves and branches of the tree gently sway in the breeze we certainly know that wind is present, as also when the clouds move overhead, but have we actually seen the wind? Is it the air moving that we are seeing or just the effects of that movement, or we could say the symptoms of the wind. In fact we cannot see the wind but we can see how wind affects the environment.

Similarly, we cannot see the spiritual particle called soul, but we can see it's symptoms. It is described that consciousness is the symptom of the soul, it is the soul's intrinsic quality. The soul is sat-cit-ananda; eternal, fully conscious and full of blissful love, whereas this physical body is composed of unconscious elements in constant flux. Whilst the soul is within the body it acts as a battery supply keeping the body working, yet when it leaves at death, then the body quickly decays. Although the soul is said to be situated in the heart cakra, it's symptoms are detected throughout the entire body. Even if a person looses a limb, they may still feel as though that limb were there, their consciousness still extending to produce the phenomena "phantom limb".

There are many who say that consciousness is produced from chemical synthesis, although they have a laboratory full of chemical yet fail to produce any. They say that life comes from matter, whereas ancient teachings declare that life comes only from life. Matter goes through constant change, but the conscious spirit soul is an energy beyond decay or change. In fact the soul, or in other words ourselves, are in a foreign place.

Someone living in a city may claim to see the air as it carries dust and pollution, or pollen in the country, yet again this is not the air we see but what it carries. Similarly, the soul carries layers of dirt in the form of false ego, bodily identification, lust, anger and greed, to name but a few, but these can be filtered by the process of buddhiyoga, loving service to Krishna.

But we can feel the wind as it caresses our skin, and so also we can feel the soul within a loved one when they touch our hearts. It is the soul who is the person we feel so much love for, not this temporary body. When a loved one dies we lament although their body lays before us. We understand that someone has left us, just as they have left behind their body, their temporary residence. It may have been someone who physically attracted us, maybe sexually, yet now we are repulsed by the decaying form left behind.

So, as the wind has great power and potential when harnessed, we also have incredible potential if only we can understand our actual identity and true source. When we chant Hare Krishna we can become infused with unlimited potential so long as we know how to direct it properly for the service and pleasure of Krishna.