Inquiries Into the Absolute: Digest 115, The soul and the Supersoul

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Digest 115, February 23rd, 2005. Answers by His Holiness Romapada Swami

Maharaja

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The soul and the Supersoul

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I have a question related to the chariot analogy of the living entity. In the

Katha Upanishad a description is given of a chariot drawn by 5 horses

representing the senses, the mind the reins, the charioteer the intelligence

and the passenger the soul.

 

My understanding is that as long as the soul/passenger is asleep, the living

entity is conditioned, as he has no proper direction and undergoes repeated

"birth and death" in the material world.

 

Q1-

When the soul/passenger is awake and directs the intelligence and the senses,

since one is no longer acting on the urge of the unbridled senses, the mind and

the intelligence, is one in a liberated state?

 

Answer-

Your description and understanding of the analogy is correct, although the soul

is not specifically compared to the states of being asleep and awake.

 

When the self directs the intelligence according to spiritual instructions, the

Upanishad states that one can reach the destination, Vishnu, who is paramam

padam, the supreme goal of life (Katha Upanishad 1.3.9*). Thus, in this

analogy, the liberated state can be understood as the destination and the self

is on the path towards liberation.

 

Srila Prabhupada comments on this verse: One may drive well, or else one may

drive whimsically, in which case it is quite possible that he may have an

accident and fall into a ditch. In other words, if one takes directions from

the experienced spiritual master one can go back home, back to Godhead. (SB

7.15.41 purport, http://www.vedabase.net/sb/7/15/41/en)

 

Q2-

Why is the Super-soul not mentioned in this analogy as the second passenger on

the chariot?

 

Answer-

Katha Upanishad does mention the Supersoul, although not in this particular

analogy, but both in preceding and following sections. Clear distinction is

made between the soul, Supersoul and the body in this Upanishad. The Supersoul

is specifically described as residing in the heart along with the atomic soul.

(Katha Upanishad 1.2.20 quoted in purport of Bhagavad-gita 2.20

http://www.vedabase.net/bg/2/20/en), Katha Upanishad 2.2.13 quoted in

Bhagavad-gita 2.12 http://www.vedabase.net/bg/2/12/en and Bhagavad-gita 15.17

http://www.vedabase.net/bg/15/17/en)

 

* The Kathopanisad, 1.3.9, states:

vijnana-sarathir yas tu manah pragrahavan narah

so'dhvanah param apnoti tad visnoh paramam padam

"One who possesses vijnana, realization of the Lord, as his charioteer, and who

thus maintains a steady control of the mind, which is like the reins that

control the horses of the bodily senses, crosses this material reality and

attains the supreme abode of Sri Visnu, who is the omnipresent Supersoul known

as Vasudeva."

 

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