‘I’ is The Soul and not The Body

‘I’ is The Soul and not The Body

by Swami Sivananda

A sense is not soul, because you can apprehend an object through any other sense, e.g., Previously I saw a tree and now I touch it; such an expression will be meaningless if ‘I’ is not different from the eye which cannot touch, and from the skin which cannot see. The ‘I’ or the Soul is distinct from the senses.

There is a fixed relation between the senses and their objects, e.g., between the eye and colour, the ear and sound, and so on. It is the eye and not the ear that can apprehend colour, and it is the ear and not the eye that can apprehend sound. If a sense were the Soul, it (the Soul) could apprehend only one object, but the ‘I’ can apprehend many objects; the ‘I’ can see colour, hear sound, and so on. Therefore, the ‘I’ or the Soul which confers unity on the various kinds of apprehension is different from the senses, each of which can apprehend only one object.

If we do not admit a permanent Soul beyond our frail body, we shall be confronted with many absur dities such as loss of merited action (Kritahani) and gain of unmerited action (Akritabhyagama). A man who has committed a certain sin may not suffer its results in this life, and unless there is a Soul conti nuing in the next life, he will not suffer them at all. This is loss of merited action. Again, we often find a man suffering the results of actions which he never did in this life. This would be a gain of unmerited action, unless we believe that his Soul did exist pre vious to this life and that he did the action in his previous life.

A thing seen previously by the left eye is re cognised now by the right eye. This would have been impossible if the Soul were identical with the left eye alone or the right eye alone, on the principle that the seat of recognition must be the same as the seat of perception. Hence we must admit that there is a Soul which is distinct from the left and right eyes and which is the common seat of perception and recognition.

The Soul is distinct from the senses, because there is an excitement of one sense through the opera tion of another sense. When you see a mango fruit or lime pickle, there is salivation in our mouth. The sense of taste is excited. There is an excitement of the sense of taste on account of the operation of the sense of sight. This would be impossible unless there is a Soul distinct from the senses and uniting the senses. The Soul sees the fruit or the pickle and remembers its properties. The remembrance of the properties of the object excites the sense of taste.

You can remember only that object which you have seen. You remember the smell of an object by seeing its colour. This would be impossible if re membrance is a quality of a sense, e.g., the eye, which has never smelt the object. Therefore, remembrance must be admitted to be a quality of a distinct entity called the Soul which is the common seat of percep tion of colour and smell. The Soul is the absolute Seer and is Consciousness in nature, whereas all other things, objects, body, senses, Pranas, mind, intellect, etc., are the seen and are inert in nature. The Soul is the Imperishable Reality, while everything else is perishable and false.

The Soul and not The Body – Self-Knowledge, Witness Consciousness, and Inner Freedom

The Soul and not The Body is a central teaching of Vedanta. Most people identify themselves with the physical body and say, “I am tall,” “I am weak,” “I am young,” “I am old,” “I am healthy,” or “I am sick.” But Vedanta asks the seeker to look deeper. The body is seen, known, and constantly changing. The true self, or soul, is the witness of these changes, not the changing body itself.

The body is born, grows, becomes strong, becomes weak, grows old, and finally dies. It depends on food, water, air, sleep, and external conditions. It is affected by heat and cold, pleasure and pain, disease and health. Since the body is subject to change, decay, and destruction, it cannot be the eternal self. The soul is different from the body because it is the conscious principle that knows the body.

The Soul and not The Body can be understood through simple observation. We say, “my body,” just as we say, “my house,” “my clothes,” or “my book.” The very expression “my body” shows that the body is possessed or observed by someone. The possessor cannot be the possessed. The knower of the body cannot be the body. This knower is the inner self.

In childhood, the body was small. In youth, it became different. In adulthood, it changed again. In old age, it changes further. Yet through all these changes, there is a continuous sense of “I am.” The body has changed many times, but the awareness of existence remains. This shows that the soul is not identical with the body.

Vedanta teaches that the soul, or Atman, is pure consciousness. It is not made of flesh, bones, blood, nerves, or organs. It does not become fat or thin, young or old, beautiful or ugly. These qualities belong to the body. The soul is the witness that illumines bodily experiences. Because of the soul, the body appears alive and conscious.

The Soul and not The Body is also clear from the difference between a living body and a dead body. The physical structure may remain for some time after death, but the living awareness is no longer expressed through it. The body by itself is inert. It cannot know, feel, think, or act without the presence of consciousness. Consciousness is the real life-principle.

This teaching does not mean that the body should be hated or neglected. The body is a valuable instrument for action, service, meditation, study, and spiritual practice. It should be kept clean, healthy, disciplined, and useful. But it should not be mistaken for the true self. To care for the body is wisdom; to identify completely with it is ignorance.

Identification with the body creates fear. If a person thinks, “I am only the body,” then aging, disease, insult, physical weakness, and death become terrifying. The mind becomes anxious about appearance, comfort, security, and survival. But when the seeker understands that the soul is different from the body, fear gradually becomes weak.

The Soul and not The Body also helps reduce pride. Many people become proud of beauty, strength, youth, health, or physical ability. But all these are temporary. Beauty fades, strength declines, and health changes. When the seeker knows that the body is only a passing instrument, pride becomes weaker and humility grows.

The body belongs to the waking state. In dream, another body may appear, and the waking body is forgotten. In deep sleep, even the dream body disappears. Yet the self is not destroyed. On waking, one says, “I slept well.” This shows that the true self remains even when the physical body is not consciously experienced. The soul is the witness of waking, dream, and deep sleep.

Vedanta uses the example of clothes to explain this truth. A person wears different garments, but they are not the garments. Clothes may be new or old, clean or dirty, simple or beautiful. The wearer remains different from them. In the same way, the body is like a garment worn by the soul. It changes, but the inner self remains distinct.

Another example is the driver and the vehicle. The body is like a vehicle, and the soul is like the conscious presence because of which the vehicle is used. If the vehicle is damaged, the driver is not the vehicle itself. Similarly, bodily conditions do not define the true self. The seeker should use the body wisely but remain established in the soul.

The understanding that one is the soul and not the body is important for meditation. Sit quietly and observe the body. Notice posture, breathing, sensations, comfort, discomfort, heaviness, or lightness. All these are known. Then ask, “Who knows these bodily conditions?” That knower is not the body. It is the witnessing consciousness.

This knowledge also changes daily life. When the body is tired, give it rest, but do not become mentally weak. When the body is sick, treat it properly, but remember that the self is untouched. When the body is praised, do not become proud. When it is criticized, do not become broken. The soul remains beyond praise and blame.

The Soul and not The Body is a doorway to freedom. Once the seeker stops identifying completely with the body, attachment becomes weaker. The fear of death reduces. Desires lose some of their force. The mind becomes more balanced. The seeker begins to live with greater awareness, simplicity, and spiritual strength.

In the end, the soul is not the body. The body is changing, visible, dependent, and temporary. The soul is the witness, pure consciousness, eternal, and free. The body is an instrument; the soul is the inner light. Through discrimination, meditation, self-inquiry, and Vedantic wisdom, the seeker rises above body-identification and realizes the true self as peace, awareness, and liberation.

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