A conscious entity inside the body is known as Atma or Jeev. All the creatures of this mortal world having life are called jeev. The other names of jeev are Atma, spirit, inner self, soul etc.
The literal meaning of the Sanskrit word jeev means life. So, the one which is always alive and infuses life in the entire body it lives in is jeev. Manifestation of the power of jeev could be seen in all the sentient living beings, viz; human beings, animals, birds, trees etc.
Our bodies are made of Panch Mahabhoot also called five gross elements earth, water, fire, space and air. That is why deficiency of any of these five elements, makes our body frail. These elements are material which means made of inert and insentient Maya. Hence, the body which is made from these is also inert or lifeless.
The literal meaning of the Sanskrit word jeev means life. So, the one which is always alive and infuses life in the entire body it lives in is jeev. Manifestation of the power of jeev could be seen in all the sentient living beings, viz; human beings, animals, birds, trees etc.
Our bodies are made of Panch Mahabhoot also called five gross elements earth, water, fire, space and air. That is why deficiency of any of these five elements, makes our body frail. These elements are material which means made of inert and insentient Maya. Hence, the body which is made from these is also inert or lifeless.
When the Jeev enters the body and permeates the entire body then all the body and senses appear to be conscious. Jeev is sent into the body for a predetermined length of time. When that much time has elapsed, the imperceptible soul leaves the body and then it is called a "dead body", even though it was always lifeless. The consciousness of soul was making it perform the respective actions of senses. For instance, a pair of tongs is lifeless, yet it lifts up burning coals only when hand holds those tongs. Hand is also inert until they get consciousness from mind and mind gets power of consciousness from intellect and intellect gets power of consciousness from soul which is conscious. Soul gets consciousness from Brahma-Supreme God .
God does not get it from anyone. He Himself is consciousness. That is why in many places Vedas have referred to God as jeev. He is the Supreme and original source of all the sources including life.
God does not get it from anyone. He Himself is consciousness. That is why in many places Vedas have referred to God as jeev. He is the Supreme and original source of all the sources including life.
सर्व कारण कारणम् ।
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Sarva kāraṇa kāraṇam
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God is the source of three main powers (shakti) namely
In this article we will concentrate on jeev shakti of Brahma-Supreme God.
- Chit,
- Jeev and
- Maya
In this article we will concentrate on jeev shakti of Brahma-Supreme God.
Jeev is a conscious entity and it is an inseparable and eternal part of God since all the individual souls are the revelation of God’s Jeev power. It must not be considered as the fragment of God. So does this mean He is like paper and when the paper is torn each piece is called jeev? No. God is akhand, which means He cannot be broken.
Jeev is called an eternal part because it is a power of God. God is eternal and all His powers have also existed with Him. God revealed innumerable souls, and still God possesses unlimited consciousness with unlimited and unceasing divine splendor.
If 'eternal part' were to mean a fragment then after revealing innumerable jeev, God would cease to exist. Just as a paper ceases to exist when it is torn into pieces.
These jeev are ‘Akarta’ (non doer) which means they do not perform any action. That is why the individual souls are given a body to attain the ultimate goal of life.
Jeev is called an eternal part because it is a power of God. God is eternal and all His powers have also existed with Him. God revealed innumerable souls, and still God possesses unlimited consciousness with unlimited and unceasing divine splendor.
If 'eternal part' were to mean a fragment then after revealing innumerable jeev, God would cease to exist. Just as a paper ceases to exist when it is torn into pieces.
These jeev are ‘Akarta’ (non doer) which means they do not perform any action. That is why the individual souls are given a body to attain the ultimate goal of life.
This body can be compared to a chariot. The owner of this chariot is jeev and is the passenger in this chariot wanting to reach its destination. Intellect is the driver, mind is the bridle and the gyanendriyan are the horses. In the chariot, bridle is controlled by the driver and bridle in turn controls the horses. Similarly, in this body intellect controls the mind which in turn controls the senses. Since eternity under the guidance of intellect the mind has been directing senses to the destination the jeev wants to go to.
The jeev wants it’s driver to take it to the abode of Anand (bliss). Since jeev is akarta (non-doer) it cannot give any instruction or direction, yet jeev has the final say on when destination has come or in other words the aim of life has been achieved. The intellect, mind and senses are eternal servants of the soul. Neither they can defy their master nor can they resign. They have to continue to find bliss without any excuse and are not constrained by time.
Based on whether jeev has found bliss or not they can be divided into 2 categories.
The jeev wants it’s driver to take it to the abode of Anand (bliss). Since jeev is akarta (non-doer) it cannot give any instruction or direction, yet jeev has the final say on when destination has come or in other words the aim of life has been achieved. The intellect, mind and senses are eternal servants of the soul. Neither they can defy their master nor can they resign. They have to continue to find bliss without any excuse and are not constrained by time.
Based on whether jeev has found bliss or not they can be divided into 2 categories.
- Mayabaddha Jeev
- Mayateet Jeev
Baddha means bound. This types of jeev have been eternally controlled by Maya hence they are called Mayabaddha Jeev (मायाबद्ध). But it doesn't need to be this way. If they choose they can promote themselves from Mayabaddha to Mayateet category.
ateet means beyond. Those who are beyond control of Maya are called Mayateet jeev (मायातीत). Unlike us who live in the Sansaar-The World they live is the divine abode. They can be further categorized into 3 groups :
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Nitya means eternal and Siddha means perfect. These are those jeev who are eternally free from Maya are called nitya siddha (नित्य सिद्ध). Example of this kind of jeev is Yashoda Maiya.
Sadhan means practice and siddha means perfect. Those who were once mayabaddha, they did Sadhana Bhakti then one day realized God fall in sadhana siddha (साधन सिद्ध) category. Since then they live in divine abode.
Parikar (परिकर) are also called Parshad (पार्शद). Though they are also part of jeev shakti yet they have been eternally free from Maya and they are associates of God. They participate in leelas of Supreme God. e.g. Shri Krishna's friends in Braj namely Dhanasukha, Mansukha.
Dheesh means controller. Brahma-Supreme God is the one and only controller of Maya. He is also the beholder of Jeev shakti.
Descensions of God are called swansh (स्वांश). They are part of Chit Shakti not Jeev Shakti. Jeev can NEVER become swansh.
No Mayateet Jeev can ever become Mayadheesh . That position is reserved for God and God alone. However, the Mayabaddha Jeev are controlled by Maya since eternity, yet they can become Mayateet Jeev (free from the bondage of Maya), at any time, by understanding
Firm understanding of these 2 points will detach the mind immediately from the worldly attachments and naturally enthuse it to surrender solely unto God.
- Why am I pursuing Maya?
- I belong to Shri Krishna only.
Firm understanding of these 2 points will detach the mind immediately from the worldly attachments and naturally enthuse it to surrender solely unto God.
So, the soul is the part of God and it is conscious like God Himself, yet it is not endowed with unlimited Life, knowledge and bliss. Consciousness of soul is confined to the respective body only. According, to the tendencies of jeev it is called taṭastha (तटस्थ) power. The meaning of this word is "middle ground". The Sanskrit word taṭa (तट) means bank or shore, stha (स्थ) means situated. Jeev is divine and eternal part of God and it has a material mind and body so it is not fully divine or fully insentient instead it is in the middle.
For more lucidity, just imagine a man is sitting at the bank of river.
Ask him, “where are you sitting?”
He would reply “I am sitting at the bank of this river.”
"But what is this ? Is it a part of land or a part of river?"
He would reply, ”it is a part of land only”.
Ask again, “so what is behind you?”
“It is a very huge land.”
“Then why do you call it bank instead of land?”
He would explain, “ From here one can wash hands and clothes since it is adjoining the river. Although, this is part of land yet this ability differentiates this bank from the rest of the land behind.”
Precisely, although we are the part of God, yet being very close to Maya, we cannot be called God. The bank inherits some attributes of the river as well like wetness. Likewise, we have chosen Maya and we got attached to it, forgetting about our true source of happiness. This is the main reason for our ignorance and ignorance is the only reason for our miseries.
Lord Krishna says in Gita,
Ask him, “where are you sitting?”
He would reply “I am sitting at the bank of this river.”
"But what is this ? Is it a part of land or a part of river?"
He would reply, ”it is a part of land only”.
Ask again, “so what is behind you?”
“It is a very huge land.”
“Then why do you call it bank instead of land?”
He would explain, “ From here one can wash hands and clothes since it is adjoining the river. Although, this is part of land yet this ability differentiates this bank from the rest of the land behind.”
Precisely, although we are the part of God, yet being very close to Maya, we cannot be called God. The bank inherits some attributes of the river as well like wetness. Likewise, we have chosen Maya and we got attached to it, forgetting about our true source of happiness. This is the main reason for our ignorance and ignorance is the only reason for our miseries.
Lord Krishna says in Gita,
दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया ।
मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते ।। गीता
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Daivī hyēṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā.
Māmēva yē prapadyantē māyāmētāṁ taranti tē.. Gītā
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"Maya is my personal power. None can win it since it is controlled by Me. I am invincible. The one, who surrenders himself solely unto Me, can traverse the ocean of Maya by My grace alone".
The body, mind and intellect are provided by Maya. Thus they are material. The main work of thinking and deciding is performed by mind and intellect. The matters of world are very attractive and easily achievable by the material mind and intellect because they are akin. Hence, our mind has a natural affinity for material matters. But, when we use our inherent discriminatory power of intellect, we find them jejune and inverted source of happiness. This is called renunciation or virag or vairagya from the world. |
Then our mind turns towards God, the only source of our being. And that is all that needs to be done. Then will attain our right of enjoy true, divine and unceasing happiness and God will be given the other divine attributes as well. So far, we are deprived of our natural right of attaining divine bliss since we are attached to the material world and have forgotten our very source - God.
The only way to attain true and everlasting happiness is to turn the mind towards God by constant thinking that "we belong to God alone. I have no relationship with anyone else. He is veritable bliss too. He is so kind to jeev (His children), that as soon as someone wholeheartedly accepts this relationship, He does not look at the record of offenses one has committed in the past".
Wise person are those who avail the advantage of His mercy.
The only way to attain true and everlasting happiness is to turn the mind towards God by constant thinking that "we belong to God alone. I have no relationship with anyone else. He is veritable bliss too. He is so kind to jeev (His children), that as soon as someone wholeheartedly accepts this relationship, He does not look at the record of offenses one has committed in the past".
Wise person are those who avail the advantage of His mercy.