[mkirkpatrick]

The goal of realisation for man is consciousness of the nature of the soul,the
medium through which the spirit aspect ever works.More it is not possible for him
to do.Having learnt to function as the soul,detached from the three worlds,man
then becomes a conscious corporate active part of that soul which permeats and pervades all that is in manifestation.Then,and only then,the pure light of
spirit per-se becomes visible to him through a just appreciation of the Jewel
hidden at the heart of his own being,then only does he become aware of that
greater Jewel which lies hidden at the heart of solar manifestation.in keeping
with the philosophy of mind,looking within ourselves,and finding that precious
jewel within,trusting that it will shed suffient light,to improve our understanding
of ourselves,and lessen the ignorance that impedes us,We can but hope.

kind regards,michael/.

[Guille]

Soul and mind represent the same thing: personality. And I think we are all aware that we have a personality, thus, we are all aaware that we have a mind/soul, thus, our mind is aware that we have a mind/soul. Remeber, "Cogito, ergo sum", so, we can be sure that we think, and thus exist.

[mkirkpatrick]

What is this ubiquitous animator of life?Can we ever know it?I think the answer to that would be no!But as we begin to know ourselves,to look within
and to meditate,to make contact with our inner monitor,the human soul,we
begin to realize that there is an inner aspect,even to the soul,there is an
inner animator,that gives "life" to the soul!This can becalled spirit,or the life
force itself!The further we punch into the nature of reality,we begin to encounter an impossibilty of words to describe thatwhich is beneath and within all form?Until we arrive at the point where we can bow our heads
in respect for this awesome Being,and declare that we just cannot know,or
go any further?Life essence is then like a darkened flame?


kind regard michael.

[r.p.bibra]

Re: what is spirit, can we become mindful of it.
It has all the attributes, which are ascribed to ‘reality’ or the ‘Being’Sat-Ciitta-Anandha (Truth (whole/existence)-Awareness (ciitt)-Bliss (Anandha). Aathma =self; Soul. Self with limitations is jeeva (the individual soul). Self with no limitations is Brahman (the Supreme Reality). Athma is the embodiment of bliss, viz., eternal bliss, wisdom absolute, beyond the pair of opposites, expansive and pervasive like sky, the goal indicated by the Mahavakya Tattwamas(thou are ‘I’ are one), one without a second, eternal, pure, unchanging, witness of all functions and the intellect and the three attributes of Sattwa(truth), Rajas(righteousness) and Tamas(sensuality) . Soul spirit is one. But soul& mind are not one (guille). mind is gross, hence inert. It (mind) drives its sustenance from consciousness. It was mentioned by you elsewhere that ‘conscience’ is the inner monitor. Conscience in fact is the reflection of soul. Deeper than soul is nothing but soul! soul has five sheaths enclosing the soul----sheaths of bliss, intelligence, mind, vital energy and physical matter. An aspirant has to elevate through each one of them to reach/attain its final abode. Aspirants like the l.s. wrongly consider soul as a single unit encasing each living being. Soul is like an ocean of ‘Awareness’ in which ephemeral creations of Nature manifest, thus its attributes automatically are immanent in all its manifestation. Vedathin believe it is all Brahman; in Him we manifest; in Him we merge. He is the primal cause of creation, sustenance and annihilation. Soul is Brahman! For soul (awareness) we begin our search, in soul we (mind) merge. Pl explain, more elaborately, about the last line “Life essence is then like a darkened flame?” with love&regards.ls.

[mkirkpatrick]

Many thanks Ls for your detailed and captivating post.
The life essence is as a darkened flame,in our present state of awareness,we
use words like spirit,but we fail to comprehend its meaning,Life,spirit,are one
of the same,we can penetrate so far into the "life-force" then we reach a
point where comprehension breaks down,and we aknowledge that we can
venture no further,a darkened flame is a symbol and a cypher of that very
point!
We can though understand our soul,or at least make a start along that long
road of enlightenment.The soul is the "plastic outer covering" and the spirit
or "life essence" is the copper wire within the cable?
We can be mindful of it,and know that it is there,butwe cannot understand
it,and while human never will!

kind regards michael.

[r.p.bibra]

our next step would obviously be to see whether these 'adjectives' afixed to soul have any relevance in our real life& are genuine& hence need to be pursued with sincerity! but before that we shall have to understand about the composition of the mind in detailed manner,so as to know about its intricacies, hidden in its multiple layers of 'conscious'!with love&regards.ls.

[mkirkpatrick]

Originally Posted by r.p.bibra our next step would obviously be to see whether these 'adjectives' afixed to soul have any relevance in our real life& are genuine& hence need to be pursued with sincerity! but before that we shall have to understand about the composition of the mind in detailed manner,so as to know about its intricacies, hidden in its multiple layers of 'conscious'!with love&regards.ls.

Many thanks Ls,for your insightful comments,they are most welcome.
Understanding the composition of the mind,would I feel take more than
a single lifetime!

regards michael.

[r.p.bibra]

but we have to make a start! ls. was away to hills; it would be awhile to settle down the 'wavery-mind' before the germination starts.love&regard.ls.

[mkirkpatrick]

Originally Posted by r.p.bibra but we have to make a start! ls. was away to hills; it would be awhile to settle down the 'wavery-mind' before the germination starts.love&regard.ls.

Yes that would be an affirmitive.Thanks for the input.

regards michael.

[r.p.bibra]

We can never be ‘mindful’ of spirit, as it not within the realm of mind to ‘realise’ the spirt. Spirit is always realized not understood or intellectually ‘known’. The heading itself is contradictory. Spirit/soul/divine/god is the subject of spiritual sadhaks, whose path leads through the elevation of consciousness, self-enlightenment i.e., and the realization of the Self. All we do here is intellectual exercise, extension of thought and in-depth study of the mind. But the subject matter we have taken on requires some other kind of regimen. Its curriculum is entirely different. Often it is treated so offhandedly that the wise would be compelled to rise from their graves to have fun & a hearty laugh at our ‘sham-wisdom’. a gentleman just equalized soul with mind. Why join a subject discussion----actually in spiritual path, there is no discussion, it is always learning at the feet of the masters&realization of the truth. There is no short-cut and no exemption from the prescribed regimens (sadhna).With mind we can conquer the world, achieve ultimate heights in any field, attain optimum knowledge of all the physical sciences, and amass a hoard of degrees, but never the ‘realization’ of soul/self/divine. Purity of thought, word and deed; character, dispassion, compassion, love, sacrifice, surrender to Him are some of the prerequisites---are we ready for them? In India there is class of people known as renunciates/medicants/yogi/saints etc., whose number is around thirty millions. They forsake all worldly ties and lead a life, which is completely focused on Him (they wear saffron color simple clothes as the symbol of renunciation). There may be some hoax element in them, but largely they are genuine and devote their lives in the service of God and society(among them are topclass ceo&pros, who left lucrative jobs in u.sa&other eu countries). Emulating their lives, there are millions others who, while discharging all worldly duties& besides being householder, stand unto the dharma (righteousness, truth, love and peace) standards of life. This is no fiction, as this land is rightly called a karambhomi, thagbhumi (land of action and renunciation). Simply put “Hands in society, but heads in forest”. That is the type of life a seeker is required to lead, before they can aspire to realize the One, who is the Ultimate-Reality. Yes, the Truth is realizable! God is realizable. Here you will find thousands, who have realized Him, but lead an exemplary life; the life Lord Jesus led---of compassion, sacrifice, dedication and love.with love&regards.ls.