Bhagavad Gita 2.13 says that as the embodied soul continuously passes in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not perplexed by such a shift. As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones. (Bg 2.22).
According to Brahmarshi Patriji, using the five fingers of our hand, we can understand which dimension of being we live in. Each finger represents an aspect of being. Our little finger represents our body, our ring finger represents the mind, our middle finger represents intelligence, our index finger represents our soul, and our thumb represents the spirit, or all that is. As much as light comes from fire, the soul comes from the Supreme Lord; they are inseparable and exist simultaneously, but one is dependent on the other. Because the soul is spiritual, it is always alive and has the qualities of the Supreme Lord, but to a minute degree.
According to Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, the soul is the person. When the person leaves, all that is left is a material body that the person used for their activities for a short while. It’s like a set of clothes that have worn out and are discarded. Our clothes are never alive, but they move with us and follow our shape. The material body is a highly sophisticated set of clothes. It repairs itself, it grows, and it allows us to perform activities, but when we leave it, it’s just a pile of material elements lying motionless where we leave it. Everyone knows the person is gone. No one wants to keep the body; we can see the body, but what was interesting was the person in the body. The soul leaves, and that is when the person is gone because the person is the soul.
People do not have souls; people are souls. No soul, no person At death, the soul or person leaves a collection of chemicals that have been brilliantly arranged into a body, and all that is left are the chemicals that break down into their simpler forms now that the life that sustained them is gone. The person goes to another location and eventually starts to grow a new body, which then takes birth, and they start a new life as a person based on the new body they have built for themselves in their mother’s womb. The previous identity is erased, but the subtle impressions from the previous birth remain in the subconscious mind that travels with the person from body to body. As the new body develops, the subtle impressions and desires from the previous life emerge and influence our choices, likes, dislikes, etc.
It lives in the region of the heart of a material body and, from there, permeates the body as consciousness. It is carried from one location to another by material nature and is encased in a variety of bodies depending on its desires and activities. It may go up to higher planetary realms, or it may go down to lower ones, or it may leave the material world altogether and go to the spiritual realm.
In life, you are offered several choices leading to new stages of development. Initially, most progress along the same path, but, at certain points, you have choices—whether to stay immersed in the status quo world or to explore the splendors of your spiritual journey. These choices can appear at any time during your life; the key is to stay alert and listen to the wisdom of your heart. There are multiple dimensions, and this dimension we are in is one of them.
You are born into a material world where your lower three chakras rule your life. You enter the world in a state of innocence, and as long as you are healthy and have a loving family, you live in a world of joy and bliss. You still have a strong connection to the divine and the field of the absolute, from which your consciousness just emerged. The spiritual being is still very much awake. However, for most, this memory begins to fade as you are taught how to “fit in” and become distracted by the world around you. A rare few manage to maintain their divine connection and enjoy spiritual greatness.
As you grow, the ego emerges, and soon you realize that you are completely at the mercy of all around you. Fear and its corresponding emotions begin to overshadow the pure love you have experienced up to this point. You find that to get what you want, you have to please those in charge. You develop your personality and begin creating all the stories that will shape and define your life.
The opportunity of your second choice is when you begin to give from a place of love and compassion without any concern for recognition or reward. Your giving becomes selfless, and your true spiritual journey begins. Now you can begin your regular spiritual practices. The longing for enlightenment grows within you. Your decisions now come mostly from the fourth chakra, the heart center. You begin to look for the deeper meaning of things. You try to understand why you are here and how you can make your life more meaningful. You may study with teachers and gurus. You read books and practice techniques. You have glimpses of the goal that encourage you to remain on the path.
The Earth is a wonderful school where many souls come for their learning, evolution, and growth. They undergo structured development—a structured way of learning. The souls go through the five stages of being an infant soul, a child soul, a young soul, a mature soul, and an old soul until they realize their Buddhahood, Krishnahood, or Christ consciousness.
All five soul cycles need to be passed through; there is no skipping or jumping through any cycle of the soul. Each cycle can take, on average, up to 400 lifetimes, depending on the soul’s evolution. Each soul moves according to its own rhythm. However, growth can be accelerated. This is not a hierarchy; it is a stage of development.
