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utilizes the huge body through a link that is the mind. Thus,
we are a bundle of body, mind and soul. Our true identity is
the soul. Animals, birds and other living beings are bundle of
body, mind and soul too. However, man differs from them
because he can lead an un-chartered life while other species
live more or less in a programmed manner. The objectives of
the human life in the world may be summarized by the trilogy
of
/liana, karma
and
upasana —
knowledge, work and worship.
For the soul to be able to engage in
jiiana, karma
and
uposana,
the body and mind are provided with as the excellent
instruments. Union of the soul and the body is our birth and
separation thereof is death.
Worshipping God: The soul is not made of matter, and
therefore, it never undergoes any change nor does it die. It's
eternal. The soul has been transmigrating from one life to
another and will continue to do so. Only the human life provides
the unique golden opportunity to come out of this cycle of birth
and death through self-realization and God-realization. For the
soul to realize itself it must be able to de-link itself from the
mind through meditation. When the soul is de-linked from the
mind then it can truly know itself, called self-realization.
Subsequently, with the grace of God, that soul may be able to
realize God. The related knowledge and techniques are
described in Patafijali's Yoga-Sutra based on the verses of the
Vedas. Pataiijali defines Yoga as,
Yogakittavrttinirodhalf.
That
is, Yoga is to subdue
(nirodhah)
all the functions
(vrtti)
of the
mind
(citta).
Only when all the functions of the mind are
subdued (or, so to say, the mind is thoroughly inactive, being
even void of any thought process) then the soul can de-link
itself from the mind. Then only one can experience the self-
realization
(atma-sOksatkara) —
the next step could be that the
tiny soul can experience the proximity of God who pervades
through the soul as well. In other words, once a soul is de-
linked from the mind, it is now alone by itself. With His grace
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