Random Thoughts in Search of the 'Soul' !!

"The individual who is mistake-free is also probably sitting around doing nothing. And that is a very big mistake" (John Wooden). I am writing this piece to make you think, while you are probably sitting around doing nothing….

Life is a wonderful thing to have - as confusing or simple as you might think. Have always been wondering what "Soul" or "Spirit" means, can it be seen or felt, has it anything to do with natural state of mind, our death etc. Lot of people believe that when we die our 'Soul' goes into some sort of re-birth or an unknown world, where it manifests/purifies before being re-born in another living form - the belief is that the 'Soul' has to experience all aspects of life ! It is known that the Egyptians believed in reincarnation or the transmigration of the 'Soul'. Bible described the 'resurrection' and many Hindu epics elaborate about Karma, Avatars and Re-births. Yet what happens to the 'Soul' upon physical (clinical or biological) death? Where does the 'Soul' go?

Has it anything to do with Spiritualism, Religion, Science, Gods, Ghosts, Afterlife - or an interconnectivity of all these things? Is it the so-called "force" we think an aspect of Mother Nature - all forms of energy - a physical-chemical-electromagnetic-spiritual makeup? Is it purely a human perception? Throughout history, human beings have worshipped different gods, made different attributions to these "good" or "evil" forces, that reacted different ways. Many religions, cults, researchers have poured out tons of 'gyan' and philosophies on Life, the Soul,the Mind, Emotions and Death....

How would an Immaterial 'Soul' interact with our Material Body? Feelings (like anger, stress) are proven to be purely a result of chemistry and biology - with no need for spiritual or supernatural phenomenon. What controls the functions such as the respiration, heart-beating, blood circulation, etc and what powers the brain? Without a 'Soul', the body is proven to be completely inactive and lifeless. Have you ever heard of an out-of-body experience where the person has 'woken' up from death, to discover their body has continued normally, going to work, etc? - No. In that case, if Ghosts are not physical bodies, then, they must be souls too !! Is the 'Soul' a 'backup' of the data in our physical brain that is somehow liberated, transformed to spirit form (whatever that is) and can live on?

Another serious contradiction is about 'Death'. In a clinical death, those the person is declared "dead", his cells are still alive. This allows us to pinpoint which aspects of life are 'Soul'-sensitive, which parts are affected by the presence of a 'Soul'. This implies that many animals do/might not have the so-called 'Soul' - or more accurately - that their souls do not affect their functioning even if they do have them. For example, all single-cell organisms (virus or bacteria), plant life are all clearly unaffected by their 'Souls'. Higher mammals like humans, in fact, appear to be the only type of life with the brain and other organs which appear to be 'Soul'-sensitive. Many thousands of scientific experiments have been carried out yet none have produced quantifiable results.

Evolution is the next problem for the 'Soul' theory. The fact that animals and such evolve through complex statistics and simple biochemical change ... there is no part of evolution from one species to us that requires the addition of a 'Soul' along the way.

The 'Soul' seems to me like a sort of an invisible phenomenon, yet it would require our bodies to exist somehow. It is impossible to resolve these contradictions... if 'Souls' exist; they are not part of us. If they exist, they are not 'Souls' as we think of them. Many of the theories lack any logical explanation and it defies the actual facts we have on the table. Wanting something to be true does not make it factual.

Think about these highly-contradictory 'Soul' Concepts !! With the advancement of science and exploring the inner self, soon we might understand... the 'real' meaning of Life and what our dear 'Soul' is all about!!

- Bharath