I Am Spirit Soul - an essential subject

Everyone ponders this question "Who am I?" sometime during their lives. Bhagavad-gita and other Vedic scriptures answer this with a clear response. "We are spirit souls."

Our understanding of ourselves guide our desires and acts. A misunderstanding of who we are will mislead us and be detrimental to find real and ultimate satisfaction. Just as a fish out of water can find no satisfaction until he is placed back within the water, so too for the living entity. Until we are placed back into the spiritual realm we will always be frustrated identifying with matter.

When we understand and act on the realization that we are a spirit soul, that is eternal and ever blissful, it opens us up to a truly happier and fulfilled life.

Srila Prabhupada's books, lectures, conversations and letters offer a comprehensive presentation of this essential subject as seen in the Vaniquotes I Am Spirit Soul category. An introduction from his books is given below in the following 10 quotes.

Quotes from Srila Prabhupada's books


vanipedia.org 		One should be convinced that he is a spirit soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Brahman, Kṛṣṇa, but has somehow or other been entrapped by the material coverings of the gross and subtle bodies, consisting of earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.19.27-28)



vanipedia.org 		We are spirit soul, and there was never any need of this material body. But because we wanted to enjoy the material body, we have this body, through the material energy, under the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As soon as we are reestablished in our original position of servitorship to the Supreme Lord, we begin to forget the necessities of the body, and at last we forget the body. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.33.26)



vanipedia.org 		The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so beneficial that it can very easily counteract the contamination of material nature, which results from one's possessing a material body. Bhagavad-gītā therefore teaches, in the very beginning, that whether one is a man or a woman, one must know that he or she is not the body but a spiritual soul. Everyone should be interested in the activities of the spirit soul, not the body. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.18.42)



vanipedia.org 		Here the word avidyā is very significant. Avidyā means forgetfulness of one's identity. Every one of us is a spirit soul, but we have forgotten. We think, "I am this body." This is called avidyā. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.24.18)



vanipedia.org 		A devotee should always remain ātmavān, or situated in his spiritual position. He should not forget that his main concern is to make advancement in spiritual consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and he should not ignorantly identify himself with the body or the mind. Ātmā means the body or the mind, but here the word ātmavān especially means that one should be self-possessed. He should always remain in the pure consciousness that he is spirit soul and not the material body or the mind. That will make him progress confidently in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.27.8)



vanipedia.org 		One who has no inner knowledge, who does not know that he is actually the spirit soul living within the body, who is simply enamored by the dictation of the senses, is called a materialist. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.25.10)



vanipedia.org 		Only when a person is perfectly situated in the realization that he is not the body but a spirit soul can he begin the process of bhakti, or devotional service. (Nārada-bhakti-sūtra, Chapter 1, Sūtra 1)



vanipedia.org 		For the impersonalist, pure egotism is ahaṁ brahmāsmi—"I am not this body; I am spirit soul." But in its actual position, the spirit soul has devotional activities to perform. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.24.43)



vanipedia.org 		By mental speculation one can understand that one is not the body but a spirit soul, but unless one engages in devotional service, the real purpose of life is never fulfilled. The real purpose of life is to go back home, back to Godhead, and live with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, play with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, dance with the Supreme Personality of Godhead and eat with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.24.52)



vanipedia.org 		Arcanā means worship of the Deity in the temple. By executing this process one confirms himself to be not the body but spirit soul. (Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 9)



I Am Spirit Soul - explore more within this category.

Vanipedia has now over 903 introductory articles compiled from Srila Prabhupada's books under the series titled Essential Subjects. All these articles can be seen in the Table of Content on the right side of this article and also here in this Umbrella Category. Browse through them to relish the breadth and depth of Srila Prabhupada's teachings - There is a subject for everyone.


   
 

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