10 Jun 2011
A human being is a mixture of the two imaginable items viz., the soul and body. The soul being energy is invisible. The body being matter is visible. Matter is the condensed product of energy. We understand the process of condensation. Therefore, the process of modification of energy into matter is imaginable. The link between two imaginable items is always imaginable. The soul pervades all over the body and hence, the body can be taken as the soul. Such superimposition becomes convenient since the soul is invisible and hence, the visible body itself can be treated as the soul. The word ‘I’ actually denotes the soul. But, the word ‘I’ is taken as the body because the soul is invisible to the naked eye and the body is visible to the same naked eye. The electrified wire is visible and the electricity in it is invisible. Hence, the electrified wire can be taken as electricity. The electricity is invisible energy and the wire is visible matter. Same is the case with soul and body. But, both the soul and electricity are imaginable as energy and can be even seen through sophisticated electronic instruments. Hence, we separate the soul from the body and electricity from the wire. Since we are able to imagine and even see both the items separately, we can conclude that taking the body as soul is superimposition based on the ignorance.
In the human incarnation, the unimaginable and invisible God is taken as the imaginable and visible human being. The body of the human being is visible to the naked eye and the soul is visible through intricate equipments. Therefore, we can conclude that the human being consisting of both body and soul is totally imaginable and totally visible. In the human incarnation, the human being is charged with invisible and unimaginable God. God is clearly different from the human being because God is invisible and unimaginable, where as a human being is visible and imaginable. As in the case of energy and matter, we can say that God is the cause and the human being is its effect. But, the link between God and human being or world is unimaginable because the link between unimaginable and imaginable items must be unimaginable only. The human being can be a representative model of the world because both the human being and the world are made of matter and energy only. In the case of human incarnation, even though I have understood God and human being clearly as different entities, I cannot separate the human being and God. I can separate the soul or energy and the body or matter clearly and even see them separately. In the case of human incarnation, I can see and imagine human being but I can neither see nor even imagine God separately from the human being. I know that the human incarnation is also a case of superimposition but I cannot prove it practically as in the case of matter and energy in the human being. It is inevitable superimposition. I have to take the unimaginable God as the imaginable human being. Similarly, I have to see the invisible God as visible human being. This does not mean that every human being is to be seen or imagined as God. We have to confine this point to human incarnation only. Therefore, there is no alternative way than to see or imagine God as the imaginable or visible human being in the human incarnation. The Veda says that there is no other way than this (nanyah panthah…) while describing God as a specific human being (purusha).
The Gita takes the concept of superimposition of the body and the soul as an example to clarify the concept of superimposition in the second chapter itself. Shankara also explained concept of superimposition of body and soul as an introduction for the concept of a specific human being and God, where the separation is practically impossible. Even in theory, the separation is accepted but the separation is a failure since the separated God is unimaginable. Therefore, the monism is prefect in the case of human incarnation regarding God and human being. In fact, the monism of Shankara is only with reference to the human incarnation. The specific reference is lost and hence, monism is generalized to conclude that every human being is God. You should not take the soul as God and the body as the world. The Gita has clearly introduced God as the third entity called as ‘Purushottama’ (Yasmaat ksharamatiitoham…). Therefore, you must not separate God from the human being in the human incarnation. Hanuman and Gopikas never entertained such separation even in their single thought.
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