IS THERE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ATMA AND JIV

    In Indian languages we often use the terms like ATMA AND JIV. And many a times we use them as synonyms. But are they same or different. I am not sure if someone has tried to answer this question . In English we have may be 2 different words - SOUL AND LIFE . But then when LIFE goes out of body one is dead and same with when SOUL leaves body we are dead. 

   The ATMAN or ATMA is the pure consciousness -or it's reflection ABHAS CHAITANYA . It is eternal and is not suppose to be limited by 3 limitations - DESH-KAL- VASTU. -Location- Time -Identity. Contrast to that we have JIV OR JIVATMA . The JIV is same reflected consciousness - the ABHAS CHAITANYA, which falsely identifies with the physical and astral or subtle bodies and also causal body. The example that may explain this would be that of the SUN. If we have a mirror and we see the reflection of the Sun in the mirror, the reflection is not the real Sun , but it has the qualities of the original SUN . It had light and heat -same as the SUN in the sky. But it is reflection or ABHAS. The reflected Sun will be gone if we take away the mirror. But if we remove mirror , nothing happens to original Sun in the sky. The ATMA is like reflected Sun -It has the power of making us talk and think and act and do good or bad actions. If there is no reflection - there is no light or heat - same way if there is no reflected Consciousness  there is no mind that can think or act etc. If we have more than 1 mirrors , the Sun will be reflected in every one of the mirrors and they all will have light and heat . The same way reflected consciousness in different bodies will have same effects . The JIV is REFELCETED CONSCIOUSNESS PLUS PHYSICAL AND ASTRAL AND CAUSAL BODIES. The JIV is confused ATMA which thinks it is limited to specific life. 

   So when one dies the physical body is gone. In the example of mirror -the frame of the mirror is gone . But the glass with i't coating - that made it a mirror is still there and so the reflection is still there . So the JIV is there with the Astral body -may be compared to glass in the mirror and the Causal body -may be compared to coating on the glass that makes a glass in to mirror. This unit is continued from one life to other. 

So the ATMA IS REFLECTION OF UNIVERSAL CONSCIOUSNESS WHILE JIV IS ATMAN CONFINED TO A UNIT OF PHYSICAL-ASTRAL- CAUSAL BODY DUE TO IGNORANCE OR MAYA .

ILLUSION OF THE WORLD

     We have often seen that the Vedic religion states that this universe is not REAL but an ILLUSION . But then what is real. If what I feel and what I see and what I smell-touch-hear etc is not real. But then what is real? and why do we feel it and act according to what our senses inform us ?

     There are some explanations for such concepts . One is that this whole universe is nothing but DREAM . Just like if I dream I CREAT all the characters and their movements and emotions and what they see - act and the story of their life . If  want someone to laugh I DO THAT and if I WANT THEM TO act, they do it . And when I wake up THEY ARE GONE. So they exist in my dream and even though the people in my dream and the tree and the car and animals etc may look and act as real, everything is is in my dream and if I wake up or my dream ends -ALL WILL DISAPPEAR. 

   If we extend this to the DREAM of the GOD then we are all nothing but existing in HIS DREAM and so is NOT REAL But as one can see , if I CREAT a DREAM , then I AM PRESENT -in thought form -in everything that I see . The tree , the garden the house ,the furniture and all the persons in the dream that I AM WATCHING have ME IN THEM. So if the GOD created a dream world then in everything that HE created will have his presence. SO THAT IS WHY WE SAY GOD IS PRESENT IN EVERY THING IN THE THIS UNVERSE. Remember the story of the devotee PRAHLAD and Hiranyskashyapu. 

      The persons in my dream have no idea of the creator of the dream - namely me. And he or she can not find ME in Temple or church or school or anywhere, but I AM PRESNT IN EVRYTHING THAT THAT PERSON IN THE DREAM IS COMING ACROSS. The same way, I cannot find the GOD in THIS UNIVERSE or church - temple etc ,But HE IS THERE IN EVERY THING THAT I SEE -TOUCH - FEEL ETC 

WHAT KIND OF GOD WILL I SEE IF I GET ENLIGHTENED >

      In Vedic religion, we have many Gods . In fact that is one of the objection raised by the ABRAHAMIC religions. But then they also have  their own so called point of respect namely cross or Virgin Mary and so on. But since we have so many different Forms of God , and different people worship different Gods , or correctly stated different Forms of the GOD, which one would one SEE- PERCEIVE-when one gets enlightened or would it be just NOTHING ?

     Again what I am going to say is just my view, as I am not enlightened. But my opinion is based on experiences of many masters and  feel that even they needed a statue to worship or meditate. Ramakrishna was in ecstasy with Mother KALI. Even though he was realized soul, he still worship the ultimate being in form of Mother Kali. So what was he seeing or perceiving when he was in Samadhi 

      So that brings to me the question and it's answer. If one is lucky to perceive the GOD, then one will see- perceive whichever GOD he or she was worshiping. The God or the BRAHMAN will be in form of ISHVARA, with form that one was worshiping , thinking about when one was meditating or having devotional worship. So if I am worshiping LORD KRISHNA, I will see Krishna and if I am worshiping Lord Rama, then I will see Lord Rama and so on.

 

HOW LONG IT TAKES BEFORE REINCARNATION

       Those who believe in reincarnation, may have a question that if we are incarnated , how many years it takes for reincarnation. This is a theological questions and so there is could be many answers. It may depend upon what one believes as to the reincarnation and why are we born again . 

   The short answer could be -'quick' to  hundreds of years. What I am writing is my OWN THOUGHT PROCESS. To know the time lapsed between the death and new life one must answer as to why we are born or may be why we need to be born . What is it that we CANNOT have in Astral world that we can get only in PHYSICAL world. 

   We have unfulfilled desires or VASANAS or have DEBT - give and take with the people that we come in contact with. Certain Desires or VASANAS cannot be fulfilled without having a physical body, e.g. eating food that I loved or alcohol or drug or sex .We cannot experience that pleasure without physical body and so we must be born in physical body to experience that pleasure. But these desires are not always intense and so they may not be effective to force us to be born quickly. But if a person dies in an accident, he or she will have more intense desire to come back than a person dying at age 90 years . So the person dying young will come back earlier than older one. Think of a mother who dies when her child is very young. She will be born very quickly. So it may happen in days or year . Contrast to that if someone dies a natural death at late age when usual Desires - VASANAS are fulfilled  including taking care of small children - parents or achieving success in life etc. , then they will  not be born for years . These people will be born to UPLIFT THEMSELF rather than fulfilling desires . Remember most of the things that we do as GOOD DEEDS or KARMA are to physical body - helping hungry, sick suffering in pain and so on - we cannot help them unless we have physical body . So if I need to create good KARMA ,I must have PHYSICAL body . To neutralize bad KARMA -debt that I did not repay - I have to come back in physical body . So to fulfill Desires , to Create Good Karma  and to wash out bad Karma ,, we need new physical body . 

    Depending upon these forces time that it takes for one to be reborn is determined .  . 

WHY WE DON'T HAVE MEMORY OF PAST LIFE?

      I have talked about the reincarnation and how we carry same Astral Body - also called SUKSHMA SHARIR and Causal body -or KARAN SHARIR. The Astral body is SUBTLE BODY and the subtle body is Mind ,Intelligence ,and Ego (MANAS-BUDHHI - AHANKAR). The mind and inelegance should have or have MEMORY. We act in certain way based on our PREVIOUS experience. So if I know that  fire flames in fire place are HOT and our hand will get burns, if we touch it, then even with fake fire place and flames which look  red hot , we will hesitate to touch it as our memory and intelligence tells us NOT TO DO IT. This memory should be carried from one life to other if the mind and inelegance are the SAME from one life to other.

     But that does not happen.. The child has NO memory of fire place or heat or anything like that. So why is this memory not there if the mind is same in new life after reincarnation. The answer may be as to what we call as memory. We in present life call memory when we 'remember ' the actual thing .When I see someone or meet someone , that I had seen in past, I am expected to remember him . This is the memory as we talk about in this life . But the memories that are carried from life to life are not that kind of memories. If I do remember the people , then I will have problem in my next life with relationships. The memory is stored in ASTRAL body is stored as IMPRESSION or in ABSTRACT form . So if I like donuts or cakes - i like sweet things - the memory that is carried from one life to other is not that of 'liking donuts or cakes' but stored as 'like sweet things'. If I am born in Indian family in my next life ,I will like sweet Indian things like 'JALEBI OR LADDU' ETC. The same things applied to dog or cat or a person. We will be in love with animals  and with certain person , we will have some kind of attraction. For them or certain qualities in them. 

     That is why we do carry memory, but not the same type of memory as we have in physical body memory 

WHAT HAPPENS TO CONSCIOUSNESS AT THE TIME OF DEATH?

      We have talked about the consciousness and the 3 bodies in Vedic religion and what happens to the 3 bodies at the time of Death. As we have talked in past, the physical body , which is made out of physical elements, is separated from the 2 other bodies namely the Subtle Body or also called Astral body - SUKSHMA SHARIS and the Causal body or also called KAARAN SHARIR .Just like a computer ,if the battery is dead or it has no electric power , the Hardware and the software , even though they are there, the computer CAN NOT WORK or perform it's job. The same thing with the the physical body and the 2 other bodies. Once we do not have support of  Astral and Causal bodies , the physical body will die and cannot perform it's function. The Astral body and the Causal bodies are functional with the consciousness , but without Physical body , it cannot EXPRESS anything or experience anything.

  The Consciousness is reflected and that is there  and that drives the bodies. The 2 bodies continue from life to life and the Physical bodies are different. Just like in computer , we can reinstalls the same  software and the all the things that we have stored on  hard drive. And then the NEW COMPUTER will work with memory of all the old documents and software .The consciousness ir there reflected in the causal body -astral body complex  and so there is the energy.

  The energy is lost or gone only when one DESTROYES the Astral and the Causal bodies . All the impressions are stored in Causal bodies and they are waiting to come to fruition. If there are no KARMA or Impressions left with their effects in Causal body then there is no causal body and there is nothing to reflect and the that is NIRVANA or MOKSHA .

REALITY ?? WHAT IS THE REALITY ?

       In Hindu religion, it is often stated that the BRAHM IS REALAND THE UNIVERSE IS UNREAL. ब्रह्म सत्य जगन मिथ्या . How can the universe which we experience every day be not real? But then all the enlightened Rhushis could not be wrong . So what is the real (?) explanation ?different colors - color blind person will see things differently. The 

     There are many thoughts that come to my mind . One simple is that all of us have different reality. I am looking at morning Sun rise and the sky is full of colors. I can see blue sky and white or dark clouds, and also red Sun and the shy that changes the colors as it rises . But someone who does not have cones in their eyes will have will have difficulties observing the colors - just like dogs who have limited spectrum of colors. So what is reality . Now I also said that the SUN IS RISING . But the Sun does not rise but the horizon goes down. So again we have question as to what is real. 

   But that is in THIS universe that we see . But one of the criteria used to say if something is real or not is if something that DOES NOT CHANGE . If I am looking at a table that I have, and I look at it daily and don't see any change and I thing it's real. But in reality, it is CHNAGING every second, every minute and every hour. So with the criteria of UNCHANGING the table is not real as it changes and then it will crumble  and decay. So this is second way of things being not REAL. 

     But one other  reason is the one that  the  enlightened souls explain. There are 3 different worlds. 

We all have dreams and in dream, we see things. we see human beings and animals and houses and roads etc. But say we are seeing ourselves in the dream and we are hungry in dream. The food in our home freeze could not satisfy the hunger in our dream world. We nee food in our DREAMWORLS  to satisfy DREAM WORLD hunger.  In our dreams THAT WORLD THE DREAM WORLD is reality. But then same thing in our present existence. Dream world food will not satisfy our this world hunger. Now to take one more step. If THIS WORLD is PROJECTED WORLD by the GOD or Brahaman .and we are existing in the projected world or a dream of the GOD . Our dream world is there as long as we are dreaming  and if we wake up . it will disappear. The same thing with this world. It depends upon the ISHVARA or God . It is HIS PROJECTION and without HIS projection this worls would not exist. As much as person in our dream is hungry and that is real to him , in the dream of the God we are hungry in his dream. 

   ND THAT IS THE REALITY .