Who are we – how can we understand the Gita’s answer from a scientific perspective?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
was a chance for Dhritarashtra to redeem himself that Krishna offered him. Thank you.
of the human experience. This model is actually a three level model of the self. The body, the mind and the soul.
The body is what we physically see with our eyes. The mind is the subtle interface between the body which is physical and the soul that is spiritual. So these three could be compared in a computer system.
The body is like the hardware. The mind is like the software and the soul is the user. So with this three level model of the self, we see a tremendous explanatory potential for making sense of both the ordinary and the extraordinary human experiences of being conscious.
So consciousness is the energy of the soul. In the Bhagavad Gita, in the 13th chapter, verses 32 and 33, it is talked about how just as the sun is located at one place, but it radiates light far and wide across the universe. Similarly, the soul is situated at one place, but from there it radiates the consciousness outwards into the body.
And soul exists separate from the body, but it activates the body. And the interface between the soul and the body that is brought about through the medium of a subtle material element known as the mind. The mind is not the soul.
The mind is the link between the soul and the body. So the soul is the root of consciousness, r-o-o-t, root. And the mind is the root of consciousness, r-o-u-t.
Consciousness originates from the soul, is channeled through the mind and enters into the body. Now with this model, let’s see how various experiences can be understood. So in Dr. Penfield’s experiment, where there was a subject who raised the hand up and down, who was beyond the brain, that subject is actually the soul.
So the brain is the physical control agent, which is activated by the soul. So in the second part of the experiment, the brain was activated by Dr. Penfield. In the first case, it was activated by the soul of that person.
The soul activates through the mind, through the brain, into the body. And this activation is akin to a simulated reality. Whereas in simulation, a person was playing, say, a game of racing a car while chasing a thief.
The person presses some controls in the physical world and in the virtual world. The car moves in left, right, high speed, whatever. So like that, by the soul’s intention, the body gets activated.
And the connection is through the projection of consciousness done through the appropriate high-tech mechanism. It’s like when a person presses a button through the appropriate high-tech mechanism, the car may turn left or right. Like that, when the soul desires to do a particular activity, the mind comprises a sophisticated high-tech software medium through which the soul’s intentions are channeled into the brain and through the brain into the body.
And with this model, we could also explain how by the body itself is a mechanical unit which functions according to mechanical laws, but the soul itself is different. So the soul is a conscious agent of intention and action. And the soul has free will.
So the body works according to the laws of material nature, but the soul has free will. And our free will comes from the soul. The more we are spiritually evolved, the more our free will increases.
We’ll explore this more in a later session. Now as far as the past life memories and the near-death experiences are concerned.