Why does scripture say that the sould doesn’t experience any emotion?
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Thank you So when sometimes we hear that the Soul does not experience anything Then how can How can we say that it is the soul which is Actually experiencing Emotions Yes In the 13th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita In text 33 and 34 The transcendental position Of the soul is stressed That 32-35 talks about this actually That That That That just as The As the sky Pervades everything But remains different Similarly the soul remains different From the body Another example is Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna The soul does not do anything And the soul is not entangled And how that Happens that is explained through these Two verses The ether does not mix with the body The ether does not mix with Anything else The sun remains different Different from the soul The soul remains different from the body Now if you see here This section is Gyana Chakshu Gyana Chakshu means this is the eyes of knowledge So Those who see with the eyes Of knowledge see that They are not affected They are not affected Even when in the material world there are big distresses That come they understand that they are not Affected So To give a simple example now Like say If there are senior devotees There will be very advanced devotees And pure devotees Now suppose You know he had some Some physical ailment So does this spiritual advancement Mean that they don’t feel pain So Now at a practical level They also go to doctors And they go to doctor because They feel some pain And they may also tell you I am feeling pain here I am feeling pain here and now I am feeling better So now what does spiritual advancement Mean Is it that They become physically Desensitized Or deadened No they have to function with the body So if they become physically deadened Then if you cook nice prasad for them They will not be able to say also it tastes good Doesn’t taste good So physical Sensation is there in the body Now if the physical sensation of something good is there Then the physical sensation of something bad Will also be there So what is the major difference Between a pure devotees Attitude towards the body and Our attitude towards the body is that Is of identification That We identify with the body So if I have a fracture And I feel my body is fractured, my leg is fractured My hand is fractured On the other hand if my car is punctured Now my car puncture Is also a problem But it is not as immediate as a problem As say my leg fracture So we could say that My leg fracture Is a pain This is a matter of terminology Slight difference but my car puncture Is an inconvenience So inconvenience also Has to be dealt with And that inconvenience has to be Dealt by going to a mechanic or going to someone Who will fix the car tyre So for those Who are detached from the body Those who are not identifying with the body Any bodily problem for them is like A dysfunction of a car Is like a car puncture So it’s an inconvenience So they don’t feel it With the same magnitude as we feel it Because they don’t identify with it that much But it’s not that It doesn’t at all matter To them It matters because They want to serve Krishna In this world also and for serving Krishna In this world they need the body As an essential tool But because the extent of identification Is not that much So The way they experience The pain is different from the way We experience it We feel as if it is happening to me They see it as happening to their vehicle So By this kind of distancing The You could say the nature Or the way in which the pain is Perceived that varies This is not happening to me This is happening to my body The body is different from me That realization is there So When it is said that the soul does not Do anything, the soul does not Experience anything, the soul is not entangled That is from the point of view Of the nature of the soul Which is different from the body But at the same time While the soul is functioning in the body The soul’s consciousness Can get projected into the body Just like say there is a India-Pakistan cricket match going on Now in a practical sense If India loses In my day to day life nothing happens to me It’s not that I have lost my job Or it’s not that I failed in my exam But Because I am emotionally involved so I am affected So has the India-Pakistan loss India’s loss to Pakistan Has it affected me or has it not affected me You could say in one sense it has not affected me Because my routine life It has not affected me in a real sense In the sense that I have not lost my job I have not lost any money Nothing has happened to me But it has affected me in the sense that Emotionally I have got affected by it And the magnitude of the effect will depend on how much I am involved emotionally in the match So For the extent We are identifying With something, with the body To that extent The phenomena that happen to the body We experience them as Happening to us But to the extent we Don’t identify with it, to that extent We see those phenomena as distant From us So there is a 13.20 21 in the Bhagavad Gita says कार्य कारण कर्तृत्वे हेतुः प्रकृत्रुच्यते पुरुशेह सुखतुखानाम भोक्तृत्वे हेतुरुच्यते It means कार्य and कारण, cause and effect The arena of cause and effect Is हेतुः प्रकृत्रुच्यते All this happens within the realm of material nature So a bowler bowls a ball A batsman hits a six That is all happening on the cricket field It is what I am seeing on the TV It is happening in the realm of material nature we could say But पुरुशेह सुखतुखानाम The soul which is transcendental Experiences सुखा and दुखा because of भोक्तृत्वे हेतुरुच्यते भोक्तृत्वे is a desire to enjoy So if a person does not have the desire to enjoy the cricket match Then the cricket match will still go on The sixer will be hit But there is no pleasure or pain involved But because of the desire to enjoy The pleasure or pain happens So similarly for us To the extent we get emotionally involved in things To the extent we experience Physical pain or physical pleasure So the soul from the ultimate perspective Is transcendental Is unaffected But from the Present state of experience Soul is experiencing something Another example A person could be like a dream A person has a nightmare At one level nothing is happening to them They are comfortably in bed But at another level A lot is happening to them Even when they wake up Their heart may be palpitating They may be sweating So it’s In a real sense Nothing is happening to them But in the sense of their own experience A lot is happening to them So like that Depending on the frame of reference That is being talked about Sometimes it will be said that The soul is not involved in anything The soul does not feel anything That kind of statements Are made to invoke A sense of detachment Don’t get so emotionally involved But then If absolutely nothing is happening to us Then Then Why does the scripture Talk about a process of sadhana For becoming spiritually awakened Because Right now we are Emotionally invested in material things And we cannot just suddenly become disinvested There is a process of purification There is a process of realization So again with respect to the sleep example Or the TV example I could simply switch off the TV Or somebody could shake me and I’ll come out of the dream But it is not like that With respect to our present situation We will have to follow a gradual process of Purification By which we will come out And then we will realize it So in that sense We have to Accept that our present entanglement In the material world And the emotions that we experience right now are real At least from our perspective They are real And we cannot wish them away But at the same time If we start getting too emotionally consumed by them We can, basically scripture Has to be Understood In a way that helps us to grow Helps us to make To respond to life In a better way So If we are getting too emotionally involved Then we can see that Actually Actually Nothing is happening to me But if we are getting too Emotionally distanced, desensitized Hard hearted Then we have to understand Actually I am playing a role right now And I have a responsibility associated with that role And I need to exhibit the appropriate amount of Sensitivity in that situation So usually According to how we can Best serve We need to find the appropriate Scriptural understanding