NATURE,SEAT & FACULTIES OF SOUL

FACULTIES OF THE SOUL

The soul is a living or a sentient being. It is said to be sentient or living because it can think and reflect; ican experience pleasure and pain as also bliss and peace; it can bestir itself and make efforts and actions,whether
 good or bad. The soul has three faculties – mind, intellect and predispositions.

The mind is the thinking faculty of the soul. It is the mind that imagines, thinks and forms ideas. The thought process is the basis of all emotions, desires and sensations. It is through this faculty that thoughts can be projected to a distant place, past experiences and emotions can be relived and the future can be anticipated. It is the mind that experiences variations of mood. The mind is a faculty of the metaphysical soul, not to be confused with the brain.
The intellect is used to assess thoughts. It is the faculty of understanding and decision-making and stands out as the most crucial faculty of the three. With the broadening of the intellect, clear understanding and realization of knowledge becomes natural, and the power to decide and reason increases. It is the intellect that discriminates, judges and exercises its power in the form of will.
Predispositions (called sanskars in Hindi) are the impressions or sub-consciousness which is a record of the soul’s past experiences and actions. Sanskars can take the form of habits, talents, emotional state, personality traits, beliefs, values or instincts. Every action either creates a sanskar (this is how a habit begins) or reinforces an old one. Whichever impression is etched on the soul remains there, forming a record of the experiences the soul has had. When we speak of someone’s defects, specialties or virtues, we are referring to sanskars, which are the basis of a person’s individuality.

SEAT OF THE SOUL

The soul is located in the part of the brain called the hypothalamus. Sitting on this seat it controls the nervous system and, through it, various organs in the body. Just as a driver controls a car through its control mechanisms while sitting in the driver’s seat, the soul uses the brain to control the body. The brain is the machine by means of which the soul thinks, remembers and receives and sends messages to physical organs through the nerves. Apart from physical sensations, the soul experiences pleasure, pain, happiness and sorrow through the brain.

NATURE OF THE SOUL

A soul is a tiny, metaphysical, sentient point of spiritual light. The number of souls is finite and all souls are unique and eternal: they were never created and will never be destroyed. As such, souls are invisible to the naked eye but one can experience their presence. The soul has no gender.
The intrinsic nature of the soul is that of love, peace, happiness, truth, bliss and purity. Therefore, souls always desire an experience of these qualities.