Jivatma
The liberation of jivatma does not take place in one birth but occurs over many births. After the period of liberation of a jivatma ends, the Paramatma sends it back to a mother’s womb to get next sarira.
Desire, hatred, effort, happiness, sorrow and knowledge-these are the signs of jivatma.
‘My mana (mind) doesnot accept’ is an incorrect assertion because the mana is a jada padartha (unconscious physical material), and it is governed by the superior cetana of the conscious jivatma.
Some fruits of karma can be controlled or mitigated by the jivatma, like substituting the punishment of stealing by paying a fine, but it cannot become the arbiter and judge over all the fruits of karma by itself.
Jivatma is not tired by doing karma but there is a decrease in the capacity and energy of sarira and indriyas while performing actions.
Jivatma is endowed with 24 powers. The capacity to know is its chief power. Other capabilities are strength, bravery, attraction, motivation, momentum, fear, discretion, action, enthusiasm, memory, determination, desire, love, hatred, union, division, samyojaka, vibhajaka, sarvana, sparsana , darsana, svadana, gandha grahana and jnana. Jivatma is with the combination of these 24 powers.
The sastras consider it important to know the atma. Knowing the form of jivatma, one can get command over sanra,indriyas and mana. As a result, the atmajnani can judge the morality of actions, prevent the error of bad deeds, and perform only the best deeds.
Jivatma is anusvarupa, formless, alpajna, and less powerful (relative to Paramatma); it is conscious and independent to do its karma, it is subtler than one thousandth part of the tip of a hair.
Jivatma resides in heart of sarira.
The Jivatma in the sarira forms of human, animals, birds, insects-mother etc. are not different but the same type. There is difference in forms and characteristics of the different species sarira but not in the immutable atmas.
The Jivatma obtains the sarira for experiencing the karmaphala and to obtain moksa. Since the beginning of this universe, it has been getting the sarira and will continue to take shelter in a sarira until it receives moksa.
The living being neither becomes a ghost or nor does it wander after the death of the body. This is a false assumption. It has captured the popular imagination due to ajnana. The Jivatma enters the sarira as soon as the ovum and sperm unite and conception occurs.
Jiva means atma. It is not Paramatma. Both these entities are different and their guna, karma and svabhava are also different. That is why this assumption ‘atma so Paramatma’ is incorrect and therefore unwise to maintain.
Jiva can never become Isvara. Jivatma is a cetana (conscious) dravya. In vaidik darsana, dravyas are those elements which have certain guna (qualities), karma (actions) and svabhava (behaviours).
Jivatma is not independent in choosing a new sarira. When the due bhoga (enjoyment or undergoing experiences) of Jivatma in one sarira gets fulfilled then Isvara recalls the Jivatma from there and provides a new sarira to it.
Just like a formless electricity operates big machines, likewise the Jivatma despite its formlessness operates and drives this sarira through its magnetic energy.
Jivatma through its own desire cannot enter someone else’s Sarira. That is beyond its power and capacity.
Jivatma after leaving a sarira (after death) can only have another sarira according to Isvariya system.
When Jivatma leaves the body after death but does not get a suitable mother’s womb for obtaining the next sarira (due to it being very good or very worthless of atmas, according to its karma), then it remains in Isvara’s management for sometime.
When one realises Isvara and cultivates vairagya (dispassion) from worldly bhogas then the desires to obtain the bhogya padartha of samsara are also extinguished.
Jivatma desires complete and permanent happiness, peace, fearlessness and freedom. The jada sarira can not eat food and only the purely cetana (conscious) Jivatma also does not need food. Only the Jivatma residing in a sarira takes food in order to take work from the sadhana (means) of mana and indriyas etc.
In one sarira, both the doer and the experiencer is the one jivatma only. There is only one Jivatma in a body. The other Jivatma with its own sarira can inhabit the sarira of another Jivatma, just like a foetus lives in a mother’s womb. A parasite with its own Jivatma can also live on another sarira.
Jivatma in sarira resides in one place, not expansive. If it becomes expansive then it can not remain stable because of the changing form of the destructible sarira. The highest fate or purpose of the jivatma is to obtain paramsanti of moksa after the realization of Paramatma.
The happiness or sorrow that befalls the jivatma is the fruit of its karma. But many a times, happiness and sorrow are also earned in the form of cause and effects. This phenomenon occurs because the jivatma is closely related within the web of causation related to the cause and effects of others karma too.
The Isvara does justice in this case by adjusting the karmasaya of the recepient jiva of happiness and sorrows in the ratio of its store of virtues and sins. Similarly, the virtues and sins of the actor of the cause and effect karma are added to a new karmasaya whose fruit will be delivered in the future.
The control over the mana and indriyas with the observance of truth, dharma and conduct of justice, performance of only the auspicious karma, refraining from untruths and adharmic and unjust karma, maintaining a peaceful serenity, with satisfaction and gladness, are the signs of certainty that inform us that a person has realized the self or the atma.
(Excerpted from the book Divine Transformation: Building Blocks for Englightened Life, Ideal Nation & Peaceful World by Acharya Balakrishna)
