Atman: The Doctrine of the Soul

This paper is a rewrite of a paper written over 20 years ago, while the author was a student at Long Island University's Brentwood campus as a business student. The paper was written for a class in modern art and was a commentary on one of outdoor sculptor, Mark DeSuveros's masterpieces. It is based on a topic in Hindu mysticism: in Hindi "Atman" means "Soul" in Hindi. The original paper received rave reviews and has prompted him to reconstruct it and add to it years later.

At the point in time the original paper was written, this author had no familiarity with doctrines of the soul contained in any religion, even his own native Judaism. In fact, he was looking for one of Mr. DeSuveros's topics on the Jewish concepts of the nature of God called "Adonai Elohim". Since the original paper was done, the author has studied most of the major world's religions for their teachings on the soul and its relation to the macrocosm outside of the microcosm, which is the soul.

The Brahmin: The big picture

The Brahmin is the macrocosm of the universe. In Judaism, the parallel term for God is called Ein Sof which is, literally, "without end" or "infinity". All things arise from the dynamic nature of God. God is the ground and source of all being.

Modern Hinduism has been impacted by the monotheistic religions especially as India was under British rule and was the target of Christian missionaries. Modern Hinduism is referred to as "Brahminism" and modern Hindus stress that all the Gods come from the one God. As the need for different godly entities arise, new gods come into being or gods like Vishnu create avatars, like Krishna.

It is the activity of God to constantly seek out improvement and to make new, more useful beings spring into being. Life takes on many diverse and variegated forms especially in the potent biosphere of our planet Earth and it's due to the constantly evolving nature of life on this earth, new ideologies and beings also, come into creation. As the conditions arise to allow new beings to come into existence, they arise.

The relationship of God to the universe is the same as the soul is to the being it's in. God's essence fills and encompasses the universe giving it life and even purpose. The Jewish mystics say that the nature of God is that he is sovev kol almin ("surrounding the universe") and memaleh kol almin ("filling the universe").

The universe itself is alive and not dead. Even seemingly inert and still matter, has movement and purpose. It is the mistake of modern science to not understand that the infinite consciousness of God interacts with matter, bringing out the latent life potential in matter. God's consciousness is bound, inextricably to the energies in the universe and operates on matter. In this way, God gives rise to everything in existence, and transforms reality.

Furthermore, the Jewish sources postulate that God can be understood as "taking on many hats" so to speak. Adonai is God on the level, or madreigah, of being beyond comprehension, and Elohim relates God as He can be understood by watching and observing nature and extrapolating from what is known. In Judaism, God has many names which all teach about different aspects of the Deity.

The Hebrew word for nature has the same numerical value as the word Elohim. The Kabbalistic mystical system of analyzing numerical values in the Bible or Torah is called gematria. Some author's like Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan consider mysticism to really be unexplained logic and since it's misunderstood, people think it is a magical art. It isn't, according to Rabbi Kaplan.

Each person or sentient being has a different perspective and each object existing in our reality does so because there's a piece of the God that's attached to everything in existence.

The universe is perceived as a five dimensional continuum of 3 dimensions of space, the dimension of time (which can further be subdivided into past, present and future) and the aspect of spirit. In this plane of existence, called the world of action (thought, word and deed) or the plane of Asiyah, everything in reality relates in concrete terms via concretized vessels.

The Kabbalists maintain that God created the universe through a series of contractions (Heb.tzimtzum). In this process, light was condensed into "vessels" or kelim which contain the light (called Ohr in Hebrew). The Kabbalists further maintain that you can "perceive God from [your] flesh" specifically via the contractions your body goes through in dealing with a situation especially those in your right arm.

Also, the world we live in is the world of action in the sephirah ("emanation") of Malchut or "Queen ship", which means that we live in the nurturing environment of "Mother Earth".
It might appear to some people that in recent years there's been a breakdown of morality. Judaism maintains that in each generation from a previous generation that the order of the neshamot is on a lower spiritual level.

Rabbi Moses Maimonides, known as the Rambam or Maimonides in Jewish circles, was a court physician and Grand Vizier to the Moslem emperor Saladin (Arabic Sala-al-din). He wrote a masterwork called "Guide for the Perplexed" which was an attempt to reconcile Aristotelian philosophy with the Torah ("Bible") and Yehadut ("Judaism). Although rejected by many early on, even burned, it is currently well received in Jewish circles. He wrote in the book that when something bad happens to a person, you have to look for a hidden sin.

The Atman - the microcosm and its relationship to Brahmin

The Atman is actually created from a spark from God. Judaism says that the neshama is created from a "radiation from kedusha" ("holiness"). All sentient beings, especially humans have an atman and it's this that shapes a person's nature, and potential especially as it relates to the world outside of an individual. And based upon the type of life led, a person generates either "good or bad karma" (Hindi for "action" which corresponds to the Hebrew asiyah).

At birth, all beings have a "hand of cards" dealt to them, so to speak and everything proceeds from that. Everyone has a different set of predilections and proclivities and in life all of a person's life potential is worked out.

Karmic seeds that are sown today, give rise to the next reality the person faces. If a person accumulates good karma, it sows positive seeds that bloom into a successful person and if a person sows negative karmic seeds, it produces problems for the person and also for the world. The world as a system has some flexibility built into it but is not totally able to rebound from bad karmic seeds. In other words, the ecosystem is harmed by bad karma and helped by good karma.

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, a great grandson of the founder of the Chasidic movement (Israel the Baal Shem Tov or "Master of the Good Name"), says in his masterwork, Lekutei Mohoran that when a person sins it causes a separation between the person and God and also makes it more difficult for the individual to live and earn a living. The only way to succeed again at all is to repent and engage in doing positive things (Hebrew: mitzvot).

The term mitzvah is derived from the words; tzvatchon chibur, which mean doing such, creates a connection to God. You never actually know the full extent of the good effects of doing a particular deed, but in Judaism you're supposed to do such lishmah, i.e., for its own sake not expecting any reward for doing such. Similarly, if you commit a sin (Heb. aveirah) you never really know the punishment for it or its real impact and severity on the ecosystem.

As a side note, the term Torah comes from the Hebrew root word, "Ohr" or light, illumination, radiation hence instruction. In the Christian Bible it seems to be called "the Law". That's a confusion of terms because the term "Pharisee" comes from the Hebrew word payrushim, which means the interpreters (of the Law).

The relationship of the God to the Atman can best be understood by this simple equation: A = a. Atman is the reflexive principle of God alive in everything that exists.

The universe itself has a soul in God; planets also have souls that can be best understood as "world souls".

Planets can also be understood as cosmic seeds or perhaps better "cosmic incubators" which house many seeds. As such, planets can be called "celestophytes".

The Atman, or soul, is composed of aggregates. It's this author's belief that the Atman's composite nature reflects the very nature of Brahmin. In the Torah, it is maintained that man is created b'tzelem Elokim or "in the image of God".

According to both the Buddhists and Judaism's Kabbalah (Heb. "to receive") the actual number of basic levels of the soul are five in nature. The Jewish mystics postulate that the levels can be known by their acrostic, "NaRaNChaY". Those levels, specifically, are called nefesh habahamit or "animal soul", nefesh haelokit or "divine soul" also known as the neshama, ruach or "breath", chayah and yechidah). Those aggregates are continually changing in nature.

The neshama has a partner called the yetzer tov or "good impulse" or "good inclination". The neshama's function is to help a person relate to God and hopefully, to self-actualize. The nature of the neshama is to cause a person to cleave to Brahmin, to master the reality the person is in and graduate to new, higher levels of consciousness and better karma. It has a natural tendency to strive upward.

Perhaps it is just a coincidence, but just as the letter "A" meets in a single vanishing point that points upward to infinity, it's the nature of the atman to seek being reunited with God, which is the infinite, all-powerful God. Hinduism says that when someone passes on from this world, the soul is subsumed into the Godhead.

If the soul accumulates good karma, according to the Hindus, a being can be reincarnated in a better karmic situation than the last one. Or if it has completed its cycle it can be released from the cycle of rebirth called samsara and reach nirvana or "paradise".

Hinduism maintains that lower forms of life can actually be evolved to higher form via accumulating good karma. Some Jewish sources maintain that similar results can happen. But if you accumulate bad karma, you can come back as a less important person, or even an animal, a vegetable or a mineral. This change of station from human to animal or lower form of being is called "metempsychosis." Saadia Gaon, a Jewish sage, wrote in his book, "Beliefs and Opinions" that metempsychosis was an absurd belief, so it's not unanimously accepted.

Mark DeSuvero's "Atman" piece has swing on it where a person can play inside the "A" frame of its body. Just like the saying, "we are all players and the world is our stage", the sculpture recognizes this. In fact, everything in existence that has sentience relates to the universe in a spirit of play.

The next level, the nefesh habahamit or animal soul is that part of a person's psyche that gives rise to the necessity of how to survive and hopefully, comfortably. The nefesh habahamit is concerned with the lower things in life. It seeks creature comforts, long life but even seemingly negative traits like "keeping up with the Joneses" have value.

The nefesh habahamit also gives rise to an instinct to limit a person in opposition to the neshama's drive to self actualize. It's the crowd instinct at work and peer pressure at its best.

In Hebrew, the word for Egypt is Mitzrayim, which has the root word of meitzer, which means "limitations". The enslavement in the "land of limitations" was something that was necessary for the ancient Israelites to overcome in order to come into Israel and be "on the level" or madreigah of Israel (Eretz Yisrael). Yisrael means "He who strives with God" or alternatively "Warrior of God". The Israelites went from being slaves to being a sovereign people in a sovereign nation of Israelites.

The nefesh habahamit has as a partner, the yetzer harah or "evil inclination". It's a Jewish teaching that the yetzer harah is actually a very good thing. Without this component in a person's psyche, no one would marry or seek a career. The yetzer harah is actually a part of the Devil (Heb. Hashatan or "The Adversary") and is there to test and try to drag a person down. If the person overcomes the yetzer harah, he receives a reward and if not the person accumulates bad karma.
And the term, "inclination" is literal not just figurative. When the good inclination is at work, the person leans or pulls towards the right and when the evil inclination is at work, the person leans or pulls toward the left. This knowledge was known in ancient Rome too, as the word for "sinister" in Latin is "left" in English. The evil inclination is rooted in the left ventricle of the heart. The good inclination is rooted in the right arm.

According to the Zohar, the central work in Jewish mysticism, or Kabbalah, the Devil is Deus inverso or "God inversed". The Devil and his impact are in direct conflict with God's attempts at building a better world. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

Lloyd Graham mentions in his book, "Deceptions and Myths of the Bible" that there's a constant battle going on for the energy latent in the universe which is bound to what he calls the "creative principle" to uncongeal the matter in the universe and cause it to evolve into life forms or anything else of a higher order than was originally operated on.

Ruach means "wind" or "breath". It is this level of God mentioned in the first chapter of Genesis when the Bible says, "The spirit (ruach Elohim) of God was moving on the face of the waters (mirachepet al hamayim)" and then the world was shaped.

Buddhism postulates that there's a part of the soul that does not change and that is called anatman. Hinduism doesn't recognize this as true. Judaism maintains that a person's neshama is born pure, but can become tainted. It also maintains that a person can improve by doing mitzvot.

Sources:
The Encyclopedia of Religion
Etz Chaim ("Tree of Life") by Rabbi Chaim Vital
Raayah M'hemna ("Light and Perfection")
The Jewish Encyclopedia
"On the Essence of Chasidus" by Rabbi MM Schneerson,
Published by Kehot
Lekutei Mohoran by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov
Lekutei Amarim, Tanya by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi
Likutei Sichot by Rabbi MM Schneerson
Askmoses.com
The Talmud
Deceptions and Myths of the Bible by Lloyd Graham
Philip Birnbaum's "Book of Jewish Concepts"
The Sefer Yetzira ("Book of Formation") - translated by Rabbi
Aryeh Kaplan, purportedly written by the Patriarch Abraham
3,800 years ago
Inner Space - Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan
Asimov's Guide to the Bible by Isaac Asimov
The Zohar (Book of Splendor)
Maimonides "Guide for the Perplexed"
Saadia Gaon's "Beliefs and Opinions"
The Jewish Catalog volumes I and II
The Jewish Encyclopedia
The Catholic Encyclopedia
Web based articles from Hineni.org, Jewishpath.org, 613.org, Breslov Research, D'var.org and Chabad Lubavitch (Chabad.org)
Correspondence with B'nai Baruch - a Kabbalistic society in
Israel
Discussions over the phone with the Kabbalah Center
The Midrash
Numerous magazine articles and publications in the Jewish community such as "Tikkun", "Lillith", and "Commentary"
magazines
Lectures by Rabbi Yehoshua Witt, Rabbi MM Schneerson,
Rabbi Yitzchak Fried, Rabbi Meir Fund and Rabbi Shlomo
Carlebach, Rabbi Weirceberg and Rabbi Yaakov Goldberg
Interviews with Hindus and various books on Hinduism
located in the Woodbridge, NJ public library Main Branch
and in the Hofstra University library in LI, NY
Web based resources on Hinduism and Buddhism
Ancient World Web - a vast encyclopedic website on ancient
cultures
Wikencyclopedia - web based encyclopedia