Jeevatma, Aatma and Paramatama

In the previous verse Krśņa talks about Buddhi Yoga which he mentions again in the next verse.

2-50. buddhi-yukto jahātīha

ubhe sukṛta-duṣkṛte

tasmād yogāya yujyasva

yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam

Meaning:

United with the spiritual intelligence, one who is born can cast off these

both pious and the evil deeds

that is thus the one who has attained yoga (balanced mind) without attachment
such yoga (maintaining a balanced mind) in all activities is a clever skill

This Buddhi Yoga is Spiritual Intelligence that is talked about in these verses. But what exactly spiritual intelligence means is rather difficult to understand or explain with words. Because it is not a voice inside me that I can hear, nor any form I can see, none of my other senses can identify with it. I just know it is something that exists and surfaces (at what seems like random will) but hard to master. According to the Bhagwat Geeta:

indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur

indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ

manasas tu parā buddhir

yo buddheḥ paratas tu saḥ

meaning:

The working senses are superior to dull matter; mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher than the mind; and he [the soul] is even higher than the intelligence.

What we call Buddhi or Intelligence is a collective term for three different faculties called intellect, intution and instincts. It is thus the knowledge we gain from the experiences of the eternal being within us (rather than the experiences of the material body or senses). Think about it. 

It is the intelligence of what we call Jeevaatma, Aatma and Paramatama or Soul, Self and God. Here is what the Bhagwat Geeta says about the source of all our Intelligence:

2-29. āścaryavat paśyati kaścit enam

āścaryavad vadati tathaiva cānyaḥ

āścaryavac cainam anyaḥ śṛṇoti

śrutvāpy enaṁ veda na caiva kaścit

Some look on the soul as amazing, others 

describe him as amazing, some

hear of him as amazing, while others, 

even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all.

Let us try to understand how intelligence  works:

Intellect is often explained as the facts we have learned in connection with the material contacts of the outside world and it is what gives us the ability to adapt ourself adequately to new situations. The decisions we take due to conscious reasoning can be attributed to our intellect. It can be further explained as the accumulated experience retained in our memories.

This is the knowledge of the JĒĒVĀTMĀ or the individual soul. JĒĒVĀTMĀ is a reflection of the ĀTMĂ (or the universal soul/consciousness within us) but because it has manifested itself in a form (entered a body), it does not identify with its divine essence but rather with its attributes, the physical body, the mind, the thoughts and physical/mental elements associated with the individual. The JĒĒVĀTMĀ is said to be a wanderer. It wanders from embodiment to embodiment and after a long process of development and experience again returns to the unity of the ĀTMĀ.

Here's how Krishna explains the existence of the soul or JĒĒVĀTMĀ or ĀTMĀ in the Bhagwat Geeta:

2-12-13.

na tv evāhaḿ jātu nāsaḿ

na tvaḿ neme janādhipāḥ

na caiva na bhaviṣyāma

sarve vayam ataḥ param

dehino 'smin yathā dehe

kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā

tathā dehāntara-prāptir

dhīras tatra na muhyati

Meaning:

Never was there a time when I did not exist, 
nor you, nor all these kings; 

nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.

As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, 

the soul similarly passes into another body at death. 

The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.

So, the jeevatma or individual soul is something that exists eternally and is responsible for what you consider your intellect; it is indeed eternal and not merely a chemical function of the brain or any physical part of your material body which is subject to destruction or death. Think about it. Your intelligence is not defined by the information you read or even what you see hear smell touch taste may not remain with you for ever, and that is not due to a weak memory or disability, it is how nature works. You, as a body only retain what penetrates your soul. And you as the soul only focus your energy on what is required, for the body to be focused on the task ahead of it.  In other words, your intelligence is defined not by how much information your brain retains but rather by being comfortable with not knowing everything, yet not being satisfied with everything you allready know. 

Instinct is usually explained as the behavior mediated by reactions below the conscious level. Something that happens 'naturally', something that is not a direct result of the known or learned behavior acquired through this life but is still intelligence indeed. A newborn baby sucks instinctively, so sucking here is a survival instinct.

It may also be described as God’s ray of light, which exists as the “light of life” in every living being or simply call it ĀTMĀ.

ĀTMĀ is also a part of what we call supreme intelligence or PARAMĀTMĀ and is therefore identical in nature with it. Just as the seed of a tree contains all the qualities of the tree, the ĀTMĀ also carries the qualities of the Supreme. And life on the material plain, that is life of the body of any being is a short one. That explains why the world is the way it is. To seek all the knowledge contained within the soul is as fruitless an activity as is trying to master all the knowledge in the universe just because it exists in writing in front of you, whether it is of any interest to the life in question or not. The Atma or instincts then is similar to a Librarian who knows where to find which information. It guides you but may not always provide answers to questions or solutions to problems. Solving or not solving problems then is the job of the Jeevatma? 

Intution is the even higher ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning. That is the feeling of being at peace with everything, being in complete knowledge, closer to the supreme lord. Intutions cannot come without one accepting the presence of the Supreme Lord. It is the knowing feeling one gets for moving on fearlessly into an uncertain future even if with an unprepared mind. 

So, Intelligence is all the accumulated experiences through various incarnations which gets added to the memories already contained in this Higher Self (Jeevaatma, Aatma) and makes them more complete after each incarnation getting closer to PARAMĀTMĀ. The word incarnation is a tricky one to use here but it is the best for it simply means a new personification of an old idea. 

PARAMĀTMĀ is this Supreme Principle, whatever we choose to call it: God, Supreme Self, Divine Self, Love, Truth or Reality or Ķrśņa.

In the above verse Krśņa says, tasmād yogāya yujyasva yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam. Yogaya is the person with a balanced mind while the word Yujyasva is formed off two words Yuj (meaning to join) and Asva (meaning without possession). The word Yoga is also formed off the root Yuj (meaning to join or Union) so Buddhi Yoga is a state of being when ones ĀTMĀ has met PARAMĀTMĀ.

Lusty intelligence influences the spirit soul to acquire the false ego and identify itself with matter, and thus with the mind and senses. The spirit soul becomes addicted to enjoying the material senses and mistakes this as true happiness.


So this is easier to understand only when you let go of what is described as false ego. Because the Ahamkāra tatva is the reason why the soul and our intelligence is percieved in three different states of being - individual, universal and supreme. The last state being the complete knowledge which is never really achieved and that is the puport of life. So the more you tune into yourself, the higher up you move on the ladder of knowledge closer to the supreme and vice versa. 

You are an eternal soul that existed before this body you live in, came into existence; the same way that you are not a reflection of your parents (though your body is and that is what we call Maya). Khalil Jibran also said in one of his famous poems that I am reminded of right now. Here's the first stanza:

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

Avantika, the whole reason for me to put out this post is because I want you to know, you are important to me and I feel indebted to you for what you have given me. This awareness and strength which I never felt nor experienced before is probably my destiny but I want to be able to remind myself how you were a part of this destiny.