Anupam- The Dreamer

At the first instance this question may seem ridiculous to you. But, I will try to explore the two aspects of this question, one literally and the other spiritually.

Just a little disclaimer- this article is not meant for the light-hearted and spiritually departed. So, if you are sure that you don’t fall into that category, then let’s get started.

Literally speaking, this question was answered by a physician in 1907. I read about this story about 2 decades ago. This was Duncan MacDougall, who measured the weight of a dying person at a moment just before the death (say t=0 sec) and just after the death (say t=1 sec) in his infamous experiment! He laid the dying person on a weighing scale and after his experiments concluded that the weight of human soul is 21 grams. This infamous experiment came to be known as 21 grams experiment. Although, later this was criticized due to his unscientific approach and small sample size. But, nevertheless it sparked a debate about the weight of an invisible entity called soul.

Now, spiritually speaking, there would be many who would doubt whether there is actually a soul in the human body! Let me put those doubt to rest first by asking a simple question. Taking a cue from the above example, what is the difference in the physical body of a person between the two situations- one just before the death of a person (at t=0 sec) and the second just after the death of a person (at t=1 sec). Pause reading now and take a moment to think….

I hope you would have thought something. Some would say that the body has turned lifeless, some would say that the biological processes like breathing, beating of heart etc. have stopped, some would say that soul has departed the body. So, when do you conclude that the death has actually happened? To my mind, it is not when the body turns lifeless or some biological processes have stopped. But rather it is when the soul has departed the physical body, which is an irreversible process!!! Otherwise, if you say that there is no soul, then what is the difference between two situations at t=0 sec and t=1 sec? And if there was nothing called soul, then the medical treatment should be able to put back life into a dead body because physically, structurally, biologically, chemically the human body remains the same at the exact moment of death! But, despite so much advancement in medical science, have you seen any single doctor in the world who tries to revive a dead body? Noone even tries, because it is impossible! If someone tries, he/she will be considered as mad! Because it is beyond the domain of a mortal human to put life into a dead body. Therefore, there is some difference between a living body and a lifeless body. Let’s call this difference, this immortal energy, this invisible energy, this irreversible feature as nothing but SOUL!

So, by now it must be clear that there is something called soul, the absence of which can instantly turn life into death. Now, if there is something, obviously it will intrigue us that what is its nature, where does it reside in our body and where does it go after death. Sometime ago, I was discussing these questions with one of my friends, when one other friend overheard the discussion. The one who had overheard the discussion out of wickedness and arrogance told us that this is the age for us to play “bat ball” and not to discuss these questions. I had such a pity on this fellow that if it doesn’t concern you, then why do you bother to get involved in the discussion in the first place, go and play your bat ball and be merry. That was stupid thing on his part. Nonetheless, if you are not in that category, lets continue…

The questions surrounding the soul have intrigued the mankind for centuries. Thousands of learned scholars have put their grey matter to work in searching for the answers. We have some answers, yet there are a lot of them which are yet unanswered. For some questions, it does not matter what others have to say, because some things have to be experienced by oneself to realize the true nature of soul to some extent. Scholars have shred light onto some aspects which I present before you now. Some have said that the soul is an invisible energy or undivided consciousness that connects all the living beings, whether human or any other life form. That consciousness is a part of the larger one integrated whole called “God”. It is the experience that some yogis have when they go deep into the meditative state, when the brain wave pattern enters the alpha wave or theta wave stage. They think themselves and other beings as essentially “ONE”! That consciousness brings peace in their mind coupled with the feeling that there is a part of them that cannot die, that is called soul. This feeling of being immortal frees them from the fear of death and when the fear is no more there, they live every moment in sheer bliss.

Now, let us delve into one more dimension of soul. Where does the soul reside in our body? The hands? No, because those with no hands also live. In legs, again no! The kidneys? No, those on dialysis also live. The brain? Even brain dead people can live for so many years. Then, lungs? I doubt. Then, it has to be the heart? But, then what is pacemaker or a heart pump which can help people survive without their functioning heart? The answer is not simple and I don’t have any answer to that! Maybe, it resides in multiple places together. Maybe, when different organs function in a particular rhythm, then only it resides in a body. Or maybe, it is some divine thing about which science has no answer. Sometimes, having no answers to the quintessential questions is what makes the life interesting. Isn’t it?

I will leave it at this. There is a lot to ponder already. Therefore, let’s keep some things about the soul to be discussed some other time….

Till then, let’s rest in peace! 😀