Where does the soul reside?

[Guest]

Do Sikhs believe in the concept of a human soul/spirit beyond just body and mind? If so, where does this soul reside? Inside the man? Outside?

[swarn bains]

mind is a thought processing syste. it is imaginary not physical. soul resides in the mind and watches what mind does and records soul is part of God .

[Bundha]

If the soul resides in the mind and the mind is imaginary then what does that make the soul ???

The mind is an entity may not be physical but real none the less, as is Suratt, Bhiratt and Dhyaan all are used in the quest for AkaalPurkh.

The soul is real and immortal. Only the body dies, death is just another door the soul passes through on its long quest to merge with the Almighty.

The body is physical but within it there is so so much more than skin, bones and organs. There is so much that is not physical. Doctors know nothing of it, only when you do Naam Simran and your spiritual level increases and your Suratt starts to go inwards that you see the wonders that exist within. The soul resides within, your mind resides within, Kaam, Karodh, Lobh, Moh and Hunkaar and real entities andreside within and most importantly Akaal Purkh resides within. But who is prepared to put in the time and effort and LOVE to find Him?

We know that Akaal Purkh resides within but who amongst us have closed our eyes and mentally done nimaskaar to Him inside?

Gauree Chaytee, First Mehla: Ang 155
There are five of them, but I am all alone. How can I protect my hearth and home, O my mind?
They are beating and plundering me over and over again; unto whom can I complain? ||1||
Chant the Name of the Supreme Lord, O my mind.
Otherwise, in the world hereafter, you will have to face the awesome and cruel army of Death. ||1||Pause||
God has erected the temple of the body; He has placed the nine doors, and the soul-bride sits within.
She enjoys the sweet play again and again, while the five demons are plundering her. ||2||
In this way, the temple is being demolished; the body is being plundered, and the soul-bride, left all alone, is captured.
Death strikes her down with his rod, the shackles are placed around her neck, and now the five have left. ||3||
The wife yearns for gold and silver, and her friends, the senses, yearn for good food.
O Nanak, she commits sins for their sake; she shall go, bound and gagged, to the City of Death. ||4||2||14||

Pauree: Ang 140
Through all the months and the seasons, the minutes and the hours, I dwell upon You, O Lord.
No one has attained You by clever calculations, O True, Unseen and Infinite Lord.
That scholar who is full of greed, arrogant pride and egotism, is known to be a fool.
So read the Name, and realize the Name, and contemplate the Guru's Teachings.
Through the Guru's Teachings, I have earned the wealth of the Naam; I possess the storehouses, overflowing with devotion to the Lord.
Believing in the Immaculate Naam, one is hailed as true, in the True Court of the Lord.
The Divine Light of the Infinite Lord, who owns the soul and the breath of life, is deep within the inner being.
You alone are the True Banker, O Lord; the rest of the world is just Your petty trader. ||6||

[IJJSingh]

Do Sikhs believe in the concept of a human soul/spirit beyond just body and mind? If so, where does this soul reside? Inside the man? Outside?

As per Gurbani, there is only one thing which exists in reality, everything else is an illusion. The only real thing is called God or soul. The soul is indivisible, formless, perfect and unchanging. Therefore, it would be wrong to assume that every person has a separate soul. The question: "whether the soul lives inside or outside a person?" is also flawed. The concept of inside/outside in something which is formless does not make sense. Also, you need more than one thing for inside/outside to make any sense. The one soul is everything, and it permeates everything. Mind is an illusion created out of soul. Mind is individualistic. Mind is the basis of ego. Body and the universe is a temporary perception created by the mind.

If we must think in terms of duality from the perspective of an individual man and must decide whether the soul is inside or outside this man. I suggest the following analogy: Carve a jug from a block of ice, and then drop this jug in ocean. The jug represents man and water represents soul. Water is inside the jug, outside the jug, and the jug is made of water. This jug is temporary and as soon as it loses its hardness (ego), it will dissolve and disappear into water.

The following excerpts from personal notes of Sant Isher Singh ji Rarewale may help further. These notes were published after Sant ji passed away:

Chapter 1: "Yesterday was August 5, 1965. This perishable, ever changing and pain-prone body completed its fifty eight years of existence and started the fifty ninth year. But I am a soul. I have no birth, no death, and I do not age. Till the day I was ignorant and thought I was a body, I suffered immensely and my mind had no peace. I mistakenly thought that I was somebody who was subject to birth and death. With the Guru’s grace I realized my true existence. From that day onwards, I am no longer a prisoner in this body. I have been living in bliss in a realm which is above birth and death and which is above this perishable body. Peace and turmoil are both qualities of mind -- soul is a witness to both of these. It’s like there are two images painted on a canvas: one is a horse in gallop and the other one a horse standing still. The canvass is a witness to both. Like the two images of horses, turmoil and stillness are the qualities of the mind. As the canvas has nothing to do with what goes on with the images, so the soul remains forever still and aloof from mind."

Chapter 21: "Our mind has conjured an illusion which has been called many things such as: maya , avidya , magic, or ignorance. It is similar to water appearing in a mirage. Everything invisible/visible in this creation from Brahma to a blade of grass is no more than a figment of imagination. Names and forms are nothing more than imaginary symbols or ideas in our mind. Everything seen, heard, felt or spoken is definitely an illusion. Use this knowledge as water for daily bathing of your mind. Maintain the memory of the Lord always in your mind. The Lord, who is beyond form and attributes, is indivisible, complete and perfect. With practice over time, the mind will start merging into the vast consciousness and will start experiencing the absolute meditation. Steady increase of this practice will quieten the mind and will lead to the bliss of salvation-while-alive, and will result in formless salvation once the body has run out its pre-ordained time.

ਬੰਦੇ ਖੋਜੁ ਦਿਲ ਹਰ ਰੋਜ ਨਾ ਫਿਰੁ ਪਰੇਸਾਨੀ ਮਾਹਿ ॥ ਇਹ ਜੁ ਦੁਨੀਆ ਸਿਹਰੁ ਮੇਲਾ ਦਸਤਗੀਰੀ ਨਾਹਿ ॥ O human being, search your own heart every day, and do not wander around in confusion. This world is just a magic-show; no one will be holding your hand. (SGGS 727)

ਕਬੀਰ ਮਾਇਆ ਡੋਲਨੀ ਪਵਨੁ ਝਕੋਲਨਹਾਰੁ ॥ ਸੰਤਹੁ ਮਾਖਨੁ ਖਾਇਆ ਛਾਛਿ ਪੀਐ ਸੰਸਾਰੁ ॥ Kabeer, Maya is the butter-churn, and the breath is the churning-stick. The saints eat the butter, while the world drinks the whey. (SGGS 1365)"

Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh

[swarn bains]

well done