My Search for Soul in the Body Is Unsuccessful. Where Should I Exactly Look for It?

People have been searching Soul but it is yet not found. As they try to do so on their own, their search for Soul remains futile. So, what should one do to find Soul? Well, when it comes to Soul seeking, you need a living spiritual master who has experienced the Soul in the body. Let’s hear from one such master as to where does the Soul reside in the human body.

The Soul Is in the Entire Body

The Soul is fully covered by the body. Except for the nails and the hair that we usually cut, there is Soul in the entire body.

Wherever Pain Is Felt, Soul Is Present There

If we prick a needle anywhere on the body and we experience pain, it means the Soul is present there. Wherever pain is felt, there the Soul is present. In the event of death, when the Soul has left the body, no matter how many times one keeps poking the skin with a pin, the body would not utter a word or flinch at all, would it? It is because in the absence of Soul, the body does not experience any pain. 

Let’s understand this from Param Pujya Dadashri’s conversation below:-

Questioner: But where is the Soul located in the body?

Dadashri: Ask where Soul is not located in the body?! The Soul is not in the hair and in the nails; it is not in the part of the nail that we cut. Everywhere else in the body, there is Soul. So, you do not have to ask where is Soul in the body, but you need to ask where in the body the Soul is not present. There is no Soul in the part of the hair that we cut. If someone cut your hair in your sleep, you would not know it; because there is no Soul there. But in the places where there is Soul, you would feel the prick of a pin right away.

Questioner: Generally, is Soul not in the brain? And is it not because of the nerves that we feel the pin prick?

Dadashri: No. The Soul is in the entire body. The brain is in the head; it is only a machinery and a tool that provides internal information. The Soul exists throughout the body. If a thorn pricked you on the foot even slightly, would you not immediately feel it?

Due to the presence of Soul, there exists the feeling or sensation of pain and pleasure in the body. However, the interesting fact is that the Soul does not feel this pain or pleasure. The inherent property of the Soul is knowledge. Therefore, the Soul only knows the pain and pleasure; it does not indulge into anything else whatsoever. This is what Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan explains here:

Questioner: Can we say that the Soul feels pain?

Dadashri: The Soul can never feel pain. If you put a burning flame on ice, will it burn the ice?

Questioner: It does not hurt when we cut our hair, so does that mean the Soul is not there?

Dadashri: No, it is not there.

Questioner: And where we feel pain, is the Soul there?

Dadashri: Yes, there is Soul there.

The Soul Expands and Contracts According to Size of the Body

The Soul is present in every living being; it is present in an elephant as well as in an ant. If the Soul is in the entire body, of what size is it?

The answer to this question reveals one more property of Soul: It can expand as well as contract to auto-fit the size of any body. Come, let’s see how…

Questioner: Just as the Soul is throughout the human body, is it the same in an ant’s body or an elephant’s?

Dadashri: Yes, the Soul is in the entire body. That is because the Soul has the property of contraction and expansion. The Soul will expand according to the size of the receptacle (body). If the receptacle is small, the Soul will contract to fit into it.

Questioner: Can the Soul ever be cut?

Dadashri: The Soul can neither be cut nor pierced, nothing happens.

Questioner: What if my hand is cut off from here?

Dadashri: The Soul will shrink by that much. It is Soul’s nature to expand and contract, but only while it is in worldly life; it is not the case in the absolutely liberated state of the Soul. In the worldly state, it can, both contract and expand. In an ant, the Soul is whole. And even in an elephant, there is only one whole Soul. But in the latter, it is expanded. When an arm or leg is cut off, the Soul contracts; but that too only up to a certain part is cut, does it contract, not thereafter!

What Is the Reality amidst the Various Relative Beliefs?

One’s search for Soul is usually guided by different kinds of religious beliefs, which say that Soul resides in one or the other particular location and is of some certain size only in our body. Most of these are relative (worldly) beliefs, i.e., which are formed with respect to the level of spiritual development one has achieved so far. These beliefs are consciously instilled with a perspective to help still the mind and bloom the heart of the person who is willing to progress on the path of spiritual development. Hence, while pursuing these beliefs, one must always bear in mind that the real truth remains to be known as yet. Here’s one example where Param Pujya Dadashri is found guiding a questioner with such worldly beliefs:

Questioner: In yogic scriptures, it says that the Soul is in the brahmarandhra (the aperture at the crown of head).

Dadashri: All that is useful for yogic scripture. Do you want to know the truth? Do you want to know the worldly talk or that which is spiritual fact? There are two kinds of knowledge: one that works in the world and the other is the real knowledge. Do you wish to know the real or the worldly?

Questioner: I want to know both of them.

Dadashri: If you want to know the worldly knowledge; then the Soul is located in the heart, and if you want to know the real knowledge, then the Soul is found throughout the body. If you want to know the worldly talk, then this world has been created by God, and if you want to know the real fact, then God has not created this world.

Questioner: It is also said that there is Soul in the heart of the size of a thumb.

Dadashri: No. There is no substance in all those talks.

Questioner: But there is a statement in the Upanishad: Angushtha maatra praman –If you want to see the Soul’s image in your heart, meditate so that you can see it as the size of your thumb.

Dadashri: It is not a scientific statement. If it was scientific, I would proceed in it. It is just a tool to make people who are at a certain level, still. It is not totally wrong. How can it be called wrong? Anything that can make any person still, that can never be called wrong! The heart that we have, the gross mind is supposed to be located in there. If you suppose it in your heart, then you can progress ahead. What prevents you from moving ahead? The intellect does not allow you to proceed and supposing it in your heart will allow you to move ahead. If you want to go to moksha, the help of your heart will do. Your heart will be needed. The intellect will not do.