What is the Pure Soul? How does it differ from the Soul or Atma? How does the Applied Awareness of the Pure Soul lead to Purity?

Say Shuddhatma – Pure Soul, for Purity to Prevail

Questioner: Why do you say pure Soul (Shuddhatma)? Why not just say Atma, Soul? Is the Atma, not chetan (Self) as well?

Dadashri: Shuddhatma means pure Soul (shuddhachetan). The reason for calling it pure (shuddha) is because, before one used to think, ‘I am a sinner, I am worthless, I am like this, I am like that.’ All those preconceived ideas that one had about himself, have all been erased. If one just said Soul (Atma), instead of pure Soul (Shuddhatma), he would lose the awareness of his own purity (shuddhata); his awareness of being untainted and pristine (nirlepta) would disappear.

Questioner: So what is the true meaning (marma) of Shuddhatma?

Dadashri: The true meaning of pure Soul (Shuddhatma) is that it is detached (asanga); it cannot be tainted (nirlep; unsmaerable); whereas the atma (the relative self) is not like that. The atma has been tainted, and the Shuddhatma is the Absolute Soul (Parmatma). Do people of all religions not say, ‘My Soul is sinful’? And even then, the Shuddhatma does not have any problem.

The pure Soul (Shuddhatma) itself indicates, ‘Now we have become unsmearable (nirlep); all our sins are gone. ’ So it is because of shuddha upayog (pure applied awareness of the Self) that we have called it Shuddhatma (the pure Soul). Otherwise, those with atma do not have pure applied awareness of the Self (shuddha upayog). Where the Atma is concerned, everyone is an Atma! But those who have pure applied awareness (shuddha upayogi); they are called pure Soul (Shuddhatma).

There are four kinds of Atma: one with impure awareness (ashuddha upayogi), one with inauspicious awareness (ashubha upayogi), one with auspicious awareness (shubha upayogi) and one with pure applied awareness (shuddha upayogi). They are all different atmas. Therefore, when we only say Atma, which of those are we referring to? So you would say, the pure Soul (Shuddhatma). And so the one with the pure applied awareness (shuddha upayogi), is the pure Soul. Now again, the awareness (upayog) has to be kept pure (shuddha). In order to keep the awareness pure, you have the pure Soul (Shuddhatma); otherwise, the awareness cannot remain pure.

Someone asked me, ‘Dada, why are you the only one who calls it pure Soul (Shuddhatma), when everywhere else, is calling it Atma?’ I replied, ‘The Atma they are talking about, could never be the Atma, and the reason ‘we’ are calling it the pure Soul is different. ’ What are we saying is that, when we make you realize just once, that you are Shuddhatma, and that this Chandubhai is separate, you will have understood it even with your intellect (buddhi). Now if Chandubhai ends up doing the worse thing possible, something that makes others condemn him, you should not lose the awareness of, ‘I am Shuddhatma’, and never should you believe that, ‘I am impure (ashuddha)’. It is to say just this; that I have to call it Shuddhatma. You have never become impure, and that is why ‘we’ have to say this. The seat of the pure Soul (Shuddhatmapad) that we have given you – that Shuddhatma pad– the pure Soul state (shuddhapad), will never again change. That is why we have employed the pure (shuddha). As far as impurity is concerned, as long as you have this body, the impurity (ashuddhi) will continue to occur. Some will experience more impurity and some will experience less impurity. That will go on happening. And this may lead one to think, ‘Dada made me pure (shuddha), but there is still all this impurity’. And once that sets in, it gets spoiled again.

Chandubhai* =  Whenever Dadashri uses the name 'Chandubhai' or the name of the person Dadashri is addressing, the reader should insert his or her name for exact understanding.