What is the Supersoul / Paramatma?
Question: What exactly is the Supersoul or "Param-atma"? All personal expansions of godhead should have their feminine shakti counterpart, but if the supersoul is an expansion of Godhead, why does he (it?) not have a feminine shakti counterpart (or does he?)
Answer: We, and everything that exists, is composed of a fundamental substance containing three elements:
- Sat - The ability to exist with permanence
- Chit - The ability to be aware of existence
- Ananda - The ability to derive bliss from such awareness
Godhead has three manifestations, each of which is the fountainhead of one of these fundamental qualities of existience:
- Brahman - The homogenious "oneness" which is the fundamental energy of existence itself (sat).
- Paramatma - The facility of conscious awareness (chit), the ability to be aware of existence, which is given to each and every atma or particle of existence ("soul") when s/he enters the dark and otherwise inperceptible material illusion.
- Bhagavan - The manifestation of personality itself, through which one can derive bliss (ananda) from self-awareness. This bliss comes most fully from the personal exchange of love (bhakti).
Paramatma is not exactly a personal manifestation of Godhead. It is more of a functional energy of godhead which pervades the world and accompianies the individual souls, granting them facility of awareness in a world they otherwise could not percieve. Since paramatma is not a personal form of Godhead per se it is not accompianied by the expansion of ananda which is personified in the feminine forms of Godhead who are the counterparts of the basic masculine forms.
Paramatma is Jyotish Sastra
Referring to Vedic Astrology. Parashara Muni, the father of Vedic Astrology states in his text, the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, that some beings are endowed with "more" paramatma and some are endowed with "less." Those who are endowed with more can come into the category of "empowered manifestations of God" (shaktyavesh avatars) - those who are not truly God himself but who act on his/her behalf with his/her power. Of the 10 incarnations of Vishnu only 4 (Rama, Krishna, Narasimha and Varaha) does Parashara count as full incarnations of Godhead. The other six he identifies as normal beings empowered by paramatma-abundance ("shaktyavesha") to act on behalf of Godhead as an avatar.
Each of the 10 avatars (with the exception of Kalki, the final avatar) empowers a spefic astrological planet.
This is more or less in line with normal Vaishnav understanding. But the point it most clearly identifies is that paramatma is not a definate personal form, but is a functional energy that assists the dissemination of awareness.
Follow Up Questions
Question: Is the supersoul, though not a full manifestation, not still a personal form of Godhead, sharing awareness with us?
My Answer: Brahman is a non-sentient type of existence (sat-shakti). Paramatma is different from Brahman because it is a sentient type of existence (chit-shakti). Thus in some sense it is a living being. Paramatma, however is not Bhagavan (ananda-shakti) and though a sentient being does not have personally identifiable name, form, qualities and activities (nama, rupa, guna, lila) or shad-bhagya (6 opulences).
Question: In Gita, 10.11, Krishna says that he destroys the ingorance of those who have love for him, from within their hearts. Is this not an indication that the Supersoul is Bhagavan?
My Answer: Paramatma exists within the context of the material manifestion. Param-bhakti (pure devotion to the Supreme loveable personality) does not exist within that context, but transcends it. Those who have param-bhakti or "uttama-bhakti" do not factually operate within the normal "matrix" of the material universe with it's normal rules and systems. For them, the entire illusion of matter transforms into spiritual reality and they see the fact that their Supreme beloved is before them at all times and at all places, inside their hearts and outside as well.
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