The Soul, the Mind, and the Purpose of Life

harish segon
Sep 29
5 min read

Since time immemorial, humanity has been intrigued by the deepest of questions: Why are we born? What is the purpose of this life? What should we strive to achieve?

In Hindu philosophy, one profound answer is the union of the Atman (soul) with the Paramatman (Supreme Soul)—the merger of the individual soul with God. Sages and seers have shown many different paths, but the ultimate goal remains the same: liberation from the endless cycle of birth and death, known as moksha. Some traditions call it nirvana, the state of supreme bliss (paramananda).

But this raises a further question: Where do we find God? In man-made temples? In the vastness of nature? Or in the sweat and toil of the poor and downtrodden?

God in Everyday Life

Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel Laureate in Literature (1913), offered a timeless answer in his prize-winning work Gitanjali:

“Leave this chanting and singing and telling of beads! Whom dost thou worship in this lonely dark corner of a temple with doors all shut? Open thine eyes and see thy God is not before thee! He is there where the tiller is tilling the hard ground and where the path-maker is breaking stones. He is with them in sun and in shower, and his garment is covered with dust. Put off thy holy mantle and even like him come down on the dusty soil! Deliverance? Where is this deliverance to be found? Our master himself has joyfully taken upon him the bonds of creation; he is bound with us all for ever. Come out of thy meditations and leave aside thy flowers and incense! What harm is there if thy clothes become tattered and stained? Meet him and stand by him in toil and in the sweat of thy brow.”

This vision finds resonance in other traditions too. The Dalai Lama, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (1989), has expressed it simply:

“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness. This is my simple religion. No need for temples. No need for complicated philosophy. Your own mind, your own heart is the temple. Your philosophy is simple kindness. Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.”

The Soul in the Bhagavad Gita

So if the purpose of life is to unite the soul with God, how do we understand the soul itself?

The Bhagavad Gita, part of the great epic Mahabharata, describes the Atman (soul) as eternal, unchanging, indestructible, and distinct from the physical body. The soul cannot be cut, burnt, or dissolved. It is the true “self” that wears the body like a garment, discarding it upon death and continuing its journey through reincarnation.

The Gita reminds us: the soul is never born, nor does it ever die. It is the body that is born and perishes.

Importantly, these teachings were not delivered in peace but on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, when the great war of the Mahabharata was about to begin. Arjuna, the Pandava warrior, was paralyzed by doubt. He refused to fight, unwilling to kill his teachers, elders, cousins, and kin. In this moment of crisis, his charioteer, Lord Krishna, exhorted him to rise to his duty as a Kshatriya.

Krishna told him that the soul is permanent while the body is temporary and perishable. When a person dies, the soul simply casts off its old body and enters a new one. Why, then, grieve over what is impermanent? Those who die will be reborn, as life and death are but stages in the soul’s eternal journey.

The Bhagavad Gita outlines three primary paths toward union with God:

Karma Yoga – the path of selfless action,
Bhakti Yoga – the path of devotion,
Jnana Yoga – the path of knowledge.

Yet at its core, the Gita emphasizes Nishkama Karma: action without attachment to the fruits of action.

God Everywhere

Vinoba Bhave, interpreting the profound message of the Gita, wrote that God is present in all forms of creation:

“As holy rivers, mighty mountains, the majestic ocean, the magnificent lion, the beautiful peacock, the crow flapping its wings, the restless flame, and the still stars—in all this He is present.Gross and subtle, pure and mixed, simple and complex—in the end there is no place where God is not. In every atom, He alone is present. From the ant to the universe, He spreads. The Lord who cares equally for all, the compassionate one who is all knowledge, tenderness, skill, holiness and beauty—He stands on all sides everywhere.”

Similarly, the Upanishads (as translated by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, former President of India) affirm:

“Just as the soul is the reality underlying the conscious powers of an individual, so is the Supreme Soul (God), the eternal quiet underneath the drive and activity of the universe.”

Perspectives Across Traditions

The concept of the soul has fascinated humanity across cultures and philosophies:

Christianity views the soul as immortal, created in the image of God, and destined for eternal life beyond death.
Islam speaks of the ruh—the divine spirit breathed by Allah into every human, continuing beyond death and accountable for deeds in the hereafter.
Hinduism emphasizes the Atman, the innermost self, bound to samsara (cycle of rebirth) until liberated in moksha.
Buddhism challenges the idea of a permanent soul with the doctrine of anatta (“no-self”), teaching instead that existence is a flow of five aggregates (skandhas) that dissolve at death.
Greek philosophy, especially in Plato’s works, regarded the soul as immortal, pre-existing the body and striving for truth and purity.
Modern materialist thought often rejects a separate soul, seeing consciousness as a function of the brain.

Body, Mind, and Soul

Many traditions speak of seven layers of existence: body, breath, mind, intellect, memory, ego, and soul. The soul is pure consciousness—the unchanging essence within us. While the body and mind undergo constant change, there is something within that remains untouched. That is the Atman, considered part of the Paramatman.

The mind, by contrast, is the dynamic, ever-changing faculty of thought, memory, learning, and decision-making. It is essential for navigating the world, but it is not the soul.

Ultimately, the body, mind, and soul are interwoven. Recognizing and nurturing this interconnectedness leads to holistic well-being. Yoga, meditation, and other practices are not merely physical exercises but disciplines designed to harmonize these dimensions of existence.

Conclusion

The interplay between body, mind, and soul has been a subject of contemplation since antiquity. The body is the vessel, the mind the navigator, and the soul the eternal core of our being.

To understand life’s purpose is to seek harmony among these three aspects. The mind sharpens perception, the body acts as the instrument, and the soul infuses meaning and direction. Together, they remind us that spirituality is not abstract but a lived journey.

As the Upanishads affirm: