Have we ever wondered why we “Think” (fingers pointing to forehead as a gesticulation while speaking in that context) with our brain but “Feel” (fingers pointing to our heart as a gesticulation while speaking in that context) with our heart?

It is believed in the spiritual science that all thoughts are part of the brain/cognitive processes, but strong feelings are part of the the soul (generally resting in the heart area) ! This is true for an outside-to-inside communication process (Karmendriyas to Gnanendriyas to brain to soul) or for an inside-to-outside (soul to brain to Gnanendriyas/Karmendriyas) communication process.

It is generally believed that a strong idea immediately registers in the brain; may be multiple reinforced learning of a concept or a model may drive it into perm storage of the brain. But then, only when you sense it as a strong feeling (say a “aha” moment while reading a book!) at the heart, does this register in the soul as an impression! (please refer to - https://www.mayoan.com/post/39-chittam-or-the-impressions-of-the-soul ).

Not all new inputs to the brain are sent to the soul and similarly not all past soul impressions are re-surfaced during a lifetime. So, sometimes, regression psychoanalysis during psychiatric treatments may bring forth soul impressions from past lives and may confuse the context!

The natural resting place for an advanced soul (who is very sensitive about suffering, emancipation, mercy, repentance etc.,) is in the heart chakra area. A person who is insensitive (say an excessively rich person who is unkind or a person who takes pleasure in the suffering of the others) may have the soul located in one of the lower chakras (Similarly many animals have their souls in the lower realms- e.g. some snakes may show excessive cruelty while killing its victim or some seals may show excessive cruelty while hunting the penguins.)

I think that the soul of the human is located inside the Pranamayakoshana (3^rd sheath while the soul itself is the 4^th sheath)- but the million-dollar question is - where in the 3^rd sheath?!

Say a soul has taken the human form (say our hunter/gatherer forefathers) for the first time in its life’s journey. The most likely place for this soul to rest in that human body is in the root chakra or in the Muladhara chakra. The instincts and behaviours are animalistic as expected! In Maslow’s hierarchy this matches with the physiological needs (breathing, food, water, shelter, clothing, sleep etc.,)

If the soul gets a bit advanced in its lifetime or is reincarnated as a more advanced soul, then the likely place of resting for the soul is in the Swadhistana Chakra. This is where, the flight or fight survival instincts raise up. (We can also ponder about the influence of Prakruti or nature on the advancement of the souls – “survival of the fittest”!) In Maslow’s hierarchy, this position is about health, family, social stability, survival instincts and procreation.

And thus, the Maslow’s hierarchy can be mapped to the soul’s journey in a single or multiple life spans. The point is : universal love, belonging, sense of connection etc., happens in the Heart Chakra where the souls of good people naturally rest. The long-term storage is the soul itself – that is capable of storing infinite amount of soul impressions.

Before writing the next few pointers, I would like to register a simple reminder to the readers that my knowledge in neuroscience is very limited and not advanced like that of a doctor's or a professor's.

Through the Gnanendriyas and Karmendriyas, the inputs are sensed first by the brain and is committed to the brain’s complex storage system (short/long term etc.,). Thinking of the brain itself, it is for a reason, it is highly convoluted. The soul in a human form is supposed to reach its infinite capacity sooner or later. The cache storage (brain) and the permanent storage (soul) both are expected to handle this “infinite capacity” expectation in a reliable manner! One way the evolutionary forces push for this infinite capacity in the brain is to increase the surface area and thus force the brain to develop convolutions. Another mechanism of the brain might be something like storage density – that is if anyone ever runs out of brain storage, the brain may surprise us by increasing it storage density (imaging the snowflake design, given its size!). But fortunately, the life expectancy of a normal human is within 100 years and hence we never run out of cache storage! Similarly, the soul (the design and inner workings are completely not known) has capability to store a humongous amount of soul-impressions straddling several forms of births over a long period of times! (there are some concepts in the ancient scripts on the importance of the number 7 – something like storage/persistence changes after 7 Janmas or births in some way. I am not very clear on this aspect still.)

At this point, I would like to point out 5 concepts of nature, which I think is true.

1.  If a soul goes to the next stage, it does not mean that all the traits gained in the previous stage will be over-written. In fact, it gets compounded! The qualities of soul in the higher chakras dominate the qualities of the soul that was acquired in the lower chakra realms.

2.  Will the soul ever regress? Does nature have any protection against regression or unwarranted progression?

The answer seems to be “yes”. Scripts say that there are 3 granthis or knots available in the Sukshma Nadi or the main central traversal path of the soul inside the Pranamayakoshana, as the being advances in its life towards being a more matured soul.

1^st Granthi (or knot) is between 2nd and 3rd chakra, i.e between the Swadhistana and Manipura chakras.

2nd Granthi (or knot) is between 3rd and 4th chakra, i.e between the Manipura and Anahata chakras.

3rd Granthi (or knot) is between 6th and 7th chakra, i.e between the Ajna and Sahasrathalam chakras.

These knots are unknotted by the positive and good mental condition of the practitioner for the soul to pass above. Once a soul unravels a knot, crosses it, then the knot is formed again stopping the sudden descent. Thus only a good person can use his soul as the key to unravel the knots to pass above! Precisely what qualities should a person possess at each of the 3 check points? The answer seems to be widely available in the literature around the chakras in the east and in the concept of Maslow's hierarchy in the west!

Only the most deserving souls will ever unravel these knots while in its advancement! Similarly, sudden regression is avoided due to these knots (say for instance, a gentle human form soul suddenly performs a crime out of passion and is expected to be born as a Tiger in its next birth due to the incurred karma! But then, assuming his soul was in the Anahata at the time of crime and at his death, his rebirth as Tiger will be avoided by the knot that holds his soul still in the Anahata chakra area. This knot perhaps did not allow his soul to descend to the lower chakra realms after the crime of passion! This means he may be permitted to be born again as a Human, but his situation may have worsened due to his past bad karma– say he is born as human in a poor nation and in a poor neighbourhood instead of being born as a tiger.

3.  Kundalini Yoga is expected to unravel these knots and accelerate a human to reach his/her true full potential much faster. But for this to materialize, the mind has to be in a certain advanced/placated state – this is not like some quick shot energy drink that instantly propels a person despite his/her highly agitated state of mind! Simply put – No cheating possible in unravelling the knots and no known shortcut methods exist (except for some divine blessings)!

Quoting from my article on "The Great Merge"- (https://www.mayoan.com/post/5-the-great-merge ),

This profound concept of self-realization (this for me is the real enlightenment) is encapsulated in the 4 grand statements or mahavakyias of the Upanishads.They are given below:

1. Prajnanam Brahma – Consciousness is Brahman

2. Aham Brahmasmi – I am Brahman:

3. Tat Tvam Asi – That Thou Are/Art;

4. Ayam Atma Brahma – This Self is Brahman.

The word Brahman has a liberal meaning - God'.

If the above 4 mahavakyias are the hypothesis, then Kundalini Yoga is the proof. The beauty is that this proof is available only to the most eligible since the 3 granthis or knots are protecting the upward journey of the soul with its own demand on the quality of the soul !

4.  It is possible, that in advanced civilizations, due to general social setup/trainings and good surroundings/upbringing etc., the womb of the women of such civilizations may attract somewhat advanced souls and thus such new lives may start in an advanced state where the soul nests in the upper realms of the Sukshma Nadi and not in the lower realms.

5.  It is also possible that there are forms of lives where the chakra/Nadi system is not well defined and is without any knots; In this case, the soul is expected to take an appropriate place in a much simpler Pranamayakoshana.

Hari Om!

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