Duality of man is such that his body and soul must come to terms and perform as one. Body lays its emphasis differently than what Soul would. The analogy of wakeful and dream states given in my post A Habitual Offender is apt here. In a material universe each body must function from a purely material plane. How it works can only be understood if one remembers the limits in which it has its being.
But why it should be so? Any answer to it,- if it can be led to something meaningful or significant will require yet another method.
There were some 30 gospels extant till Iranaeus the Bishop of Lyons thought of establishing four of these as canonical text? These were not written by the disciples with whose names, they have now come inseparably attached. Mark, Matthew, Luke and John have as much claim to the real Jesus as Judas or Thomas. How come then the gospel of Thomas are Judas are non-canonical while that of John is? (Your guess is as good as mine.) How shall we settle this difficulty by sticking to any rational inquiry?
I cited this to show what feeds reason need not necessarily be the fodder for Soul.
If I believe in the permanence of my soul while my body is corruptible I might weigh now and hereafter on different scales.
2.
In a tussle between Hereafter and Now the latter always needs to be addressed. Time is of the essence. It is indeed foolish if I should give up the bird in hand for the two in the bush.
The other side of the coin is when we have by a choice made on insufficient evidences. Who on earth can tell what tomorrow may bring? Esau sold his birthright merely because he was faint with hunger. To him his hunger was all that mattered. Later he repented over his decision bitterly but to no avail. The younger had established his precedence once and for all. If I respect my soul as something special I may appreciate Abraham who lived in tents since he sought for ‘a city which hath foundations.’(Heb 11:10)As a Christian my enquiry of my soul is set in context of the faith of my forefathers. An experience I have given in the following section thus has to be understood within this framework.
3.
From my young age I have been instructed from the Bible and it never ceased to exert its hold on me ever since. It stimulated my interior life as much as other books, films, music and art.
I was Benjamin to my father (obviously my name is derived from it). I was led into reading the Bible because my father brought up each of his children in what he thought was right. I never read the Bible with the feeling of hell or punishment and seeking out His ways through the ages interested me. My conclusions were my own. Honing my intellect on His Word was an essential part of me. Curiously enough I had as a result a ‘strange’ feeling that God was ever present. My life went on its sedate steps,- and in my fifties, one night I woke up from my sleep. All I could remember was the verse 12 from Deut 33. I referred the Bible and found that it was Moses’ blessing on Benjamin. ‘The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him…and he shall dwell between his shoulders.”
What made me think the verse referred to me? Did my soul take over at that point to convince me so? It was uncanny that instantly I could bring out the meaning in its many ramifications as a hint of things to come. I convinced myself that I was beloved of God as though God validated what I had felt all along. What dwells between the shoulders if not the head? I knew then I was in the plan of God. Or in the Mind of God. Of course I heard later from another person who ( bore the name Benjamin) had a similar experience. On looking back I see it more of my soul at work, laying down a warning. My body or intellect could not have guessed it. Of course there was a very distressing moment a few years later when I needed all the resources at my command to face it. ( Was it then Soul at work ? I was all alone but partly because of my belief I could face the challenges. Nurture of Bible and an independent turn of mind also contributed.) Having survived the crisis I can now look back and say it marked my adulthood. Besides it was but the beginning of the most fruitful and emotionally satisfying phase of my life.
I think Soul merely stepped in where my body was inadequate.
Soul worked with my life in a manner that was natural. It could tap on my nature and nurture to take my life on yet another plane. I may not go to Church or read the Bible as carefully as I did before. Yet God is as real as it was then. In a way different from that of my father or my brothers. Soul of man is God made as real as any man who would learn of Him. If one says it is Supreme Intelligence or any other it is so for him or her. Who am I to contradict soul of another?
benny
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