Real Yogis achieve fusion of body, mind, soul

In spirituality, It is essential to understand importance of these three. Let me describe all one by one. Body: With spiritual aspect, body can be considered as a machine or workhouse for self(soul). Body comprises of 5 elements of nature(Earth, Fire, Wind, Water and Space). Actions of body are controlled by wishes and thoughts. So, soul performs actions using the body to accomplish wishful things. Body is having certain shape e.g. human, dog, cat and so on. Additionally, male and female as well.

Mind: There could be disputes over mind. If mind is part of body or soul. As of me, mind is part of body. As I mentioned body comprises of 5 elements of nature. Mind is made up of space or ether. Function of mind is to think. As of Yoga-sutra by Patanjali there are 5 subjects of mind.

Correct intelligence (Praman)

Incorrect intelligence (Viparyay)

Fantasy or Imagination (Vikalpa)

Slumber sleep (Nidra)

Memory (Smriti)

Normal mind is always occupied by vivid thoughts and busy with thoughts of wishes. Mind plays important role get things done by the body.

Soul: Soul is meta-physical subject filled with consciousness. Soul operates a body by utilizing its consciousness. And, no body can be operated without soul living inside. Soul is also filled with wishes and brightness. Soul is having no shape, It’s undying. It’s one of the eternal out of 4 (God, Soul, Nature and Time). Actions performed by soul using body are known as karma and a soul may get new shape of body according to karma. A practitioner yogi’s soul may depart the body as per wishes. A soul wishes for liberation and practicing regularly via body, may get liberated.

Guru Nanak Dev explains the body as the combination of five elements - air, water, fire, earth and sky. The body is the abode of the Divine (the soul), which keeps it alive by providing breath. It has nine outlets, which are called the nine gateways. These are two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, mouth, genital and anus. Through these outlets, the mind goes towards the worldly affairs. The tenth 'door' remains secret from the mind and this is the Divine Realm, which is blissful and free from all worries. The holy tune of the mind, while meditating on the Divine Name, sheds its ego completely and merges with the the divine 'Word' (Shabd Guru) residing within the body and thus entering the tenth 'door', where Divine Bliss pervades. This is how body is defined in Sikh Faith Book.

Mind or subtle body consists of various stages of ego. It can be divided into the higher mind and the lower mind. The former is called the divine tune (Buddhi), which works through consciousness to tread the Divine Path, while meditating on the Divine Name. After death, the body is cremated, buried or cast in flowing water, but the subtle body or the mind is not destroyed. In fact, it wanders in the cycle of birth and rebirth, taking a different physical form each time, depending on the deeds performed in previous lives. Liberation from endless cycle of rebirths through self-realisation comes when the Seeker recites the Divine Name with full faith, love and devotion and becomes one with the Divine within. In the Sikh way of life (Gurmat), self-realisation is supposed to be attained not after death, but in the present life itself, after shedding the ego completely. The mind (strictly speaking, the lower mind) is ego and is made up of the five vices - lust, anger, greed, attachment and pride.

However, excessive indulgence in these vices inflates ego. On the other hand, Buddhi is the spiritual tune longing to seek the Divine Truth. It is a magnificent spiritual power, which enables the mind to be attuned to the Divine and finally merge with it. The higher mind or the spiritual tune of mind (Vivek Buddhi) will be awakened and inspired to perform spiritual deeds if it continues to be associated with the divine persons and follows their divine teaching with true devotion. However, if an individual associates with worldly and sinful persons, by and by, he will get engrossed in the five vices. His bad deeds will cause him to suffer physical ailments, weakening both, his body and willpower. He will start slipping into hell and will wander forever in the cycle of birth and rebirth, till he gets divine company to get liberated.

The Divine pervading within the body is called soul (Atma). It is the Divine Power within the body, which gives it life and enables it to perform actions. It is the same Divine Power, which pervades the Universe and is known as Universal Soul/God (Paramatma). As soon as the body ceases to get the Divine Power from the soul, it dies. The combination of body, mind and soul is life, and when this combination ends, life ends. In the same way, all actions in the Universe are carried out under the command of the Universal Soul, which, in other words, is known as Divine. As and when the Divine withdraws its power, life ends. Soul in the body, and the Universal Soul pervading the Universe, are one and imperishable. In common language, it is called God, the Divine and the Almighty, who is all-powerful and virtuous.

If the mind, under the influence of divine persons meditates on the Divine Name, it merges with the Divine within. It then becomes all-powerful and a source of all the virtues; hence, it becomes immune to the worldly worries and miseries. When the spiritually inclined part of the mind, Buddhi, becomes one with the Divine, the true aim of human life is achieved. Such a person becomes divine or a saint, and thus starts motivating other Seekers to tread the Divine Path as per the Divine Law. On the contrary, a person, who indulges in a lustful life and the five vices - lust, anger, greed, attachment and pride - brings sufferings upon himself. Yet, there is hope even for such a person. He can mitigate his miseries if he honestly tries, and continues to have association with divine persons, who would inspire him to meditate on the Divine Name with full love and devotion.

The body is that part of our existence which is the gross physical aspect of our body. The body consists of not just the skin and the bone but also the flesh, the blood, the nerves and the organs like brain, heart, kidneys. This is the body. The mind is the subtle body, that part of the body which cannot be touched and felt but we feel it exists because it thinks.

Therefore a bundle of thoughts is considered to be the mind. In fact there are four aspects of the mind which form the subtle body - the mind, the intellect which discriminates, the memory which remembers, and the ego that says it is I. This is the inner instrument known as the mind. But what is the Soul? The Soul is the power that gives us life, it is the energy, it is the Spirit, the Atman. It is easy to understand the body, mind and Soul, when you compare it to a computer that has hardware, software and power supply. Cheers!