Soul (Jivatman) and Embodiment of the Soul

Arjuna as an individualized Soul (Jivatman) and Embodiment of the Soul

   The Jivatman and Paramatman are not two different entities since 'One only becomes two and many'. All the Upanishads aim at this instruction. "Atma eva brahmaa", they say.  Here are a few Vedic statements that support this  view.

  Purusha Sukta, Rk Veda Mandal x. 90, states: "Thousand-headed (sahasra-shirsha) was the Purusha, thousand-eyed (sahasraksha) and thousand-legged (sahasrapaath). He, covering the earth on all sides, stretched Himself beyond by it by ten fingers (dashangulam). All these are the 'Purusha' alone, whatever was and whatever shall be... One-fourth of Him all beings are, (but) three-fourths of Him is immortal in the (highest) heaven". Thus, what all we see are Him only. Sarvam khaluvidam brahmaa || What we see as Akasha (Space), kaal (Time), causation or cause and effect are Him only.

  "In reality, great as this external space is, so great is this space within the heart (dahar akasha), in it are contained both the heaven and the earth, both fire and air, both sun and moon, lightning and stars, whatever is here, and whatever is not here, - everything thereof is contained within it." (Chhandogya Upanishad VIII.1.3).

  "The Purusha is what is and what is not!" Also, "etad vai tat" (This verily is That). The supreme Lord is the Power of all Powers. No body, whether, it is Agni, Vayu, Indra, or the Rishis and Gods, let alone the mortals, can ever know Him! It is for the simple reason that He the Lord is not something, somebody to be known as 'the other'; He is the Self of all., 

He who dwells in all beings, and is other than all beings, whom all beings do not know, whose body are all beings, whom all beings do not know, who controls all beings from within- This is thy Self (Atman), the Inner Ruler, the Immortal." "In the space within the heart lies the Ruler of all, the Lord of all, the King of all. He is the Overlord of all beings, the Protector of all beings."(Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, III 7.15).

   "Whoever meditates on brahman shall be brahman only", says the Brahmasutra (Sutra 555).  

 The individual and the cosmos, the soul and God are one" 

"That thou art, oh, Shvetaketu!".

   These statements are not easily understood by a common man, much worse, even a well-read worldly man. The entire Kurukshetra War is about this battle! Ordinary mortals, the embodied jivas, as they are, will never understand the clamour of the soul to get released from avidya. These sensuous people engaged in mundane things will suffer endlessly until their avidya is removed by a Guru. the fruits of past action (prarabhdha karma kleshas) compounded make it (the task of emancipation) much worse.  
  Arjuna, although a character depicted as Kunti's son, is obtained by a mantra of God Indra; it is given as a boon to Kunti in return for her services to learned sages, as a young girl (yet to be married). Kunti did not actually bear him in her womb and deliver after marriage; her husband Pandu had died or disappeared mysteriously on the very day of her marriage is enigmatic. These are fiction of mythology nature, hard to believe. However, here Arjuna is depicted as a confused mind, that's it! Even the humans are 'manasa putra' the child of Mind, a wandering mind only (maanasa sanchaari maanava!).
   The strata of jivas that we normally notice as viruses, germs, aquatics, quadrupeds and bipeds, mammals, etc. lower the scale and, the tapojanah, rishis, devatas, gandharva, kinnara and yakshas, pitrus or manes at the higher levels. Humans stand in the middle of these. The humans are also bestowed with divine powers and anybody can expand his/her consciousness to any of the higher levels mentioned above or be degraded to lower ones like worms as stated in the Bhagavad-Gita. Hence, the humans have to realize the gift of God nd strive hard to attain to higher and higher levels within the allowed life-span, But, alas, the present evolution is at a lower level and it is very difficult to work yoga and reach even the human level of the animals (Prani).
   The Pandavas and the Kouravas are thus not the humans but divine beings and Shree Krishna has made this amply clear when He addresses Arjuna. This should be noted.
  As regards divinity inherent in jivas, there is no doubt as to the ability of any creature, living or non-living being attaining to the highest state of God-head by sheer meditation (Med (engage) i  'tat' (brahmn) ion (soul)?) . Thus we have even a small insignificant plant like Tumbe, Bilva, or Tulsi (Kannada) are worshipped! So also, the birds and animals like falcon (Garuda), peacock, lion, rat and bull carry Gods as the vehicles! The stones like marble, basalt (Shalagrama), sandalwood, and the ivory  and deerskin, too become sacred and there are Gods sculpted and worshipped in temples!
  Meditation is the simple technique that can be used for transcending bodily consciousness.
As yoga guru Shree Krishna, paramatma or Higher Self  advises Arjuna, the jivatman, lower self to raise higher to His level of consciousness (of the witnessing Self, just an observer state).

[Note: This Pournima of Phalguna of Vasanta Rutu, I am glad to record here that the supreme Lord has blessed me, and have been ordained by Guru Shree Yogananda Swamy of Jaboti and given me ankita as Swamy Chaitanyaananda in recognition of my spiritual atainment tested by him. I have dropped my name. affixes, and prefixes such as Dr. Tippur N.Achuta Rao, M.A.,. Ph.D, Ph.D Sp. Sc. awarded to me in lieu of this "nothingness", only established in anna and praana koshas, as sheer spiritual power "Chaitanya".  Sd. Swamy Chaitanyaananda]