Can Soul and Spirit be used interchangeably?

Originally Posted by Bluegreen

As I understand it, we have our soul for as long as we need to be reincarnated on earth.

Thanks

So is the spirit the mind of the soul???

[skygazer]

I used to think they were interchangeable, but recently read some material that has cast some doubts..I am presently working through it.
Good topic.

Originally Posted by skygazer

I used to think they were interchangeable, but recently read some material that has cast some doubts..I am presently working through it.
Good topic.

Stargazer, could you post a quote which you think explains the difference between soul and spirit best? I would really appreciate it.

[Jyotir]

Hi Bluegreen,

The below passage may be helpful regarding this particular subject.

~ J

The Jivatman, spark-soul and psychic being are three different forms of the same reality and they must not be mixed up together, as that confuses the clearness of the inner experience. The Jivatman or spirit, as it is usually called in English, is self-existent above the manifested or instrumental being – it is superior to birth and death, always the same, the individual Self or Atman. It is the eternal true being of the individual.

The soul is a spark of the Divine which is not seated above the manifested being, but comes down into the manifestation to support its evolution in the material world. It is at first an undifferentiated power of the Divine Consciousness containing all possibilities which have not yet taken form, but to which it is the function of evolution to give form. This spark is there in all living beings from the lowest to the highest.

The psychic being is formed by the soul in its evolution. It supports the mind, vital, body, grows by their experiences, carries the nature from life to life. It is the psychic or caitya purusha. At first it is veiled by mind, vital and body, but as it grows, it becomes capable of coming forward and dominating the mind, life and body; in the ordinary man it depends on them for expression and is not able to take them up and freely use them. The life of the being is animal or human and not divine. When the psychic being can by sadhana become dominant and freely use its instruments, then the impulse towards the Divine becomes complete and the transformation of mind, vital and body, not merely their liberation, becomes possible.

The Self or Atman being free and superior to birth and death, the experience of the Jivatman and its unity with the supreme or universal Self brings the sense of liberation, it is this which is necessary for the supreme spiritual deliverance: but for the transformation of the life and nature the awakening of the psychic being and its rule over the nature are indispensable. The psychic being realises its oneness with the true being, the Jivatman, but it does not change into it. (...) The Jivatman is already one with the Divine in reality, but what is needed is that the rest of the consciousness should realize it.

The aspiration of the psychic being is for the opening of the whole lower nature, mind, vital, body to the Divine, for the love and union with the Divine, for its presence and power within the heart, for the transformation of the mind, life and body by the descent of the higher consciousness into this instrumental being and nature.

Both aspirations are essential and indispensable [...]. When the psychic imposes its aspiration on the mind, vital and body, then they too aspire and this is [...] felt as the aspiration from the level of the lower being. The aspiration felt above is that of the Jivatman for the higher consciousness with its realisation of the One to manifest in the being. Therefore both aspirations help each other. The seeking of the lower being is necessarily at first intermittent and oppressed by the ordinary consciousness. It has, by sadhana, to become clear, constant, strong and enduring.

The sense of peace, purity and calm is brought about by the union of the lower with the higher consciousness. It is usually either intermittent or else remains in a deeper consciousness, veiled often by the storms and agitations of the surface; it is seldom permanent at first, but it can become permanent by increased frequency and endurance of the calm and peace and finally by the full descent of the eternal peace and calm and silence of the higher consciousness into the lower nature.

- from Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Yoga, Part I, Section V, "Planes and Parts of the Being"

[skygazer]

Originally Posted by Bluegreen

Stargazer, could you post a quote which you think explains the difference between soul and spirit best? I would really appreciate it.

Bluegreen,
Hope this does not cloud the topic even further for you, but it's all new to me as well.
Soul and Spirit are referring to two separate components of our reality.
soul = unconscious = woman
spirit = conscious = man
We are all divided beings, in two equal halves.

I have to wonder if this is where the idea of twin flames and such originated.

IMO and to make it general,

soul is physical, or is based on the physical
spirit is mental, or based on the mental

together with

soul is personal
spirit is impersonal, although it can manifest through the personal

Originally Posted by nightowl

So is the spirit the mind of the soul???

The spirit is not the mind of the soul. The spirit is that part of us which is eternal.

Here are more quotes about that soul and spirit.

According to the Scriptures, spirit is indestructible, but soul is destructible. Obviously, then, they are not synonymous. It is clearly stated that "the soul that sinneth, it shall die," but "the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."
— Manly P. Hall; The Secret Teachings of all Ag

or

Of all the esoteric traditions, alchemy was one of the leaders in bringing attention to the division of Body, Soul and Spirit.

http://www.bodysoulandspirit.net/bod...nalchemy.shtml

Originally Posted by pre-dawn

IMO and to make it general,

soul is physical, or is based on the physical
spirit is mental, or based on the mental

together with

soul is personal
spirit is impersonal, although it can manifest through the personal

Thank you pre-dawn. If we need the soul for as long as we reincarnate on this planet as Joan Grant says then, yes, it could be called 'physical'. Spirit is our true Self and what can be more 'personal' than that. In Joan Grant's view, spirit stores all that we experience. Perhaps in the sense used by you, it is impersonal so long as we are not aware in our spirit.