How can we understand our soul?

By not being able to comprehend the subtlest and the most profound element in the universe, which is one’s real form of the Soul; one is surrounded by endless questions such as, “What is the meaning of Soul? How can I understand it? What are the qualities of the Soul? How can I experience the Soul?”

To get the answers, one needs to experience the Soul by acquiring the ‘Knowledge of the Self (Self-Realization).’ This knowledge that surpasses all imaginations can be attained only from a Living Enlightened being, who is already Self-realized, and is gifted to do the same for those who are desirous to be Self-realized.

Until the knowledge of the Self is attained, we can define the Soul by understanding the theory of its existence, its properties, and its functions. But for one to truly to experience and understand the properties of the Soul, one must acquire Self-Realization!

How to establish that the Soul exists:
• In everything that has life, growth, feelings, for example from one to five sense- trees, insects, leaves, animals etc., we can establish that there is a presence of Soul within them.
• Where there is a feeling or growth, it implies that there is Soul or life energy in that body.
• The Soul is the life force within every living being. So, there is a Soul inside every living being, whether you can see it with visible eyes or not.
• It is because of the presence of the Soul that feelings arise in the body.
• A body without Soul (once dead) implies that the body has no life, hence, it is unable to feel happiness or pain. So, where there is a Soul, there are sensations and emotions. Wherever there are sensations and emotions, there is knowledge of pain and happiness. It is the non-Self complex (comprising of the physical body, mind, intellect, ego, and chit as a component that visualizes) that gets expressed, but because there is the presence of the Soul there, these feelings arise, the pain arises.

In short, the Soul exists in every living being and it is because of the presence of the Soul that the outer layer i.e. the body exists, has life.
The Soul’s Characterises:

• The inherent property of the Soul is infinite knowledge, infinite vision, infinite bliss, and infinite energy. The Soul has no feeling in itself. It is because of the Soul that we are able to know and understand the feelings.
• The Soul is in a form of light.
• The Soul is an eternal element.
• The Soul means the Self (Aatma). The living beings that we see in various life-forms in the entire Universe are nothing but the different phases of the Soul, which are evolving respectively.
Why can Soul not be experienced when it is the Self?
• The Soul has been veiled by the layers of karma (layers of ignorance towards the Self).
• Since we believe our self to be the owner of the name, the body, and the ego, we do not really understand the properties of the Soul.
• While the illusion remains regarding our real self, we wrongly believe our self to be the ‘doer.’ Hence, the Soul can never be experienced.
• The Soul can never be understood from the medium of the intellect. The Self can only be experienced through the direct light of the Self. The light of the Self is expressed only when the Soul is enlightened.

Thus, to know the Self, to enlighten the Soul, one must attain knowledge of the Self from a Living Enlightened being (Gnani Purush). Then, as one dwells deeper into the awareness of the Self, the greater their understanding will be. Thereafter, one begins to ‘See and Know’ the world from the perspective of the Self, the Pure Soul.

To know more: https://www.dadabhagwan.org/path-to-happiness/spiritual-science/what-is-a-soul/