Let’s first understand the meaning of the terms, which in turn shall automatically help us establish the relation between them.
Energy
Energy signifies the power or strength. Soul is the life-energy (chetan)!
It is due to this energy that growth happens. If you tie grains, they sprout. But if you tie pebbles, would they grow? No! So, where growth happens, there is Soul there. It is because of this life-energy that there is growth, there’s knowledge of pain and happiness, there is feeling, there is sensation and emotion. And if something does not show feelings, then it has no life-energy and hence it is without a Soul; it’s a non-living object.
God
God (Parmatma) means the Absolute Pure Soul (Aatma without any coverings on it).
As we grow up, we listen to numerous great stories of God, wherein God has infinite energy in Him; there is nothing that he doesn’t know, hence He is called Omniscient; and in every story no matter what the circumstances are, God is never disturbed. In any situation, He always remains unperturbed and unaffected and is experiencing eternal bliss within. Have you noticed this?
It is because the inherent properties of Pure Soul are infinite vision, infinite knowledge, infinite energy and infinite bliss! The body of Lord Ram, Mahavir, Jesus, Krishna, etc. is the outer packing which is temporary and is bound to perish one day; but God is really the inner Pure Soul that is immortal; it never perishes. God is like an adjective given to describe people who have exhausted all their karmas, and hence their Soul has manifested with its full energy. We worship God because we too want to exhaust all our karma and become like them one day!
Soul
Soul (Aatma) means the Self. Soul is an eternal element present in every living being.
Soul is actually indescribable, inexpressible and it cannot be found through words, it cannot be seen, felt or understood by any of our five senses either. Soul can only be experienced through its infinite properties.
For the sake of understanding however, we can use the simile of a bulb to explain what is Soul. Soul is in the form of light; the light of knowledge. It is because of this light that we are able to see know and understand everything. Just like in the light of the bulb, the photo hanging on a wall can be seen and we can recognize it; similarly, in the light of the Soul, the thoughts arising in the mind can be seen and we can read it. Unlike the light of the bulb, in the light of the Soul, there is infinite bliss!
Consciousness
Consciousness means awareness. Pure Soul is Pure Consciousness.
Consciousness comprises of Knowledge (Gnan) and Vision (darshan). The One whose knowledge and vision have become pure, that is the Pure Self.
Pure Consciousness = Pure Knowledge + Pure Vision
Impure Consciousness = Impure knowledge + Impure vision
When the impurities in the form of dust particles of karma sit over the Soul and cover its light of knowledge and vision, it becomes impure consciousness. The impure consciousness becomes absorbed in what it sees and thereby attracts (charges) atoms of what it is seeing. These atoms accumulate and form the causal body from which the next life’s effective body is formed.
Causal Body
The causal body comprises of the karma charged in this life (causes) which will discharge in one’s next life (as effects).
Owing to ignorance of the Self, the charging of atoms of anger, pride, deceit, greed, etc. takes place. However, the charging can happen only and only in the presence of the life-energy (the Pure Soul).
The charged atoms are called causes or the seed karma. These causes accumulate throughout a person’s life and the accumulated stock put together is called the causal body. When death happens, the Soul leaves the physical body along with the causal body, which in the next life, becomes effective body (the mind, speech and body). From the attachment and abhorrence that occur through effective body, new causes continue to arise, which in turn gives rise to new effective body.
Desire
Desire means wanting something on account of our attachment for someone or something.
Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan says, “When is one considered to be in the awareness of ‘one’s own Self’? It is when all the desires become mild. A human being is indeed a Parmatma (God, Absolute Soul). It is possible for infinite Godly energies to arise within us. But the moment he has a desire; he becomes a human! Otherwise, he can acquire whatever he wants, but he is unable to do so because of the impediments. These obstacles are there only because of desires. As the desires decrease, the obstacles will get broken. And then, everything can be attained. So, do not have desire for any worldly things. Just desire the continued bliss of the Self.
The attachment with which all other attachments of the world disappear is what Lord calls the real attachment. The attachment you feel towards Gnani, the Enlightened One, is the real attachment as this attachment shall break all other attachments. This attachment is the primary cause for final liberation (moksha).” From the moment one becomes aware of ‘I am bound’, he will desire to become free and thus attain ultimate liberation.
Moksha
Moksha means ultimate liberation. The root cause of bondage is ignorance of the Self. And with knowledge of the Self, there is liberation.
When Gnani, the Enlightened One, gives us the knowledge of ‘who am I’, our wrong belief of “I am Chandubhai” gets fractured. We are indeed a Pure Soul. Therefore, on receiving Gnan from Gnani, we immediately realize this real Self. The ignorance goes away and we experience Self-Realization.
Moksha means to come back in the nature of the Self i.e. to come back into the attributes of the Soul. While staying in the nature of the Self, to experience constant eternal bliss is called moksha!
Conclusion:
Gnani Purush makes us taste our own eternal bliss. The source of endless bliss is within the Self itself. The reason why we cannot experience the glorious properties of the Self is because the Soul is covered by infinite veils (karma) of ignorance, which can be broken only when we attain Self-Realization i.e. we know who really am I. Upon finding its own abode, the Self is attained, which is none other than the Pure Consciousness. The Pure Consciousness is the Pure Soul, the pure Self, the pure Energy, God!
As the Consciousness goes on seeing exclusively the pure Soul in every living being, the impure phases of Consciousness grow weaker and weaker until they exist no more, after which only the Absolute pure Consciousness remains. It is like full moon light. This is Absolute Knowledge. The Absolute Knowledge is God. Once one attains the state of God, the causal body does not come into being anymore and one attains ultimate liberation i.e. moksha.
For details, please visit https://www.dadabhagwan.org/
Ambalal M. Patel was a civil contractor by profession. In June 1958, spontaneous Self-Realization occurred within Ambalal M. Patel. From this point on, Ambalal became a Gnani Purush, and the Lord that manifest within him became known as Dada Bhagwan. A Gnani Purush is One who has realized the Self and is able help others do the same. Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan used to go from town to town and country-to-country to give satsang (spiritual discourse) and impart the knowledge of the Self, as well as knowledge of harmonious worldly interactions to everyone who came to meet him. This spiritual science, known as Akram Vignan, is the step-less path to Self-realization.