What exactly is the jīva?

When we see the word jīva, we usually immediately take it as the pure soul, residing inside the heart, together with Paramātmā. Reality is that it is a little more complicated than that.

When we see the word jīva, we usually immediately take it as the pure soul, residing inside the heart, together with Paramātmā. This was the soul who was originally with Krsna (or not, depending on what one believes) and is now covered by the false-ego, mind, intelligence, etc.

Reality is that it is a little more complicated than that, and this is an important detail in understanding many passages of the scriptures.

Sometimes, the word "jīva" is used in the sense of ātma, the pure soul in its original, uncontaminated state (śuddha-jīva). However, in most passages, jīva is used in the sense of jīva-bhūta, the conditioned soul struggling with the senses and mind.

Take a look at Srimad Bhagavatam 4.29.74, for example:

evaṁ pañca-vidhaṁ liṅgaṁ, tri-vṛt ṣoḍaśa vistṛtam
eṣa cetanayā yukto, jīva ity abhidhīyate

Prabhupada translates it as:

"The five sense objects, the five sense organs, the five knowledge-acquiring senses and the mind are the sixteen material expansions. These combine with the living entity and are influenced by the three modes of material nature. Thus the existence of the conditioned soul is understood."

However, take a look at the word-for-word:

evam — thus; pañca-vidham — the five sense objects; liṅgam — the subtle body; tri-vṛt — influenced by the three modes; ṣoḍaśa — sixteen; vistṛtam — expanded; eṣaḥ — this; cetanayā — with the living entity; yuktaḥ — combined; jīvaḥ — the conditioned soul; iti — thus; abhidhīyate — is understood.

The word for the living entity in the verse cetanayā (consciousness). This cetanayā is combined with the sixteen material expansions. The jīva appears as a result of this.

Looks like I'm speculating and speaking absurd things, but see what Prabhupada mentions in his purport:

"Here it is also explained that the living entity comes in contact with the sixteen material elements and is influenced by the three modes of material nature. The living entity and this combination of elements combine to form what is called jīva-bhūta, the conditioned soul that struggles hard within material nature."

You can see that the same idea is present in the Sanskrit and the word-for-word, and is confirmed in the purport. What is referenced as jīva is not the soul proper, but the combination of the consciousness of the soul and subtle material elements. In this sense, we are not really the jīva. The jīva appears as a result of our conditioning.

How to understand that?

Prabhupada uses the words "jīva", "jīva-ātmā", "living entity", and "conditioned soul" almost interchangeably, sometimes to describe the conditioned soul, the combination of spirit and the subtle body, the particle that transmigrates from one body to another, and sometimes to describe the pure soul. This purport is important to note, because it is one of the few places where Prabhupada explains this nomenclature. If the word jīva is always taken in the sense of the pure soul, many passages of the scriptures make no sense. One has to be able to understand by the context if a certain passage speaks about the pure soul, or the soul in the conditioned stage.

When Lord Caitanya says "jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’" (It is the living entity’s constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa), for example, He speaks about the pure soul.

However, when SB 4.29.74 mentions evaṁ pañca-vidhaṁ liṅgaṁ, tri-vṛt ṣoḍaśa vistṛtam, eṣa cetanayā yukto, jīva ity abhidhīyate, it speaks about the conditioned soul. One has thus to understand what is referred to in each passage according to the context to avoid misunderstandings.

The text explains that the subtle body (liṅgam, in the sense of liṅga-śarīra or sūkṣma-śarīra), plus the five sense objects (pañca-vidham), combine with the consciousness of the soul (cetanayā), resulting in the jīva (the conditioned soul).

Prabhupada explains this in detail in the second half of his purport, interpreting the verse according to the teachings of Lord Kapila in the third canto:

"The total material existence is first agitated by the three modes of material nature, and these become the living conditions of the living entity. Thus the subtle and gross bodies develop, and the ingredients are earth, water, fire, air, sky and so on. According to Śrī Madhvācārya, when consciousness, the living force in the heart, is agitated by the three modes of material nature, then the subtle body of the living entity, consisting of the mind, the sense objects, the five senses that acquire knowledge and the five senses for acting in the material condition, becomes possible."

These are very delicate philosophical principles. Lord Kapila explains that the pure soul doesn't directly interact with matter. Rather, the consciousness of the soul (cetanā) is reflected in matter, creating the conditions for the appearance of the subtle body. The "jīva" described in the text (clarified as the jīva-bhūta by Prabhupada in his purport) is thus the combination of this reflected consciousness and the subtle body. The three modes of material nature can't touch the pure soul, but they can influence the subtle body, making one act through the body and senses. How can this be understood?

The situation of the soul in the material world can be compared to a person seated in the cinema, watching a movie. Even though one doesn't enter into the movie, this doesn't prevent one from being emotionally affected by what he sees on the screen, sharing the anxieties of the hero or heroine, crying with them, and so on. At the end of the movie, one is forced to leave the room and join another session, again sharing the happiness and sorrow of the protagonists. In this example, the scenes of the movie are the actions of the senses, conducted by the three modes. The attention of the soul remains imprisoned for a long time. Even though we are free to leave at any moment, this only happens when we are awakened to our real identity by transcendental knowledge, which finally breaks the illusory identification with the gross and subtle bodies, allowing us to become fixed in the service of the Lord.

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