Category: Mind

In simplistic terms, the inner chambers of the palace of King Soul are in the subtle centers of superconsciousness, Christ or Krishna Consciousness (Kutastha Chaitanya, or Universal Consciousness), and Cosmic Consciousness. These centers are, respectively, in the medulla, frontal part of the brain between the eyebrows (seat of the single or spiritual eye), and at the top of the cerebrum (the throne of the soul, in the “thousand-petaled lotus”). In these states of consciousness, King Soul reigns supreme—the pure image of God in man. But when the soul descends into body consciousness, it comes under the influence of maya (cosmic delusion) and avidya (individual delusion or ignorance, which creates ego consciousness). When deluded and tempted by cosmic delusion or psychological Satan, the soul becomes the limited ego, which identifies itself with the body and the body’s relatives and possessions. The soul, as the ego, ascribes to itself all the limitations and circumscriptions of the body. Once so identified, the soul can no longer express its omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence. It imagines itself to be limited—just as a rich prince, wandering in a state of amnesia in the slums, might imagine himself to be a pauper. In this state of delusion, King Ego takes command of the bodily kingdom.

from The Bhagavad Gita by Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952)