Atma, Parmatma, Jivatma and Mun

Please refer to my original questions that I posted on this site on 17 August 2021.  I feel the ‘scholars’ have failed to give the precise and clear-cut answers.  It is possible that I had not formulated my questions clearly but equally possible that those who attempted to answer did not really pay any attention to the questions raised.  However, I will try again.

We are alive, conscious and have a unique personality and innate nature because we all have ‘Ātmā’/’Parmātmā’/the Primal Soul within us.  This is the only entity that has all the power and ability to do something and Gurbānī describes it as ‘Karan Krāvanhār ohi hai’ (ref.: SGGS p. 868, line 12 “Acharj kathāmahā anūp…”).  The brain and everything else in our physical body are merely tools for it to function and enable it to interact with the wider world.

The ‘Ātmā’/’Parmātmā’/the Primal Soul is ‘nirvair’ and impartial/unbiased, and yet no two human beings it creates are alike in terms of physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, or other attributes that we can assess or measure qualitatively and quantitatively.  Some are born into rich families or endowed with all the best attributes whilst others born with severe, congenital neural deficiency syndromes, have destitute parents and face life-long bondage or poverty, or are endowed with all the poor physical, intellectual, emotional, and other attributes normally essential for a good life here in this world and to enable one to realise one’s spiritual goal – of becoming a ‘Sachiār(u)’.  Why?

‘Mun’ is described as ‘Mun tū jyot(i) sarūp hai…’ in Gurbānī and referred to as our consciousness/‘Jīvātmā’ or ‘Rām kī aṅs’ (ref.: SGGS p. 871, line 2-7) and whilst both ‘Ātmā’ and ‘Jīvātmā’ co-habitate the same place (‘Hirdā’) there is no dialogue between the two (ref.: SGGS p. 205, line 2, ‘Ekā saṅgat(i) ikat(u) grih(i) baste mil(i) bāt n karte bhāī’).  We are what we are because of our ‘Jīvātmā’ or ‘Mun’ and the physical body is merely a tool for it to function and interact with the wider empirical world.  The question is when does our ‘Mun’/‘Jīvātmā’ come into being?  Are we born with it, or does it appear later?  If we are born with it, why should it be ‘qualitatively’ so different in all of us?  If it appears later in life, do we have a hand in its creation – which is in essence a non-physical thing?

We believe our ‘Jīvātmā’ merges with ‘Ātmā’/ ’Parmātmā’/the Primal Soul if it aligns and harmonises perfectly with ‘Ātmā’/’Parmātmā’/the Primal Soul and becomes a ‘Sachiār(u)’ in this life; if this is so, what happens to our ‘Jīvātmā’ if it fails miserably to align and harmonise perfectly with ‘Ātmā’/’Parmātmā’/the Primal Soul – and fails to ‘become a ‘Sachiār(u)’ – in this life?  Is there some ‘carrot’ for the former and ‘stick’ for the latter variety of ‘Jīvātmā’?

Could the ‘Scholars’ please stick to the terms used above or define them clearly when they attempt to answer the questions posed.  Could the answers be ‘evidence based’ – with references from Gurbānī.

Kind regards.

Kamaljit Ryatt