A Journey of Self Discovery

Many scientists believe that we are just a collection of different types of molecules, just a chemical machine. Is this true? “Who are you? What is your essence? What constitutes a person? Are you material in essence—just chemicals—or are you something else?”

Those and other fundamental questions about the essence of the living entity are the subject of this insightful lecture by Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda.

The physical body is constantly changing. Every molecule that made up our body 10 years ago has been replaced. Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda explains how the fact that we remember events and people from the past, even though our body has completely changed, underscores the reality that the living entity or “self” is constant and unchanging.

The confusion, depression, anxiety, and hopelessness that is so widespread in modern society are all rooted in a lack of understanding of the true nature of the self and the deeper purpose of our existence. Unfortunately, the true wisdom of yoga is exceedingly rare in today’s world.

The body craves material satisfaction. More, more, more, and more. We’re never satisfied. We never have enough. We always want more. We are trying to satisfy an inner emptiness, an inner craving. We’re trying to satisfy it with endless material consumption.

But this is not the answer—this is to accept that we are the body, but it does not lead to happiness.” This simple but sublime truth was put forward by Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda, a world-renowned yoga spiritual master, during a lecture on happiness.

What am I Worth? More than Chemicals?

If a person is nothing more than his material body—a collection of molecules—then why is there such a sudden and dramatic change in the body at the time of death even those all the same material elements are still present? That’s the thought-provoking question raised in this talk by Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda.

There is a school of thought in science and philosophy that the only reality is matter. If, therefore, a person is his physical body, then why is no value attached to the body once it has died?

Watch this intriguing lecture as Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda explains that the value is not in the body. The value is in the user of the body. When the user of the body is gone, the value is gone.

“Who are you? What is your essence? What constitutes a person? Are you material in essence—just chemicals—or are you something else?” Those and other fundamental questions about the essence of the living entity are the subject of this enlightening lecture by Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda.

To help us understand more clearly the distinction between the living and non-living, life and matter, Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda examines how matter behaves in the presence of life, verses how it behaves in the absence of life. This is an important foundation for being able to appreciate that we are the life particle, the spirit soul, who is only temporarily using a material body.

This talk by Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda centers around the landmark 1979 Supreme Court case where the court issued a legal ruling on the very definition of life. The lawsuit originated because General Electric wanted to patent a new strain of oil-eating bacteria. This case had far reaching ramifications in furthering the materialistic world-view that humans are merely chemical machines.