Jiva

Jiva (Sanskrit: जीव, IAST: jīva), also referred as Jivātman, is a living being or any entity that has life in Hinduism and Jainism. The word comes from the Sanskrit verb-root jīv, meaning 'to breathe' or 'to live'. In these traditions, the jiva is an important idea talked about in texts like the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. Different parts of Vedanta discuss the jiva and its link to other spiritual ideas in various ways. Simply put, the jiva is like the idea of a soul in other belief systems.

Described in the scriptures

The jiva, meaning the soul or self, is an important idea in many religious texts. Books like the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads talk about the jiva as something eternal that lasts forever. For example, the Bhagavad Gita says the soul is not destroyed when the body is.

In the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, the jiva is described as very small — even smaller than a piece of hair divided many times. It also talks about the jiva and the Paramatma as two birds on the same tree, with one enjoying the tree’s fruits and the other watching.

The spiritual teacher Swaminarayan explained in Vachanamrut that the jiva is like a tiny, immortal spark of awareness. It lives inside the heart and uses our senses and mind to experience the world, while still being separate from the body.

Vedanta

Vedanta is one of the six schools of Hindu philosophy. It uses ideas from important texts called the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita, which are known as the Prasthantrayi.

The Advaita Darshan, or non-dualist school, teaches that only one thing truly exists: Brahman. In this view, everything else, including our souls or jivas, seems real but is actually an illusion called maya. Jivas are like reflections of the true self, or atman, in a mirror.

Other schools, like the Dvaita Darshan, see a difference between jivas and God. The Vishishtadvaita Darshan says jivas are both different from and part of God. Each school uses different ideas to explain how jivas relate to the world and to the divine.

Similarities with other Schools

The idea of jiva shares some important ideas with other schools of thought. In Samkhya and Yoga, jiva is similar to puruṣa. Both are part of a belief in two separate but related parts. Jainism talks about jiva and ajiva. Both jiva and puruṣa are thought to be many in number.

The Nyaya school also has some similar beliefs. It teaches that the jiva is eternal and feels the results of its actions through karma, and may experience reincarnation. Nyaya believes that consciousness only happens when a jiva connects with a mind. True liberation means being free from suffering.